Rebuilt Engine: 1980 AMC Spirit AMX

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Practicality can see many enthusiasts abandon a project build, which is the case with this 1980 AMC Spirit AMX. It was a father/son build, but with a new baby on the way, the son feels it needs to make way for a vehicle allowing easy rear seat access. It is unfinished, but the seller achieved his first goal of ensuring the car is mechanically healthy. It falls to its new owner to complete the work required to return its panels and paint to their former glory. The Spirit is listed here on eBay in Spokane, Washington. The seller set their auction to open at $7,000 but has received no bids.

AMC introduced the Spirit as its replacement for the Gremlin. While it utilized the previous model’s underpinnings and many drivetrain components, the styling was nowhere near as radical or polarizing as its predecessor’s. The Spirit remained in showrooms until 1983, and although sales figures were lower than the company hoped for, 71,032 people gave a Spirit a new home in 1980. This car is the AMX version, following the company’s policy that car’s wearing that badge should have sporting credentials. However, budgetary constraints and tightening emission regulations limited many of the changes to cosmetic enhancements and trim upgrades. The AMX derivative made a bold statement in any color, and this car would have done so when its original Cardinal Red paint was at its sparkling best. It is pretty tired now, the decals show marked deterioration, and the panels carry a collection of bumps and bruises. There is plenty of good news for those considering pursuing this gem further. The exterior imperfections could be addressed without panel replacement, and an enthusiastic amateur could tackle many in their home workshop. With a fresh coat of paint laid onto the panels, spending $500 on a readily available decal kit would return the exterior to its former glory. I haven’t mentioned rust to this point, and that is for a good reason; There isn’t any. The exterior shows no problems, with the underside shots confirming this Spirit is as solid as the day the original owner took delivery. The glass is in good order, and the wheels and tires are recent addition that adds a touch of aggression to the exterior.

The best word to describe this Spirit’s interior is probably serviceable. It won’t score the new owner any show trophies in its current form, but they could take their time sourcing parts to recapture its lost youth. The shopping list will include new front seatcovers, replacement carpet for the rear of the folding back seats, and a few small hard-trim items and control knobs. I undertook a brief online search for these items but had no luck. The next owner might strike gold with more time and patience. The dash and pad are free from trouble, the door trims look respectable, and the carpet is new. It isn’t weighed down with luxury features, but the factory tach and AM radio are both welcome touches.

This Spirit’s exterior may be no oil painting, so we need to delve below the surface to identify its greatest attributes. Apart from the rust-free status, its engine and four-speed manual transmission have less than 10,000 miles on the clock since receiving a rebuild. The process included installing a NOS clutch kit, a new two-barrel carburetor, a new intake, and a high-performance camshaft. The 258ci six would have produced 110hp when it rolled off the line, but there’s a good chance this motor unleashes a few extra ponies. If that’s the case, it should have no trouble improving upon the factory’s claimed 17.9-second ¼-mile ET. The list doesn’t end there because the seller added a new exhaust manifold, new brakes, a comprehensive collection of polyurethane bushes in the suspension and anti-roll bars, new shocks, and new front wheel bearings. He aimed to ensure the car was mechanically sound and achieved that goal. Potential buyers should consider it a turnkey proposition that they can drive and enjoy immediately.

Project candidates that can be driven and enjoyed immediately are always attractive, which should be true of the 1980 AMC Spirit AMX. Its healthy drivetrain and lack of rust mean a new owner could take their time to address its shortcomings without worrying that corrosion will consume its metal. I am surprised it has received no bids because it should fall within what many would consider the affordable category. Time remains on the auction, so the situation could change at any moment. Are you tempted to pursue this classic further?

Auctions Ending Soon

Comments

  1. Grant

    I know this is off topic (Nice car BTW), but has anyone else noticed how slow this site has gotten? Seems to taker forever to load.

    Like 6
    • Melton Mooney

      Haaaaaddddn’ttt Noooootttticccceddd.

      Like 12
      • Grant

        I really think it is the site. I have fast fiber internet and all other sites are fine. The advertising seems to load great, though. Puzzling.

        Like 5
    • Karl

      They called THIS an AMX, nope I don’t think so!

      Like 4
      • Neil R Norris

        “Return it to its former glory” … BWAH HAH HAH

        Like 0
    • PRA4SNW

      Rather than blaming the Barn Find’s web hosting service, you can run a simple test that will show you where the bottleneck is.

      Just jump out to a DOS prompt and type tracert http://www.barnfinds.com. This will show you all of the hops it takes to go from your home router to Barn Find’s provider. If you see any timeouts, or times in the 300ms range, you are experiencing lag along the route.

      For an easier, more visual way to do it, visit https://traceroute-online.com/ and type in http://www.barnfinds.com.

      I don’t see any slowness with this website, but it looks like the site is hosted in NY, so I’m only coming from NH.

      Like 1
    • BlackTa

      I haven’t noticed any probl

      Like 0
  2. JustPassinThru

    The owner missed a fantastic opportunity, to put a Jeep 4.0 with fuel injection, in there. No additional weight, and double the horsepower.

    Or, to take it another direction, use a Jeep 2.5 four (engine block derived from the six that’s in there) again, with FI, and have a power increase and a lot of weight off the front.

    Just a couple of ways to make a significant, but boring, car a bit more fun to drive.

    Like 12
    • Frozenbird

      You are correct, I have a ’84 Scrambler that was born with the 4.2L 258ci 110hp engine but now has a ’95 Jeep 4.0L FI 190hp and wow what a difference. Easily keeps up to modern traffic and the A/C compressor, rolls along the highway nicely.

      Like 8
    • John Schmitt

      Why not a 401???

      Like 0
    • John

      I would think the idea here is keeping all original which makes the car worth more money. Once you go butchering the value goes down. It might seem like a cool idea but cool ideas do not Grant cool cash

      Like 0
  3. Melton Mooney

    II CARinthians 20.12 – “and the lowered sayeth… “Into a sporty, striped, and spoilered American sedan, no 6 banger shall be put”.

    Mercy on the sinners.

    Like 18
  4. Mike

    I can see someone taking this and turning it into some crazy high-tech rally car. It’s got a very euro rally car look to it.

    Like 6
  5. eric22t

    i’m with justpassinthru… upated family powertain and have fun driving this nice little ride. and work on reviving or redoing the exterior. its not a bad price point in today’s market. i still holding out for a selec-trac version to do it to. i know where there is a stash of cherokee donors.

    Like 2
  6. David

    When I was in high school 30 years ago, a girl got one of these in this same color and decal scheme, as a hand-me-down first car from her parents. It was totally reliable. Everyone thought it made her look dirt poor.

    Still, the car changed hands many times among first-time drivers at my school, usually finding a new home for $200-500 or so depending on how much more money had to be invested.

    It finally died circa 1998 last I knew.

    One of those somewhat quirky designs that nobody saw coming as a collectible classic.

    Like 1
  7. BA

    Is that fast twitch fiber or slow twitch fiber optic? I have slow twitch fiber trust me!

    Like 3
    • Grant

      500mbs up and down. As said, all other sites seem fine to me. No one else seems to notice, so maybe I am wrong. Every dozen years or so I do get something wrong, and I am about due.

      Like 3
      • Howard A Howard AMember

        Hi Grant, it’s the ads. As a member, I don’t have a problem, save for I have to “log in” after every early access post, a small price to pay( and nominal membership fee) to not see those ads.

        Like 1
  8. Frank Drackman

    would look better without the decals.

    Like 3
    • scottymac

      They called that the Spirit GT.

      Like 1
  9. Stan StanMember

    Howard ? 🎤

    Like 3
    • Howard A Howard AMember

      Love the emoticons, I pretty much spilled on the one that was stored, one can just tell by the comments, what time period they hail from. While partial, by 1980, just about every car maker gave up on sporty cars, and AMC had the chutzpah to keep the “Spirit” alive with this. Of course it wasn’t an original AMX, and all that stood for, but there was merit to disguising seemingly mundane cars with still catchy names and it sold cars. Trouble is, today, you’d stick out like a sore thumb with this, and seems it’s better to drive a black or gray SUV to stay OUT of the limelight.
      To Big C,,I’m not ashamed of anything AMC made, and I know of some 6 cylinders that put some V8s on the trailer,,,

      Like 0
  10. Big C

    Poor AMC. Their last gasp at the AMX name, went down in shame. A straight six, does not a performance car make.

    Like 4
    • JustPassinThru

      No? Have you forgotten the Datsun 240Z? Or the whole series of 1980s BMWs with in-line sixes.

      Or even the Pontiac GTO of 1966-68, with an OHC six.

      That was why I said it was THIS six, this version of the six, that wasn’t appropriate. It was overweight, nearly 600 pounds, and underpowered, for all the crude emissions systems.

      It wasn’t really to create a performance car, but to move a few more Spirits. The Spirit had actually increased the sale of the renamed, facelifted Gremlin platform, but by 1980, rumors were abounding (which turned out true) that AMC was leaving the passenger-car market. Which it did, two years later – only 4wd vehicles would bear the AMC name, without Renault.

      Few people wanted an orphan car. Which as it turned out, was a prudent fear – Iacocca’s Chrysler deliberately scrapped millions of dollars of NOS parts, upon takeover. Only parts shared with Jeep were retained.

      Like 4
      • Big C

        Any good running V-8 could outrun the Datsun and the Poncho. Ask me how I know. And the Bimmer’s were 6 cylinders that were fast, but out of reach of someone that was looking at an AMX, back in the day.

        Like 4
  11. TheOldRanger

    I have a slow computer at times (living in the hills) but this site loads just fine… no problems. As far as this car is concerned, not my style and I was never fond of AMC

    Like 3
  12. Car Nut Tacoma

    Lovely looking car. Compared to the standard Spirit, I find this the best looking car. From 1981 to later, AMC improved the front end appearance of the Spirit.

    Like 3
  13. Craig hansen

    My friend had one these crashed his 71 matador into a phone poll! Took the 330 HP 401 out mated it to a t22 4 speed even added the matador spindles beat a yenko Camaro in it franken car lived only 2 days before he rolled it on the interstate after leaving a sports bar been sitting in a cow field 30 yrs lol!

    Like 4
  14. Steve Clinton

    No opening bids at $7,000.00? Good luck with your reserve!
    I love AMC, but not this one.

    Like 4
  15. Jim

    The beige and yellow under the hood REALLY lowers the eye appeal on this one. What were they thinking?

    Like 6
  16. RMac

    Justpassin
    There was never a 6 cyl GTO
    The OHC 6 Pontiac was available in the tempest and firebird but GTO were all 389 the 400 or 455 then later 350 v/8 never a 6
    This AMC would be cool with a 4.0 or v8 in it with that 4 speed

    Like 7
  17. JoeNYWF64

    It makes no sense calling this (with grandma’s strait 6) an AMX.
    AMX’s should have gotten only 360 4bbl V8s.
    It’s like if chevy offered its strait 6 in a Z28, or if plymouth offfered the slant 6 in a Cuda.

    Like 6
    • JustPassinThru

      There was no 1980 EPA certification for the 360 in any AMC passenger car.

      The 360 V8 was only used in the J-Series trucks (later renamed SJ series). The Wagoneer and J-10/J-20.

      I don’t think the 360 was ever put into a Hornet/Gremlin chassis. The 289 and 304 were, years earlier, but I don’t know if the block and dimensions were the same.

      But EPA testing/certification was and is expensive. So…they used the biggest engine that they had EPA certification for, in that model, and this is what it was.

      Like 3
  18. Bob19116

    Well, with the govenment’s war against gas powered cars it’s probably only a matter of time before we are back to $6.00 a gallon and up gas. Maybe then sporty cars with smaller engines may surge in value while those with big V-8’s may become hanger queens. The AMC 258cid/ 4.2L is no slouch, among the biggest six’s around, close to the displacement of small V-8s. As stated by others, the 4.0L newer fuel injected Jeep version of that same engine can be bolted right in.

    Like 2
    • Andy G

      I think you’re right, big displacement is being phased out. However, thanks in part to government pressures we now have high horsepower V-8s that do better than 20mpg, and as an added bonus they don’t smell like exhaust

      Like 4
  19. John L Nichols

    Kind of off topic. AMC has consistently put out vehicles that are different to the point of distraction. There was a kid in my highschool who drove a Gremlin, with the V8 that his father had tricked out, 4 speed. Kids bashed it especially since the kid put weird graphics on it. He got challenged to a drag and stomped the competition. The same could be done with this car but as someone mentioned the select track would be the best way to go. I’ve always had a soft spot for these cars, sometimes quirky is better. Problem is you standout to the cops if you go crazy.

    Like 1

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