“The Car That Wore the Pants” has to be one of the most unusual slogans, at least that I can think of at the moment. I can’t imagine a carmaker in 2020 doing a special edition vehicle based on the fabric that pants are made out of. This 1975 AMC Gremlin X is a Levi’s Edition car which gives it an extra bit of zing – as if a Gremlin needed one. It can be found here on craigslist just east of Memphis, Tennessee and the seller is asking $7,500. Thanks to Roger for sending in this tip!
There are really only two photos showing the exterior of the car in its entirety, as no Gremlin owner said, ever. But, what we see so far is pretty impressive for a car that’s 45 years old. The Gremlin was made from 1970 to 1978 and the Gremlin X was an upgraded trim package with slotted wheels, a body-colored fascia with a black grille, a stripe kit, and more “go fast” goodies. An appearance package, basically.
This is the only photo showing the passenger side, believe it or not. I don’t think the seller is trying to hide anything by not showing that side because they show us the rust issues so I’m guessing that it just slipped their mind. There is some rust on this car but nothing that looks overwhelming by any means. The right front fender top and under the windshield trim needs work but a bigger problem is the hole in the bottom of the passenger door seen above and the rear window trim area.
Alas, this car has an automatic which isn’t the end of the world but it’s always fun to see a 3 or 4-speed manual in small cars of this era. The Levi’s package included denim-like seating material and it looks great in this car, but they mention that the front seats have been recovered. The back seat looks almost perfect other than maybe needing a thorough cleaning. The rear cargo area looks good but there isn’t much room back there for luggage with the back seat in use. You can see some extra fabric in the cargo area which is leftover material from when they had the front seats recovered.
The engine is AMC’s 258 cubic-inch inline-six with 110 hp and there is an aftermarket AC system that needs help. This car runs and drives great and there are no major leaks, according to the seller. This is far from a perfect Levi’s Edition Gremlin X, but they’re small and easy to work on and it would be a fun car to restore. Have any of you owned a Gremlin?
“I can’t imagine a carmaker in 2020 doing a special edition vehicle based on the fabric that pants are made out of”…
I guess I should stop crossing my fingers for that Dockers Edition Accord, or the Carhartt Edition Siverado. Brooks Brothers 3 Series? Come on, everybody! Pair a current car with the appropriate pants, what else have you got going on?
Ha! I was hoping for some fun examples, thanks! My purple Zubaz Edition Ford Ranger thanks you, too…
I can’t even imagine an all blue(let alone Levi) interior on any car in, what, the last 25 yrs? Like pulling teeth today – how could all blue not be offered at least on the pony cars & corvette? Didn’t chrysler even offer an all orange interior in the early 70s on cuda & chally?
In 1970/1971 you could get all blue on Gremlin/Pinto for less than $2000! & other colors too inside. Today you can’t even get all blue on a car costing several hundred thousdand dollars!
How hard is it to fix that rust around the window?(tho it won’t get worse if the car is kept away from bad weather & excessive dampness. & you wash it carefully avoiding those areas.
I thought those were a/c vents under the dash on the featured car here, but i dont see a compressor under the hood.
Every cloth-upholstered 2020 car seems to be a Dollar-Store Backpack Edition.
How about a Depends Edition Buick?
Every week, somebody raises the bar on comments! Living in Florida, and approaching retirement and beyond, this one struck my funnybone perfectly. Arby, you’re definitely in the running for the 2020 crown!
Pampers pinto anyone? Or maybe a Fruit of the loom Lasabre?
A Depends Edition Buick. Genius!
On the Gremlin. Issues I see. Not sure if it was a factory X. Not that it would matter. Black steering column and later worn leather wrapped wheel. Not sure why that is. The white X stripe is incorrect and or painted on. Interestingly has a small radiator and looks original. Oil cap looks like it’s from a Dodge Omni. The gauges look to be from a Hornet. Very important do not see the removable door pockets for the door. No power brakes.
Over the years have had many Gremlins. When I started driving were very cheap to obtain. $50-$100 each. Usually about 40K-60K miles they were full of rattles. Door pin bushings would go. Metal around the door striker would crack and break. Door frame welds broke. The dash including everything in it would need tightened up. I prefer the 71-73 Gremlins. The quality was very bad from 74 on. Keep in mind. Back then they were daily drivers.
This wouldn’t be a daily. For my money nothing wrong with the six. I would hold out and spend a little more for an original V8 Gremlin. Not anything swapped. About the same fuel economy and twice the fun.
The Gremlin looks nice with it’s baby blue paint and optimistic white racing stripe. Great for half a Hornet and being the first big 4 domestic subcompact. I like the automatic transmission and blue bucket seats too. The broken air conditioning and lack of the 5 liter engine are deal killers for me. A more mechanically inclined AMC collector could fix this old Gremlin into a great conversation piece at car shows.
How about a Cadillac ‘Cheap Monday’ edition?
Yes, there’s a pants company with that name in Sweden.
All Gremlins from 74 and up had color keyed fascias ; I think the only difference between a stock Gremlin and an X fascia was the “X” emblem . Non X Gremlins also could be ordered with stripes , they were just different from the X cars.
This one looks like it was painted a little darker than the baby blue judging by the engine bay paint , though it could be the light playing tricks.
I have always liked Gremlins , and had a high optioned 74 until a drunk driver decided it wasn’t short enough and rear ended it. Mine had the two tone vinyl seats ; I was never a fan of the Levis interior – maybe I’m weird ,but sitting on the jean seats gave me a creepy feeling like I was wearing some one else’s pants
I have an ‘85 Camaro – Parachute Pants Edition.
Well here is an easy one for the Jeep MARKETEERS at FCA. You take a 2020 Jeep Wrangler, you put in seats made with Wrangler Blue Jeans material complete with pockets, Goodyear Wrangler Raised White Letter Tires, It comes in your choice of two exterior paints: Ocean Blue Metallic Clear Coat, or Bright White Clear Coat. and you call it your Spring Special Model, since it so late in the Model year you bring it out as a 2021 Special!!!!!!!!
Well okay then. I had a 74 Gremlin X, 258 with 3 speed manual. Great little car, but like was mentioned above doors were a problem, both hinges and Stryker. I had mine welded after the metal cracked around the Stryker. Drove the daylights out of that car through Washington state, Oregon, California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado and Utah. It was still running strong when I traded in on a Hornet wagon. Funny looking cars and you got lots of comments about where’s the other half of your car.
God bless America
How about an Armani Lamborghini? Maybe an Excalibur Fortnight? What say to a Cadillac Starbucks? Or a triple threat, a Hugo Boss Yugo, Mach 1!
Oh, such clever folks, but, ahem,,,back to the Gremlin. By 1975, the Gremlin was becoming dated, the facelifts helped some, but there were much better foreign cars by then, and the Gremlin struggled on for a couple more years. When introduced on April Fools day, 1970, I think it was the least expensive car one could buy, at $1,879, besting the then cheapest, VW Bug by $100. Opening back window was $1,949, still cheaper than the $1,999 Bug. They were good cars, MilwauKenosha cranked out almost 700,000 of them, and kept the folks in Wisconsin busy. If I remember, the seat material, while novel idea, also available on Jeeps, didn’t wear well, and it was still just a Gremlin. I’m surprised it has the original gas cap. Those tended to “go missing”. Saw many Gremlins with rags in the hole. Great find.
It is interesting they even called it a Levi edition when they used look alike material.
The worn leather steering wheel you see is part of a very rare “Rally Package” that AMC only offered on the 1974 and ’75 Gremlins. It included a tachometer, oil and amp meter gauges hanging below the ash tray, manual front disc brakes, a front sway bar on 6 cylinder models, black leather wrapped sport steering wheel, flat black painted steering column and instrument cluster. The option was a very expensive $132.85. I’m not sure why anyone would have special ordered this package on a automatic 6-cylinder car. I ordered a new Transam Red, Levi, V8, 3-speed ’74 Gremlin in the summer of ’73. I would have loved the Rally Pac option but for the same money I got a V8 instead of the 258 and manual disc brakes. I figured I could always add a after market tach later for a lot less money.
We bought this car. Radiator had to replaced because the old one was part jbweld. Added power brakes, new exhaust manifold, new exhaust system, new distributor, new carpet , fixed tag light, and still working on it . It’s a blast to drive around Atlanta. People hang out of their car windows and tell us how much they love it.
(sniff) I love happy endings!