“Wow. This might be a good idea. I’ve never had an AMC AMX, or any AMC for that matter, unless you count the Rambler station wagon my dad had when I was a kid.” I saw this listing on ebay for a 1969 AMC AMX and was instantly drawn to the car it represented. If you are similarly inclined, get your dollars in neat stacks, because as of now, this reserve on this car is not met at an $8700 bid. There are several days for that to change, however, in an auction that goes until mid-week.
Everyone wants to talk about “orphans”—cars left after their manufacturer has gone out of business. Any American Motors model is surely that. But so are Pontiacs, Oaklands (just joking. You’ve never even heard of an Oakland, have you?) and Mercury models. This is therefore not the big deal it used to be on the car show circuit. But still, AMC people strike me as a hardy lot, willing to be the only guy with “one of those” (from Pacers to Gremlins to AMXs like this one) at the Friday cruise-in. The good news is that cars like this one have more parts and pieces availability than in the past.
Does that make it a good idea to buy this particular AMX? Well, first, let’s thank the seller of this car for being honest. He says the car runs, will need some work before being road-worthy, and is overall in good condition. One sentence makes me very nervous, however: “Brakes are soft and floors are decent. They do show some signs of corrosion.” Uh oh. These cars were manufactured in Kenosha, WI, where the winter is no friend to sheet metal. This one is living in Racine in that same state. Perhaps it’s lived a bit of a hard life? You really need to see this car, and tap on the underside, to know whether you’re buying yourself a huge body shop bill. Certainly the images of the interior aren’t going to give you a lot of confidence about how well the car has been taken car of.
But if the floors and other elements check out, this V8-powered two-seater should be a lot of fun. This one has a claimed 74,000 miles on its 390 cubic inches of grunt. It’s built on a proven chassis, that which underpins the Javelin, which has been shortened for AMX purposes. The AMX model lived, in case you’re wondering, from 1968-70, in an edition of about 20,000 units, so it’s not super-rare, but it does have a certain exclusivity to it. AMC thought at the time that they were creating a Corvette alternative at a lower price point. I would rather take the car on its own terms, and view it as a true GT that could be used to carve corners with the best of them. What you do with this pocket rocket is up for you to decide, of course, but if this is your thing, then the model presently under consideration would be one to keep tabs on. It’s hard to know what the reserve price is, but at the moment, this ask is way below market.
Cool, but i am not a white car person. Not the best Ebay feedback.
Thirty years ago someone specializing in AMC or any specific make only had a market of about 50 miles around Not enough to support a business Now with the internet they can sell across the country even the world if they can set up a website A great thing for people working on the lesser known cars
Sadly all AMCs were simply made of inferior metal, and while the AMX is one of my favorite cars ever, I maintain a high level of low faith as to their structural integrity. I’m a Wisconsinite too, so I know fully how and where the rot resides. Heck I don’t even like the looks of the metal under the hood lol but hopefully all is well on this one though!
AMCs are made of inferior metal? Back this up–and compared to what? Any car that lived mostly in areas that use salt and not taken care of was subject to rust.
That nonsense has circulated before. It is true that ALFA used steel from Yugoslavia and those vehicles were prone to rust. Imbeciles have no problem converting that information into a smear on AMC. Just for everyones information, in the late 1950s it is MoPars that were notorious for corrosion.
Inferior metal????
Howie,
Look at it this way. . . You are 1/3 of the way to a great paint job!!!!!
Laguna Mike
This car reminds me of someone I knew many years ago. He use to buy cheap beat up 3rd gen Camaros, he would repair any body work and then put a new paint job on the car and then sell them to young people. He parted out the really bad ones and made a living doing this for some time. This AMX reminds me of him.
Not a 390 ! The VIN does not have an ‘X’ for the engine code. It has a ‘T’, which if I remember, means it is a 343. This car should sell for under 20,000.
Decent enough car but between the mis-matched wheels, the tatty interior and the 343 VIN, i would be a bit suspicious that bigger problems await.
This brings back a lot of memories. I had a AMX with a 390 GoPackage with a 4 speed. Drove it from Michigan to Florida at about 7 to 8 mpg! Of course gas was about 35 cents a gallon. It had been mistakenly ordered by the dealer with no power steering or brakes and no AC so it was a bear to drive but it was fast in a straight line!
Ended at $15,100.
Reserve Not Met.
46 bids.
Relisted for 18K, Buy It Now.
Seller should have taken the $15,100.00 and ran.
I would hope the body was free of rust–repaired and prepped properly before painting. I would do a lot to it if I bought it. Clean up engine and compartment–should be body color. So, the engine was out of the car at one time–compartment painted black–was engine rebuilt? Tidy up the interior a lot and make it correct. May need all mechanicals attended to. A lot of unknowns. Interior and engine pictures show this car was not well cared for. Good luck to a buyer.