Love them or hate them, there’s no disputing the fact that AMC produced some of the most interesting and quirky cars to roll off any American production line. Nowhere is this more apparent than when you look at this 1974 Gremlin X. Its truncated rear leaves no doubt what you’re looking at, and it is a vehicle that has always tended to polarize opinions. After remaining largely unloved for years, they have developed a strong following. This car is in fantastic condition for its age, and it comes equipped with a host of options that increase its desirability. The time has come for it to find a new home, so the owner has listed it for sale here on eBay. The Gremlin is located in Lakeland, Florida, and while solid bidding has pushed the price to $18,800, this figure remains short of the reserve.
This Gremlin is finished in Snow White and features the distinctive Gold hockey-stick stripes that were an integral part of the X Package. This option brought some cosmetic enhancements but offered no performance improvements over the standard vehicle. The seller says that the previous owner told him that the Gremlin’s paint is almost all original. If this is the case, its condition is pretty impressive. There are no significant flaws or problems, while the Gold graphics are crisp and free from the deterioration that can be brought on by age or exposure to UV rays. The panels are wonderfully straight, and the gaps are among the most consistent that I’ve ever seen on a Gremlin. I can’t spot any evidence of rust in any of the usually-prone areas, and the seller doesn’t mention any issues in the listing. He says that it has always been garage-kept, and this has undoubtedly helped its cause. The chrome and trim look as impressive as the paint, while the wheels are free from stain and physical damage. The original owner ordered this Gremlin with tinted glass, and its condition is as impressive as the rest of the exterior.
If the exterior offered potential buyers spotless presentation, the engine bay ramps this up a notch or two. This has to rate as one of the cleanest engine bays that I’ve seen in any classic car of this age, and it does raise the question of whether it may have received some restoration work in the past. While the X Package offered no performance upgrades, the original owner of this Gremlin clearly wanted something out of the ordinary with his new car. Therefore, he ordered the vehicle with the 304ci V8, a 3-speed automatic transmission, power steering, and power brakes. Emission regulations had begun to strangle the American V8 by the time this classic rolled off the line, meaning that this 304 pumps out 150hp. With the automatic bolted behind the V8, this car should be capable of covering the ¼ mile in a neat 17 seconds. That is hardly muscle car territory, but that’s the sort of figure that was beginning to become commonplace in 1974. Unfortunately, the owner doesn’t drown us with information on how well this classic runs or drives, but the news should be pretty positive if appearances are any guide. Similarly, the listing indicates an odometer reading of 18,800 miles. Whether this is genuine or whether it has rolled over isn’t clear. Once again, if appearances are a guide, it could potentially represent genuine miles.
The owner supplies a fantastic selection of photos covering every aspect of this classic, and the interior shots continue the theme of the impressive presentation. The seats are upholstered in a combination of Brown and Tan, while the door trims and rear trims are in a contrasting shade of Off-White. There are no signs of any wear issues, and even the carpet and trim in the cargo area have avoided the type of physical damage and deterioration that can be so prevalent in these little gems. The rest of the carpet appears spotless, while the dash and plastic haven’t cracked or crumbled. The white-faced gauges look crystal clear, while an AM radio and factory air conditioning should make life on the road a pleasant experience.
If this 1974 Gremlin X is all that the seller claims, it is an astounding survivor. We’ve seen a few of these little classics over the years here at Barn Finds, and many of those cars scream for varying levels of TLC. This car would appear to need nothing, and there’s no doubt that it would turn heads wherever it goes. The bidding hasn’t hit the reserve yet, and I suspect it might need to go beyond $20,000 before this occurs. With the interest that it has already sparked, I think that is a genuine possibility. I can’t remember the last time I saw an original Gremlin that was as nice as this one. Can you?
18K and rising for a Gremlin with an unmet reserve! I must admit, it is a really nice Gremlin, but oh my gosh!!!
A looker for sure and in top condition apparently. Interesting cars from the period. I would keep the stock appearance and add a Holly EFI, electronic ignition, and add the usual ‘go fast’ pieces that could be kept mostly hidden. Retain all of the removed parts for a future buyer.
Sweet Little Ride. I don’t think they looked that clean new. My mom had a 304 in two different AMC’s. Both were slugs and gas hogs. Only thing I’d do is find a 390 and do a swap. I could drive it like it is but it would need a little rumble.
On a car this nice and original an engine swap would be a bit much. It would be a lot cheaper and easier to warm up that 304. A cam, some work on the heads opening up the ports and cleaning things up, along with electronic ignition and a better carburetor would make a world of difference… and it would still be numbers matching and look stock.
Dang, this is the nicest Gremlin I have seen since I almost bought one new back in 1971. They came with a 3 speed manual and the 304. I was thinking at the time it would have been a good starting point for an upgrade project. I’m glad the dealership was closed, though. I was better off in the long run with the Comet/302.
Nice little Gremlin, even has a/c and power steering and dual master cylinder. I just wish it had a manual transmission. I had a 74 Gremlin X with 258 and three on the floor. I loved that car and put a lot of miles on it.
God bless America
A kid in my school had a Perrywinkle blue `74 “Levi’s” edition with a 360 V8 in it. I witnessed 2 Corvettes lose to him in stop light drags. They were so ashamed, they took the back streets home!
A buddies dad had a green Gremlin here with I believe a 401 4spd. It would launch hard enough to jump the front tires over a pop bottle and bust the glass on the tickets. We call it the grasshopper
Tickets?
Rockers, damn phone. That car was pretty awesome
That is really nice. Yes that engine bay is cleaner than my 2017 truck…Beautiful interior. We had a 74 Hornet with a tan interior so that brings back memories…
Best looking X i’ve ever seen.Should see well and make next owner very happy.
Is it me or does the rear seat inserts look to be a different color then the front bucket seat inserts?? Seems the rear seat insert color matches the door panels closer then the front. That would start to raise questions—-
I’d say the front seats have been recovered. Not anything I’d call a major flaw or at odds with the description.
Yeah. It’s you.
Maybe the 304 was beginning to be EPA-strangled in ’74, but an easy fix would be the AMC 401 V8, literally a drop-in. And this car deserves it!
This is pretty cool, and for the record, I can say, very, VERY few were ordered this way. The Gremlin, even 4 years after introduction, was NOT, I repeat, NOT a car someone would “fancy up”. Gremlins attracted the lowest denominator in car buyers. Their only reason to buy one was they were frugal, and wanted the cheapest possible transportation, without going Pinto, Vega or foreign. If you look at this photo, maybe 1 “X”( the orange one) for maybe every 20 basic ones. It’s a great find, for sure, we cranked out a LOT of Gremlins,,,just not like this.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/449797081509265551/
Adam assumes all cars were special orders . I’d bet less than 2% of Gremlins were ever special ordered , same goes for Pintos Vegas, etc..
Very nice surviving example. I always had a soft spot for these quirky cars, my parents had 2 of them at various times. One in dark green w/ tan interior and the other was a light metallic blue w/ blue interior, back when cars had more colorful interiors.
Its very nice and worth more just as it sits. No engine swaps need apply here!
$21,100 and reserve not met?? I have always liked these, but never been in one.
If I bought this I’d pull out the 304 and put it away for any future owner. Then I’d drop in a 401 without a wild cam to give it away, swap out the rear end for maybe a 9″ with a 3.50 or so gear with a limited-slip/locker and add a heavy-duty modern radiator. I’d also keep those stock wheels for a real sleeper.
I’ve owned maybe a half a dozen back in the early nineties when one could pick them up cheap. The straight six was the engine of choice . Never forget buying one for $400 bucks had to redo the heads cleaned it up sold it for 2000. guy who brought it drove around town for 20 or so more yrs! He’d honk whenever he saw me, he loved that car. Te six put out as much as the 304’s a perfect city car, they always came with plaid interiors usually muster colored yellowish * brown plaid. When 1st came out I hated the car, but when I became used car dealer, I feel in love with ease of working on them verse any other car of the era.
That’s a very sharp car, but I don’t recall Gremlins with V8s having those V8 emblems on the front fenders. Not exactly stock, if the memory isn’t playing tricks again.
You’re right, they look like Mustang II emblems , and I would hope they were stuck on and not drilled . the car has been restored , the engine is not painted the right color and the front seats have been redone, so a buyer will really want to go over this car well before paying . I still miss my Gremlin that was totalled in 1979 by a stupid kid in a Coronet wagon delivering car parts.
FYI, only about 42000 over the whole model ( 7 years) run were 304’s. I have a Mellow Yellow one equipped the same way.
I agree a beautiful car and mostly well done. I would like to point out that the engine is the wrong color. There were 2 available. Most in a turquoise blue and if produced in California the engine was red.
I love this ad. Very cool marketing idea.
I never saw a Gremlin look this good when they were new in the 70s. I was a kid and when our neighbour bought one my Dad mocked him ruthlessly. Easy to do when our Gran Torino Sport has a 428 Cobra Jet I guess. I have to admit I really like this one. Sorry Dad!
Sorry Sam that’s just not true. I had one in 76 came with the 3 speed manual. Did carb , headers, cam and a borg warner 4 speed , they are so light with some m&h slicks in ran the low 12’s pretty bad ass. And i believe if i would have did a port and polish i think it would have gotten in the 11’s.
In 1977 I bought a purple 1973 Gremlin X with the 5 liter V8, primarily because it was available from a relative for a good price, and I was a poor college kid. It was actually a pretty luxurious ride, for a Gremlin. The interior looked mostly like the one pictured here, but believe my bucket seats were all vinyl (black).
The down side – besides the ribbing from my 18-22 year old friends for driving a purple Gremlin, lol – was that it seemed like EVERYTHING rattled on that car; about drove me crazy thinking something else was breaking on it. Got a shot at a 1974 Celica in 1978, so only had the purple G for a year.
That is a kool ad! Wen I was 13-14yrs old, A guy across the street from us bought his wife a brand new Gremlin,stripped down,Silver…. but it had the 304 w/3 speed std trans.
He bought factory White Gremlin X stripe pkg,his brother an auto painter at a lincoln mercury dealer helped put em on. A new set of Crager SS wheels & Wht Letter Parnelli Jones SS tires & it was a pretty kool lookin car! Not as kool as the guy down the streets New Javelin/AMX 401ci & it was Silver also,along wit the ones the Alabama Hwy Patrol used then,
Silver & Blue with the 1 Round Blue Lite on the roof. Too Bad AM Motors folded,curious to see wat theyd be puting out for us now