The AMC Pacer is one of those cars that certainly seems to polarize most people. Because I’m different, I have a foot in either camp. I like them because the styling was such a brave move for a company like AMC that was operating on the smell of an oily rag. What I hate is the fact that the very lack of budget never allowed the Pacer to be the car that it really deserved to be. This particular car is going to require some major work, and while it might not be for everyone, you can be certain that somewhere out there is a Pacer devotee who will be willing to take it on. I have to take the opportunity to thank Barn Finder Pat L for spotting this one for us. Located in Hesperia, California, the owner has set a price of $800 for the Pacer. You will find it listed for sale here on Craigslist.
The amount of glass in a Pacer is huge, accounting for something like 37% of the entire external surface area of the car. This car has a few rust issues, mainly in the passenger side door and the quarter panel on the same side. There are a few trim pieces either missing or damaged, so replacement parts will need to be sourced. Thankfully, all of that glass appears to be present and in good condition.
The interior looks quite tired, and some trim pieces have become the victim of UV light that all of that glass admits. There is some work to do, but it does seem that trim and parts for the Pacer are reasonably plentiful. Of course, there is another path for this car that I am considering, and if someone follows it, then the way that the car is finished inside could finish up being vastly different to the way that the car looked when new…but I’ll get to that shortly.
Under the hood is what I believe to be the standard 232ci straight-six, which is backed by an automatic transmission, while the car is also fitted with power steering and power brakes. The owner gives no indications as to the general health of the mechanical components, but with a few different caps and covers missing, there is every chance that foreign objects have found their way in. As so many people know, this was not the engine that the Pacer was originally designed for. Many people lament the fact that the Pacer never received the Wankel rotary engine that was originally planned for the car, but I don’t believe that the fitment of a rotary engine would have made a lot of difference. With the overall weight of the car, the lack of torque from a rotary would have had a massive impact on performance.
So, what to do with this Pacer? There’s no doubt that if the underside of the car is solid, then it could be restored. However, I think that you would be spending considerably more money doing that than the car is worth. My idea is to turn it into a rat rod. It certainly has the look to pull it off, and while we have seen quite a few VW Bugs transformed, how often have we seen a Pacer. There is room to shoe-horn a V8 under the hood (as AMC did), but a good V6 would make the car less nose-heavy unless you could source an all alloy V8. It might sound far fetched, but you have to admit, it certainly would be different.
One of the best cars I’ve seen on Barnfinds
My husband and I had a red fishbowl, back in the day we loved it. Could do a 360 in the middle of the street. We got it when we first got married 40 years ago. I am a widow now, thanks for the memories.
Won’t somebody save the “fish bowl” for future generations to behold,,,or mock, either way, one of the most talked about cars in history.
Out there on the internet, you can find it… Someone took one of these pacers and stuffed a 500 CID Cadillac V8 in it.
Didn’t think you could fit a V8 in these “early” Pacers. Don’t you have to change out the grill and hood to get the engine in there?
Carl Green Enterprises managed to fit a 401 V8 along with the original type hood and grill.
I’ve read that although AMC publicly stated they made the changes to fit the V8, the real reason was that they were desperate to find ways to sell Pacers after sales tanked and they thought the new hood and grill made the car look more mainstream. (I’d like a hit off whatever those folks were smoking when they made that decision! :) )
Do what I call a “mild restomod”. Dropbin SA Jeep-sourced 4.0 and accompanying transmission, retrofit disc brakes all around, keep everything else looking as stock as possible (heavy as legally allowed window tinting). Rig the horn to play a few chords from Bohemian Rhapsody.
Do what I call a “mild restomod”. Dropbin a Jeep-sourced 4.0 and accompanying transmission, retrofit disc brakes all around, keep everything else looking as stock as possible (heavy as legally allowed window tinting). Rig the horn to play a few chords from Bohemian Rhapsody.
It would have been cool if AMC offered these in 4-wheel drive like the Eagles.
AMC had a number of Pacer mockups and prototypes, looking for more ways to make use of the platform. A 4×4 Pacer-based Jeep was one of the proposals – obviously that never made it to production. (There were photos in an edition of Hemmings Classic Car some time ago.)
For 4-wheel drive the Pacer’s front suspension would have to be redesigned because the springs are on the lower control arms, leaving no room for drive axles.
Here is a good candidate for an AMCFAN. Cheap starting point, not much metal prep and paint needed (due to all the glass), and could be restomod’ed or turned into a drift car. Wouldn’t that be a something to see?
Put some dingleballs on that lowider.
Used to refer to them as the driving fishbowl ….
Still not a fan but beauty is in the eye of the beholder…
I’d install a Corvair flat-6 engine in the Pacer, it’s one of the rare cars large enough as to accomodate this 92 cm wide, 75 cm long, around 55 cm tall engine.
Air cooling of engines gets you rid of start and overheating problems in any place. Heating for the cabin can be obtained with a copper serpentine around exhaust manifold or ducts, all you may need is designing and making a shroud, a bell, to adapt the Corvair power output to the Chrysler torqueflite automatic transmission of AMC Pacer. http://www.protolabs.com can do this.
There were lots of reverse turning camshafts for the Corvair, allowing installing it in any desired way.
Gr8 idea.
Flat engine with low cg was nice for this beauty car.
Those poor door hinges.
I’m pretty sure AMC used the same type of nylon-bushed hinges on these that were used on the Hornet/Gremlin platform cars. Even on a Hornet which had much lighter doors the bushings would wear out after a few years and the hinges would start eating themselves alive.
juuuuuuuuuunker!!!!!!!
“Free” might be a good price for this. I see good glass and bumpers and three rally rims. Everything else is filthy and rusty. The interior is completely destroyed by water and dirt, and the exterior needs lots of trim parts like the grille and all the turn/brake light lenses, which will probably add up to a fair amount. IF it runs, you could strip out all the soft parts and make a Lemons car out of it. Dreaming is fun but realistically, you’d be crazy to not start with a much nicer Pacer for $3-5k.
Shoot…
Throw some used tires on it, spritz the carb with ether and you’re on your way !
Unless a car is beyond saving in it’s original form, I’m a “NO” on rodding. The old car hobby should be more about the love, & passion for cars, and less about “how much can I flip it for?”
Even the humble Pacer deserves some love!
Looks like the owner did some serious drifting and a few burnouts. That straight 6 is a tire eating monster!
I just bought this 1976 Pacer X In much better shape and I’m hoping not to be upside down when done. This one looks repairable and if I hadn’t just bought mine, I’d offer $400 for it and spend another $5000 to have a nice Pacer
Note the dezert Toyota in one background … just sayin’
It’s not uncommon to find the passenger door and right rear fender behind the door banged up like this one is– these are so wide that it’s easy to scrape them on things. I know from personal experience…