The saddest story of one of the best American car makers * hated by many _ loved by a few : including me * engineers and designers just excellent _ AMC will always be an Icon in history ❤
It’s cause they couldn’t keep up in power during the muscle car era. AMC didn’t wake up it’s powerplants actually making comparable power with cubic inch size until 1971. Way way too late and had lost out on many customers. They said for years and I quote “ amc doesn’t care about winning races, we care about the human race”. 😂Laughable when gas was cheap and boomers wanted power from the win on Sunday, sell on Monday agenda.
@@jakobquick6875 we care * they said _ about the human race / what a great quote * sad for the nice models that they produced _ i had a 304 cid Matador * loved that machine ❤
A real who -rey car to knock around in, cruise, & street or track race. A sobering fact, with all do respect, though.... The Mustang would go on to sell 318,000 units in the first year and would surpass more than one million in sales within eighteen months. SALES VOLUME with Reasonable Margins is King. Nothing Good Ever Lasts. We were ALL Singing The Blues over the '74 oil crisis.
My brother's AMX was wicked. Burnt orange with dbl. black stripe, side exhaust. It sounded incredible! As a 12 yr. old in 1970 this was as good as gets. I would beg him to take me school so my friends could see and here this magnificent beast. Ahh...great memories! Now he drives an SUV 🙄
I prefer the grille on the ‘69 but also like the hood blister of the ‘70. The black hood color scheme looked fantastic to me. The AMX was truly a beautiful design. Sad that the gas crunch (among other issues) ended its run as a standalone. Love seeing them now.
As a Corvette fanatic, I approve this video. lol My Dad was a Master Mechanic and a former Sprint Car Crew Chief. As I was growing up, he taught me the basics of being a mechanic on mostly GM cars because that's what he preferred. However, he had high praise for AMC products when it came to general mechanics. In his words, "Learning to fix an AMC is the best way to learn how to fix ANY vehicle." and he wasn't wrong. Many parts were interchangeable with THE BIG 3. It was like having a Ford engine mounted to a GM transmission connected to a Chrysler/Dodge rearend. lol Seriously, they put the best of all 3 into one package. After learning how to fix them, while learning the history in the process, I rather felt sorry for AMC. They were the "little brother" who never got the recognition they deserved. THE BIG FOUR should've been the proper way to address the American Automotive Industry. I've owned several different AMC vehicles in my lifetime and I feel they deserve more credit than they've been given. Without them, the JEEP name would've died out many decades ago!!
Seriously, Jeep really didn't become Mopar. Till they dropped the 4.0 and the 2.5 and whatever other engines they inherited. if memory serves me right the 4.0 is actually a destroked AMC 258.
@@fadedjate7230 Mopar took over in the late 80s, where the Jeep and Concorde were the only survivors and the 4.0 got an upgrade, so to speak. There are some differences between each 4.0 version, but not much. Obvious upgrade was electronic ignition and fuel injection. Personally, I liked the Eagles and Concordes. They were great in the snow. Anything 1974 and older is golden in my book and that includes the Willys/Overland era. I actually like Gremlins and I'm not afraid to admit it. lol They were badass little cars if they had the right package.
AMC didn't use Ford motors, although many people make this mistake since and and Ford both had 360s and 390s.totally different engines though, the AMC were all small blocks and the 360/390 Ford's were FE big blocks. They did use gm and Mopar trans though
I worked at an AMC dealer in 72 an bought a 70 amx that been stolen and abandoned. I got the the auto trans rebuilt and got hold of a 401 which had all the group 19 goodies . ran low 12's. Sure wish I had it now.
Uncle had a pair of 70 AMXs. At 15 I fell in love with the sick lil 2 seater. Ripping down the highway, throwing it into a slide, and being able to easily recover.
I bought a new '72 AMX/Javelin, 401CID, 4 speed. I drove it past 175k miles and still got some good bucks for it when I traded it for the '86 EFI Mustang GT. That AMX Javelin was the best car I've ever owned. It handled remarkably well.
In 1968, I lived in Salinas, California, and I lived a block away from the auto sales area of the city. Where the street I lived on met in a T-intersection, going towards the T, on the left was the Chevy dealership, and on the opposite corner was the AMC dealership, with the Pontiac/Buick/Oldsmobile/GMC dealership across the street from them. I was a stone-cold car nut at the age of 8, so if my mom couldn't find me on a Saturday, she always knew where to look. The Camaros and Firebirds were still a relative new thing, in their second year of production, and they were definitely cool as hell, with the Camaro topping my dream car list after that dealer just acquired an SS396 4-speed in Maroon with white stripes and a parchment/black interior with an am/fm radio and factory a/c, and I fell in love with that car! It was as loaded as a car like that could be, according to the sales manager who befriended me. I begged my dad to buy it, but he bought a '68 Mustang GT 390 instead. I'd go to sit in that Camaro and dream about having that car almost every Saturday until it sold about two months later, but just before it sold, I noticed a very odd looking but very cool AMC painted red, white and blue being off-loaded across the street, so I just had to get a closer look. The only other cool AMC I'd ever seen in person before was a Red, White and Blue "The Machine" prototype that was being demo 'ed at the local drag strip. The Chevy guys would let me sit and dream in that Camaro (or any other Chevy car, including any Vette that they had in the showroom), but the AMC sales manager was a real prick to me. I only got two chances to look closely at that AMX, just enough to know that it had a 4-speed, a black interior, a roll bar and NO BACK SEAT! That assh0le never allowed me to sit in it, and chewed my ass if I even touched it. Of course, that made me even more curious about it. Three years later, one of my dad's friends at the CHP bought a used one in Orange with a black interior, and this guy even let me drive it on a supermarket parking lot on a Sunday evening after the store closed. That car was really quick. My dad had been letting me drive his manual tranny pickup on deer hunting trips since I was about 10, so I knew how to do it, and I was actually a tall 10-year-old! They both laughed so hard when I stalled it in 1st gear on the first attempt to get rolling but squealed the tires on the very next try. I fell in love all over again. I would have bought one soon after I joined the Marines in 1977, but these cars were very rare even at that time, and the gas shortage in 1973-74 had the original AMX owners (and practically every other performance car owner out there) selling those cars to buy economy cars well before I could even start to think about earning money to buy one. Drag racers all over the country were also buying them up used, so I didn't see another AMX in good condition until I went to a car show in 1987. Man, oh man, had I just have been a little older! I've owned lots of different hot performance cars since I started buying cars, but the AMX is what I always wanted, and they always seemed to be very elusive for me. I don't have the fortune necessary to buy a good example today, as even rough builders can cost an arm and a leg to acquire.
Yeah, beautiful design, just like the Gremlin. Twice the price and just as ugly. The looks might grow on you, but the cars never lasted long enough for that to happen, or if you could see the car. The AMX, Javelin, Gremlin, all gone, & for good reason. AMC=POS
@@trainglen22 Ew, ick. Do you like Pacers too? Pintos? Yugos? If you like objectively good cars, it make sense. If you like objectively bad cars that are unreliable, perform poorly, offer little in the way of safety, are unsafe, made from cheap materials, and built by people that can't make a decent car, managed by people that are so utterly inept that they literally can't run their own company, then there is something wrong in your world. Normal people like good things. Normal people don't celebrate genocide, or torture, or sadism, or maggots crawling all over their rotting skin, and normal people don't like AMC cars. I remember the AMC cameo on the TV series "Adam 12." I was only a child when that episode was first aired, but even as a child I realized how pathetic that product placement was. It was a desperate cry for help by people too stupid to design, build, or distribute a car people wanted. In the late 1960s and early 1970s you had Chargers and Challengers, Mustangs and Barracudas, Lamborghinis and Ferraris, Lotus made the Europa, Porsche the 911 (& 914/6 among other models), Datsun had their 2000, Pontiac had the GTO, Plymouth had their Duster, Fury, & Road Runner, Chevrolet had the Nova, Chevelle, Camaro, Monte Carlo, El Camino, and the 1969 Corvette was the FASTEST CAR IN THE WORLD. And you want that broken-down monstrosity from AMC? Instead of the Corvette? Yeah, maybe there are a very few who like those AMC cars. Very few for a good reason. AMC over Chevrolet? Good luck with that. I'll see you at the next car show, if your AMC can make it from your driveway to the showgrounds without breaking down.
I had a brand new 1970 Javelin, 390 Lime Green with polished mags. But I took the side mounted “390” stickers off & replaced them with “304” stickers. I never lost a drag race until I opened the hood & the person I raced saw the 390 sticker on the air cleaner. LOL!
Mine was the 1968 model in gold with the small 290 v8, back in the late 1970s and early 1980s.. Not as much s ground-pounder as the big 390, but still a quick car. Somewhat uncomfortable, the ride was stiff and the seat backs were painful if leaned way back. But I loved it. A few times I raced 455 T-As, and easily beat them off the line. But geared low it topped out at 104MPH. I wish I still had it. Absolute funnest car to drive I have ever had.
The 1970 Trans Am 455 Ram IV ran low 13 second quarter miles. The highest performing AMX ran high 14 second quarter miles. It seems hard to consider an AMX that quick in comparison to basically every other pony or muscle car competitor of that era, including the Ford Torino Cobra, Boss 429 Mustang, '69 302 Tunnel Ram Camaro, '70 Chevelle LS6, '70 Buick GSX 455, '70 Hemi 'Cuda, etc., etc. Unless these guys were asleep or preparing a sandwich at the starting line, any of them would gap the heck out of an AMX.
@@pleasegrowabrainI owned a ‘70 Formula 400 Firebird with Muncie 4 spd and 4:11 gears with variable ratio steering , aftermarket a/c because it came set up from the factory as basically… a race car. Bought if in ‘77 from the father of a fallen Vietnam Air Force vet killed in action. It had 33,000 miles on it. It ran low 13’s. I only raced it twice officially at I-20 drag strip close to Longview Texas. But a dang fun car. Unfortunately , I was in college and couldn’t afford the 8-10 mpg and high octane gas requirement fuel bill. So sold it and bought a ‘69 Nova. Damn my Hyde. I did sell it for 500.00 more than I paid for it …which was 2500.00. Lol. Makes me sick now that I think about it. It was silver with the twin snorkel hood and black vinyl top. Cragar wheels. I kept it for two years and loved every minute of it. It would spin the tires in the first three gears. But that gear ratio meant the engine was spinning 3000rpm at 65-70 mph ( can’t remember exact speed)
@@freepatriot6313 that sounds like you had a good time with it while you had it. You got at least that. I’m 42 and 4 kids… I’m happy when my F250 is running right lol. I miss my fast car days but I have the memories. Good times!
Thank you for this video on AMX. 2 points: 1970 front suspension was redesigned by Mark Donohue for Trans-Am racing (68-69 Javelin and AMX had same front suspension as my 63 Rambler Ambassador), the engine block deck height was increased with revised oiling and new dog leg port heads were installed.
Technically this car did accomplish what it was supposed to in the Trans Am series. These were very underrated cars and very underappreciated cars as well.
@@truthboomertruthbomber5125 technically they do if you look at the fact that the AMX was based on the javelin even though it was shortened in wheelbase. Essentially they were the same car based on the same platform and there were several special editions of both the javelin and the AMX that were made and there were some also dedicated to the Trans Am series..
AMX was their Go To for the 1/4 mile. It was the '70 Javelin was the Top Dog in Trans Am. People have always gotten AMC wrong, IMO. They were ALWAYS underfunded but they had some of the best outside the box engineers who "left meat on the table" so to speak. Their engines were understressed but still had plenty of power. Not to say they were perfect. None of them were but AMC's V8s were extremely Reliant on maintenance. They could handle abuse but you had to keep up with that service schedule.
"One of the best looking cars, if not the best looking car made in the USA." I think there's others that are up there too but it's definitely among the finalists. 😘😍 In my top 5 of all muscle/pony cars. I remember a young, engineer neighbour down the street from me growing up, he had three. One red, one yellow and another in the garage taken apart he was working on or for parts, I'm not sure. The guy was an enthusiast and I can't blame him. I always stared at his sweet AMXs.
In 74 when I was in high school, a guy had an AMX Javelin. Nobody could beat that car. We had races outside of town on a long new strip of asphalt that they built to the new Alcoa plant. Another of the fastest was a 71 GTO with a 400,with tri power. I rode in the GTO once and you could literally see the gas gauge dropping when all the carbs kicked in.
I own a 69, and they are the best looking cars of the 66-70 era of american iron. They had way more power than advertised and out handled everything on the road, right up to keeping in the twisty grove with the Corvette, publications at the time even did articles about how with a small amount of DIY it could handle better and run faster, this car to this day is still fun AF, and can give any a run for their money.
@@rarecars3336 you are right. And I will, because it's got to be moved soon too so... But, I'll be the one doing the heavy lifting (mechanical work) on it. He will be the one paying the body shop $$$! Lol It's not terrible, but it got hit in the right front corner and he already has the body parts too.
They were bedazz when they hit the street. A sudden rival to the regulars. We saw them and immediately loved them. They provided many," Tool Time", grunts and groans long before Tim Allen got out of the dope bag.
@@gordocarbo At redline (5,500) the speedo showed, I'm just guessing here, around 147, so taking speedometer error it was probably an honest 140 or so.
Had a 72 Amx when I was in my 20s. My folks hated it! The engine had been blueprinted. So fast! One of the few times I was not hotrodding around a lady ran a red light and totaled it. It was so lightly built it just collapsed into the passenger seat.
Owner of a '69 390 Go-Pak. So much fun to drive. That engine has great, steady build of power, and the torque links in the rear keep it from feeling wild when burying the accelerator. Driving the Woodward dream cruise is a lonely, but fun experience with it. "what is that? a really short Chevelle?" nope! My dad had one as a 20-something auto engineer in Michigan. and his tales of adventure with it made me spend most of my adult life looking for one worth buying.
I remember in 1969 racing against an AMX at the Watkins Glen SCCA National races. It was modified for road racing and was very fast. We assumed that it had some factory support because it was every bit as fast as any of the Corvettes that day, including mine.
Hey Dude, great video and very well narrated. I really like the 1970 model, more refined. My most favorite car is the 1969 Camaro Z/28, especially the Mark Donahue Sunoco race car in royal blue with yellow trim. It's really too bad what happened to AMC, they had something there.
When I was a kid I saw a new AMX. This car was beautiful. About 20 years ago I bought my dream hot rod. I did alot of work on it to bring it back to original. It has a 390 and factory 4 speed. This car is still fun to drive and turns heads at shows.
Best looking? Where's the back of the car? The way the doors are slanted and strange slanted rear of the car.... I don't know about looks but I'm sure it was a great car .... Great video thx for creating
The AMX was the first car that I really took a liking to when I was a kid. A young guy in the neighborhood had a burnt orange AMX that I always admired when he drove by.
My first car was a 1970 AMX in 1983. I still own it. Everywhere I take it, people will gather around and reminisce about how quick they are. And yes, it's quick.
I had a 69 343ci 4 spd manual AMX. I loved the way it looked, the way it drove. I had it up to 135mph flat out once. Those cars had 140 mph speedometers in them!
Would love to get my hands on one of these. My first car was a bone stock, unmodified Rambler American two-door V8. The only car I ever had go to120 mph. My self-modified 71 Pinto came close with 4 souls on board.
I have seen the 68 /69 ramblers with 390'sspank some of the big 3 big blocks and a amx go toe to toe with a vett on twisty road and stay with it ,did have respect for what those cars could do
Right around the 1:31 mark, that scene brought back memories. That is not water spewing out of the back, it is gas spewing out of the filler cap. I had a couple other cars that filled in the back end and the force of take off always had gas spilling from the back.
I can remember the two AMC dealerships growing up in Quincy,MA. I always walked by Hassan AMC on my way to school in the late 60s/early 70s and saw the AMX and Javelins in all their glory.If I knew then what I know now...
Someone went by my shop in a red AMX. My coworker and I made mad "We're Not Worthy!!!" gestures at it. Guy actually saw us doing that, turned around and parked up in our gravel lot and showed us all over it. Cool owner!
A Red White and Blue AMX was the first car that I had ever seen do a wheel stand way back in the 80s at Green Valley drag strip in Glencoe Alabama, and the same car was at Burnt Valley in Ragland Alabama the next week.
Agreed, the AMX was "The Gentleman's Sportscar". At 6'4" and 250lbs. back then, I had no trouble enterring and exiting my AMX, and had great fun driving it. Never raced a Corvette, but I did show my back end to a few Trans Ams and Camaros. 😊
Sweet, I remember them all, I love all 3yrs n the javelin also that a friend of mine had, wish I could have had one, but went Mopar 69 Dodge dart GTS 340 HO,those were the days 😊
Love this channel. You should set up a car brokerage offering some specimens up and you take a commission. Just an idea. I remember when they were giving away AMXs in the 1990s now it seems cheapest you can find one in clean shape is $40k!
When I was 16 I worked as a lot man on a used car lot in Selma Alabama. We had one of these Hornets in orange on the lot. I drove it many times. It had a gauge on the dash said Boost/vacuum didn’t think to much of it but I was fast as hell. It had the rally wheels it had a 401cuin with a 4 speed trans I wanted that car but couldn’t afford it at $3.14 an hour. Lol
I've been a fan of AMX's every since Pete's Patriot rolled thru my home town on its way the Brainard, MN NHRA Nationals event in the summer of 1969. My brother and I followed it to Brainard and witnessed history when it ran away with all the marbles in Super Stock --beating Judy Lily in a Hemi powered Cuda among others. (The first time an AMC car won a NHRA National event.)
That had to be SUCH a rad car! I always loved AMC I don't think their cars got the love they deserved, id argue my favorite lineup of cars at the time was theirs
In the early 80s dad had a 1971 Javilin.. honestly it was 401 ci powered 4speed with posi rearend.. very wicked machine. I remember my mother telling my father BILL, I'M NOT GETTING BACK IN THAT CAR WITH YOU... THE third time he sold the dawn thing.. dude pulled out from the Kroger store in Pomeroy Ohio and spun the aluminum slots and chased his rim& tire into the Ohio river.. back then Mickey Thompsons on Alcoa aluminum slots where worth chasing it to the river.
On a test drive, I found the cornering on anything other than smooth surfaces horrendous, dangerous, unsettling. Too bad. Great looking car and Fast! Bought a new BMW 1600 that week. Amazing cornering...and repair bills! Toyota rules!
AMC is still alive today through Chrysler products. The 4.0 is in a lot of Jeeps and the 3.7 is a AMC engine found in Jeeps as well. The 360 was used in Chrysler products as well as the 2.5 liter which was in the Dakotas and I think the Wrangler. But these engines are alive and kicking on the Roads today a testament to excellent engineering.
For years I dreamed of getting my hands on a '68 or '69 AMX, 390 4-speed. Well, five years ago, that dream came true! I came across a Beale St. Blue '69 with the go-package and Flowmaster mufflers. Not to mention white go-pack racing stripes.
My grandfather, Les Kinney, drag raced one of the 52 SS AMX's back in the early 70's. Set records in the 1/4 mile, and even one the Gatornationals in '71. I wish I knew where that car went, he sold it in 74.
The AMX, or the Javelin of what became the AMC ! The AMX at 390 HP, with a four speed as I remember us driving it back in 1968! I was a thrill! Back in the day, my buddy worked for UPS after high school and his service to our country! Well Glenn, decided we needed to test drive this 390 HP AMC (Rambler) who would have thought!
I saw an AMX in Jackson ms a while that had a 401 badge on it, I didn't get to talk to him, but was that a factory/dealer option or was it an engine swap?
You didn't mention the 401-ci with the six pack, The Alabama State Troopers used these, with a claimed 160-MPH top speed and a four speed manual gearbox?
The saddest story of one of the best American car makers * hated by many _ loved by a few : including me * engineers and designers just excellent _ AMC will always be an Icon in history ❤
It’s cause they couldn’t keep up in power during the muscle car era.
AMC didn’t wake up it’s powerplants actually making comparable power with cubic inch size until 1971. Way way too late and had lost out on many customers.
They said for years and I quote “ amc doesn’t care about winning races, we care about the human race”.
😂Laughable when gas was cheap and boomers wanted power from the win on Sunday, sell on Monday agenda.
@@jakobquick6875 we care * they said _ about the human race / what a great quote * sad for the nice models that they produced _ i had a 304 cid Matador * loved that machine ❤
A real who -rey car to knock around in, cruise, & street or track race.
A sobering fact, with all do respect, though....
The Mustang would go on to sell 318,000 units in the first year and would surpass more than one million in sales within eighteen months. SALES VOLUME with Reasonable Margins is King. Nothing Good Ever Lasts. We were ALL Singing The Blues over the '74 oil crisis.
AMC built horrible cars. That’s the honest truth .
@ThorOdinson-zc2kq that is true but by far the best one they put out was the machine
My brother's AMX was wicked. Burnt orange with dbl. black stripe, side exhaust. It sounded incredible! As a 12 yr. old in 1970 this was as good as gets. I would beg him to take me school so my friends could see and here this magnificent beast. Ahh...great memories! Now he drives an SUV 🙄
My first car was the same color and year, I wondered if the girls' I dated like me or my car???
I love AMC`s. From the AMX, to the Machine and the Scrambler, they were nice cars.
I prefer the grille on the ‘69 but also like the hood blister of the ‘70. The black hood color scheme looked fantastic to me. The AMX was truly a beautiful design. Sad that the gas crunch (among other issues) ended its run as a standalone. Love seeing them now.
It is still so rare to see them now, I go to shows and I really see maybe a max of 1-2 per show which is sad
As a Corvette fanatic, I approve this video. lol My Dad was a Master Mechanic and a former Sprint Car Crew Chief. As I was growing up, he taught me the basics of being a mechanic on mostly GM cars because that's what he preferred. However, he had high praise for AMC products when it came to general mechanics. In his words, "Learning to fix an AMC is the best way to learn how to fix ANY vehicle." and he wasn't wrong. Many parts were interchangeable with THE BIG 3. It was like having a Ford engine mounted to a GM transmission connected to a Chrysler/Dodge rearend. lol Seriously, they put the best of all 3 into one package. After learning how to fix them, while learning the history in the process, I rather felt sorry for AMC. They were the "little brother" who never got the recognition they deserved. THE BIG FOUR should've been the proper way to address the American Automotive Industry. I've owned several different AMC vehicles in my lifetime and I feel they deserve more credit than they've been given. Without them, the JEEP name would've died out many decades ago!!
Seriously, Jeep really didn't become Mopar. Till they dropped the 4.0 and the 2.5 and whatever other engines they inherited. if memory serves me right the 4.0 is actually a destroked AMC 258.
@@fadedjate7230 Mopar took over in the late 80s, where the Jeep and Concorde were the only survivors and the 4.0 got an upgrade, so to speak. There are some differences between each 4.0 version, but not much. Obvious upgrade was electronic ignition and fuel injection. Personally, I liked the Eagles and Concordes. They were great in the snow. Anything 1974 and older is golden in my book and that includes the Willys/Overland era. I actually like Gremlins and I'm not afraid to admit it. lol They were badass little cars if they had the right package.
So, AMC was the Andy Gibb of the US automakers?
@@seed_drill7135Yes, much like the 4th Musketeer, the 5th Beatle and Howlin' Mad Murdock of The A-Team. 👍
AMC didn't use Ford motors, although many people make this mistake since and and Ford both had 360s and 390s.totally different engines though, the AMC were all small blocks and the 360/390 Ford's were FE big blocks. They did use gm and Mopar trans though
The 1970 AMX was the best 2-seat version. It's a shame that the 401ci V8(330hp) never made it to the two-seater AMX. That would have been interesting.
I worked at an AMC dealer in 72 an bought a 70 amx that been stolen and abandoned. I got the the auto trans rebuilt and got hold of a 401 which had all the group 19 goodies . ran low 12's. Sure wish I had it now.
I agree that the 70 was the best looking and driving AMX. ruclips.net/video/zDzi5uPVVsk/видео.html
Although I don't think the 401 was really much of an improvement over the 390.
Its all about the heads and cam@@oneninerniner3427
I ran a 68 Javelin in the late 70's with a 360 hydraulic cam intake and headers. Ran 11.20 all day @@oneninerniner3427
Uncle had a pair of 70 AMXs. At 15 I fell in love with the sick lil 2 seater.
Ripping down the highway, throwing it into a slide, and being able to easily recover.
I bought a new '72 AMX/Javelin, 401CID, 4 speed. I drove it past 175k miles and still got some good bucks for it when I traded it for the '86 EFI Mustang GT.
That AMX Javelin was the best car I've ever owned. It handled remarkably well.
Wow, one of the most gorgeous pieces of steel! I clicked immediately!
The challenger came out in 70, we know what you mean it just was weird. Thank you for the video the AMX is definitely one of my favorites
In 1968, I lived in Salinas, California, and I lived a block away from the auto sales area of the city. Where the street I lived on met in a T-intersection, going towards the T, on the left was the Chevy dealership, and on the opposite corner was the AMC dealership, with the Pontiac/Buick/Oldsmobile/GMC dealership across the street from them. I was a stone-cold car nut at the age of 8, so if my mom couldn't find me on a Saturday, she always knew where to look. The Camaros and Firebirds were still a relative new thing, in their second year of production, and they were definitely cool as hell, with the Camaro topping my dream car list after that dealer just acquired an SS396 4-speed in Maroon with white stripes and a parchment/black interior with an am/fm radio and factory a/c, and I fell in love with that car! It was as loaded as a car like that could be, according to the sales manager who befriended me. I begged my dad to buy it, but he bought a '68 Mustang GT 390 instead. I'd go to sit in that Camaro and dream about having that car almost every Saturday until it sold about two months later, but just before it sold, I noticed a very odd looking but very cool AMC painted red, white and blue being off-loaded across the street, so I just had to get a closer look. The only other cool AMC I'd ever seen in person before was a Red, White and Blue "The Machine" prototype that was being demo 'ed at the local drag strip. The Chevy guys would let me sit and dream in that Camaro (or any other Chevy car, including any Vette that they had in the showroom), but the AMC sales manager was a real prick to me. I only got two chances to look closely at that AMX, just enough to know that it had a 4-speed, a black interior, a roll bar and NO BACK SEAT! That assh0le never allowed me to sit in it, and chewed my ass if I even touched it. Of course, that made me even more curious about it. Three years later, one of my dad's friends at the CHP bought a used one in Orange with a black interior, and this guy even let me drive it on a supermarket parking lot on a Sunday evening after the store closed. That car was really quick. My dad had been letting me drive his manual tranny pickup on deer hunting trips since I was about 10, so I knew how to do it, and I was actually a tall 10-year-old! They both laughed so hard when I stalled it in 1st gear on the first attempt to get rolling but squealed the tires on the very next try. I fell in love all over again. I would have bought one soon after I joined the Marines in 1977, but these cars were very rare even at that time, and the gas shortage in 1973-74 had the original AMX owners (and practically every other performance car owner out there) selling those cars to buy economy cars well before I could even start to think about earning money to buy one. Drag racers all over the country were also buying them up used, so I didn't see another AMX in good condition until I went to a car show in 1987. Man, oh man, had I just have been a little older! I've owned lots of different hot performance cars since I started buying cars, but the AMX is what I always wanted, and they always seemed to be very elusive for me. I don't have the fortune necessary to buy a good example today, as even rough builders can cost an arm and a leg to acquire.
Still much less than comparable Camaro mustang or Mopar, & they come w factory traction bars
@@rogerdodrill4733 The AMX came with factory traction bars too.
It's a shame these didn't last long enough for a second generation. I'd love to see what the 2nd gen Javelin would look like as a 2-seater.
AMC made a few AMX III's that never went into production... Gorgeous and very valuable cars...
Loved the fuel spewing out at 1:29
Fuel or water?
Had to be a bad gas cap and a full tank. I also cringed at 11 seconds when the sparks were flying towards that beautiful car
Tons of cars were like that back in the day. If they filled the tank completely they would puke a bunch on pulling into traffic. Ah the good old days
Such a beautiful car. The design itself is still modern. I love the 1970 AMX.
Yeah, beautiful design, just like the Gremlin. Twice the price and just as ugly. The looks might grow on you, but the cars never lasted long enough for that to happen, or if you could see the car. The AMX, Javelin, Gremlin, all gone, & for good reason. AMC=POS
@@salvadormonella8953 There are people who like them. Myself included...
@@trainglen22 Ew, ick. Do you like Pacers too? Pintos? Yugos? If you like objectively good cars, it make sense. If you like objectively bad cars that are unreliable, perform poorly, offer little in the way of safety, are unsafe, made from cheap materials, and built by people that can't make a decent car, managed by people that are so utterly inept that they literally can't run their own company, then there is something wrong in your world. Normal people like good things. Normal people don't celebrate genocide, or torture, or sadism, or maggots crawling all over their rotting skin, and normal people don't like AMC cars. I remember the AMC cameo on the TV series "Adam 12." I was only a child when that episode was first aired, but even as a child I realized how pathetic that product placement was. It was a desperate cry for help by people too stupid to design, build, or distribute a car people wanted. In the late 1960s and early 1970s you had Chargers and Challengers, Mustangs and Barracudas, Lamborghinis and Ferraris, Lotus made the Europa, Porsche the 911 (& 914/6 among other models), Datsun had their 2000, Pontiac had the GTO, Plymouth had their Duster, Fury, & Road Runner, Chevrolet had the Nova, Chevelle, Camaro, Monte Carlo, El Camino, and the 1969 Corvette was the FASTEST CAR IN THE WORLD. And you want that broken-down monstrosity from AMC? Instead of the Corvette? Yeah, maybe there are a very few who like those AMC cars. Very few for a good reason. AMC over Chevrolet? Good luck with that. I'll see you at the next car show, if your AMC can make it from your driveway to the showgrounds without breaking down.
@@salvadormonella8953Tell us what you really think....
@@salvadormonella8953you sound like a little,prissy girl, please don’t speak on behalf of grown men.
Beautiful cars. Guess I like the simpler look of the earlier ones the best but the 70 model is also pretty sweet looking.
That's fair, the earlier ones almost look more European in a way, a more pure design
I had a brand new 1970 Javelin, 390 Lime Green with polished mags. But I took the side mounted “390” stickers off & replaced them with “304” stickers. I never lost a drag race until I opened the hood & the person I raced saw the 390 sticker on the air cleaner. LOL!
Mine was the 1968 model in gold with the small 290 v8, back in the late 1970s and early 1980s.. Not as much s ground-pounder as the big 390, but still a quick car. Somewhat uncomfortable, the ride was stiff and the seat backs were painful if leaned way back. But I loved it. A few times I raced 455 T-As, and easily beat them off the line. But geared low it topped out at 104MPH. I wish I still had it. Absolute funnest car to drive I have ever had.
Sounds like you spent a little time pushed back in that seat goin through the gears!
The 1970 Trans Am 455 Ram IV ran low 13 second quarter miles. The highest performing AMX ran high 14 second quarter miles. It seems hard to consider an AMX that quick in comparison to basically every other pony or muscle car competitor of that era, including the Ford Torino Cobra, Boss 429 Mustang, '69 302 Tunnel Ram Camaro, '70 Chevelle LS6, '70 Buick GSX 455, '70 Hemi 'Cuda, etc., etc. Unless these guys were asleep or preparing a sandwich at the starting line, any of them would gap the heck out of an AMX.
@@pleasegrowabrainI owned a ‘70 Formula 400 Firebird with Muncie 4 spd and 4:11 gears with variable ratio steering , aftermarket a/c because it came set up from the factory as basically… a race car. Bought if in ‘77 from the father of a fallen Vietnam Air Force vet killed in action. It had 33,000 miles on it. It ran low 13’s. I only raced it twice officially at I-20 drag strip close to Longview Texas. But a dang fun car. Unfortunately , I was in college and couldn’t afford the 8-10 mpg and high octane gas requirement fuel bill. So sold it and bought a ‘69 Nova. Damn my Hyde. I did sell it for 500.00 more than I paid for it …which was 2500.00. Lol. Makes me sick now that I think about it. It was silver with the twin snorkel hood and black vinyl top. Cragar wheels. I kept it for two years and loved every minute of it. It would spin the tires in the first three gears. But that gear ratio meant the engine was spinning 3000rpm at 65-70 mph ( can’t remember exact speed)
@@freepatriot6313 that sounds like you had a good time with it while you had it. You got at least that. I’m 42 and 4 kids… I’m happy when my F250 is running right lol. I miss my fast car days but I have the memories. Good times!
What about the AMC Pacer ? LOL!
Thank you for this video on AMX. 2 points: 1970 front suspension was redesigned by Mark Donohue for Trans-Am racing (68-69 Javelin and AMX had same front suspension as my 63 Rambler Ambassador), the engine block deck height was increased with revised oiling and new dog leg port heads were installed.
Technically this car did accomplish what it was supposed to in the Trans Am series. These were very underrated cars and very underappreciated cars as well.
AMXs didn’t run in the Trans Am.
@@truthboomertruthbomber5125 technically they do if you look at the fact that the AMX was based on the javelin even though it was shortened in wheelbase. Essentially they were the same car based on the same platform and there were several special editions of both the javelin and the AMX that were made and there were some also dedicated to the Trans Am series..
@@truthboomertruthbomber5125they were javelins in trans am, correct
AMX was their Go To for the 1/4 mile. It was the '70 Javelin was the Top Dog in Trans Am.
People have always gotten AMC wrong, IMO. They were ALWAYS underfunded but they had some of the best outside the box engineers who "left meat on the table" so to speak. Their engines were understressed but still had plenty of power. Not to say they were perfect. None of them were but AMC's V8s were extremely Reliant on maintenance. They could handle abuse but you had to keep up with that service schedule.
"One of the best looking cars, if not the best looking car made in the USA."
I think there's others that are up there too but it's definitely among the finalists. 😘😍 In my top 5 of all muscle/pony cars.
I remember a young, engineer neighbour down the street from me growing up, he had three. One red, one yellow and another in the garage taken apart he was working on or for parts, I'm not sure. The guy was an enthusiast and I can't blame him. I always stared at his sweet AMXs.
The 70 AMX is my favorite. ruclips.net/video/zDzi5uPVVsk/видео.html
I love the early 2 seaters, great looking design. The later 71-74's had super sexy lines, and look great from almost any angle.
In 74 when I was in high school, a guy had an AMX Javelin. Nobody could beat that car. We had races outside of town on a long new strip of asphalt that they built to the new Alcoa plant. Another of the fastest was a 71 GTO with a 400,with tri power. I rode in the GTO once and you could literally see the gas gauge dropping when all the carbs kicked in.
I own a 69, and they are the best looking cars of the 66-70 era of american iron. They had way more power than advertised and out handled everything on the road, right up to keeping in the twisty grove with the Corvette, publications at the time even did articles about how with a small amount of DIY it could handle better and run faster, this car to this day is still fun AF, and can give any a run for their money.
Some people just refuse to accept that these could hang with the corvettes but they 100% could, thanks for sharing that!
I love my 69 AMX. It drives great and gets a lot of attention everywhere I go.
💥i have a STAGE1 BUICK GS &
I LOVE THE AMX!!!
❤️❤️❤️❤️
70 for me,had the pleasure of working for one of if not the foremost AMC and AMX men ever.Bad ass cars when done right,thank you Rich.
I had a 68 Javelin and replaced the straight 6 with a 343. It truly was a fast car and I miss it.
My bro in law has had his 69 390 4spd for decades. Its been lamenting in his moms garage for decades now too. He keeps talking about restoring it.
Yell at him to restore it LOL, we barely see any of these on the road!
@@rarecars3336 you are right. And I will, because it's got to be moved soon too so... But, I'll be the one doing the heavy lifting (mechanical work) on it. He will be the one paying the body shop $$$! Lol
It's not terrible, but it got hit in the right front corner and he already has the body parts too.
The 1970 is my favorite year. I hope to collect a 70’ AMX in the near future. 👍
All versions of the AMX were nice looking cars. I could not choose just one !
Talks of amx drivetrain, shows pics of cv axles need more knowledge to make authentic posts
Had a friend with a 69 AMX and I had a 70 Mark Donohue Javelin. Sure miss those old cars.
They were bedazz when they hit the street. A sudden rival to the regulars. We saw them and immediately loved them. They provided many," Tool Time", grunts and groans long before Tim Allen got out of the dope bag.
One of my all time fav restomod candidates.
The 1970, was definitely my choice.. and I’m so sorry I sold it.
I had a 69, 390 4-speed go pak w/3:24 gears. Buried the 140 speedo plus.
Sure? THat would be a ton of rpm
@@gordocarbo At redline (5,500) the speedo showed, I'm just guessing here, around 147, so taking speedometer error it was probably an honest 140 or so.
There's never been a road test, ever, or even a factory est top speed, ever for any stock AMX toping out at 140 or above. Nice try fanboy.
@@Mst-bh9ti Haha. Same with pulling a wheelie over a coke can, 100 dollar bill on the dash etc. Dee deee dee de stories
@@Mst-bh9ti Fwiw the fastest thing in the 70s even 80s was the Dodge Lil red express pickup. Some Warlocks
Always loved the AMC AMX Javelin
I like the changes to the 70s also including the hood scoop
Totally agree ruclips.net/video/zDzi5uPVVsk/видео.html
Had a 72 Amx when I was in my 20s. My folks hated it! The engine had been blueprinted. So fast! One of the few times I was not hotrodding around a lady ran a red light and totaled it. It was so lightly built it just collapsed into the passenger seat.
Darn sorry to hear about that lady destroying the car, at least you sounded like you put it through its paces a fair bit!
@rarecars3336 Oh yes! It had so much torque that it would push the air out of the air shocks. Was so fun!!
Owner of a '69 390 Go-Pak. So much fun to drive. That engine has great, steady build of power, and the torque links in the rear keep it from feeling wild when burying the accelerator. Driving the Woodward dream cruise is a lonely, but fun experience with it. "what is that? a really short Chevelle?" nope! My dad had one as a 20-something auto engineer in Michigan. and his tales of adventure with it made me spend most of my adult life looking for one worth buying.
That is an awesome connection that you have to the AMX through your dad. I agree when I go to shows people are always extra curious around the AMXs
My friend had one of these in early seventies. Fast and fun, we would prowl with it. Fun times!!
I Loved AMC cars, And owed quite a few of these Hot Cars
I remember in 1969 racing against an AMX at the Watkins Glen SCCA National races. It was modified for road racing and was very fast. We assumed that it had some factory support because it was every bit as fast as any of the Corvettes that day, including mine.
I’ve always liked those cars
Always wanted one of these. Don't care what year -- they all look great.
Great vid!!!! 🤜🤛
Hey Dude, great video and very well narrated. I really like the 1970 model, more refined. My most favorite car is the 1969 Camaro Z/28, especially the Mark Donahue Sunoco race car in royal blue with yellow trim. It's really too bad what happened to AMC, they had something there.
When I was a kid I saw a new AMX. This car was beautiful. About 20 years ago I bought my dream hot rod. I did alot of work on it to bring it back to original. It has a 390 and factory 4 speed. This car is still fun to drive and turns heads at shows.
Best looking? Where's the back of the car? The way the doors are slanted and strange slanted rear of the car.... I don't know about looks but I'm sure it was a great car .... Great video thx for creating
The AMX was the first car that I really took a liking to when I was a kid. A young guy in the neighborhood had a burnt orange AMX that I always admired when he drove by.
You never know how much the cool car you are driving can impact someone else, great story!
Accurate and we'll presented! 👏
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed the video!
My first car was a 1970 AMX in 1983. I still own it. Everywhere I take it, people will gather around and reminisce about how quick they are. And yes, it's quick.
I had a 69 343ci 4 spd manual AMX. I loved the way it looked, the way it drove. I had it up to 135mph flat out once. Those cars had 140 mph speedometers in them!
Would love to get my hands on one of these. My first car was a bone stock, unmodified Rambler American two-door V8. The only car I ever had go to120 mph. My self-modified 71 Pinto came close with 4 souls on board.
800th like . Love this chanel . It makes me feel young again .
I have seen the 68 /69 ramblers with 390'sspank some of the big 3 big blocks and a amx go toe to toe with a vett on twisty road and stay with it ,did have respect for what those cars could do
Right around the 1:31 mark, that scene brought back memories. That is not water spewing out of the back, it is gas spewing out of the filler cap. I had a couple other cars that filled in the back end and the force of take off always had gas spilling from the back.
The AMX package was offered on the Javelin through 1974. I owned a 1970 and a 1974 at the same time. The last of both body styles. Beautiful cars.
I can remember the two AMC dealerships growing up in Quincy,MA. I always walked by Hassan AMC on my way to school in the late 60s/early 70s and saw the AMX and Javelins in all their glory.If I knew then what I know now...
That AMX was a FUN RIDE wish I still had it
My brother's friend had an amx. It still is an awesome car
May we never forget the 1970 Rebel The Machine, 1969 S/C Rambler aka Scrambler, 1971 Javelin 401 or the gremlin with the 401
Dad had the 67.i had the 70. I blew the doors off a Bonneville with a 455 in that car never tell me rebels were not fast .
Don’t forget the SC360 Hornets. Love AMC and the fact that external dimensions are the same in all displacements. If a 290 fits, so does a 401.
I grew up with a guy whose dad acquired one of those 52 red, white and blue '69 AMX's. FAST car.
SHEESH I really hope he still has it because that is one of the coolest cars period
1970/390 wish I had one!!
I've had mine since 1984. ruclips.net/video/zDzi5uPVVsk/видео.html
Someone went by my shop in a red AMX. My coworker and I made mad "We're Not Worthy!!!" gestures at it. Guy actually saw us doing that, turned around and parked up in our gravel lot and showed us all over it. Cool owner!
You should do a Video on the Buick GSX, Dodge Super Bee, Mercury Cyclone, and the Plymouth GTX
Thd 1970 AMX front and rear styling revamp is my favorite of the three year run.
Soooo cooooool I luv rare cars!
we do too!
A Red White and Blue AMX was the first car that I had ever seen do a wheel stand way back in the 80s at Green Valley drag strip in Glencoe Alabama, and the same car was at Burnt Valley in Ragland Alabama the next week.
These were great cars. A couple of my high school buddies had AMX's. One had a 390, the other one a 343. My 383 Roadrunner beat both of 'em!
1970 does look the best
I've always wanted one of these
Same!
What I don't like about the Corvette is that it is like crawling in and out of a bathtub.
Agreed, the AMX was "The Gentleman's Sportscar". At 6'4" and 250lbs. back then, I had no trouble enterring and exiting my AMX, and had great fun driving it. Never raced a Corvette, but I did show my back end to a few Trans Ams and Camaros. 😊
Was a drag racer at the shop down the street who ran an AMX with the 390 & 4spd....he was New Jersey state champ in his class 2 years running
Me being a diehard Mustang nut, the only other car I would put in my imaginary collection would be the AMX
First car I owned when I was 16 a 1970 AMX 360 Hurst 4 speed. GREAT CAR
Greater w 390/401
Sweet, I remember them all, I love all 3yrs n the javelin also that a friend of mine had, wish I could have had one, but went Mopar 69 Dodge dart GTS 340 HO,those were the days 😊
My buddy in Hi Skool 1979-80 had a dark green '71 Javelin with the 401 4sp & damn that baby was bad ass ✌💖☮
Love this channel. You should set up a car brokerage offering some specimens up and you take a commission. Just an idea. I remember when they were giving away AMXs in the 1990s now it seems cheapest you can find one in clean shape is $40k!
Literally my dream car, that and the Rambler Rebel
I LOVE the rebel, such a sick car!
@@rarecars3336 not to mention the AMC Spirit AMX.
When I was 16 I worked as a lot man on a used car lot in Selma Alabama. We had one of these Hornets in orange on the lot. I drove it many times. It had a gauge on the dash said Boost/vacuum didn’t think to much of it but I was fast as hell. It had the rally wheels it had a 401cuin with a 4 speed trans I wanted that car but couldn’t afford it at $3.14 an hour. Lol
I love that car my older brother had a 69ss , in the early 70's I was about 6yrs old and he would take me with him and drive around ( Detroit).
Had a 68 in BBG and that was my favorite nose and hood style
I've been a fan of AMX's every since Pete's Patriot rolled thru my home town on its way the Brainard, MN NHRA Nationals event in the summer of 1969. My brother and I followed it to Brainard and witnessed history when it ran away with all the marbles in Super Stock --beating Judy Lily in a Hemi powered Cuda among others. (The first time an AMC car won a NHRA National event.)
Had a 1969 model with the 390, 4 speed and Go-Pack, in bronze with black stripes and interior.
That had to be SUCH a rad car! I always loved AMC I don't think their cars got the love they deserved, id argue my favorite lineup of cars at the time was theirs
It was a little beat up, and I only paid $600 for it back in 1992, but it ran great, and still had plenty of power.
Lucky guy! If you don't still have it, I'll bet you wish you did!
I definitely regret getting rid of it, now that I know what they're worth, but unfortunately, bills don't pay themselves.
In the early 80s dad had a 1971 Javilin.. honestly it was 401 ci powered 4speed with posi rearend.. very wicked machine. I remember my mother telling my father BILL, I'M NOT GETTING BACK IN THAT CAR WITH YOU... THE third time he sold the dawn thing.. dude pulled out from the Kroger store in Pomeroy Ohio and spun the aluminum slots and chased his rim& tire into the Ohio river.. back then Mickey Thompsons on Alcoa aluminum slots where worth chasing it to the river.
On a test drive, I found the cornering on anything other than smooth surfaces horrendous, dangerous, unsettling. Too bad. Great looking car and Fast! Bought a new BMW 1600 that week. Amazing cornering...and repair bills!
Toyota rules!
Rules what, commie cars?
AMC is still alive today through Chrysler products. The 4.0 is in a lot of Jeeps and the 3.7 is a AMC engine found in Jeeps as well. The 360 was used in Chrysler products as well as the 2.5 liter which was in the Dakotas and I think the Wrangler. But these engines are alive and kicking on the Roads today a testament to excellent engineering.
For years I dreamed of getting my hands on a '68 or '69 AMX, 390 4-speed. Well, five years ago, that dream came true! I came across a Beale St. Blue '69 with the go-package and Flowmaster mufflers. Not to mention white go-pack racing stripes.
Knew a friend years ago that had an AMX and he had acquired a 401 from a matador and built that up and installed it.. Car was a screamer
Gorgeous AMX Javelin
My grandfather, Les Kinney, drag raced one of the 52 SS AMX's back in the early 70's. Set records in the 1/4 mile, and even one the Gatornationals in '71. I wish I knew where that car went, he sold it in 74.
The AMX, or the Javelin of what became the AMC ! The AMX at 390 HP, with a four speed as I remember us driving it back in 1968! I was a thrill! Back in the day, my buddy worked for UPS after high school and his service to our country! Well Glenn, decided we needed to test drive this 390 HP AMC (Rambler) who would have thought!
I saw an AMX in Jackson ms a while that had a 401 badge on it, I didn't get to talk to him, but was that a factory/dealer option or was it an engine swap?
One big advantage of the AMX over the CORVETTE was being made of metal and not fiberglass.
Until the rust came.....
amx way easier to work on too. C3 looked killer but sucked as far as maintenance went. All show no go except for a few BB cars,
I love AMC. It is my favorite American car company and I'm sad that it couldn't make it.
It is a tragedy really I love their cars to!
I just got a 1968 AMX that needs work. I hope to one day have it finished.
You didn't mention the 401-ci with the six pack, The Alabama State Troopers used these, with a claimed 160-MPH top speed and a four speed manual gearbox?
I bet those are super rare now
Never saw 3x2 on AMC, love to some time
there was also the 1969 to 1070 AMX/3 which had a 390/295hp mid engine. really ahead of its time. check it out if you have a chance.
Yes this car is on my radar for a future video
Loved the 70 car !!!!!
That's one of my dream cars!
I had a friend with one of those, and it was really fast!