I campaigned a 68 and 69 AMX's at Martin Dragway back in the 70's, never lost to a Pontiac, or anything else for that matter! Just glad I never had to race against my buddy's 340 Swinger! ;]
The AMC by far as the other car may be a legend, but it's the GM product is too coveted and overrated...I always go for the underdog + don't wanna be like everyone else liking the GTO = a lemming.
Very often, one AMC would beat a whole field of Camaros and Mustangs. If there were equal numbers of all three, the AMC would win every time. That includes road racing too.
@@charlessmileyvideos Just consider the motortrend article (mentioned in the video) put the AMX against the Stang and Camaro and it won in all the tests they threw at them.
I find it interesting that all the people who responded to this use their real name's not some made up bull. It shows that AMC fans have class and are true enthusiast
This is absolutely the best channel for watching drag races. You always clearly show the ETs and trap speeds. Your commentary is excellent. The videos are always crisp and bright. Almost all other channels are terrible in comparison.
I had a 1970 390 AMC Ambassador Four Door That turned 13.9 consistently in July 1974 at The Englishtown NJ Dragway. AMC's 390 was extremely underrated !
A guy I knew Father had one of those wood sided Rambler station wagons. This was in the summer of 1965,he told me it had the 327 V8. It would regularly stomp 289 Mustangs, quite a sleeper.
I remember a magazine article -Car Life I think - that pulled engines from all the US fast cars that were around 390 cubic inches and with a single 4-bl. The only one that had an honest HP rating was the 390 from a 70 AMX with Ram-air. The rest were all over-hyped numbers.
@@cliff7292 Yep. My dad had 327 V8 Ramblers, new ,in 1959 and 1962 and finally in 1965 - before the modern AMC V8 took over all V8's . I got to "cruise" in the '62 with my pals back in 64. Dual exhaust, 4-bl and high compression for the era. They were great running cars with light weight. The 57 rambler Rebel with the 327 V8 was only beat by the fuel injected Corvette that year in quickness.
Was checking out the used car selection at an dealer in 74. Saw something with two huge tailpipes in the row ahead... and a big Reese hitch. It was a 1970 Ambassador four door. Was looking it over when the salesman came out with a big smile. He knew all about it. It had been an old retired guys car... and he pulled a huge Airstream travel trailer with it. Super duty 390 police interceptor engine and matching super duty suspension and transmission, massive front and REAR anti-sway bars, 3.9? posi rearend, and J70 tires. I put 36" glasspacks in front of the rear wheels where the mufflers were originally, and additional 24" ones behind the rear end so it was stock quiet until you really got on it. I even left the wheel covers on her, but strengthen the mounting clips. And, it ate Roadrunners and GTO's, and big block Camaros and Mustangs, for breakfast. And that was just leaving it in drive and letting the tranny shift automatically. Plus, no power braking needed. The launch off the line just standing on it was something else. The look on the guys faces when they got beat and bad by a quiet "grandpa" car... priceless!!! The Ambassadors were actually lighter than other manufacture's mid-sized sedans. That's why a lot of police departments used them. Better power-to-weight ratio and cheaper to purchase. Oh and... they would MOVE!!!
I was friendly with a Deputy Sheriff in Michigan in the 70s. He said one night he saw an AMX speeding, so he turned on his lights to pull the AMX over. The AMX took off, and the deputy, driving a Ford with either a 428 or 429 couldn't catch the AMX. Later, the deputy saw what he thought was the same AMX at an A&W drive in. The deputy went over to driver and asked if he was the one the deputy had chased. The guy shrugged his shoulders. The deputy asked how fast the AMX driver was going, and the guy replied "If it was me, I might have hit 140." Pretty cool.
Outstanding! AMC did their homework with the 390 package. Love to see an underdog win. That AMX has the anemic Motorcraft carb to boot. I love GTO's also, owned a 70 Judge. Can't get enough of that musclecar action.
Agreed,I spent all of '65 working around Bay City,MI,and there was a Midnight blue cammed '64 Royal Bobcat all jacked with slicks parked in front of the Big Wheel drive-in taking all street racers.I had a '64 vert at that time so we hit it off and would cruise for babes in my car and make some money in his car.Some weekends we would cruise down to Woodward for some heavy duty street racing.The variety of Detroit hardware there was amazing,but his 12.50 Goat had no fear.A Royal should have pulled that AMX on the top end.
Will I couldn't believe that he didn't bring up the Donohue Edition; I kept waiting for it. It was a fast car and one of the closest races I had in my 70 Hurst Olds....[I won] ;)
A 65 Tri Power Bobcat is my favorite GTO other than a 69 Ram Air IV(not a Judge) That AMX is a sweet ride too. A guy I know has a 69 AMX with the 390-4 speed combo that he drives almost daily when the weather is nice. He's owned it since 1971 and it's 100% original and unrestored and in great shape. Not mint condition but a nice #2 car. The 2 seater AMX is more of a sports car than a muscle car. The Javelin is a pony car. The 70 Rebel Machine and 69 Hurst S/C Rambler were true muscle cars. They also made a 71 Matador Machine but they are extremely rare
@@CarsAndZebras Yeah I did see that. Im a Mopar guy but I can't really think of any classic muscle cars that I don't like. I always really liked the Trans Am Javelins a lot too. There was an AMC dealer back in the day that installed 401 cube engines in Gremlin's if you wanted one. Randall AMC I think was the dealer. A 401 powered Gremlin would be ridiculously fast. They probably weighed under 3,000 lbs
Don't forget that the 70 390 had far better heads (stock) than the earlier 390s did. AMC's 70 390 heads would out flow many expensive after-market racing heads the Chevys used back then.
I was on Woodward ave summer of 68 I worked that summer and y dad was driving home. Along side of our this 1968 GTO was next to us I saw the Bobcat emblem, I didn’t know what it meant at the time . Well later in life I ended up working Jim fresard Pontiac on main Street in Royal which was Ace Wilson’s Pontiac a few years earlier..
Great video! Just a couple of minor corrections on the AMX: All 68-70 AMXs had dual exhaust, regardless of engine. And the 360 (standard engine in '70) was rated at 290 hp, not 285.
A lot of factors at play in drag racing. Humidity, barometric pressure, and even more important... the driver. That's what makes the Pure Stock Muscle Car Drags so fun, you never know who will win.
I know some of those cars, for some reason they couldn't sell them with the tri-power (I think they didn't sell them installed with the a/c option) but would have the intake and carbs in the trunk.
Like I just post here a 1970 GTO RAIII ,RAIV or even a 455HO would eat the AMX , the AMX had 5 years of planning and a goal of what to beat . In 1965 what did AMC have to go against the GTO?
I was on the scene of Motor City(Woodward Avenue) racing in 1965 with my stock '64 GTO.Those Royal Bobcats were 13 flat cars and one midnight blue '64 in particular from Bay City ran 12.5's in race prep.(Traction bars,headers,and slicks).Maybe this one was spinning badly off the line.
Maybe, or maybe the owner is taking it easy on the car and doesn’t want to risk blowing it up. Either way, it’s somewhat close to the ETs listed from testing back in the 60s. Still fun to see!
I have a 70 Javelin 390 - 4 speed Go package car that absolutely screams. I bought it in 92 and have ran the devil out of it with never a problem besides excessive rear tire wear and below rated fuel economy .
A classmate's father bought a '65 when they first came out and a year later told people that GTO stood for Getcher Tools Out, but was that car ever cool!
In September of 1968, just home from my tour with the Navy. I purchased a new 1968 AMX from, Art Post Rambler, in Kalamazoo Mich. It had, 343, 280 H.P. with the Go Pac, 3 spd. Bog Warner automatic, 3.08 rear gears, dealer installed rally pac instruments, and the very rare all chrome magnum 500 wheels. In a few years the AMX was upgraded with: dealer installed 3.73 rear gears, modified the Bog Warner model 11 automatic, to the model 12 (390 engine) insides, with the addition of the metal impregnated fiber clutch pac and higher pressure oil pump . The intake was replaced with an Edelbrock R4B , and larger Carter 9625 carburetor. The exhaust was, Cyclone exhaust headers through full exhaust, along with Thrush mufflers. My good friend had purchased a few years back, a new 1970 AMX, 390, 325 H.P. GoPac, 4 speed manual with 3.54 rear gears. We raced our cars together only once, up to about 80 mph, and it was dead even all the way. I can only imagine that 390 engine with similar modifications. My 1968 AMX was one sleeper of a car to those who didn't know. Sadly, I sold the little AMX to get married, build a house and raise a family. The AMX maybe was the under dog, but many could not beat the 390 ones. I was fortunate to have owned an AMX.
@@CarsAndZebras In the summer of 1968, while at the end of my tour in the Navy, we were based out of Norfolk Virgina. I had a subscription to Hot Rod magazine and was aware of the new cars being built. I was always a Chevy lover, and still owned a 1959 Chevy Impala with the 348 engine, tri-power and 4-speed. I had read about American Motors and their Javelin and the AMX. I wanted to see an actual AMX. A friend on ship that had a car took a couple of us to the AMC dealership in Norfolk. That was my first experience with AMC and the AMX, as they had one in the showroom on display. I have the original 1968 AMX brochure saved from that dealership all these years. The address still reads from the brochure as: Malbon Motor Company, Jeep & Rambler, 413 Virginia Beach Blvd, Virginia Beach, Va. I really fell in love with that AMX that day. The AMX was so different from cars I had owned, I just knew I was going to own one, and that I did. That was just such an awesome era to have lived in. The muscle cars, the music, the cruising, and street racing. I was so fortunate to have lived in that period of time and experienced all that. I remember one of my favorite songs I would hear on the am radio while cruising. It was from the Spencer Davis Group, Gimmie Some Lovin. I remember hearing Cousin Bruce Marrow from WABC, up in New York play that then. Sometimes today when I hear that being played on an oldies station today, it all comes back to me again.
I am 75 years old now and raced starting at about 18. Had 65 TriPower with 3:90's close ratio 4 speed. The only mod was headers. Best time was 13.58. I had the Royal Bob Cat package installed and was at 12.66 with 4:11 gears. Won many, many street races. I still have the time slips. I dont know what was wrong here but something is. Could be driver or taking it easy on the car but these cars were much faster then this.
Power to Wght.Ratio Helped The AMX,Was 700 lbs.Lighter, Had A 71 Jav.AMX ,360 Took the Stk.2 Barr.Off After Warr.Ran Out &'Repl.it W/ Dirt Track HOLLEY 2 BARR .& Increased the Jets To 600 cfm.+ Added Tract.Bars.Never Took it to Strip ,But Beat a Lot of SB' s & Gave A Few BB' s Good Race Red Lite To Red Lite.
I just couldn't find any definitive proof of that, so I left it out of the video. But yeah, I heard a few hit the streets like that from Royal Pontiac.
@@tednewcomb1048 In 1968 a buddy had a new '68 LeMans he considered driving the 3 hrs to MI to have it done. One of the car mags back then managed to get their hands on a Bobcatted 350 Poncho & ran it against a RR 383. The article was titled "Can The Teeny Tiger's Growl Match The Road Runner's Beep Beep?" I forget the results!
@@rsstrazz6261 the Pontiac 350 could really scream with the H.O. heads - embarassed alot of bigger engines ! I can imagine royal having fun tweaking that thing !
AMXs and Javelin SSTs beat the pants off many hot cars. I had a 70 Mark Donahue SST (factory race car) That car was fast,very fast. They were different from the AMX cars. LOVED IT.
I've got to make it up there to MI. next year to watch these races. I'll bring my camera equipment and get near the starting line and you can edit the videos so you'll have both angles from start to finish.
I am truly shocked...Having owned several AMC cars and 1-69 AMX, I was surprised at the outcome of this race. I really thought the goat would take it easily.
My cousin Bobby worked his tail off to get his dream car. A real 1965 Pontiac GTO ram air Tri Power 389. He bought it in 1984 for $2600 and died in it in 1985 @ only 21 years old
Fun to watch and two really nice cars. My recollection may be a bit foggy but 13.44 AMX’s - like pixie dust - never existed in the 70’s. The GOAT was as expected, maybe not quite as quick as it should have run.
Just to add insult to injury, the AMX has air conditioning! AMC engine design followed what Buick and Pontiac were doing, including Pontiac's 30 degree intake valve seat, so the AMC 390 is probably somewhat comparable to the Pontiac 389. But the AMX (and AMC's in general) simply weighed a lot less.
I read that the AMX rating of 325 hp was under rated to keep insurance costs down. It didn't work however, as companies started to go off sheer engine size for their premiums in certain cars. The article speculated that a bone stock 390 HO in 1970 actually put out north of 360 hp. Time slips seem to tip in that direction..
A modern AMX or similar beefy two seater without the corvette or late Viper prices would be sweet today. Heck. Bring back the AMX. Maybe that was the void PoMoCo was trying to fill with the Holden GTO. Those are fast cars. Those that are left anyway.
I wish I had the details! I know he used to race in the pure stock drag races a few years back, but hasn’t participated for at least 2-3 years now. He just showed up that day to watch, I guess.
Thought I'd contribute the shipping weight (just enough gas in the tank to get on and off the transporter) to the conversation. The GTO was 3470 lbs and the AMX was 3125 lbs. I'm sure in it's configuration the GTO had more power but it wasn't enough to overcome the AMX's weight advantage.
Really hard to believe a '65 Royal bobcat goat would get beat 3 times by that AMX... but hey...props to American Motors....they sorta flew under the radar, and shut down a lot of the more popular musclecars of the day!
The pan on the carburetor and foam was actually the first Ram Air setup. Dealership would install it. 65 was the first year for that. Ram Air 1. Ram Air 2 appears in 68. I believe that’s correct.
Hummm, something is not right with that Goat. Not taking anything away from the AMX, but Royal Bobcat Goats ran very low 13's and some high 12's depending on gearing and slicks.
I disrespected the owner of a 4DR HORNET once by calling it "Raggedy"... he dropped it in 2nd and floored it from 45mph and that Hornet was screaming with power.
My 66 in 72 had over 440 on the ground after adding 750 double pump, Isky high lift cam and Hooker headers and that was all I did to it and got under 12 sec 1/4,s
3 disagreements - 1. Amx was absolutely a muscle car. 2. AMX was not a "very small car", compared to Mustangs, Camaros, and some Mopars. 3. The AMX had a lifespan of longer then 3 years.
A few disagreements for you - 1. He didn’t say the AMC wasn’t a muscle car, but it can arguably be a “sports car.” 2. The AMX was a very small car, and it’s wheelbase in ‘68 was 11 inches shorter than the same year Camaro and Mustang. That IS small. 3. The AMX was produced in 1968, 1969, and 1970. If you understood simple math that is three years. 4. You are fucking stupid, obviously.
@@therealhonestabe7839 - Look up 1971 & 1972 AMX. That's 5 years. They were made that year idiot. -- " People classify the AMX as a muscle Car, but it's really not" That's the authors quote.
@@jacktheraven Hey moron, good to see you finally formulated a response after 4 months. Unfortunately, you're just showing how stupid you are AGAIN. In 1971 and 1972 the AMX wasn't its own model... IT WAS A TRIM PACKAGE FOR THE JAVELIN YOU STUPID MORON. And way to cherry pick quotes, the very next line he even states it's a mix of a sports car... meaning a mix of a muscle car and a sports car. Do you really not understand basic context of conversation? Man, you are really dumb.
Hard to believe this was a Bobcat.My car club friend had a new '65 tripower ,four speed,3.90 gear stock(no Bobcat mods)that ran 13.8's at US 30.He bought a '67 RA III that ran 13.6's stock,hurt the engine in '69 and traded it for a new,I thought he said, 401 AMX that ran low 13's.Vids of these,however all seem to say 390,so i'm not sure,been a long time ago.
How about these two?!? Dang, both are awesome. Great looking cars and fast! 😎 Which would you take?
Had the 64 tri-power so my heart says 65 Goat but my head knows better .
The American Motors vehicle.
I campaigned a 68 and 69 AMX's at Martin Dragway back in the 70's, never lost to a Pontiac, or anything else for that matter! Just glad I never had to race against my buddy's 340 Swinger! ;]
The AMC by far as the other car may be a legend, but it's the GM product is too coveted and overrated...I always go for the underdog + don't wanna be like everyone else liking the GTO = a lemming.
@@garymckee8857 Totally agree. On looks alone.
1970 AMC/AMX is the BEST looking muscle car!! I think they got the short end of the stick, they were great cars!!!!!!!!!!!!
I couldn't agree more.
Very often, one AMC would beat a whole field of Camaros and Mustangs. If there were equal numbers of all three, the AMC would win every time. That includes road racing too.
@@charlessmileyvideos Just consider the motortrend article (mentioned in the video) put the AMX against the Stang and Camaro and it won in all the tests they threw at them.
It was stated that the AMX was more car than AMC could sell
I find it interesting that all the people who responded to this use their real name's not some made up bull. It shows that AMC fans have class and are true enthusiast
I wish American Motors were still in business. The AMX was amazing.
Awesome cars! Man that AMX was wearing that old goat out. No shame though those things were way more car than they ever got credit for. I love both!
This is absolutely the best channel for watching drag races. You always clearly show the ETs and trap speeds. Your commentary is excellent. The videos are always crisp and bright. Almost all other channels are terrible in comparison.
What an ass kisser...
I had a 1970 390 AMC Ambassador Four Door That turned 13.9 consistently in July 1974 at The Englishtown NJ Dragway. AMC's 390 was extremely underrated !
A guy I knew Father had one of those wood sided Rambler station wagons. This was in the summer of 1965,he told me it had the 327 V8. It would regularly stomp 289 Mustangs, quite a sleeper.
I remember a magazine article -Car Life I think - that pulled engines from all the US fast cars that were around 390 cubic inches and with a single 4-bl. The only one that had an honest HP rating was the 390 from a 70 AMX with Ram-air. The rest were all over-hyped numbers.
@@cliff7292 Yep. My dad had 327 V8 Ramblers, new ,in 1959 and 1962 and finally in 1965 - before the modern AMC V8 took over all V8's . I got to "cruise" in the '62 with my pals back in 64. Dual exhaust, 4-bl and high compression for the era.
They were great running cars with light weight. The 57 rambler Rebel with the 327 V8 was only beat by the fuel injected Corvette that year in quickness.
Cliff Yeah most likely they were 289 two barrel mustangs definitely not the 289 four barrel or hi-po cars
@@cliff7292 the old Kaiser 327 was a pretty healthy engine but very prone to cracking heads
AMX. A very undervalued car for sure.
They are so rare not many people know about them.
@@JGanvil For me is not rare I have one
@@plasma081 What year do you have?
@@JGanvil A 71 AMC and I live in Spain here is so rare
10,000 ever produced.
Sooo many awesome AMC comments and stories in this stream - thx for posting!!
Was checking out the used car selection at an dealer in 74. Saw something with two huge tailpipes in the row ahead... and a big Reese hitch. It was a 1970 Ambassador four door. Was looking it over when the salesman came out with a big smile. He knew all about it. It had been an old retired guys car... and he pulled a huge Airstream travel trailer with it. Super duty 390 police interceptor engine and matching super duty suspension and transmission, massive front and REAR anti-sway bars, 3.9? posi rearend, and J70 tires. I put 36" glasspacks in front of the rear wheels where the mufflers were originally, and additional 24" ones behind the rear end so it was stock quiet until you really got on it. I even left the wheel covers on her, but strengthen the mounting clips. And, it ate Roadrunners and GTO's, and big block Camaros and Mustangs, for breakfast. And that was just leaving it in drive and letting the tranny shift automatically. Plus, no power braking needed. The launch off the line just standing on it was something else. The look on the guys faces when they got beat and bad by a quiet "grandpa" car... priceless!!! The Ambassadors were actually lighter than other manufacture's mid-sized sedans. That's why a lot of police departments used them. Better power-to-weight ratio and cheaper to purchase. Oh and... they would MOVE!!!
That's pretty cool!
These videos are my favorite part of the internet. Thanks for putting them together!
No problem, glad you enjoy them! I have some really good ones coming in the next few weeks
I was friendly with a Deputy Sheriff in Michigan in the 70s. He said one night he saw an AMX speeding, so he turned on his lights to pull the AMX over. The AMX took off, and the deputy, driving a Ford with either a 428 or 429 couldn't catch the AMX. Later, the deputy saw what he thought was the same AMX at an A&W drive in. The deputy went over to driver and asked if he was the one the deputy had chased. The guy shrugged his shoulders. The deputy asked how fast the AMX driver was going, and the guy replied "If it was me, I might have hit 140." Pretty cool.
Outstanding! AMC did their homework with the 390 package. Love to see an underdog win. That AMX has the anemic Motorcraft carb to boot. I love GTO's also, owned a 70 Judge. Can't get enough of that musclecar action.
yeah Sam, that Motorcrap carb wasn't the best for sure.
That's a slow Goat for a Royal Bobcat. My '66 with a Bobcat kit installed ran 13.12 @ 107.
Yeah that's what I was thinking. I've seen Royal Bobcat GTO's easily into
the 12's. Maybe that car had different gearing?
Agreed,I spent all of '65 working around Bay City,MI,and there was a Midnight blue cammed '64 Royal Bobcat all jacked with slicks parked in front of the Big Wheel drive-in taking all street racers.I had a '64 vert at that time so we hit it off and would cruise for babes in my car and make some money in his car.Some weekends we would cruise down to Woodward for some heavy duty street racing.The variety of Detroit hardware there was amazing,but his 12.50 Goat had no fear.A Royal should have pulled that AMX on the top end.
Nothing more impressive than opening up of the beer in the stands before the race started that pop top can be heard for miles
Hahaha... I was wondering if anyone would notice. 🍺
The breakfast of champions
@@CarsAndZebras beer, it's not just for breakfast anymore. LOL
I had a '69 Javelin with the 390 4 speed. Boy was that a fun car. One of the ones I wish I had back.
Hard to get footage on a javelin. Not too much out there
Oh yes, that 390 4 speed combination. Worked well in my 1970 Mark Donohue Edition Javelin also
My 390 was equipped with a 3:08 rear end, 115 in third gear, 4th to go! ;]
Will I couldn't believe that he didn't bring up the Donohue Edition; I kept waiting for it. It was a fast car and one of the closest races I had in my 70 Hurst Olds....[I won] ;)
Too bad we can't add photos here.
I had a 68 rogue with a 401. It was a freaking rocket ship.
More than a few GM, Ford and Mopar muscle cars got to see the taillights of those AMC 390s! Definitely underrated in their day.
A 65 Tri Power Bobcat is my favorite GTO other than a 69 Ram Air IV(not a Judge) That AMX is a sweet ride too. A guy I know has a 69 AMX with the 390-4 speed combo that he drives almost daily when the weather is nice. He's owned it since 1971 and it's 100% original and unrestored and in great shape. Not mint condition but a nice #2 car. The 2 seater AMX is more of a sports car than a muscle car. The Javelin is a pony car. The 70 Rebel Machine and 69 Hurst S/C Rambler were true muscle cars. They also made a 71 Matador Machine but they are extremely rare
Did you happen to catch the Rebel Machine in the background of the video?
Unfortunately he didn’t race that day, but still very interesting to see one
@@CarsAndZebras Yeah I did see that. Im a Mopar guy but I can't really think of any classic muscle cars that I don't like. I always really liked the Trans Am Javelins a lot too. There was an AMC dealer back in the day that installed 401 cube engines in Gremlin's if you wanted one. Randall AMC I think was the dealer. A 401 powered Gremlin would be ridiculously fast. They probably weighed under 3,000 lbs
Don't forget that the 70 390 had far better heads (stock) than the earlier 390s did. AMC's 70 390 heads would out flow many expensive after-market racing heads the Chevys used back then.
@@CarsAndZebras it'd be gr8 to see that bad-boy Machine run the strip!
Extremely well researched narration.
Very much appreciated and enjoyed.
All those rare amc musclecars which I once owned most of them except SS/Amx that said gotta go rub 1 out.💪
I was on Woodward ave summer of 68 I worked that summer and y dad was driving home. Along side of our this 1968 GTO was next to us I saw the Bobcat emblem, I didn’t know what it meant at the time . Well later in life I ended up working Jim fresard Pontiac on main
Street in Royal which was Ace Wilson’s Pontiac a few years earlier..
I used to work on them at the AMC dealership back in the day. I liked the 401 with the go package just a little bit better then the 390
Great video! Just a couple of minor corrections on the AMX: All 68-70 AMXs had dual exhaust, regardless of engine. And the 360 (standard engine in '70) was rated at 290 hp, not 285.
I’ve binged watched a lot of these match ups, never comes out how I imagine it would, or it’s much closer than I thought it would be.
A lot of factors at play in drag racing. Humidity, barometric pressure, and even more important... the driver. That's what makes the Pure Stock Muscle Car Drags so fun, you never know who will win.
AMC all day. I wonder what amc would look as a modern era vehicle?
Hard to say, there aren’t many two seaters any more
2022: Two awesome cars. I was 18 in 1970 and I loved seeing the rare AMX's. The GTO's also. Great race. Thank You.
Thanks for a great series!! I'm a GM guy but I also love the AMX. It could beat a Corvette. Would love to see that race!!
Maybe someday I’ll get some footage of that!
My dad owned a '65 when new. Four barrel car, black on black that he converted to Tri Power himself within the first month or two.
Your dad had some style
I know some of those cars, for some reason they couldn't sell them with the tri-power (I think they didn't sell them installed with the a/c option) but would have the intake and carbs in the trunk.
I thought that GTO was gonna spank that AMX. Gotta tip my hat to AMC.
Same
No doubt .
Should've. Goat driver either needs more seat time, is afraid to rape his investment, or both.
❤ me my AMC's and am a Poncho fan too but there is a considerable weight difference here.
Like I just post here a 1970 GTO RAIII ,RAIV or even a 455HO would eat the AMX , the AMX had 5 years of planning and a goal of what to beat . In 1965 what did AMC have to go against the GTO?
I was on the scene of Motor City(Woodward Avenue) racing in 1965 with my stock '64 GTO.Those Royal Bobcats were 13 flat cars and one midnight blue '64 in particular from Bay City ran 12.5's in race prep.(Traction bars,headers,and slicks).Maybe this one was spinning badly off the line.
Maybe, or maybe the owner is taking it easy on the car and doesn’t want to risk blowing it up. Either way, it’s somewhat close to the ETs listed from testing back in the 60s. Still fun to see!
Those were the days my friend, I wished they never end.
I have a 70 Javelin 390 - 4 speed Go package car that absolutely screams. I bought it in 92 and have ran the devil out of it with never a problem besides excessive rear tire wear and below rated fuel economy .
How strange can it be. I know a guy that has a 65 GTO and a 68 javelin. They both are pretty damn fast.
A classmate's father bought a '65 when they first came out and a year later told people that GTO stood for Getcher Tools Out, but was that car ever cool!
In September of 1968, just home from my tour with the Navy. I purchased a new 1968 AMX from, Art Post Rambler, in Kalamazoo Mich. It had, 343, 280 H.P. with the Go Pac, 3 spd. Bog Warner automatic, 3.08 rear gears, dealer installed rally pac instruments, and the very rare all chrome magnum 500 wheels. In a few years the AMX was upgraded with: dealer installed 3.73 rear gears, modified the Bog Warner model 11 automatic, to the model 12 (390 engine) insides, with the addition of the metal impregnated fiber clutch pac and higher pressure oil pump . The intake was replaced with an Edelbrock R4B , and larger Carter 9625 carburetor. The exhaust was, Cyclone exhaust headers through full exhaust, along with Thrush mufflers. My good friend had purchased a few years back, a new 1970 AMX, 390, 325 H.P. GoPac, 4 speed manual with 3.54 rear gears. We raced our cars together only once, up to about 80 mph, and it was dead even all the way. I can only imagine that 390 engine with similar modifications. My 1968 AMX was one sleeper of a car to those who didn't know. Sadly, I sold the little AMX to get married, build a house and raise a family. The AMX maybe was the under dog, but many could not beat the 390 ones. I was fortunate to have owned an AMX.
Thanks for sharing! What was it that made you buy the AMX? A lot of options back then.
@@CarsAndZebras In the summer of 1968, while at the end of my tour in the Navy, we were based out of Norfolk Virgina. I had a subscription to Hot Rod magazine and was aware of the new cars being built. I was always a Chevy lover, and still owned a 1959 Chevy Impala with the 348 engine, tri-power and 4-speed. I had read about American Motors and their Javelin and the AMX. I wanted to see an actual AMX. A friend on ship that had a car took a couple of us to the AMC dealership in Norfolk. That was my first experience with AMC and the AMX, as they had one in the showroom on display. I have the original 1968 AMX brochure saved from that dealership all these years. The address still reads from the brochure as: Malbon Motor Company, Jeep & Rambler, 413 Virginia Beach Blvd, Virginia Beach, Va. I really fell in love with that AMX that day. The AMX was so different from cars I had owned, I just knew I was going to own one, and that I did. That was just such an awesome era to have lived in. The muscle cars, the music, the cruising, and street racing. I was so fortunate to have lived in that period of time and experienced all that. I remember one of my favorite songs I would hear on the am radio while cruising. It was from the Spencer Davis Group, Gimmie Some Lovin. I remember hearing Cousin Bruce Marrow from WABC, up in New York play that then. Sometimes today when I hear that being played on an oldies station today, it all comes back to me again.
I'm a Pontiac and Mopar guy. Much respect to the AMX.
I am 75 years old now and raced starting at about 18. Had 65 TriPower with 3:90's close ratio 4 speed. The only mod was headers. Best time was 13.58. I had the Royal Bob Cat package installed and was at 12.66 with 4:11 gears. Won many, many street races. I still have the time slips. I dont know what was wrong here but something is. Could be driver or taking it easy on the car but these cars were much faster then this.
The AMX was sold up through 1974, I drove one with a 401 and cowl induction hood that would break the tires loose and set the car sideways at 55 mph.
AMCyaaaaaa!
That AMC can move! I was pretty impressed the first time I saw that car
I'm building a 69 Javelin right now with an aluminum headed 390. There was no way that Goat was going to beat a 390 AMX.
You should bring it out to the Pure Stock Muscle Car Drags, I've never seen a Javelin there.
@@CarsAndZebras It is super far removed from stock, lol
Power to Wght.Ratio Helped The AMX,Was 700 lbs.Lighter, Had A 71 Jav.AMX ,360 Took the Stk.2 Barr.Off After Warr.Ran Out &'Repl.it W/ Dirt Track HOLLEY 2 BARR .& Increased the Jets To 600 cfm.+ Added Tract.Bars.Never Took it to Strip ,But Beat a Lot of SB' s & Gave A Few BB' s Good Race Red Lite To Red Lite.
The AMX, the Honey Badger of the muscle car world. Gotta love em!
One of the other things "Royal" did to some of the royal bobcats was to put the 421 into the GTO with the things you mentioned done to it -
I just couldn't find any definitive proof of that, so I left it out of the video. But yeah, I heard a few hit the streets like that from Royal Pontiac.
And in the later '60s, Royal also had packages for 350 LeMans, etc. Some were refered to as "Teeny Tigers" -
@@rsstrazz6261 that's interesting ! I'd never heard that ...shit ! Now I want one of those too !! Lol !
@@tednewcomb1048 In 1968 a buddy had a new '68 LeMans he considered driving the 3 hrs to MI to have it done. One of the car mags back then managed to get their hands on a Bobcatted 350 Poncho & ran it against a RR 383. The article was titled "Can The Teeny Tiger's Growl Match The Road Runner's Beep Beep?" I forget the results!
@@rsstrazz6261 the Pontiac 350 could really scream with the H.O. heads - embarassed alot of bigger engines ! I can imagine royal having fun tweaking that thing !
And just like that, my day was made. : )
Glad you like it!
My buddy had a 390 amx it was rude with a 4 speed low rear. It was crazy from light to light.
Had many AMC's, and other makes. The AMC was always more unique and much more fun. S/C Rambler comparison to the Rebel Machine would be interesting
Both gorgeous cars but I have a soft spot for that AMX being the underdog.
Way to go Joe!!! Showed him the tail lights 3 in a row!!!! 😂
That little Nash Rambler went beep beep beep.
I would have lost a big bet on this one. AMX surprised me
Those AMXs were surprisingly quick!
Great choice in rides
Unbelievable cars. I really enjoy both!
AMXs and Javelin SSTs beat the pants off many hot cars. I had a 70 Mark Donahue SST (factory race car) That car was fast,very fast. They were different from the AMX cars. LOVED IT.
I love my two AMXs my Rogue and SST. AMC even sound different from other V8. They have there Owen exhaust tone.
9 MPG with 4.10 gears they had overdrive systems in the late '50's early '60's by Borg Warner..
The GTO has a very nice engine bay . With chrome valve covers and beautiful paint and detailing.
I've got to make it up there to MI. next year to watch these races. I'll bring my camera equipment and get near the starting line and you can edit the videos so you'll have both angles from start to finish.
Jerry's on here? Great minds think alike!
I am truly shocked...Having owned several AMC cars and 1-69 AMX, I was surprised at the outcome of this race. I really thought the goat would take it easily.
My cousin Bobby worked his tail off to get his dream car. A real 1965 Pontiac GTO ram air Tri Power 389. He bought it in 1984 for $2600 and died in it in 1985 @ only 21 years old
Damn, that's unfortunate
Dang...didn't the Rambler Boys spoil a lot of parties!...
AMC was a unique car for sure, 360 390 and the 401 go packs were awesome
AMCs grow on me the more I’ve learned about them
I seen a 70 scrambler couple days ago heading into work was a dark green with slotted wheels
Fun to watch and two really nice cars.
My recollection may be a bit foggy but 13.44 AMX’s - like pixie dust - never existed in the 70’s. The GOAT was as expected, maybe not quite as quick as it should have run.
Just to add insult to injury, the AMX has air conditioning! AMC engine design followed what Buick and Pontiac were doing, including Pontiac's 30 degree intake valve seat, so the AMC 390 is probably somewhat comparable to the Pontiac 389. But the AMX (and AMC's in general) simply weighed a lot less.
Very true!
Appears that the outside lane has the advantage at this track.
AMXs with the go package were no joke.
I was 15 in 65’, I love GTO ‘s !!!
That little AMX was gettin it !
I read that the AMX rating of 325 hp was under rated to keep insurance costs down. It didn't work however, as companies started to go off sheer engine size for their premiums in certain cars. The article speculated that a bone stock 390 HO in 1970 actually put out north of 360 hp. Time slips seem to tip in that direction..
A modern AMX or similar beefy two seater without the corvette or late Viper prices would be sweet today. Heck. Bring back the AMX. Maybe that was the void PoMoCo was trying to fill with the Holden GTO. Those are fast cars. Those that are left anyway.
yo, lets get the details on the Rebel Machine in the background at 8:38. That thing is badass
I wish I had the details! I know he used to race in the pure stock drag races a few years back, but hasn’t participated for at least 2-3 years now. He just showed up that day to watch, I guess.
Thought I'd contribute the shipping weight (just enough gas in the tank to get on and off the transporter) to the conversation. The GTO was 3470 lbs and the AMX was 3125 lbs. I'm sure in it's configuration the GTO had more power but it wasn't enough to overcome the AMX's weight advantage.
American Motors Corporation advertisement said for the SC/Rambler; "it only hurts the competition for 14 seconds".
Really hard to believe a '65 Royal bobcat goat would get beat 3 times by that AMX... but hey...props to American Motors....they sorta flew under the radar, and shut down a lot of the more popular musclecars of the day!
My 65 GTO had a Muncie 4 speed box with a Hurst Shifter. Most 4 speed GTO's had the same. Oh, and Mickey T Red line mags.
The pan on the carburetor and foam was actually the first Ram Air setup. Dealership would install it. 65 was the first year for that. Ram Air 1. Ram Air 2 appears in 68. I believe that’s correct.
This channel friggin ROCKS !!!
I live in Michigan and I noticed these races are at Stanton
What is the 2020 schedule for Pure Stock?
Damn that amx is a beast. My favorite AMC.
Golden Era muscle cars give me the tinglies
Hummm, something is not right with that Goat. Not taking anything away from the AMX, but Royal Bobcat Goats ran very low 13's and some high 12's depending on gearing and slicks.
I'm not 100% sure, but those seem to be street tires on both cars. Slicks are too far away from "stock" to make a comparison.
@@charlessmileyvideos Good eyeball!
The AMX and SCRAMBLER are most underrated car's
That Rebal Machine is what he needed to racing with the factory GO pack it would boost the hp from 340 to an estimated 390
That AMX was blazing!
wow the AMX is a screamer. I like both cars. AMX is no joke.
I disrespected the owner of a 4DR HORNET once by calling it "Raggedy"... he dropped it in 2nd and floored it from 45mph and that Hornet was screaming with power.
I love your new channel... I'm subscribed!
Those 4:11s are giving the AMX the hook
Two different weight, chasie classes. You could have ran the AMC Machine in opening background, same class. A Corvette 396 is in its class.😎
AMC was probably underrated back in the day...
My 66 in 72 had over 440 on the ground after adding 750 double pump, Isky high lift cam and Hooker headers and that was all I did to it and got under 12 sec 1/4,s
3 disagreements - 1. Amx was absolutely a muscle car. 2. AMX was not a "very small car", compared to Mustangs, Camaros, and some Mopars. 3. The AMX had a lifespan of longer then 3 years.
A few disagreements for you - 1. He didn’t say the AMC wasn’t a muscle car, but it can arguably be a “sports car.” 2. The AMX was a very small car, and it’s wheelbase in ‘68 was 11 inches shorter than the same year Camaro and Mustang. That IS small. 3. The AMX was produced in 1968, 1969, and 1970. If you understood simple math that is three years. 4. You are fucking stupid, obviously.
The car called AMX lasted only three model years. Starting in 1971, "AMX" was just a trim package on Javelin, and later Hornet.
@@therealhonestabe7839 - Look up 1971 & 1972 AMX. That's 5 years. They were made that year idiot. -- " People classify the AMX as a muscle Car, but it's really not" That's the authors quote.
@@jacktheraven Hey moron, good to see you finally formulated a response after 4 months. Unfortunately, you're just showing how stupid you are AGAIN. In 1971 and 1972 the AMX wasn't its own model... IT WAS A TRIM PACKAGE FOR THE JAVELIN YOU STUPID MORON. And way to cherry pick quotes, the very next line he even states it's a mix of a sports car... meaning a mix of a muscle car and a sports car. Do you really not understand basic context of conversation? Man, you are really dumb.
@@therealhonestabe7839 - now you're cherry picking. The AMX name plate was still out there for 4 more years. Just like I said.
Gorgeous AMX
The owner of the goat just couldn't drive right he was out driven.
Both nice but 65 GTO nicer looking by far.
You put out a good product dude.
Ha!!! The Bobcat lost to a Rambler!!! Love the AMX!!
This AMX is running a second faster than the factory tunes did. I have one. It's fast, headers& cam, but I lost to a heavier, built 327 Chevelle.
401 on the plate, coincidence i guess?
Hard to believe this was a Bobcat.My car club friend had a new '65 tripower ,four speed,3.90 gear stock(no Bobcat mods)that ran 13.8's at US 30.He bought a '67 RA III that ran 13.6's stock,hurt the engine in '69 and traded it for a new,I thought he said, 401 AMX that ran low 13's.Vids of these,however all seem to say 390,so i'm not sure,been a long time ago.
Wasn't his first time at the track in the AMX. Nice hole shot all 3 runs
AMC slapping it's manhood on Pontiac's forehead.
The goat had 3 duces and the AMX still kicked his butt. IMpressive.
What's the weight difference in the two. I'd bet the GTO weighs considerably more.
Anywhere from 400-600 lbs more weight on the Pontiac.