The seller of this 1978 AMC Pacer said that the previous owner was a little old lady in Chicago who drove it to bingo. It’s probably a good thing those massive 5-mph bumpers are on there, I’m sure they came in handy for that. They have this Pacer listed here on eBay in Hubbell, Michigan and the current bid price is $3,000 but the reserve isn’t met yet.
There’s the main issue with this car, the visible rust that you see here. Or, maybe the biggest issue is the non-visible rust. Illinois and Michigan aren’t exactly the desert southwest, they use tons of road salt in those states and this one has suffered from that. They say that it has had ongoing undercoating over the years but there are no underside photos so it’s impossible to tell but they say that there is no rust on the frame or suspension so that’s good news.
I’d want to see the condition of the floors given the rust holes that are visible, but they had an estimate to have the rust fixed and to install a new rear bumper, which is also bubbling with rust. Damn you, winter! This fishbowl rear 3/4 view is pretty famous for the Pacer, it also gave generations of kids nightmares about riding in the back seat in cars without air-conditioning.
The Pacer was made from 1975 until the end of 1979 and the front end was redesigned in 1978. The interior is the real selling point of this car, it’s absolutely beautiful. Sure, it needs new carpet but that’s easy, the rest of it looks amazing, especially the seats. A 4-speed manual would have been great but this one has a Chrysler-sourced TorqueFlite three-speed automatic with a floor shifter.
The engine looks suspiciously like a blue vinyl rear seat for some reason. Oh yeah, it’s because they didn’t include an engine photo. But, they included one showing the car with the hatchback open so that’s cool. According to the VIN, this Pacer has the 258 cubic-inch inline-six which had 100 horsepower. It runs perfectly and the car drives straight and they wouldn’t hesitate to drive it across the country right now. It sure looks great other than the mystery rust. That’ll double the current bid price and the reserve isn’t met at $3,000. How much would you pay for this Pacer?
I owned a 78 Pacer wagon with a 6 speed. Loved it. If this was closer, I would seriously bid after looking it over. Good luck!
Sorry, it was a 4 speed. If I remember. It was my wife’s ride.
I’m getting a sense of Deja vu looking at this Pacer ad.
Did they not use any bumper fillers on these cars? Looks like they just took the previous bumper and mounted them to shock absorbing mounts. Effective but cheap looking.
No, and probably a good thing they didn’t. Those bumper fillers disintegrate over the years–think of all the 70s-era Cads with either missing or broken bumper fillers. Some replacements are being made, but that’s an added expense, both for the parts and painting.
Well, the bid’s up to 3550 and the reserve still not met. I’m not going much over 4,000 with that rust crater in the drivers door! no telling where else it may be, or if there’re really floors left!
The left front fender has a big rust hole all the water has leaked out and Nemo’s friends have escaped
Very cool. Waiting for a tuner to slam it down, oversized wide tires, exaggerated wheel arches with WRX awd….
Is the old lady still around? Does she need more Bingo money?
Best looking bucket seats I have seen in a while.
The most inspired American car of the ’70s. And just like the most inspired car of the ’60s, the first (’66) Toronado was progressively ruined by gorping up the once perfect nose. I suppose it was necessary o n the Pacer to accommodate the V8 but it utterly ruined the purity of the car’s design as did wagon.
I agree. the 75 – 76 basic model looked the best.
Fish tank….bubble….snow globe….pop corn popper…I can’t remember the rest….
Terrarium.
Hemi!
luv da motor – but the waggy’s the one to buy. Get this’n trade?
perfect candidate for a Wayne’s World clone lol :)
This ad and the photos inspire me to drive up to Hubbell MI, but not for the Pacer.
Auction update: Sold, sold, sold at $4,550!
looking for a daily driver amc pacer coupe 75 to 80. how do i contact sellers? near or close to el centro, ca 500 mi o.k.