Disclosure: This site may receive compensation when you click on some links and make purchases.

Concord Vs. Hornet: 1981 AMC Concord

It would have been fun to be a fly on the wall in the front offices at AMC when they created this 1981 AMC Concord. “Johnson, why don’t you draw up a Hornet with more chrome, some wheel covers, and a nicer interior.” This fancy Hornet is listed on eBay with a current bid of $660 but the reserve isn’t met. It’s located in beautiful Port Huron, Michigan.

I personally like the simplicity of the Hornet over the Concord, but there isn’t much difference other than some cosmetic treatments and slight luxury upgrades. An upgraded experience was the goal so a few suspension upgrades were added along with more sound-deadening materials and the result was a more solid and road-friendly feel.

This particular Concord looks great at first glance but thankfully the seller, the son of the original owner and no doubt an honest person, has added a few photos of areas that don’t quite look too great. Such as some “amateur bodywork done behind the rear driver wheel” and also a few underside photos showing what looks like significant rust under there.

In typical Concord fashion, the interior is definitely a step above the typical Hornet of yore (Yore?! Who says that anymore?) with nice seating surfaces both front and rear and 2″ more legroom in the rear than the Hornet sported. I’m not sure what’s going on with the headliner, that can’t be original? If the fasteners would have been evenly-spaced it could have / would have looked pretty good and unique.

The seller says that this is “the 258 AMC Inline (predecessor to the modern Chrysler/Jeep Inline 6) and an automatic transmission (I believe an A904 3 speed).” The “car runs and drives great. It could use some carburetor adjustments, as it can be difficult to start if its been sitting for a while. But otherwise, its drives nicely and is ready for the road.” They have done some work including: “installed new front coil springs and serviced the front brakes, putting in new hoses and calipers. I’ve also changed the distributor cap/rotor, wires and spark plugs” and “factory fuel lines were replaced with rubber lines front to back.” Have any of you owned either a Hornet or a Concord? If you’ve owned both, which did you like better?

Comments

  1. Avatar M.Balmer Member

    That vinyl roof treatment has to be a dealer add on,I can’t recall ever seeing one with that style of vinyl roof.

    Like 1
    • Avatar Jett

      My Mom’s father had an ‘80-82 burgundy Concord sedan with a vinyl roof to replace his early Hornet. I can’t swear to it being identical to this one, but it looks very similar—same colour, too.

      Like 1
    • Avatar SubGothius

      I’ve never seen a Concord sedan having these later-style rear quarter windows without the vinyl roof treatment. The only one I could find in a Google image search was an early model without the windows in the C-pillars. I reckon the vinyl was an artifact of the manufacturing process, a cheaper way to finish things vs. filling in a welded sheetmetal seam well enough to paint over.

      Like 0
  2. Avatar Max

    I recently bought 81 AMC Concord Coupe Limited package blue exterior with blue cloth interior. ALL original 50K miles Iron Duke 2.5 engine auto, factory AC , factory AMFM, factory rear defrost . Just a beautiful classic AMC from past! I paid $6,500 and No it’s Not for sale

    Like 4
    • Avatar Mark

      Do you have any photos?
      Please
      Mark

      Like 0
  3. Avatar Dan in Tx

    Having owned them both, I can vouch for the concord being much nicer. The interior on a hornet is grim in comparison.

    Like 1
  4. Avatar Gay Car Nut Tacoma

    Lovely looking car. I’ve heard of the AMC Hornet and Concord. I felt that the best looking Concord were the 1978 and 79 D/L.

    Like 1
  5. Avatar Dean

    Hoping they used rubber fuel rated hoses and not just heater/ vacuum hose.

    Like 3
  6. Avatar Max

    This is my 81 Concord coupe !

    Like 6
  7. Avatar Bob C.

    These cars soldiered on until 1983 with that basic 1970 design first with the time honored Hornet name from the Hudson days. For you younger folks, AMC (Rambler first ), was the result of Nash / Hudson merger.

    Like 1
    • Avatar Jett

      They actually carried on as the Eagle line until the 1988 model year.

      Like 0
  8. Avatar Superdessucke

    Had a ’71 Hornet 2 door with a 258. No options except auto. It was surprisingly quick and somewhat fun to drive. My aunt had a ’78 or ’79 light blue Concord 2 door also. Never drove it though.

    They were alright. Pretty basic and reliable. I seem to remember they came with a 50/50 protection plan or something like that towards the end.

    Like 0
  9. Avatar Jett

    Growing up in an AMC family has been a lot of fun. My folks owned three between them—a ‘76 Pacer wagon, ‘77 Hornet hatchback, and a ‘78 Concord hatchback that Mom bought brand new (traded in her Pacer for it). It was my first car for $1 in ‘91, and after selling it to him for $1, my Dad had it restored at no small expense over the next two or three years. New rockers and fenders, new metal in the quarters, new upholstery and carpet, and some lucky junkyard finds of a bumper and some taillight lenses. With less than 80,000 km on it, the 258 has had some work done, but nothing like a rebuild, and if I recall correctly, the 4-speed hasn’t had a thing done to it. It’s so fun to cruise in the car on a nice summer day.

    Like 0
  10. Avatar chrls

    “…Hoping they used rubber fuel rated hoses and not just heater/ vacuum hose…”
    AND
    I’m hopin they’re metal 4 safety.
    8^0
    liked the awd Eagles/other Mopower sedans & esp wagons.

    Like 0
  11. Avatar CJM

    Concord was a much nicer car but the early Hornets (70-72) were arguably the best looking. This roof treatment was factory stock on all DL and Limited sedans from 1980-83. Base models without the vinyl roof were few and far between and did not have the pillar glass. If you had the vinyl roof you had the glass, if you didn’t no glass. The 78-79’s had an optional non padded rear half vinyl roof with no quarter glass.

    Like 0

Leave A Comment

RULES: No profanity, politics, or personal attacks.

Become a member to add images to your comments.

*

Get new comment updates via email. Or subscribe without commenting.