How about a show of hands if you remember AMC’s Spirit, such as this 1981 DL specimen? I had completely forgotten about it until I spied the listing for this Wrentham, Massachusetts example – courtesy of Tony P. The seller tells us, “Will need minor work to be road ready,” but on first glance, it looks pretty good. I’d suggest a closer look is warranted; those with an interest will find it listed here on Facebook Marketplace for $4,700, OBO.
Introduced in 1979, the Spirit was the logical successor to the Gremlin. For ’81, two body styles were offered, a two-door liftback such as our subject car, and a two-door coupe, reminiscent of the Gremlin with its truncated hindside. Trim levels included Standard, DL, and GT, with a total production volume exceeding 40K units that year. This particular car still shows pretty well, considering its age and 125K miles of experience.
The body is straight, and there’s no evidence of serious rot, but the finish shows some degradation. Unfortunately, the listing images aren’t very revealing – an in-person inspection would be warranted. “Spoke-Styled Wheels”, resembling Magnum 500 pieces, are in place and always assist with the visual presentation.
Underneath the maze of hoses and vacuum lines is a 100 net HP, 258 CI, in-line six-cylinder powerplant that is on call in the engine bay, and we’re told, “it starts right up,” but that’s it for an operational description. An automatic transmission, actuated by an incongruous B&M ratchet shifter, is in place behind the big six – I imagine that was added after the seller’s grandmother passed the car down.
The interior is worn; the upholstery has seen better days, but the images aren’t comprehensive. There’s stuff piled up on the passenger seat (always a presentation annoyance), but what is noted is the inclusion of aftermarket engine gauges and a DIN aftermarket stereo with a detachable faceplate. This is an A/C-equipped car, but the compressor is sans belt, so I doubt it’s operational. Too bad there’s no image of the wayback area under the rear hatch – its condition can sometimes tell you how a car has been used or abused.
The sun was starting to set on AMC by 1981, though they still had a few years of independence left before the ChryCo acquisition erased one of America’s fiestiest independent auto manufacturers. Despite a lack of capital, AMC was a stellar example of an organization that consistently did more with less, and this Spirit is a perfect example; five production years yielded close to 200K copies – not bad! Closer to home, what about this example? Other than an AMC aficionado, who would be the likely purchaser for this compact from one of America’s more memorable gone-but-not-forgotten car companies?
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