The AMC Pacer was one of those quirky cars that you either liked or not – there doesn’t seem to be much middle ground. In production from 1975 to 1980, the Pacer was unorthodox in appearance and that may have been because it was designed from the inside out. It was as wide as any full-size car of the era and boasted more than an average amount of glass. This 1978 D/L edition had been running recently, but a fuel delivery problem has surfaced. And there’s no title to be found. Located in Findlay, Ohio, this “Flying Fishbowl” (as they were sometimes called) is available here on Facebook Marketplace for $2,500. Thanks for the tip, Barn Finder Ted!
The Pacer was another of AMC’s odd-duck styling efforts of the 1970s (other examples include the Gremlin and the ginormous 2-door Matadors). That likely contributed to anemic sales in the car’s latter years. The 1978 models only mustered production of 21,231 units of which 88% came with a six-cylinder engine. That puts the seller’s edition in somewhat rare territory as just 2,514 copies came with the 304 cubic inch V8.
The seller provides only two photos of this vehicle, before and after it was washed. The third photo is of what we think the interior might look like (the photo is borrowed here). Though it looks to have been sitting for a while, the seller says this Pacer wagon is very solid. Once you fix the fuel problem, we’re told it should run, drive, and stop properly. The Pacer sports new tires and a fairly recent battery. There is some rust to be dealt with, principally on the driver’s side floorboard. The condition of the interior is rated as “fair” (a real photo would have been nice).
What a chick magnet!!
LOL, yup, Dump that old Cadillac convertible or new Mustang or Camaro…….lol…..lol
If you have a puppy in the passenger seat.
I couldn’t imagine anything more attractive than a pacer but I forgot about the wagon! These things looked like a Citroen engineer slapped it together!
Thanks for posting my “find” and seeing a great little write up, Russ! I didn’t realize that this particular model was a bit rare in production. One of the past Pacer findings on BF generated many comments. A number of readers stating they would be interested in buying a Pacer. The listing price seems like a great deal. Yes, the style is not for everyone, but it was and still is worth a long look! Regards, Ted
RARE does not always mean DESIRABLE!
Worth a look. Somewhat rare with the 304 V8. More photos would have been nice. Not a big fan of the Pacer with it’s odd styling, yet they have a following even outside of “Wayne’s World”.
Could be a nice find. Fix the fuel leak and the driver’s side floor and drive it to events, Church and such. It’ll attract some attention, people are going to wonder what it is. People will pay more attention to it than your neighbor’s Camry.
Hideous and slow … what more could you ask for?
This guy saw past the kitsch of the car and decided that this particular 1978 Pacer would be the band geek that became famous for kicking the quarterback’s ass and taking his girl while he was at it. I’ve never cared for the fishbowl until I saw this car. I know that there are a few badass Pacers out there but this one looks like it wants to fight everyone in the room. The 401 is as sanitary as can be, and that entire engine compartment looks spotless. That 401 is hooked to a Borg-Warner five-speed manual transmission, too, because why not.
T5 trans will not last long behind a 401
Nice!
I’d drive this!
Now that’s officially the most badass pacer I’ve ever seen! Yeah, with that drive train, I’d drive it too! Very nice upgrade to a typically pitiful, ugly little car… I distinctly remember my dad test driving one of those, it was the wagon like the seller in this post is offering, except it was tan over faux wood grain. I well remember how goofy that car looked, Mom didn’t even want to ride in it, but Dad persisted so she hunkered way down in her seat and scowled the whole trip. I also remember that, from my perspective as a kid, how much cooler the car was inside than out. That was before the days of mandatory seat belts for everyone, so I had that huge back compartment all to myself, and I remember thinking how it was like a big sunroom, I could see everything from in there! I loved the panorama, and it seemed to be a comfy enough ride, didn’t have any power though. But then we returned it and I had to get out, giving me another long look at the car’s lines and lumps.. I don’t think Dad was too impressed with it, cuz he didn’t buy it, thank God. Now had it been that black one in your post brother Cooter, I think it might have gone another way! Nice find! Notsomuch with the one for sale though, sorry, glwts!
Same!😍
No title no deal for me.I know some states are easy mine is a complete nightmare. Seller should apply for a lost title first before selling it imo.The only cars I’ve ever bought w/o titles were parts cars that finally got cut up and junked.If it had a title I think it’s a neat little car being a v8 and a wagon though and the price seems fair.
I like the way he took the second photo at an angle and under a roof so as to hide all the missing clear coat seen in picture one. A driver’s side floorboard needing to be replaced indicates more serious rust to be found despite his claim of minimal rust. I like Pacers they seem like nightmares to do work on, especially the straight 6’s. AMC certainly was a quirky company.
I bought a 1950 Hudson in 1991 and driver and passenger floorboards were replaced due to rust. But the only other rust was on the rocker panels that were easily replaced with NOS panels. A friend of my mechanic made the new floorboards in his garage shop for not much money. So rusted out floorboards don’t always signal bigger problems with rust.
Ohio= oh my in the rust department.
I’ve always thought you could make a cool pickup out of the estate version like this..anyone done that yet? I actually think Pacers are cool…but, there again I like Berkeleys , Things, Mokes and Citroens!
There was a pickup conversion kit available when the car was in production. It was a fiberglass tub that was installed after removing the back of the roof. I don’t remember if it was for wagons only or both body styles. Spending some google time may provide more info.
A local AMC dealer had a raw kit laying out behind the building for many years until it went out of business and then everything from the building was scrapped.
Extra ugly. Even if you tint the windows and go to autozone and put limited edition stick on on it. Not going to change still a pacer….
Beauty is only skin deep…..but ugly goes down to the bone…
Now THAT’S a Pacer that I would LOVE to get nasty with in the streets!
I think the latter ones like this with more conventional grille are a lot “less” ugly. Also the wagons look but than the sedans. In my opinion. Be a great car to force your teenage daughter to drive 🤣
I did just that very thing after she totaled her mother’s car.
Everybody bashes the power on these as being slugs. Well pretty much everything during this era was a slug. The time of 135-140 HP V8’s. Even the Camaro and Mustang and Corvette were pathetic power wise when these were made. Honestly the power of the AMC 258 6 cylinder in these was as good as any 6 made during the time as was the 304. Unique, strangely styled cars worth look to anyone looking for an economical collectible you can drive without worry of destroying your investment. GLWTS !