Memories, AMC Matador

My first car was a AMC Rebel. Good enough car but I sold within a year when I was able to buy a 67 International Scout. That thing could climb about anything.

I was going to school in Laramie Wyo when I had the scout. One of my classmates had a built up Ford pick-up with huge tires, big engine etc. He was always giving me crap about my scout and how much better his Ford was. So one day a bunch of us were out in the parking lot when he started giving me crap again so I challenged him to a climbing contest. Off we all go to a fairly steep hill outside of town. He made it about 1/2 or maybe a little farther up but that was it. I went to the top of the hill turned around and drove over to where he was and I said maybe next time I might even put in 4 wheel drive. Look on his face was priceless and the guff he got from the other guys was even better.

Top speed was about 45 MPH unless I wanted to stop at every gas station then I could get up to about 60.
 
My first car was a 1954 Jaguar XK120 SE. It was originally the personal car of Charles Hornburg, the Jaguar importer for the western United States. I developed a lot of mechanical skills keeping that car running. I loved driving that car. The sound from the competition exhaust system was fantastic, especially when I was driving through a tunnel. The car was lethal to drive on wet pavement. The narrow Dunlop 6.00-16 tires had no wet traction, and it was like driving on ice. I still own the car. The only time I got a bigger thrill was when I first drove a Ferrari, a 1967 330 GTS. The pictures are what my car looks like, only my car is light gray with black interior.

XK120-Q.jpg


XK120-X.jpg
 
I had a AMC Ambassador at one time in my life. It spent it's life as a LAPD Undercover Interceptor. And it was a very fast car for its day in American iron. It had a 343 small block in it with a 3 barrel carb. Yes a true 3 barrel carb. It took 3 carb kits to rebuild the carb. And thats all that was wrong with it. It had water cooled cast iron headers on it, dual oil filter setup, 6" thick radiator, locked rear end with two speed function. Everything on the car was super heavy duty. The old drum brakes filled the wheels completely and were vented.

I should have kept that car. Talk about a battle tank!
 
I've got a friend who's really into Pro Street type drag cars. You know, the ones with the huge rear tires and tubular frames? He always said that ANY car could look better with a narrowed rear end under it, and large by huge tires, but we got behind a Matador one time. He looked at it and over at me, and he said " I just don't know"
 
B.T.W., not my first car, but DEFINITLY the one I miss the most. 2003 Mach 1 Mustang, 32V DOHC V-8 with 300 HP, five speed, 4.10 gears, and a factory functional Shaker hood, just like the old days. If I'd have had the money when I traded, I'd have kept it AND bought my new body style Mustang too!
 

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Not many were made, but the AMX was a true performance car. Available with a high output V8 and a tricked out auto transmission or a beefy 4 speed.

The Gremlin wasn't a beauty contest winner, bun not many cars of that era were. The Gremlin was a shortened Hornet. Very safe, especially for younger drivers, in that it was heavy and had a lot of metal protecting the passenger area.

The 232 cid 6 cylinder would easily go over 200,000 miles, and the chrysler transmissions were bullet proof. Just keep everything serviced and it would get you there and home again every time.

As far as AMC being ahead of its time, don't forget the Sportabout. It was a hatchback 4 door mid sized stationwagon. Several manufacturers make a clone of it today, including Mercedes Benz.
 
My first (and last) AMC car was a 1974 Station Wagon - I traded it couple of years later for a 1976 Lincoln Continental Town Car. About two weeks later I received a call from the dealership, saying that the guy who bought the ACM was furious, the whole transmission fell out :eek:

1974_AMC_Matador_Station_Wagon.jpg
 
My father was a die hard Rambler fan. The first car I can remember was a pale green Nash sedan which we had in Alaska. While there he bought a 1958 Rambler wagon which took us through Germany in the mid 60's.

Once we returned from Germany he bought a new Ambassador. AKAIK that was the last Rambler he bought.

After Germany he was a VW and Chrysler fan.

bob
 
This is embarrassing, but I have to defend the Gremlin. :o

I had one in the later 70's when I was young and poor. It was not the most dashing car, but it was completely reliable. M1Gunner is right; that straight six was a very good engine. I took it camping and SCUBA diving, driving it on dirt roads, through fields, and over many campgrounds. Between the folded down rear seat the roof rack I could carry a respectable amount of gear. They were really underrated little cars.
 
Drove a couple Nash Rambler cross country station wagons when I first married in 1960. One was a '56 the other a '58. Put 149,000 miles on the first & 103,000 on the other. Both straight OHV sixes with overdrive. Good little cars for a young couple starting out.
 
'Never owned one of the AMC cars, but I had both a new Vega and a used Pinto and never had any real problems with either of them...maybe because at that time I was trading cars about every 2 years, but I have no bad memories. The Vega was the "Kammback GT", i.e. a tricked out station wagon, taupe brown with a deluxe tan vinyl interior, 4-speed and mag-style wheels. The car I had the most problems with was also one of the cooler cars I owned; a 1953 Ford Victoria, flathead V-8 with the 3-spd overdrive tranny. I bought it for $200 in 1966 while I was in college.
 
I must be the only person in the world who thinks the Matador is a cool looking car! Paint it black , leave the ugly chrome trim off , out in a nice 390 or 401 AMC motor and ya got one cool sleeper. The late , great Mark Donohue even won a few races with one for Penske.
 
All of the AMC V8's were the same block,Just different bore/stroke combo's.You could get faactory V8 Gremlins and hornets.You couldn't get that in a Pinto or Vega,Scary little cars when uncorked.My friend had the Gremlin V8 4speed with the Levi interior.He let is rust out in the swamp and wouldn't sell it to anyone.

Merry Christmas,D.G.
 
I had an AMC Hornet wagon with the back hatchback door. A straight 6 (looked like a Chevy engine) and a floor 3 speed standard keep the old girl going to 103,000 miles. Needed cardboard in front of the rad in the winter to get it even lukewarm.

Went through water pumps quite frequently IIRC. I did alot of 'jack it up in the driveway' repairs on it to keep it going but it was easy to work on, just not fun especially in the winter months. Lots of busted knuckles over that one.
The hindges on the hatchback broke right off when they got stuffed with ice one winter. I tore the remnents off and bolted some spiffy galvanized tool shed type hasp hinges on there with bolts going right through into the inside. A bit of roof tar did the sealing against the elements.
Gave the car away to a co-worker who needed wheels and he ran it to just shy of 150,000 when it finally gave it up.
A beautiful paper bag brown color. Oh,,I can still see it. What a babe magnet it was...

Someone actually broke into it one time at a mall,,and never stole anything. Must have felt sorry for the owner of such a thing once they actually looked around inside.
 
J. Galt said:
This is embarrassing, but I have to defend the Gremlin. :o

I had one in the later 70's when I was young and poor. It was not the most dashing car, but it was completely reliable. M1Gunner is right; that straight six was a very good engine. I took it camping and SCUBA diving, driving it on dirt roads, through fields, and over many campgrounds. Between the folded down rear seat the roof rack I could carry a respectable amount of gear. They were really underrated little cars.
Click to expand...

I remember seeing ads on TV, sometime in the 70's for the Gremlin. It's big selling point was that is was the LOWEST PRICED car available in America. Cheaper than a Datsun or a Honda. And, AMC sold LOT of them.

One of my buddies had one. He said it wasn't a very exciting car, but that it WAS reliable, with 180K on it, when most American cars would not come anywhere NEAR 200K. He sold it not too long after it hit 180K, and the guy he sold it to drove it for at least 2 years, that I know of.

I remember he said that aside from maintenance, he drove it for 10 years, and the only thing he had to replace was the battery; twice.

He had to do the brakes and shocks, but those are wear items. And, back than, batteries weren't nearly as good as they are now, so replacing the battery really is 'maintenance', too.

I can't remember the gas mileage; it wasn't that great. But gasoline was only 50 cents a gallon, back then. I was driving an air cooled VW Super Beetle. It only got 22MPG, in town; and that was during the summer. I would bet the Gremlin wasn't much worse, and it was a MUCH bigger car, with a 6 banger.

The relatively larger Gremlins were vastly safer than the tin can Hondas and Datsuns of the day. The extra mass of the Gremlin saved many people, when the only safety equipment was the seat belts; often never used.
 
Man, no love for the Matador. :)

It may have not looked that great to some, but I liked the looks of it. When I got rid of it, it had over 110K miles on it. Never had any issues with it. The only thing I ever had to do to it in the two and half years I owned it was regular oil changes and a tune up. I can't say the same for some of my friends Pontiacs and others. I wrecked it right before going to the Air force is the only reason I junked it.
 
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My wife bought a Matador just like that one. Not for long though.......she totaled it one night coming home from the bar. She went off the highway to avoid a deer, less than a mile from home. This was way before I met her........so you can't blame me!!!!

I used to joke about it, saying "That car was so butt ugly...... you put it out of it's misery!" Bob
 
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