American performance cars can be broken into two basic groups, muscle car and pony cars. These two groups shared some traits, but for the most part, they didn’t mingle. Shortly after joining the pony car war, AMC decided it was time to try to bridge that gap. To be a Pony car their car would have to handle well in the curves, but like a muscle car it also had to offer blistering straight line performance. The car that AMC ended up building was called the AMX and it wasn’t the best at either things, but did both well enough to be a mean machine. This 1969 AMC has been in storage since 1990, but is now cleaned up, back on the road, and listed for sale here on eBay. Thanks goes to Jim S for the tip!
The seller claims that they discovered this AMX in the second owner’s garage in Colorado. The first owner purchased it in Richmond, Virginia, but by 1970 it was living in the Texas and Colorado areas. They claim it is a rust free car, which is completely possible if the car was stored indoors and never driven in the snow. It is currently in Parker, Colorado.
When AMC introduced the AMX, the brand was struggling to make a new image for itself. They wanted to be perceived as a more youthful and interesting company, so the AMX project was created to develop a two seat sports car that could keep up with the best the Big Three had to offer. When it hit the market, it was quite popular with the press, who called it one of the best cars to ever come from the company. It could keep up with most sports cars at the track and the 425 pounds of torque created by the 390 V8 gave it the kind of acceleration the muscle car crowd was used to. It really was a potent combo; add in the Go Package and you had one of the meanest track and street cars America had to offer.
Speaking of the Go Package, this car was optioned with it. The package included a heavy duty suspension, upgraded brakes, Twin Grip differential, heavy duty cooling system, and a number of other improvements. The seller claims everything is still in place and original. Even the paint is believed to be original! They have cleaned it up since pulling it out of the barn and it looks great in the photos. It shows some patina and there are a few spots that could use some attention.
I’ve always been a fan of the Javelin and the AMX. You don’t see either very often and when you do they stand out from everything else on the road. I would love to have this AMX, what isn’t there to love about a Bittersweet Orange AMX with a 390 and a four-speed? It could use a little attention, but for the most part it is ready to be driven and enjoyed. I think it would make for a great daily driver that could occasionally be taken to the track or drag strip!
I’m feeling that urge to go to the bank & clean out my bank account again………………lol
Words do not describe how badly I want this car!
My grandpa Chuck Mashigan was the one whom designed the AMX as Director of Advanced Styling at AMC.
This is a dead ringer for my first AMX that I owned in high school.
Watch this one.It will crack 20k.Buried away someplace in some Vintage Racing books I have good articles on these and Javelins.One of the biggest mistakes I’ve ever made?Had a chance to buy a 390 SC/Rambler from the dealership my wife worked at in New Mexico when I came home from Vietnam in the late 60s.Could of,should of.
These cars are a lot of fun, and most were driven hard! This looks to be a decent survivor, but look closely at the R door, he even mentions the slight damage.
That said, these are appreciating, and this might be a terrific deal.
BTW, anyone notice the other car in the garage shot? Looks like a ’68 Camaro to me…
Man, I wish i could pick up a nice Javelin, same year, prefer the extra seats. either way it ain’t happening, they are out of my reach $-wise, at least right now. Sweet car though!
The AMX had a lot to offer besides good looks; it was a performer as well. Trouble was, in my hometown, there was such a stigma to owning anything AMC. Call it an AMX and some idiot in the local coffee shop would call it a damn Rambler. It was a tough sell. If I was in the market, I sure wouldn’t turn this one down.
Very nice find. And in an uncommon color to boot. Always admired these; when I was but a dinky DDM, my neighbors brother was working on his in his brothers garage. He was having a time of it trying different cams. I would watch him burn the tires for 100 feet or more, downhill and not on the brakes. Mighty impressionable on a 13 year old.
Great GTX and great presentation. Talk about cleaning up really well.
This deserves to confirm Clay’s prediction that it will break $20K.
Please advice me , as a non-american , what the diff is between a Pony car and a Muscle Car .
A muscle car is somewhat a small car with a big engine, the 1964 Pontiac GTO is considered by many as the start of muscle cars (begin debate). A Pony car is a Ford Mustang, and many other brands of cars that were made to compete with the Mustang, most notably a Chevy Camaro. They can be considered one and the same for cetain cars.
Thanks
I was 13 in high school. A neighbor was a mechanic at the Porsche+Audi dealer and bought a brand new 390 cu in AMX. He blew up the motor at least 3 or 4 times power shifting it. Had my first 100+ mph ride in it. He said he was doing 140 mph but nowadays I find it hard to believe. Maybe an overly optimistic speedometer. It left a memory on me though
when i was working as a brake and front end mechanic at the local firestone store i had the privilage to drive some pretty cool cars. one of the coolest was an amx just like this one. it was brand new and the owner wanted to put in the very at the time popular monroe load leveler shocks. when i was done checking the front end alignment i had this place i would test drive the cars to see if i did a good job or a real good job. the owner gave me the ok to take it on my test trcack which included a straight line ,some road course and other things to check the handling of the car. this amx was a beast and proved to be one of the best cars i ever drove. two weeks later the guy came in with a new ford mustang . when i asked about the amx he said he could not make a corner and wrapped it around a tree.. i did the samething to the mustang but it just didn’t hold a candle to the amx.
I never was an AMC fan, but that thing is beautiful.
Oh man, I have always had a really soft spot for these cars. And this one is really nice.
I won’t be too far out on a limb here in predicting that it will reach 30K, not just 20; already at 22. And, I’ll bet that the seller’s reserve is 5K higher than my guess for bids!
That is a great looking AMX. My favorite year is a 70 with the blister hood scoop ram air option along with the Mark Donohue Javelins. I have a 73 AMX Javelin with Pierre Cardin interior but keep thinking about selling it to get a 70 AMX.
The auction ended at $22,000 with 38 bids, but the reserve was not met.
Sold to Sweden.
I noted earlier that I used to load my overdue wife in the car and drive her back and forth on Hampton VA roads. Didn’t take long for daughter #1 to appear. Not long after, I let my dad drive. He was an excellent driver, but our back-road ride seemed to have a bit of verve in it. He noted it felt like 35 on the speedometer was a bit low. Looking over I calmly told him he was looking at the tach, and 115 was wayyyy too fast for the next turn. That was the only time I ever saw him embarrassed. Better that than a corpse~