I love seeing non-1970s muscle cars restored to like-new condition. ’70s muscle cars get all the love when it comes to throwing $100 bills at a restoration, but a car like this 1978 AMC Concord D/L with a factory 4-Speed and AC is fun to see restored. It’s posted here on craigslist in Amarillo, Texas, and they’re asking $14,500. Here is the original listing, and thanks to Tony P. for the tip!
In case you’re suffering from a major case of Déjà vu, yes, you have seen this car before here on Barn Finds back at the end of December 2018, written up by master craftsman Adam Clarke. It had color-keyed wheel covers (much nicer, in my opinion), and it was located in beautiful Tucson, Arizona, but had about the same asking price as it does now, over seven years later. There aren’t many restored AMC Concords with a factory 4-speed transmission.
I’m not sure where the other wheel covers went. AMC had some fantastic color-keyed wheel covers in its day, and they were standard on this car. That’s a bummer. The elephant in the room is, why would anyone “restore” an AMC Concord? Maybe a family connection? Knowing a 4-speed car with power steering and AC is rare, so maybe that’s why? Who knows, but I’m glad they did. The Landau vinyl top is great for this era, and it looks as perfect as everything else does.
AMC made the Hornet evolution, the Concord, from 1977 for the 1978 model year until the end of 1983, and I have to believe that this car, being spec’d as it is, makes it super unique and worthy of a restoration. You can see how nice this car is from the photos, and by looking at the different photos in Adam’s article. The seller is very light on photos, so we have to just picture how nice everything else is that isn’t shown, like the trunk, the back seat, the underside, etc. The steering wheel cover is a big bummer for me. I know they’re sometimes used to fatten up the wheel so it’s easier to grip, but dang, on a restored car?
The engine looks as close to factory fresh as possible, at least for how clean and shiny it is. I don’t know if every single fastener is #1 Concours perfect, but it sure looks nice. The 232 six was standard, and, thankfully, due to the last comment on Adam’s article from 2018, the person who bought it confirms this is the 232-cu.in. OHV inline-six! Whew, lucked out there. The 232 had 90 horsepower and 168 lb-ft of torque when new. Power is sent through the 4-speed manual to the rear wheels. The seller says they bought this car from the seller in Tucson, drove it to Amarillo, and it worked perfectly. Here’s his comment from March 13, 2020:
“I have purchased this car two weeks ago. It is as great as shown in the pictures. I drove in from Tucson to the Texas Panhandle. The car drives great! The cover on the radio was removed, no cutting had been done and now looks stock. Car is a 232 with only power being the steering… I did not pay the asking price… I think I got a good deal…”
Any thoughts on this restored AMC Concord?
It’s nice to see a “regular” everyday car from the 70’s restored, or preserved. I like the fact this one is a factory 4 speed. I saw the old listing Scotty posted and I agree with him, the body colored wheel covers look nice on these. But the hub caps and trim rings look good too. Maybe the original body colored wheel covers are still with it? Either way, neat find Tony P. And thanks for the write up too Scotty.
Looks nice. Unusual to have a four-speed. Looked better with the color-keyed wheel covers. Very skimpy ad, the car deserves better. I wonder if brown cars will ever make a comeback.
Thanks SG.
Nice 👍 find Primo. Good write up Scotty!
It always makes me smile to see someone preserving a car like this. Such a rare find. Anyone can have a muscle car, but this is really cool
Another vehicle that needs its colored wheel covers back. The ’80 Toronado XSC also cries out for it. I never thought I would see two within two days LOL
Cool car. I think the price is extremely optimistic. Realistically, it is about a $5,000 car. I would be glad to own it for that price. beyond that, you would be burning cash, because this is one of those cars where you would drive it a couple of years and then sell it.