Being a lover of unusual vehicles that draw a crowd in either a “That’s so cool!” or “That’s so weird!” way, I can’t imagine a bigger gas station or grocery store parking lot crowd-gathering vehicle than this yellow 1977 AMC Pacer D/L wagon. The seller has it listed here on eBay in Oak Ridge, New Jersey. There’s an unmet starting bid price of $5,000 and no reserve after that. Thanks to Boot for sending in this tip!
The Pacer was made for the 1975 through 1980 model years and I think that the only way this Pacer wagon would draw more attention would be if it had woodgrain trim. The seller says that it’s a very solid west coast vehicle and it sure looks like it is. However, they include a photo showing heavy surface rust on the roof. That’s scary, hopefully, it can be fixed without some major bodywork.
Being a station wagon, this Pacer doesn’t have the famous flying-fishbowl curved glass rear windows so if a person really wanted the iconic look, you’d have to stick with the sedan version instead of a wagon. In case you didn’t have the money or the room for yet another car in your garage, storage unit, driveway, or yard, you could always search the internet for a plastic model kit.
The interior looks great, or at least what we see of it does. This one has a three-speed Chrysler TorqueFlite automatic transmission with a console shifter to do the work for you. Just put it in D and go. Being a D/L model, it’s a little fancier than normal but a Limited would really kick it up a notch. The underside looks rock solid and the rear cargo area and back seat also look great.
The engine compartment isn’t exactly a thing of joy and beauty that a person looks at and starts weeping like you were studying an oil painting from one of the Old Masters. It’s a mess of hoses and wires but it’s a tried-and-true AMC 258 cubic-inch inline-six with 114 horsepower and 192 ft-lb of torque. It runs great and there’s a new muffler and tailpipe, brakes, shocks, and lower ball joints. According to Classic.com, the average price for a ’77 Pacer wagon is over $10,000 so this could be a bargain. Are there any Pacer wagon fans or owners out there?
I couldn’t agree more! If you are going to drive a 70’s Pacer, you should always buckle up!
West coast car? New Jersey plates? Hmm.
Per eBay: “This listing was ended by the seller because there was an error in the listing.”
Party on Wayne. Party on Garth.
Even in 1977 I knew AMC was not long for this world when they spit this thing out. Brain damage is a terrible thing.
Wish they had kept or updated the Gremlin and never wasted resources trying to design and build this really sad excuse for a car. YMMV.
I drove a blue 1975 Pacer (258 engine) for over six years. It was one of the best cars I ever owned with comfortable seats, and a big car ride, handled great, and always started on the first try (even when the outdoor temp was -25 zero). I wish I had kept it. Every other car was a box on wheels back then.
They did , it was the AMC Spirit .
Ralphie–The Pacer was one of the best built and engineered cars of the 70’s. If you had owned one, you would know that.
just right, here:
wagon, no ‘hood bump”, auto, i6.
Good enuff for my DD, if still priced right. 1st order of business – if the latter is so, change the yellow paint out.
(no car, truck, bike or water craft is that color. Blk same).
Has this car been lowered a bit, or have my eyes just grown accustomed to crossover ride height? In any case the high-positioned side stripes, lack of body side moldings and the fact that the woodgrain take rate on Pacer wagons must’ve been sky-high to the point I can’t remember the last time I saw one without, seem to change this car’s proportions from my mental image of a Pacer wagon.
In my opinion the absolute lowest point in American car history.
I dunno. The Chrysler K-car was pretty horrible.
The Chevy Vega and Chevette were even worse. At least the K-cars had a bullet-proof engine. The Pacer was “out-of-the-box” thinking, but not a bad car at all. It’s problem was twofold: it cost AMC way too much to design and build, and it was a “niche” car. I agree that it likely was the start of the end for AMC. I still miss that company!
The K-Car engines were bulletproof except for the pesky O2 sensor that would puke every few thousand miles.
If I remember, it was about $250 to replace one. I went through a box of them.
How about the Pontiac Aztek? :)
dont 4 get all those midengined fiats either
Lowrider !
WOW! What the Hell happened to the roof?
These were fun to drive and totally reliable.
The Chevy Vega and Chevette were even worse. At least the K-cars had a bullet-proof engine. The Pacer was “out-of-the-box” thinking, but not a bad car at all. It’s problem was twofold: it cost AMC way too much to design and build, and it was a “niche” car. I agree that it likely was the start of the end for AMC. I still miss that company!
But the Vega had a nice shape in most people’s opinion.
I cant drive a UGLY car no matter how reliableor advanced it is!
Main reason I detest Citreons…….or Pacers.
Now the Gremlin to me looked cool.
K cars with a bullet proof engine ??? I’m a Mopar guy and those early ones were real junk !
Car and Driver December 1976, “The Chevette is the most trouble free, slam the hood and forget it, cancel your service writer off the Christmas-list machine we’ve ever encountered” Pacer’s have a bad habit of the doors falling off, never seen a Chevette have that problem.
The chevette didn’t need that problem. They had every other one….
I knew someone who owned a Chevette. He was visiting some friends, and had parked the Chevette on the street. When he was walking back to his car, he noticed the front of the engine had fallen out of the bay onto the street. The car was less than two years old!
How did it get past the crossmember and trans mounts ? Chevettes weren’t known for severe rust issues ,and even cars that did like the Vega didn’t have engines falling out
It happened in Minnesota. Checking with my source on the exact age of the vehicle.
Duaney–“doors falling off?” What the hell are you talking about. Sold AMC’s for years—the only door issue they had was easily remedies with a $5 hinge pin kit.
Another expert who never owned one.
The Pacer was designed with AMC having a contract with GM for their rotary engine. The car was nearing production and GM cancelled the wankel. AMC was stuck with no other solution than squeezing their dependable in-line six into a short front end, partially under the dash! It had a full sized car passenger compartment in a compact length car and was much heavier than other cars the same length. Would have been much more successful with the rotary engine but still a waste of AMC capital that should have been used to design a new 4 cylinder engine and lighter versions of their existing smaller cars.
Each to their own bias. I always liked the Pacer and the wagon is especially cool. I’d buy it if I could, but my 550 is my main squeeze now.
here’s a 550 i like, but the guy w/camera isa jerk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJblai-GjEo
– –
double entry above, if U can erase one Scotty?
Ur soft wear is a tough one