When the subcompact car challenge was launched by U.S. automakers in 1970, there were three new contenders: the Chevy Vega, Ford Pinto, and the AMC Gremlin. The first two were all-new cars, while the latter was a rework of another new AMC product, the Hornet. American Motors didn’t have the same deep pockets as the others, so this approach would have to suffice. And it did for the next eight years. This ’74 Gremlin has the “X” trim edition and looks to be in really great original condition. The odometer reading might be an honest 25,000 miles. From Hayden in Idaho, this time capsule is available here on craigslist for $24,500.
The Hornet replaced the American in 1970 as AMC’s entry in the compact car field. And just as they had done to create the AMX from the Javelin a couple of years earlier, they took 12 inches out of the wheelbase of the Hornet, added a sharp drop-off at the hatchback, and called it Gremlin. It was sort of a subcompact, at least how it was marketed, and it was the only product in that class to have a six-cylinder engine as standard (so it wasn’t quite as fuel efficient as the Vega and Pinto with four-bangers). But from 1970 to 1978, AMC pushed more than 671,000 Gremlins out the doors in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and also in Canada and Mexico.
Even though the appearance of the Gremlin either turned buyers on or off, AMC added the “X” package in 1971 to woo younger buyers. The Gremlin X came with a larger engine (and a V8 would come along later), wider tires and fancier wheels, (optional) bucket seats borrowed from the Javelin pony car, and all sorts of stripes and badging. The seller’s 1974 “X” is wearing its factory Mellow Yellow paint which looks to be in mighty good shape for being nearly 50 years old. The seller says there is no rust on the car but admits there’s a 2% chance you might find some.
The interior is just as nice as the exterior, with an upholstery pattern that is all 1970s. The little car even has factory air conditioning which works as it should. An inline-6 is under the hood, likely the 258 cubic inch edition, and is paired with an automatic transmission. If the mileage is accurate, this could well be one of the least-used Gremlins left on the planet. It’s a super nice car, but is a 49-year-old Gremlin worth nearly $25,000? That’s up to the buying public.
671,000 Gremlins! I would say for AMC that was a success for a genetically modified hornet. This car is located close by to where I live. I think I want to let a customer I know about this. He used to have a 72. This would make a good addition to his 69 AMX and his 78 Mercury Bobcat wagon. No disrespect to this car or the seller but I think it’s worth half of his asking price.
I think you’re right. NO AMC Gremlin is worth what he’s asking. I see maybe $12K at most. If it were one of the rare 304 or 360 V8’s perhaps, but not the blah 258 six. It’s clean, I’ll give it that, but an unrealistic starting price.
I bought a new 1970 Gremlin with a three on the tree. Worst car I’ve ever owned. It was so nose-heavy that any quick movement of the steering would send it into a dangerous wig-wag with no warning. The back end was so light, you could get stuck on a wet hill with the wheel spin. I got rid of it as soon as I could.
This car is a joke. Most do not know what they are looking at so let me fill you in. This Gremlin is a hodgepodge of parts. To be clear it is NOT a factory X package.
The car is a 74. The stripes are 1976 specific. The black paint on the hood is is incorrect. The wheels are 78 Concord AMX. The car is NOT an X package from the factory. Dead giveaway is the split bench seats which are improperly recovered and missing Gremlin X tag on the glovebox. No X in the grille. The Gremlin would have silver faced gauges. Two gauges. The above came from a Hornet. Black faced gauges are incorrect for a 74 Gremlin. I would guess the original miles are long un established.
Lots going on with the engine. It has the incorrect vintage valvecover. I am inclined to think the motor has been swapped from a Jeep or later AMC product. The centerfill oil cap wasn’t done till much later. Not sure the need of a chrome open element air filter. Must be an addition from a 16 year old kid.
This car has been posted all over the place including ebay. The asking price is quite humorous. The sad reality is someone may pay up and look quite an idiot.
The nicest one never left the factory. LOL
WOW! Coming from my hometown, I’ve seen a LOT of Gremlins. I don’t think they were this nice coming out the door in Kenosha. The author missed the introduction date, as April Fools Day, 1970. Despite beating everyone to the small car game, the Gremlin was never taken seriously. They were graduation gifts nobody really wanted, prizes in a radio contest, or the car that got them to college to prepare for a better job/car. The Gremlin was a joke, by all accounts, and while it was okay to see some dainty gal in one, macho men wouldn’t be seen in one, except of course, Brian Ambrosini, the wheelie king, in a modified Gremlin. The “X” package sucked a lot of folks in, and for good reason, it was a sharp looking car. Trouble was, as mentioned before, the Gremlin was dated and far better imports were around, and only a few bought Gremlins, and the Spirit was a more logical car for the masses. I’m surprised it still has the original gas cap. Those always “went missing”. Great find,,and if $50 worth of groceries barely fit in one bag now, I suppose $25 grand, in their minds, seems justifiable. In laypersons terms, they’re nuts.
I always enjoy posting this picture. The feature car here is the 32nd one on the bottom,,:)
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/45387908721363264/
“The Gremlin was a joke, by all accounts”.
Howard you may encounter some disagreement with that comment, including from me.
Back in the day, although I never owned one, friends and family did, and they enjoyed those cars as did I.
As you know, I agree with you wholeheartedly.
It wasn’t a very good car but it wasn’t a joke. I had one; and as an urban runabout, one-occupant, maybe my work duffle or a sack of groceries…it was fine. Way too light in the rear end for spirited driving or snow – it was 70/30 weight distribution. A four would have helped that, but AMC was 14 years late in developing a good four-cylinder (the Audi castoff design was NOT good, and the Pontiac Iron Knave wasn’t worth its weight at the smelter).
A good four, as they DID make eventually, would have made Jeeps and Gremlins more saleable and helped them with the two future fuel-panics.
Other problems: Parts-bin engineering. What killed mine was failure of the three-speed manual – which by the time mine was built, was only used by AMC (Warner Gear product). No replacements, and no parts supplies.
No help for it, so off to the boneyard. AMC didn’t understand what the small Japanese companies learned, quiickly: SUPPORT MATTERS.
Howard, disagree with some of your statements. I certainly would have taken one for a graduation gift or radio prize. You don’t care for them, others do, so they weren’t a joke. 791K says they weren’t.
🎯 as usual Howard.
You know,,sigh, I am SO sick and tired of you people taking my comments out of context, and then ripping on me for false info. Let me shout, maybe then you’ll get it..
I NEVER SAID I DIDN’T LIKE THE GREMLIN, NOR DID I SAY I PERSONALLY THOUGHT IT WAS A JOKE,,( calming down, don’t take my BP now, doc),,,,,was you there, Charlie? Now, pay attention, PLEASE, I loved Rambler/AMC, regardless of what they made, my life revolved around cars during those very informative years, say, 9-15, where “our” cars were the best. We were continually ripped on, kind of like me here, for liking them. In case you WEREN’T there, by most accounts, to the rest of the world, the Gremlin was a joke. I’m sorry. To the world, it looked odd, had dated mechanicals, and wasn’t a Ford/Chevy. To many, they were novelty items,( gifts, prizes) at best. I don’t recall many DREAMING of having a Gremlin. Personally, I loved the Gremlin, more specifically the Hornet, kind of the “Falcon” of AMC, so please, stop making me out as someone I’m not, eh?
When I sold my 1977 gremlin, it was completely original and only had 22,000 miles on it. There was a bidding war on eBay and it got up to $23,750. And then got shipped to new Queensland Australia. There are people out there that will pay that money for an original car
You are absolutely correct but this car is neither all original and the seller makes no mention of backing up the low mileage with documentation.
I looked at the pictures and I didn’t see any thing that was obviously not original to the car. The distributor cap looked like it might be an aftermarket electronic unit but other than that nothing stuck out to me. What did you see that was not original? I’ll be surprised if it doesn’t sell at that price.
It looks like it might have been painted. The engine compartment looks better than what the factory did. The air cleaner and distributor have been changed.
This a nice car in great condition. The paint is not original. I owned a 74 Gremlin X with the 304 V-8 (ordered it new from the factory). The stripe in 74 was just the hockey stick stripe without the additional horizontal stripe beyond the hockey stick shape. That stripe came a year or two later.
Great looking Gremmy, but at that price I have a couple nit-picks. One, those are 1977 or newer wheels and the valve cover is from the ’80s. Does it have a newer engine as well?
Just opinions and everyone has one. Junk is said about the Mustang 2 but those who like them don’t really care.
I remember growing up and seeing them on the road. I went up to a owner of one and ask… ” Where is the rest of the car?!” 😂 Later in the years was a local car show saw one in blue. Under the hood was a 401! Wow! Talking about flying! Then saw a different Gremlin X in red with a 401 and blower on top talking about nose heavy. The owner added sand bags in the back over tires area for weight. Crazy times but fun times! This one is super clean and today economy the seller price is right good luck to him or her…🐻🇺🇸
Nice looking Gremlin! These were really not bad cars with the right options as long as you didn’t need to carry adult-size passengers in the back.
It looks like it’s had a Hornet instrument cluster installed. No passenger side mirror (that was an option.) Looking under the hood, a GM HEI distributor has been installed in place of the troublesome Prestolite setup. Master cylinder looks like it’s for manual drum brakes. Hopefully this car has power steering, manual steering was a sloooow 6 turns lock-to-lock.
Seems like a crack pipe asking price but I must admit if I had that much money burning a hole in my pocket I’d much rather have this than a Corolla.
I drove a Gremlin X for years, mine was minus an AC, so when I moved from a cold climate to a warm climate, I sold it to a co-worker for $600 bucks. I never had any mechanical issues with it, at all. I would swap out all fluid levels and tune it up myself, it was easy to work on.
Midget ambulance. Just needs a blue an red light..decals..
guy I worked with bought a gremlin new. The back seat was an option which he declined. Just a molded plastic tub back there.
Maybe if it were one of the super rare Randall XR401 cars the asking price might be realistic. It’s a nice looking Gremlin X to be sure, the X Package really made these things pop, however it is a 4.2 Liter 258 cu.in. car. Not a bad package but not exactly a real big draw.
Good luck on your sale.
Interesting. My 74 X has a machine turned instrument cluster trim. Wondering if AMC ran out of it, early model or removed. The VIN would tell the 74 production date.
Also, the “Mellow Yellow “ is a bit off. The other yellow was called “ Daisy “.
It looks like someone painted the whole dashboard tan ; there should be a
machine turned cluster, and Gremlin X on the glovebox. Even if AMC had run out of turned clusters, then cluster would have been black, not tan
Had a brand new “X” back in ’73. Ordered the 304 and added a 4 barrel, headers with duals and electronic ignition after I got it home. Went out and had fun toying with Camaros and Mustangs. Sure had some surprised people when they caught me at the next stop light. $25 grand? Nah!
I had a friend who had a early ’70s Gremlin X. It was white with a black stripe. Had the 304 small block with an automatic. Had a small cam and a shift kit in the transmission and would spin the tires through first barking the second and even bark into third. Man that car was a blast to drive and boy was it fast. I would take that car in a heartbeat. This one on the other hand like everyone else said I don’t believe it’s worth the asking price but it still is a very nice car. One thing everybody hasn’t said anything about is I don’t think they ever came with a chrome air cleaner. Just an observation.
I bought a 74 Gremlin X in the Seattle area in 1980. It was green in an out. I put a new clutch in it and drove that car through nine states over the Rocky mountains pulling a 8’x5′ closed trailer loaded with my tools and other junk. It was a 258 with three speed on the floor. At one point in Texas I added power steering and power brakes from a donor Hornet at a junk yard. It was a great car that had plenty of power and delivered great gas mileage.
God Bless America
It’s got A/C and if i had to pick from this car or a Pryus or Yarus car I would pick this AMC Gremlin all day long just because I could fit & it’s American made , as my dad used to say enjoy your import car now try to eat it! People who didn’t grow up around Detroit probably don’t feel that way but when your hometown is just south of Toledo Ohio your pick of vehicle brand was noticed & loyalties were something observed because you might be taking food out of your family or friends mouths. I know now days people have no idea what I’m talking about but during 60s, 70s & 80s this brand loyalty was real & for a reason other than something frivolous.
The parents of a friend in high school bought him a 1963 Rambler as his first car. On his way to college classes one morning in 1972 he rear-ended a 1969 Mercury Cougar. The damage to the Cougar was a broken backup light lens. The Rambler was totaled.
Que his second car his parents bought him….. 1972 AMC Gremlin. At the time I was driving my convertible land yachts, and to me at least, the Gremlin was a cute novelty. He moved to Florida and eventually traded the Gremlin in for a Pacer.
Need I say more?
My 74 Gremlin was rear ended by a early 70s Riviera. The Riv was towed from the scene, serious front end damage. My Gremlin had a very small dent in the rear bumper.
BrianT, I personally witnessed you putting the above referenced Gremlin through many challenges, many adventures during those years. And it never let us down.
My 1974 Gremlin was rear ended by a 1971 Dodge Polara wagon when I was stopped making a left hand turn back in 1979 .The front of the Dodge had serious damage even taking out the radiator, but my Gremlin was toast – from the gas cap over – the rt quarter panel buckled so badly that the rear glass popped up as the latch pulled out, and the tops of both front seats were bent backwards from the impact (my buddy was in the passenger seat) . Being 17 I thought I was ok after the accident , but man was my neck sore for the rest of that week !
Don, it could have been much worse – if you were in a Pinto!
Love it! I l’m one of those weird people who liked Gremlin’s when they were new and still do.
I’d like this one even better if it had a stick.
A six cylinder with an automatic transmission…to quote the classic movie Used Cars…$24,500…”that’s too F’n high!”
The original Gremlin dashboard had only two pods, otherwise it was the same as the Hornet dashboard which had three. The photograph of this Gremlin has three pods. Was that changed by the owner, or am I mistaken in thinking that Gremlins never had a three pod dashboard from the factory?
Good catch, Eric. Apparently, it seems the 3 pod was “X” specific, as a clock or tachometer could be ordered. I have seen images of “X”s with 2 pods, however.
I had a 73 Gremlin X that I traded in for a 76 Chevy Monza piece of crap. Biggest mistake I ever made with cars. I asked the dealer if I could get my Gremlin back. They refused.
I owned a ’73 Gremlin X, that was technically my first car. Bought it for $300 in the same condition as this one, from the original owner who bought it when he got out of the Navy. Sadly, I ran it into a fenceline, as new drivers sometimes do… and then sold it to a friend after I got it roadworthy again. Still to this day, looking for that car to buy it back. Slow, handled terribly, but there was something about it that was fun, and made me smile.
This car is a joke. Most do not know what they are looking at so let me fill you in. This Gremlin is a hodgepodge of parts. To be clear it is NOT a factory X package.
The car is a 74. The stripes are 1976 specific. The black paint on the hood is is incorrect. The wheels are 78 Concord AMX. The car is NOT an X package from the factory. Dead giveaway is the split bench seats which are improperly recovered and missing Gremlin X tag on the glovebox. No X in the grille. The Gremlin would have silver faced gauges. Two gauges. The above came from a Hornet. Black faced gauges are incorrect for a 74 Gremlin. I would guess the original miles are long un established.
Lots going on with the engine. It has the incorrect vintage valvecover. I am inclined to think the motor has been swapped from a Jeep or later AMC product. The centerfill oil cap wasn’t done till much later. Not sure the need of a chrome open element air filter. Must be an addition from a 16 year old kid.
This car has been posted all over the place including ebay. The asking price is quite humorous. The sad reality is someone may pay up and look quite an idiot.
I just noticed the “unleaded fuel only “ on the dash gauges. That would be a 75,or is that a Cailforia thing. My 74 owners manual says that it will take either fuel, but not on the gauges. Interesting. Something is different about this one.
Are we all sure that this left the factory as a 74? My vin starts with A4A4 not A4A5. The stripe is not the year only “hockey stick “. The door tag , mine is 7446-5 for the year and body, hummm. Great car, I just wish that I could see the rest of the numbers.
Could you get a factory tach & aux gages with the 6 cyl?
Considering this is a sub compact, the Gremlin may still actually have a longer hood than a “modern” Camaro & Challenger!
the black out exterior trim is not stock. I always hated the dashboard design in these and the Hornets of this era. It didn’t get much prettier when this caterpillar transformed into a Concord, Spirit, or Eagle. Nice car none the less. My Grandpa bought my aunt a brand new 70 as a gift for graduating collage. Total stripper. Back hatch was fixed, no back seat, and rubber floors. 6 pot with a 3 speed manual. No radio, no a/c, no power steering or brakes. I think it did have a heater, oh, such luxury! My Aunt Debbie loved that little looks challenged car for 15 years. It had around 170k when the Gremlins took over the Gremlin. Main Gremlin for it was Kansas rust. Damm road salt. She still talks about that car!
You didn’t need road salt to rust out cars back then – just rain water – most cars slowly leaked water from the windshield into the car under the carpet soaking the backing & staying damp. & water got in the trunk from the back window & got under the trunk or hatch mat. Most people didn’t realize the water was in either of those places until it was too late & the floors & trunks were rusty with big holes. lol
& if you parked under a tree, junk that driopped down went into the cowl vents & prevented water from draining out at the bottom of the fenders, rusting the lower fenders from the inside out.
As for the dash, you would hate the 2nd gen camaro even more than the Gremlin where not only did the sport steering wheel block some of the gages, but the HVAC controls were moved to the LEFT of the driver! WHY!! The Firebird was not like that! Even worse, some big Fords back then moved the radio to the upper LEFT of the dash! also to the left of the steering wheel. Some of these stupid designs made for some very cranky passengers, unable to adjust radio &/ or heat/cold. lol
You would not like trading in a boxy ’69 falcon for a ’70 maverick to find the latter switched to a hood prop rod, an under dash pull lever for the emerg brake & HVAC controls also to the left of the driver, while the homely Falcon had a hood that stayed up by itself, foot operated parking brake, & HVAC controls where they belong!
Looking at the Gremlin’s dash, it passes MY requirements!