A luxury AMC seems almost like jumbo shrimp when we look back on the company and its offerings. This 1981 AMC Concord was meant to be at least somewhat luxurious, certainly much more than the Hornet that it replaced. This very nice looking example is listed on Craigslist with an asking price of $3,500 or best offer – “cash only”! It’s located in Hutch, more formerly known as Hutchinson, Minnesota. I can check this Concord out in person for any serious buyers, it’s only about an hour west of Scotty G Central. Thanks to Fred H. for sending in this listing!
The seller says that this is “Grandma’s car” and these were certainly owned by a lot of grandmas and grandpas, which is a very good thing in my world. That age group tends to keep up the maintenance, drive fewer miles at a slower pace, and not drive their cars in the winter – at least as much as folks with regular jobs do. Of course, “grandma” in 1981 could have been 16 years old, we don’t know how old grandma was, or is, and if she was “old” when she bought and used this Concord or if she’s just “old” now. For those of you who were born within the last two or three decades, “old” means anyone over 40. However old she is or was, this car looks great. We only see the driver’s side, unfortunately. Maybe grandma raked the whole passenger side while backing out of the garage, who knows. I’m assuming not, though.
With only 68,000 miles on this Concord and looking like it doesn’t even have that many miles are on it, that averages out to only 1,838 miles a year. Or, given Minnesota’s ridiculous winters, if grandma didn’t drive this car in the winter, and seeing how our winters are eleven months out of every year.. wait, it just seems like eleven months, let’s say six months, that’s still an average of 3,767 miles a year part-time. 68,000 miles is barely broken in but I would still want to check out everything top and bottom given the age of this vehicle. Look at those seats, though! Beautiful. There are no photos of the back seat or the trunk, but the front seats look great.
The carpet looks a bit discolored, is there such a thing as sun-fading in Minnesota?! I’m kidding of course, but having just gotten yet another 20-inches of snow it’s hard to imagine anything but cold and snow here. The seller says that this was was “always kept in the garage” and that’s good news. Hearing that it had never having been driven in the winter would be even better. The 1981 Concord was supposedly “the most luxurious of all compacts” and they were available with options that most 1970s AMC buyers would have raised an eyebrow at. Grandma must not have wanted those fancy power windows on this one, those are just a fad anyway..
Somewhere under that tangle of wires and hoses is an engine, I think? I can’t remember seeing too many engine compartments this stuffed with rubber and wire before. The very first that I would do on this car is to change those red hoses, but that’s just me. This is AMC’s 258 cubic-inch inline-six which would have had 110 hp. This car has AC but we don’t know if it blows cold or not, I’m assuming not after over three decades. This one has always had regular maintenance and it looks like it’s ready to go to me. Have any of you owned a Concord?
That thing has more hoses on the engine than my 1990 cherokee XJ, and that’s a lot of hoses.
Because Jeep was 4WD, it didn’t require the amount of emission crap as the cars did.
1981 certainly is getting to be a while ago now. Vinyl roof, opera windows… So period-correct. This thing is a honey. I hope the next owner cherishes her and doesn’t turn her into a throwaway.
I’ve not owned a Concord but have had a couple of Eagles, which of course are Concords modified for 4WD.
The factory plastic valve cover is a pain on these, they always warp and leak. The cure is an aftermarket aluminum cover commonly available from Jeep suppliers.
I’m pretty sure by 1981 these engines had the electronic feedback carb emissions system on them. This uses an O2 sensor and a primitive ECU to adjust metering rods in the carb using a stepper motor. It can be difficult to keep that setup working properly and getting through an emissions test can be a challenge. As one can see in the engine photo, there are miles of vacuum plumbing.
The best resource for dealing with the engine side of things is the Jeep crowd since a CJ of the same vintage has the same setup.
AMC Guy, Yes, the carb setup and miles of vacuum hoses can be truly vexing! I inherited an ’87 Jeep Wrangler from a deceased cousin, but the thing would not run right with that 258. I fixed the vacuum hoses, changed the carb and did the “bypass” of the ECU, but no difference. Sold it off for 3K, hope the new guys figured it out.
Having owned a 78 2 door with a 3 speed manual that interior shot triggered my ptsd. No thanks.
I happily drive my family’s 1978 258 4-so Concord in the summer. Guess we can’t all appreciate cool cars…
I found this car in Mexico. It has an interesting roof. I don’t know if it came out of the factory like this.
On a 1981 car, 68,000 miles is a lot more than broken in, it was trade in time!
I owned two of them a 78 and a 1981 they were tanks but couldn’t get out of their own way
The pic that Miguel provided of the brown Mexican Concord with the weird roof-line appears to be some kind of a tacked on cap or cover. It is fun to visit Mexico and see all the deviations of cars we see here in the states. F150’s are badged as “Lobo”s there.
Comet, maybe you are right. It does kind of look like a cap, but who would make a cap for such a cheap low production car?
I do think it is kind of neat and it will keep the sun off the rear passengers a little bit.
Here is the front view. I don’t have any other pictures of this car.
Putting a cap on the roof covered in vinyl to give a more ‘formal’ side profile, instead of designing new tooling and pressing new sheetmetal, seems pretty straight forward to me.
The Mexican cars weren’t AMCs, they were VAMs, (Vehículos Automotores Mexicanos), in which AMC had a shareholding but not full ownership. They did their own thing for years until going bust and being bought out by Renault at the same time they bought AMC. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehículos_Automotores_Mexicanos
Putting a cap on was nothing compared to cutting and welding other various existing components to make an entire new version of this car, a five door hatchback, the VAM Lerma. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VAM_Lerma
How hard would it be to bring one over the border?
Concinnity, it is easy to get it across the border. I don’t know how much in taxes the US would charge.
Since the car is over 25 years old, it can come in with no problem.
I am going to collect some nice cars and send them to the US, but it will be some time before I can do that.
I need to do more research on the paperwork.
A car like this isn’t worth very much in Mexico, especially in the Capital where they are super vigilant about the smog problem.
Concinnity, also you probably wouldn’t believe just how little the seller wants for this clean car.
Miguel, it is something of a moot point for me, as I am currently in New Zealand. I doubt there are any of this model here, though the larger Ramblers were assembled here once, as they were in Belgium.
Find a Lerma for me too! I always thought this would have done well if they sold it in the USA. Ive never seen one in the states but I know a few made their way north…
THOMAS H, that can be arranged.
I have seen a few in very good condition.
Let me know if you are serious.
Miguel
In the dying days of AMC, luxury mean “let’s over-stuff everything and put in power accessories” Not a slam against the company…everyone was doing it…they just had much less to work with underneath all the padding
Scotty, yes, the Concord was AMC’s version of a luxury compact. Even though they claimed the 70 Hornet was “The Little Rich Car”, it never got to the level of even a Maverick LDO.
Too soon with an idea, once again.
Shame AMC never pushed their advantage. The LDO, Granada, Nova Concours, Valiant Brougham all appeared long before the Concord made an appearance.
Mrs. and I owned an ’82 wagon that’s a
dead ringer to this one only our car was
Tan outside with a brown interior. It too
had the 258 6-cylinder engine mated to,
I believe, was a torqueflite tranny. When we first bought it, the kids I worked with
kept asking me if it was a 4X4 due to the
very high ground clearance! And Mike, if
you say all those hoses flared up your
PTSD, just try and replace the serpantine
belt and tensioner yourself! My wife and
her brother changed ours after getting
through all those hoses to reach it. Looked like a barrel of snakes in there!
By today’s standards, maintainance on
one of these is considered to be a snap.
As for the car, it was comfortable and
very roomy inside. The perfomance was
that of a snail, but if you didn’t mash the
gas pedal to the floor, power and torgue
were butter smooth and the car would do
anything you asked it to do. Couldn’t get
my adopted son to understand that though. Finally had to bar him from driving our wagon since we needed to use it daily. Seems to me that the torque
converter was the weak link in the power
train. After replacing several of these, we
traded it off on an ’81 Chevy Citation hatchback. Nice car while we owned it
and enjoyed driving it. Great find, keep ’em comin’!
These use a light-duty Torqueflite automatic transmission. Overall it is very reliable, except the torque converter neck is prone to cracking after decades of use. That combined with terminal rust is what did in my last Eagle.
I had a 1982 AMC Concord much like this one with the vinyl roof with the 258CID straight six. Mine had the very durable plush velour seats in burgandy. Made it to 110,000 miles when the Chrysler trans went, probably would have been good for many 10 of thousands of miles had I replaced the trans. The only other problem I had was the leaky plastic valve cover and that could have been fixed I think relatively easy with a replacement metal cover. I think Chrysler kept that engine with modifications for years way into the 1990’s after buying out AMC around 1988 and Chrysler used them in Jeeps, so the AMC 6 engine far outlived Chrysler’s own slant 6 engine that also had a pretty good reputation.
Okay Scotty G. I am well beyond 40, I don’t think I am old? I guess that younger people think that way?
Bullet proof 6 engine. We had a brand new 79 silver anniversary concord with the 232 engine. Got 35 mpg on the highway
I have an incorrectly painted Silver Anniversary 79 Concord – almost none survive
Back in 1990, a buddy of mines mother gave a 1982 model to him. We had to drive from Massachusetts to Maine to get it. I had the pleasure of driving it back. The exhaust was broken before the muffler, and all we could come up with was a beer can for a quick fix. It lasted about half the ride home, but the rest was noisy as hell. Good solid car, though.
AMC guys gotta luv Barnfinds obsession with this platform…I get it – we all have our favorites!
This is my 81 Concord DL coupe!
I have a Lerma in new York city. I think they are asking $3500 for the brown Rambler American in Miguel’s post. i have another Lerma 2 door that i am converting to 4 speed and putting Eagle fender flares on. It is a rot box so I”m putting the Eagle fenders and cutting the Eagle quarter panel to weld on the the rotten Lerma lower quarters.
Actually they are asking $32000 pesos which is about $1777.00 USD. It is very nice inside and out. It is just that I am several states away right now.
Did you have a problem registering the Mexican car?
How does the smog tech smog the car without all the smog equipment the American cars had?
Does the car still have the plate for Estado De Mexico?
Did you know money is owed on that plate in Mexico?
TOTAL A PAGAR
$2,371.00
Here is the interior. It is the only other picture I have.
Money is owed on my car? Can you see the plate? I still have it registered with Estado de Mexico plates. No problem to register it, I just like riding with the Mexican plates. No smog on old cars in most of the US, so no problem.
Yes Mitch, the plate has been expired for 2 years.
I saw the plate number on another site that shows you posing with the car.
I know California is 1975 and back for no smog. What do they do in New York?
23 years and older don’t need testing
That is interesting, so you can register this car with no problems at all?
What do you show if you get stopped by a police officer? It has an expired registration from 2016. Do they say anything about that?