Let the spirit move you. Those like myself who are old enough to remember when AMC introduced the Spirit back in ’79 may recall that was the catch-phrase the company used on commercial jingles and advertising for their Gremlin replacement, or at least a restyled version with a new name as many parts were carried over from the ghoulie car like the platform and powerplants. But it was a fresh offering featuring some new lines outside, with nearly 200,000 of them finding homes during the car’s five-year run, so if you’re an American Motors fan looking for a nicely preserved example this 1980 Spirit liftback here on eBay may be worth checking out. It’s up in Burton, Michigan, where 20 bids have raised the price to four thousand dollars even so far.
The Spirit being offered here is the DL model which gave the buyer some upgraded trim items, although not quite as many as on the top-of-the-line Limited package. But it did get you bucket seats inside plus faux wood on the dash, steering wheel, and shifter knob. The inside of this one seems to be well preserved overall with new carpeting in place behind the rear seat, but the headliner is said to be in need of replacing.
We don’t find out whether or not that’s still the factory paint, but the seller assures us he thoroughly inspected the car from top to bottom and found no rust anywhere. The panels all seem to be in nice shape and the body presents well, with the white finish, trim, and even the decals seeming to all be in good condition. It’s also got a roof rack for extra hauling capacity, maybe not a whole lot but it does look kind of cool up there. There’s brand new tires all the way around and those slotted aluminum wheels aren’t very old either.
Under the hood is a 4-cylinder engine, maybe not the most spirited powerplant one could hope for but the bay appears to be in good order and there’s also a manual transmission to help make the driving more fun. We also get to see a couple of photos of the car lifted on a jack stand, which seems to confirm the seller’s claim that the undercarriage is solid. If the bidding doesn’t get too out of hand, I’m thinking this one seems like a well-preserved and fun little car for the money. What do you think?
It looks like an Iron Duke, but the emissions decal says 258 C.I.D. which is an AMC straight 6 displacement. AMC used the wrong decal. The Iron Duke is 151 C.I.D. Nice to see the stick shift.
It’s has the big fan shroud it’s a 4 the long shroud wouldn’t fit with the 6
Always had a soft spot for Amc products, with a bit of t.l.c this one could be a winner. Emission sticker says 258 and description says four banger and the air cleaner i.m.o says Iron Duke please correct.me if i’m wrong. Manual brakes and i don’t see power assist on the steering. This could be a fun week ender with minor work, it should find a new home quickly
his posted vin breaks out as a 258 w/ 4spd.
he just cant see the back 2.
nice looking ride. too bad i’m holding out for one in 4×4 dress.
those mags actually look ok there. they will look much better after hunting up some center caps.
or someone swapped engines
Another dead givaway, the 258 the carb and intake are on the drivers side, the iron duke the carbs are on the passenger side. I could be wrong here but someone went through a lot of trouble to do a very clean install of a smaller motor. Not to mention all the components that would have to be switched out because of the different engine. Thats an awful lot of work. Im leaning towards thebwrong sticker from AMC at the factory. Either way this is very clean no rust very nice interior, Id be happy to drive it and have fun with it.
Cool 😎 ride. Great colors, rwd, and a manual. Love the AMCs
My ’81 (black) had a 258/auto in it, my ’75 Gremlin (blue) had the 232/ 3 on the floor…wish I still had ’em!
They probably had a doaner car and swapped in the Iron Duke complete. I’m sure it was originally equipped with the 258″ online 6.
Don’t know what’s up with those headlights, but those and the wheels gotta go!
Beautiful looking car. Given its condition,, I’d pay between $5000 and $10,000
I hate to tell you all but this thing needs about 350hp under that hood and wide rear tires. I bet it’d be a blast on the track
Go nuts!
I actually like those wheels on it. To
I love a slot mag but they just seem a little too old school for this. A set of the fat AMX turbine alloys would really make this pop. Looks nice overall though. Would be an amusing nice weather runabout.
I love the grille of the 1980 and later AMC Spirit. It’s too bad it wasn’t used on the Eagle. I would’ve bet it would’ve made it way better looking.
I had 2 of these at different times in the ’90’s. Both had poor rear leaf springs that gave the car a nice look with the rear lower than the front. One need an engine oil pump. My 4 banger has so much torque I could ride around town all day in 3rd gear. Wish I new how to disable the smog stuff under the hood, I would probable still have it. Why is the chassis so far up over the wheels???
Mike
Nice little car that looks to be in great condition. AMC managed to keep this looking fresh even though we knew it was a recycled Gremlin. Have a friend whose sister had one in light blue with the same stripes. Neat little car.
I’d rather have the Gremlin!!
I miss AMC.
Oh, by 1980 the Asians kicked us in the nads, but good. This car, and I may get some flak, was our rendition of the Asian 2 door hatchbacks, like a Celica. Being extremely partial to Rambler/AMC, I dare say, it was a much nicer vehicle, cushy interiors, bullet proof motors, great heat/a/c, priced accordingly, good dealers,, yet failed miserably. Again, outside the midwest, AMC was a tough sell. Their loss, as I say it was one of the best cars made and for $4grand, see what I mean? I wonder if they’d trade a YJ Jeep for it?That’s right, you heard me, trade my beloved Jeep? Maybe, as much as I love the Jeep, I can’t take it on a long ride, and short back woods trips are torture, and an old fart from the Beer City would be right at home with this car.
hey howard a. that kenosha kadillak from a week or so back would treat those old bones even better. methinks you should be riding in the best of the best these days.
this one of the best i’ve seen of the spirit in a coons age though.