In decoding the VIN on this colorful 1977 AMC Hornet D/L sedan, it turns out that it was made in the company’s Brampton, Ontario, Canada plant rather than in Kenosha, Wisconsin, as we usually think of when we think of American Motors. The seller has this Firecracker Red beauty listed here on eBay in York, Pennsylvania and the current bid price is $4,301, but the reserve isn’t met yet.
This car really hits me in the gut, and, in a rare instance, in the heart. I have been close to buying AMC cars over the last few years but never made the leap. Now that it’s mid-winter and we have four #$%! feet of snow on the ground, this isn’t a good time to be buying cars and shipping them halfway across the country. As much as I’d love to grab this one, I’m going to have to hope to find another one in the spring. There appears to be a bit of faded or worn paint on the hood as shown in the photos, unless those are shadows or clouds being reflected. The combination of the Firecracker Red paint and white vinyl top is perfect for this era.
American Motors Corp made the Hornet beginning in 1969 for the 1970 model year and they continued production until this example was made in 1977. After that, they tweaked and massaged them a bit and created the more-luxurious Concord, a smoother, quieter, and arguably better car. But, there’s something about a simple Hornet for me, yes, even one with – gasp! – four doors! The humanity! This example looks absolutely outstanding and the seller says that it has a mere 21,000 miles on it, and is wearing “most” of its original paint. A two-door sedan would be much rarer to find, especially in this condition. AMC made 31,331 four-door sedans but only 6,076 two-door sedans.
As if the Firecracker Red paint isn’t eye-catching enough, once you open the doors at the first cars-and-coffee event where you drive this car and a crowd starts gathering, you’ll be the star of the show. Or rather, the car will be. That red Veracruz fabric on the reclining front seats is to die for, it simply doesn’t get better than that. The trunk looks like a time capsule, just about as perfect as a person can expect after 46 years. This car has a three-speed Chrysler-sourced TorqueFlite automatic with a column shifter. An automatic floor shifter was available on the wagon and hatchback, but not the sedan.
The back seat looks perfect, if not even nicer than the front. The interior looks basically brand new other than one tiny, hopefully-correctable/adjustable issue, and that’s the glove box door, which appears to be a little out of adjustment. If that’s all I can find to pick at, that’s pretty impressive. I don’t think there’s a question whether this is a 21,363-mile car (as shown on the odometer) after looking at this perfect, flawless interior and the details of the door sills. The seller has uploaded a lot of great photos, including several underside photos.
The engine and engine compartment even show what appears to be an ultra-low-mile car. This engine is AMC’s 258-cu.in. OHV inline-six, which would have been factory-rated at 114 horsepower and 192 lb-ft of torque when new. This car is basically loaded (is that an oxymoron?), with features, including power steering brakes, power steering, and factory air-conditioning. Have any of you seen a nicer original Hornet in the last few years? And, how about that interior?!
The authors headline “Nicest one left”, is always a clue to another one of his great writeups. I’ll be the son of a foul mouthed carpenter, what a beauty! It’s clear, people today wouldn’t know a great car even if it ran them over. In the late 70s, AMC went all out, and by rights, was the best bang for the buck in compacts. Very popular in the midwest, like Studebakers, but sadly, not many made it to rust free areas, thus sealing their fate. This is obviously the exception, $4grand is the SECOND joke of February. If nobody has bought this yet, it only confirms, we’re in worse shape than I thought. Great find, LOSERS!!!
She’s a beaut, eh, Howard? Sadly, Conrad A (below) shows a craigslist ad for this same car and they want $12,900, ouch.
Wow! Somebody’s grandma took great care of her Hornet!
I think that’s white paint on the roof, not white vinyl.
I think you’re right, CCF! Thanks for shaking the cobwebs out of my brain.
I really like the AMC of this era. I have a AMC Eagle and love everything about it. Mine is an ‘86 and has 38,xxx actual miles.
While this one is certainly nice, I don’t think this 1977 Hornet four-door is as nice as this one that was featured on Barn Finds back in 2015.
https://barnfinds.com/sun-orange-survivor-1977-amc-hornet-dl/
How do I know? I shot all but one of the photos in the above ad. I can’t believe it’s more than seven years ago. The guy who bought the Orange Hornet got the deal of the century.
Coincidentally, I saw this listed on the York Pennsylvania Craigslist a couple of days ago for $12,900. So the bidding will have to go a lot higher if someone wants to own this car. Regardless, it’s just beautiful. Anyone who has always wanted a Hornet would be hard pressed to find one in better condition than this one, both inside and out, if ever..
https://york.craigslist.org/ctd/d/york-1977-amc-hornet/7583440000.html
Given the low miles and the condition, it should bring over $10k based on my experiences with AMC transactions in the past.
IIRC, one of the differences between Hornet & Concord was that Concord had optional ‘lectric windows.
Wow. My Mom had a 74 that we learned to drive on. This is amazing. They rusted bad, so this must have been in a museum.
Aw, Where are those cool pointy hubcaps that looked like stingers?!?
I am always skeptical of low mileage claims but the photos prove the Hornet is in excellent cosmetic shape. The red color and interior looks great and the equipment is nice. A 304 AMC V8 would have made it even sweeter; guess you can’t have everything. The Hornet 4 door has the ideal compact boxy shape (like the Nova) to be space efficient inside but an easy size to park and garage in today’s shrunken world. Definitely a great Barn Find!
Mom bought a new 1977 Hornet 4 door just prior to me turning 16. It was a special ordered model down from this, but I considered that to be good thing. No A/C or PS to weigh it down. But included the radial tire upgrade which included some rather beefy (for factory) sway bars. The smaller 232 CID straight 6 had a fairly nice cam that resulted in (relatively speaking) nice power in the higher rpms. Well built solid car. Eventually did rust on top of front fenders but not anywhere else (about 8 years of Ohio winters). I always regarded it a a much better car than the 1972 Nova we had at the same time.
Auction update: this one ended at $5,295 and no sale.
Beautiful car. I love that it has a straight six engine, rather than a V8 engine. Unless you’re towing a caravan or you’re trying to outrun the cops, you don’t need a V8 engine. I love the price. Assuming everything works, one could easily just get in, turn the key and drive! :)
1st time i seen an air pump on an AMC motor – can i assume this was only for original California registered AMC’s back in the day, for both 6s & V8s?
Could you get aux gages & tach with the 6? Maybe not.