American Motors was always the underdog. But that didn’t stop them from coming up with unusual or different cars. One of them was the AMX, a 2-seat, shortened version of the Javelin that could tear up some asphalt. Unfortunately, the AMX eventually would become a performance option on the Javelin and lose much of its identity. This 1973 AMC Javelin is an odd combination of packages offered that year: not only is it an AMX, but it’s also an AMX with a Pierre Cardin interior. And there’s a Mark Donohoe signature on the taillight panel that I thought was limited to the 1970 models. Off the road for at least 20 years, the car is a mess but can be found in Grayslake, Illinois (way north of Chicago), and available here on eBay with a Buy It Now price of $4,200. The seller may not be confident in that figure, so he’s also opened up the Make Offer function.
By 1973, the AMC Javelin was on the downhill slide and the model would wrap up production the following year. Pony car/muscle car sales weren’t what they used to be, partly due to market saturation and changing tastes. AMC sold 30,902 Javelins that year, of which 5,707 were the AMX edition. To help perk up interest in the Javelin, AMC offered the Pierre Cardin trim package as an option for 1972-73. 4,152 cars came equipped that way, but we can’t find the split by year or how many were on the Javelin AMX. The Cardin design had multi-colored pleated stripes in red, plum, white, and silver on a black background. Six multi-colored stripes, in nylon fabric with a stain-resistant silicone finish, ran from the front seats, up the doors, onto the headliner, and down to the rear seats.
The AMX/Pierre Cardin combination makes the seller’s 1973 Javelin AMX a rare car. We’re told it’s been sitting for more than 20 years and it looks as though those years were terribly unkind. Another rarity is that it came out of the factory with a white-on-white pairing, i.e. white vinyl top over white paint. The vinyl is long gone and the paint’s not far behind. The seller tells us that rust won that part of the battle as the floors and quarter panels will need repair or replacement. We hope the interior is salvageable because we assume duplicating the Pierre Cardin motif would not be easy. The “rally” dashboard and steering wheel have been trashed, so we don’t know what’s with that.
The car comes with the AMC 360 cubic inch engine with 4-barrel carburetion and “functional cowl ram air without air cleaner”. Maybe I’m missing something, but I don’t see anything under and including the hood itself that looks like ram air induction. There’s no indication if this 88,000-mile car has even run in the past 20 years or what caused it to go into storage. 3,153 AMX’s had a 360 V-8 that year or more than half of AMX production for 1973.
Trans-Am racer Mark Donohue had some success in the Javelin/AMX and they named an edition after him for 1970. He’s the one that advised AMC to make the AMX’s grille flush for improved airflow, thus it received a stainless steel mesh screen over the standard opening. In 1971-72, AMC won back-to-back SCCA championships with specially-prepared cars, prompting AMC to offer a limited run of “Trans-Am Victory” editions on ‘73 Javelins. That package was available on any Javelin SST, except with the Cardin interior. Which creates some confusion for yours truly. I thought the Donohue Javelin was just in 1970, and yet his signature is on the back of this Javelin AMX which has the Pierre Cardin package that the Trans-Am Victory edition wasn’t supposed to come with. And Donohue wasn’t the driver that won the two championships. Can any reader shed any light on this?
So, what is this car really worth? $4,200 as the seller wants or maybe something more. A recent ad on the net had a primo ’73 AMX Pierre Cardin with 401 V-8 that was going for $40,000. What will it take to restore this one back to the days of old? If it was an ordinary Javelin, I wouldn’t do it. But this one is probably one of only a handful still around. Thanks, Planet Houston AMX, for the production information and Cardin Javelin for details about ole Pierre. BTW, the last picture above is of what the interior should have looked like new.
After viewing those first four pictures my computer reverted back to Windows 95
These low-rez pics are useful in that it only proves that the car exists.
Hate to say it. This is a parts car. Anything can be fixed but one would need a few other fairly complete cars to make this wrong a right.
Looks like a Mark Donohue stick on decal was added; IIRC the originals were on the spoiler.
You are correct on the spoiler mounted M-D sticker (not available in ’73) on the spoiler. Also, the “victory” stickers were placed on the front fenders behind the wheel well.
The Pierre Cardin interior was weird and ugly then, and it is now. Red, white, plum, and silver? Yecch. The seller is probably confusing cowl induction with ram air. Since air piles up at the bottom of the windshield as the car moves forward, it is denser so Detroit claimed that an air intake there would create more power. It didn’t, but they sold not only cowl induction hoods, but fake cowl induction hoods. This was the rage in the early 70s, primarily from GM. It was every bit as useful as hidden windshield wipers. Remember them?
Finding a Mark Donahue signature sticker on an AMX with a vinyl roof? Is sacrilegious!! It needed a 401 to run from all the laughter! But I did have a friend who I met at Ft Dix N.J., when I was in Advanced Individual Training, that was a Sgt in the unit, that also happened to be from my home town in Central Falls, R.I. That had a 1971, AMX 390/4 brl 4 speed, with a high 3:08 Posi rear, that was great on the highway! Back when the speed limit on the Turnpike was 70 mph, it would cruise at 1,900 rpm at 70, but really jump at the downshift to third and hit 110 in a very quick manner! He invited me to go home on every weekend for those two months! Double dating with his hot girlfriend and her hotter sister! I remember splitting the gas money on the trips, that were 275 miles one way, that we could do on 5-6 tank fills, depending if we went to the beach or not. But gas was only $.30/gal for Sunoco 260! So to go through 100-120 gals was nothing! But man could that car run!
I had a 69 Javelin Mark Donohue with a spoiler and all of the trim. It had a 390 with automatic transmission. Punch the gas at 70 mph and two black streaks would appear on the road. I kept two bags of concrete in the trunk to keep from spinning the wheels when taking off from a stop
I had a 69 Javelin Mark Donohue with a spoiler and all of the trim. It had a 390 with automatic transmission. Punch the gas at 70 mph and two black streaks would appear on the road. I kept two bags of concrete in the trunk to keep from spinning the wheels when taking off from a stop
Parts car dreamer
This car an unfortunate rats nest. Maybe 42 dollars in parts.
Don’t get me wrong, the Javelin is one of my favorite cars. Gorgeous lines, those shapely fenders, the roofline. But this one is just too much work for most. It doesn’t have the 401, the interior needs gutted, and going just by looks, I bet everything mechanical needs to be gone over. And I get that it’s a special edition, but good luck restoring the things that made it that way, or finding the bits to replace it and keep it true to its roots.
I’d be okay if it needed some paint, a new vinyl top, maybe some engine brake work and the interior retained the “special edition” bits. But a special edition that is near impossible to restore to factory? Anyone who gets this would likely end up just turning it into a regular Javelin interiorwise. I couldn’t deal with that, because I’m a stickler.
My good friend had this car in prime condition back in 89 . His won a large in door event held in Toronto Canada called Motion and took home all kinds of goodies . I went to buy the car off him one night and made the deal but was involved in a bad motorcycle crash on the way home . Unfortunately his sister ended up with and since then the car was stolen and is still be searched for . The Pierre Cardin interior is the best wicked cool interesting interior I have ever laid eyes on . Wanting his car made me a AMC fan and I have owned a few AMX,s and looked at a few more . Mark Donohue stickers were not put on these Javelins so that’s a add on and this car would need a great welder and Bodyman to get it right as for the interior you will never ever replace that to 100 percent there are used pieces around but they are always damaged or faded . This car is actually for sale by a different guy in great shape and he is asking for $40,000 with a 401 automatic but that’s a lot for a car that’s not everyone’s cup of tea . You either think it’s cool or you think it’s ugly no real in between . I also like the 71-72 Plymouth Satellites ,RoadRunner ,GTX,s but there just stupidly priced now .