This Gremlin has been in the same family since brand new! The seller’s grandma bought the car back in 1978 and from the looks of it, was very good at maintaining it. She has since passed away and the family has decided it’s time to let it go. It’s not perfect, but it could make an excellent driver for someone who will hopefully keep up on everything as well as grandma did. It’s located in Ballston Spa, New York and is listed here on eBay where bidding is currently at $3,000 with the auction ending tomorrow.
The inline-six is said to run well. You can watch a video of it humming along here. The performance of these unique looking compacts was actually decent for the time. With that big six cylinder it was a bit front heavy, but could still scoot along at a decent pace. In highschool, I knew a kid who had one of these and he loved it. When the engine blew, he dropped a V8 in there!
The interior looks super clean. The seller does admit that the front bench has been reupholstered, but otherwise everything looks original. A 4-speed would have helped the car feel a bit more peppy, but at least there’s a CB radio to keep your right hand busy. Hopefully the Tweety keychain and Hula dancer are included in the sale…
It’s hard to picture an older lady cruising around in this bright yellow car while chatting away on the CB. All I can say is that someone had a really cool grandma! May she rest in peace and may her little Gremlin find a good home with a warm garage!
This thing looks clean, can’t really complain at $3k. Somebody must know a Grandma that likes yellow cars..
A very clean example of an iconic car! People made jokes of it and it represents radical design. Cant really complain on the price, museum quality???
I wonder what Granma’s “Handle” was?
Another yellow classic and a Gremlin at that, love it and yes grandma was a cool lady.3K sounds reasonable for this car.
Looks a lot cooler than the white POS in the driveway in the background
Grandma’s handle was probably “yellow Mother Goose”. :)
Could have also been ” Tweetybird “.
I would have to agree on Tweety Bird! it is hanging from her ignition key
Gremlins are definitely an acquired taste, one that I happen to have and this one looks great! the 5mph bumpers actually dont look to bad on this one. needs a big tweety bird sticker then go to the local car show, you would have the only one there I guarantee it.
I’m guessing grandma was either Mello Yellow or Old Yeller
Lemon tart?
Lemon Curry?
I had a gremlin, it was my wife’s car, I had a 76 Monte. Well we got divorced on account of her having no coping skills and thinking she was a princess….. but anyhow.
I got screwed on the divorce and ended up with the gremlin and was upset that I lost the monte and our trailer to her. The car was a straight 6 with an auto and went where you needed to go.
One weekend I was on a bender trying to drink away the blues and figure out where my life went wrong. Well that Saturday night I had been drunk for 2 days straight and started feeling angry. Angry about life. I got into a fight at the tavern and broke a pool stick over a guys head because I thought he was cheating me and the owner threw me out.
I was heading home and was fuming. I was so mad I lost my car in the divorce and the gremlin was making me angry so I jerked the wheel in a curve and hit a big oak tree.
The car was totaled and I broke some ribs and things. When the sheriff got there I was calmly drinking a beer and held out one to him and asked if he wanted one.
I wish I still had that gremlin on accounts of they are worth cash now
Sooo, did the nice policeman drive you home, put you in your jammies, and tuck you into bed? My sad Gremlin story isn’t as bad as that. I had this awful crush on a girl in high school named Christine. She obviously wanted me to ask her out but I was too scared, until on day she got tired of waiting and met a college guy named Gene at the roller rink. He promptly made her a mama and ran off never to be seen again. The only thing she got out of this deal (besides a cute daughter) was a crummy Gremlin X that he left for her. Funny, I used to like those, but after that, I could never see one again with out thinking I should have asked her out first. Not the cars fault I guess. Strange, 40 years later, and I can still remember that clear as day. My life has been great, have a wonderful wife and kids, but those emotions at 17 get drilled pretty deep in your soul, don’t they?
Sounds like it worked out great that you did not ask her out!
It’s amazing how cars can invoke such memories. I feel for you about the girl, I often sit around thinking about what might have been. It’s a good way to polish off a bottle of scotch.
Painfully true observation.
That’s an awesome car story.
Thankyou. The police took me to the hospital and I got arrested. The cop seemed to be appalled when I told him I hit the tree deliberately.
She may have been a grandma when she passed away, but she could have been a swinging 28 year old when she bought it. It was not a grandma car then! Not like an 75 year old woman bought this new.
The wife and I walked into the local AMC Gremlin dealer just to look. Just curious is all as we didn’t need a car. On the floor was a bright white Gremlin pin striped in blue, and with an all blue denim material interior . It was the Levi Strauss model. Denim on everything inside. What a cutie! It went home with us the next day. We had it for 4.5 years and then off it went to college with our youngest. Never a nickels worth of trouble, just routine maintenance and new tires for college. Wish we still had it..
My sister had one and I drove it only once. Keep it below 45 and it was fine above that and the dynamics were really off. It did not handle well, the brakes were not good and worse the steering was vague at best.
Quality control varied wildly on this car and my sister six cylinder was not one of the good ones. Her’s was also the Levi Strauss model. Never any problem with the engine, or power train but the brakes, cooling system and rust were what killed it in the end. Not my taste but my sister love it.
It just sold for $4,710. The auction was still at $3,051 with 5 minutes to go and jumped almost $1,700 in those last few minutes.
All In
Terrible reupholster job. Didn’t even try to match the original pattern…..
After awhile went back and looked at the car again and it has a CB radio but I don’t see a antenna anywhere or even a place it might have been, even a bumper mount one.
Hi JW, I wanted to say that yesterday, but couldn’t get a comment to register. I didn’t see an antenna either, although, some directed the CB to the AM radio antenna, which didn’t work too well. Besides, who uses a CB anymore. This car was advertised well, plenty of pictures, and someone got a heck of a deal.
A friend used to drive his Mother’s green 78 Gremlin to high school….not a terribly cool car at the time. I’m surprised this Gremlin doesn’t have the hockey stick graphics like my friends did!
The blue denim textured graphics on the Gremlin we bought is what really caught our eye, especially the “hockey stick” art! People commented on that most of all, especially that it was designed to look like denim. Even had the little red tab Levi logo on the end of the stick, just like on the back pocket of Levi’s. Red Levi tags also on all the seats. What a nice touch. Great memories, had not thought of it in years.
The stripes changed yearly.