I’ve always been one who often enjoys rooting for the underdogs, so growing up during the seventies in a neighborhood with an AMC dealership nearby probably helped influence this at a young age. Learning to drive on a stick-shift Gremlin likely didn’t hurt either, increasing my appreciation for American Motors Corporation offerings, and even to this day I still get excited when a survivor such as this 1978 Concord DL here on eBay shows up in the marketplace. This one’s at Classic Auto Mall in Morgantown, Pennsylvania, and it’s a beauty, with the current bid of $10,200 not enough to lift the reserve. If you’ve got to own it right now, immediate gratification is possible, as there’s also the opportunity to buy it now for $21,901.
This first-year Concord is the top-of-the-line DL model, and by period standards, it’s a pretty elegant coupe. However, more important to this particular car is that the seller claims it’s all original, with the two-tone paint and vinyl roof still looking amazing for how many seasons have passed since they were applied at the factory. Considering how well the outside is preserved here, it’s not surprising to learn this compact has seen such little use, as only 9.318 miles of pavement have been covered during the past 46 years.
The freshness continues inside, with the interior said to consist of all the original components as well, with those vinyl seats still presenting much like they would have when this Concord was new. Plastic wood dash coverings were a popular feature in the late seventies, and this one is adorned with plenty, but the gauges, pad, and just about everything else in here remain in fine condition. This Concord is also equipped with factory air conditioning, and an AM/FM radio, plus that cool quartz LED clock is a fairly high-tech timepiece for an AMC from this period.
A 232 cubic-inch inline 6 was the standard powerplant, with this one having the optional slightly larger 258 displacement. It would have been fun to find the 304 V8 under the hood of this DL, but I’m fine with the six here having such low mileage and an unmolested engine compartment. The seller says the motor runs beautifully and the automatic transmission shifts smoothly, so hopefully, this one needs little more than the next owner continuing the same level of care it’s gotten for nearly the last five decades. What are your thoughts on this 1978 AMC Concord D/L, and what’s a reasonable price to pay for such a well-preserved example?
Nice one, Mike! What a beauty. I have a weird question for the AMC experts out there: were power windows ever an option for the Concord? They were in the Eagle series but I don’t see them listed in brochures as an option for the Concord.
Power windows were available on the Concord starting in 1980.
I doubt we can dispute the mileage on this one. One can clearly see the difference. 9K is still unusual, for whatever reason, it’s the real deal. Now as far as interest,,,two( 2) viewers, and $20 grand is surely dreaming. Heck $10 grand is dreaming, but I suppose for a car in this condition, and considering what’s out there, I could understand. The Concord was yet another in the long line of successful cars based off the old Hornet. They were great cars, probably made up for most AMC sales, and soldiered on until ’84, when the Eagle Premier came out, and the eventual slide to the Alliance. I’d venture to say, the Concord was the last great AMC car made.
The “2 viewers” being me and Scotty.
Well Howard. If you’d like….. I can go on Ebay and hit the watch button and we can make it 3…. But seriously, this has got to be the nicest Concord coupe Ive ever seen. I have no doubt about the mileage claim either. Hope it gets preserved.
I just watched Adam talking bout this and showing it on Rare Classic Cars & Automotive History on youtube 2 hours ago :P It’s a beauty that needs to be driven daily,storing cars for posterity annoys me..lol
In October 1977, I bought as my first new car as a 22-year-old teacher, a very similar car to this except that it had the 304 V-8 instead of the 258 straight six. I threw some Group 19 parts at it that included a 4bbl carb, making it for its time, a very quick car.
With a ski rack, it took me on many ski trips to New England until replaced two years later with one of the very first 1980 Eagles to roll off the assembly line. (Does anyone here know that car’s connection to the 1964 Ford GT Mk 1?) While not a great car, it was a good car that with the exception of the Eagle that followed, it was the last real AMC-built car. I know. I’ve owned more than 20 AMCs in the years since my first, a red/white bucket-seat 1965 Rambler American 440H two-door hardtop.
All that being said, if it was more reasonably priced, I would make a run at it.
I bought one of these in 1999, just before I graduated high school. It was a hatchback with a 304, buckets and a center console with the extra gauges under the dash. It had the sport steering wheel and the 5 spoke wheels like this one. It didn’t have much rust and the seats were in great condition. I put a set of Firestone Firehawk SS10 tires on it (letters out, of course.) It would do smoky burnouts better than anything I’ve ever had. My sister ran it into a stopped Jeep Cherokee at 25 MPH, she was wearing a seatbelt and walked away without a scratch (nobody got hurt) but the car was toast. I still have a piece of the grille with the marker lamp and AMC logo hanging inside my garage today. I really miss that car.