America's ULTRA Rare V8 Powered Super Hatchback - The AMC Gremlin 401-XR
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- Опубликовано: 18 авг 2023
- In this Rare Cars documentary, we go deep into one of the rarest and most overlook dealer built cars in American history, the AMC Gremlin 401-XR. This special V8 powered super hatchback while it was ugly was one of the fastest cars that you could purchase from 1972 to 1974, and almost nobody knows that these even existed.
Learn all there is to know about the AMC Gremlin 401-XR in episode 26 of our documentary series on the world's most fascinating cars.
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*Note, we are not historians. If you see an error in our research then please mention it in the comments!
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What does everyone think of the new intro?
Love it! Keep up the great content!
Great presentation!! Big fan of AMC , would love to see more.
My dad thought I was R'tarded growing (His words not mine), I liked gremlins and 58 Chevy's, he thought i was broken
@@crazylarryjrI still like them..plus other vehicles most people don't like. I had a 1974 AMC Matador with a 304 2 barrel and a 727 Torqflite it would leave a major second gear scratch, it was fun to drive and looked really good with the bumpers removed. The Studebaker Avanti is another favorite of mine.
Excellent video, crazy Gremlin history, it was ugly, but it was charming too, it's personality made the difference.
The Gremlin I had when I was 17 was the most fun car I ever owned.
I bought my 73 V-8 new and still have it....great car.
wow
I really miss the AMC cars!
AMC was severely underrated in muscle car circles back then. Truth is they had some pretty good hot rods. AMX, Javelin, Rebel, The Machine, SC/360, SC/Rambler, all of them were the real deal.
I was 12yo back then, our coach ( hockey team) had a
"The Machine" 4 sp on the floor back in 68 and he knew my brother who had a 68 Dodge superbee 383 magnum aut. trans.,
I was only 12yo but I'm born within a mechanic and bodywork family, back in 65 my sister had a 65 parisienne convertible with a 409ci aut. trans and in 69 she had a 69 impala SS 427ci aut.trans.
my Dad had a 64 Studebaker
commander V8 aut. trans. and when it came to my time of purchassing my first ride,, it was in 74 I've set my eyes on a Ford Fairlane 65 with a 289ci "k" eng. 4brl carb auto.trans. posi trac. diff. it had a factory
ondash vaccume gauge, IT was only a 289ci but that thing could really move,,even my brother who by now was riding a 73 Pontiac Sprint 350ci aut. trans.
was impressed of this 8yo Fairlane,
yup, those wher the good days, to me, the era 55 to 79 wher the best!!!
@rogerpr364 I know what you mean, I have an uncle who was a car guy. 1964 he had a dark green galaxy 500 xl, 390 4 barrel. He traded it in 67 for a Fairlane GTA with a 390. Rode in the Fairlane a few times it flat got down the road. Those were some of the best times ever.
@rogerpr364 The Machine didn't arrive until the '70 MY. I assume it was a Rebel - Good car even before AMC dropped all the performance goodies in it
AMC I read made a Matador Machine in 1971 too (Or at a package at least with all of the Go Pack equipment)
@@gray_space_alien My then brother in law had a '67 Mustang with a balanced and blueprinted 390 V8
+ 4-spd. tranny and limited slip rear end that everyone swore was a 428 powered car. It was wicked fast.
But I agree with the comments here about "those were THE days!". lol
I had a 383 Barracuda in my senior year of high school and there was only one car at school that could outrun it. A purple Gremlin X that had a 401 from a Matador swapped into into it. When the guy could get it to hook up, it was wicked fast. My Cuda would hook up better, so it was a good race.
One of them races that changes depending on pavement quality! Love em
That's sick that one of those was running around back then, I love hearing the story of all the unique cars that used to run the streets. Around where I am it was apparently a REALLY nasty small block 62 vette
I ran against a 383 Cuda, and he blew his engine, trying to keep up with my sleeper Olds 442. I still feel bad about it.
I still hear the voice of my dad echoing in my ears as I was building a hot 454 for my Camaro. "That's a lot of time and money on an engine when all you're gonna do is spin wheels." And he was RIGHT. Learned on that project that the hook-up is probably your greatest consideration. Pretty much the difference between who loses and wins a top fuel race is down to who set the clutch up the best, to slip enough but not too much.
Obviously it didn't have the twin grip rear end.
A friend in high school had a 304 4-speed Gremlin X. He was revving that motor too much though, and he blew it. We found a guy who was parting out a Javelin, and so we put that 390 in, with a new clutch. It took us a while to get it running well, but that car was a beast once we did.
Yep, was great in the 70s and 80s, no ECUs, sensors, electronics to worry about, hoist that old drivetrain out, bolt the new one in, maybe gotta jury rig the exhaust a bit, me and a bud did it with his ‘74 Malibu, in 1983-84, 2 17 year olds in a span of 5-6 hours, it ran, but a bit noisy.
I loved the Gremlin and still do LOVE them!!!
Such a cult classic car!
Had a 76 Gremlin X with the 258 straight six withe electronic overdrive, Drove it to Daytona Beach from Cincinnati, Ohio towing a motorcycle on a trailer. My friend and I were both big men weighing 220 pounds apiece plus luggage. The car had a three speed standard and we averaged 25 miles per gallon, Great memories of that car!! Had plenty of power!!
not electronic- those were mechanical units made to fit the t-150 trans. if you didn't pump up the engines power- they were too tall for hilly driving.
A friend of mine had a Gremlin Levi edition back in the late 70s. All Levi jeans material interior. Ah the memories.
Those are a wicked neat car, such a random yet cool crossover
I never knew about the 401-XR. Cool car.
Not many did. Most people don't realize how much AMC was involved with Racing up until the early '70's. They forgot about The Trans Am championship with the AMX/Javelin and the first use of a Resticter Plate used on the Gremlin. The NASCAR Matadors.
dealerships put those together- not AMC @@SGTJDerek
@@tommurphy4307 ah, but they had the FULL support of AMC. My Cousin was the Service Manager at the AMC/Jeep/Eagle Dealership in G-Boro, NC until they closed.
The 401 Gremlin was converted by an AMC dealer and sold in very small numbers. But the 304 V-8 was a regular production option and there were thousands of them sold. So 401 Gremlins were rare but V-8 Gremlins were common.
Yes the regular 304 gremlins aren't that common now but they weren't super rare
The 401 was a great little smallblock, the 304 it was based on was a good engine too. My '77 CJ5 came with a 304 and when that engine was no more, I found a 401 out of an AMX 🙂
If I had only known that comment was going to be here, I could have skipped watching the video. Thanks, Mr. Obvious.
@@joetuktyyuktuk8635
To be fair it wasn't a Small Block or Big Block. Just like Pontiac V8'S weren't Small Block or Big Block back in the Muscle Car Era either.
Pontiacs were more mid sized blocks.
I am relying on my teenage memory here but I thought that by 1974 AMC would let you order a Gremlin from the factory with a 401? That was certainly my impression as a 16-year-old and I fantasied about ordering one so equipped. By the time I bought my first new car in 1979 AMC just had the Spirit and the hot engine options had been dropped or neutered so while I did consider it I went for a 1979 Mustang turbo instead. That turned out to be a turkey that I sold a year and a half later but that's a story for a different time.
In 1974 I bought a used 1972 Gremlin X 5.0L. Silver with black stripes. 3-speed manual, a/c ..ps/pb.
Car came standard with Goodyear poly glass tires that were waaay too easy to spin in this car. I added
electronic ignition, traction bars and radial tires. You could take 1st to 55, 2nd to 90 and it went
past 120 on the dial. Fastest and quickest car I ever owned until I bought my Tesla.
throw a couple of sandbags in the luggage room. we were next to a guy at a stoplight in pacific beach who had a V8 gremlin and he said he had 150 pounds of sand in the back to hook up. we politely told him we don't race gremlins with our datsun. we had a '73 510 sedan with a 3-liter motor in it. a fun car but we had a 300hp V6 and a big, viscous LSD to help with that. we watched the guy raced other cars and it looked pretty fast, but made too much noise and tire smoke.
The 401-XR may have been unobtanium, but used ones with the 304 and the 3-speed floor shift were definitely on my short list as a light, fast modding platform. I nearly bought one, until it turned out that the power to weight ratio put it on my insurance company's muscle car list. At age 17, my annual insurance would have been double what I was about to pay for the car!
That's a really funny story with the insurance, imagine explaining that one to your rep 😂
I can't remember which engine I figured it with, but the power to weight ratio put it in the same category with the supercars and Ferraris of the day.
Man that’s definitely a sleeper! I learned how to drive on my mothers gremlin. It had the 232 straight six , but it was relatively quick off the line and I was able to beat many a slowmaro or Monte Carlo super slow off the line and up to about 50 mph! Those Chevy boys couldn’t get over almost losing to a six banger!
The base gemlins were very light which was definitely an asset!
GMs, Mopar, Ford all great muscle cars, but because, you usually didn't expect it, gettin your ass kicked by a AMC cut deep, lol. This Gremlin, the Scrambler, the Machine and a few other AMCs earned respect.
LOL getting walked by a gremlin had to hurt. Still hurt less than a modified pacer would though lol
The AMC 390/401's were no joke. If I recall correctly both came with forged cranks from the factory. My father had a CJ 304 v8 2brl and it was fine for a little CJ. Family friend had one rebuilt with new manifold and headers and it woke the little 304 up. Later, I had purchased a complete death trap a CJ 5 with a 360. The guy I bought it off of was a mechanic who rebuilt engine with slightly higher compression pistons, stock heads but had head work done, the Edelbrock performer package (Cam, manifold and 4brl carb) electronic ignition and added headers. It flew for a Jeep and you actually had to "drive it" no looking over at passenger. CJ 5's were pretty short wheelbase that one was lifted with 33's which didn't help in handling department. That 360 had like double + the horsepower of a stock 304. I can only imagine a tuned up 390 or 401.
BTW the Gremlin and Pacer were about the ugliest cars ever. But today I'd love that Gremlin XR in the garage :)
In '74 I bought a new Gremlin X. Maxi Blue with Levi package. 258 C.I and a 3 speed. Loved that car.
Everyone I’ve ever talked to that owned a gremlin has very fond memories of them!
I bought one of these crazy cars in the Dallas area in 1972 It was 5 liter s of orange & black madness. Nothing could beat me off the line as long as the line was very straight. Breaking the back end loose was easy & never ending What a fun way to go!
rolling a car over in a drag-race is no fun- take it from me
My family had a 1970 Gremlin well into the 80s. Only the 232 straight six, though, but it was basically foolproof.
This is the power I wish my car had and that color is beautiful.
I didn't know that AMC had these and now I want it.
The Gremlin's most famous moment was as a co-star in the movie "Brewster McCloud".
That little rollerskate doing donuts in the old Astrodome parking lot was unforgettable.
I've never heard of this TV show? or Movie? The Gremlin is famous for many other reasons. AMC's own TV commercials alone were very funny and memorable.
Wheelie comps come to mind first!
@@OsbornTramain Brewster McCloud was a quirky movie starring Bud Cort and Sally Kellerman. I used to work as a projectionist and showed this movie many times. In 1975 I needed to buy my first car so, being a quirky person myself, I looked at the Gremlin. About then AMC introduced the Pacer and it seemed a better set of compromises (and even more quirky...) so I bought one of those and drove it for over 20 years until the rust got it.
I never met one person who actually owned a Gremlin that did not love it. My first 1972 Grem had the bullet proof AMC 258 six, the great Chrysler 904 automatic, A/C and P/S. Got it off the showroom for around 1800.00. The absolute best buy for a young guy with a family at the time.
I had a ‘73 X with 304 V8 with 4.10 gears. That thing was lightning quick. A real sleeper.
I was 3 years old in '72
My Mom loved her 304 V8 Gremlin.
I cherish those memories
I did work for a AMC dealer in western New York, we ordered the vehicle as we saw it! Sales were great, I owned a hornet with a 4 speed transmission, one of the best car I did own at that time
I owned a '74 Wagoneer with a 401 in it, and it had a huge amount of torque. I can only imagine what it could do in a gremlin chassis.
My boss had one of those and I agree, the engine had serious power. I also remember that on the dashboard there was a mechanical lever for locking the front diff… pretty cool. That thing went anywhere.
I had a 401 in a CJ5 that did Weelies .
Randall AMC in Mesa, AZ, did a few of these cars and was well known for high performance AMC engines and cars. If my memory is still any good, I seem to recall twenty something or so were built. Sadly, there's nothing left of the dealership these days, when I was there in Mesa years ago it was an empty lot.
imagine that. the further you get from stock- the more problems youre going to have....
literally what this was about
My mom bought a purple one when I was a kid. I liked that car but it did have it's share of problems. Seems she always had it in the shop. That said, I would like to have a V8 powered model. RIP AMC, wish you could have made it.
well if all the AMC moms didn't have to put their beloved cars in the shop so often- they might still be around- but i doubt it with their 'engineers'.
I believe AMC would've still been around to this day as the big 4th had both Studebaker and Packard merged together with Hudson and Nash along with Kaiser and Jeep to create AMC in 1954.
70 AMX 390 is one of my bucket list cars
Super cool car!
They are bad, have factory overrider traction bars
I had one with the V8 3 speed!!. It was a blast. Stop light to stop light you couldn't catch it!!!
My friend had a Gremlin in high school. He carried his scuba gear in plain sight behind the glass rear hatch so everyone could see how cool he was. I was embarrassed for him 😂.
I liked the gremlin. Me & a friend of mine modified a ford 289 HIPO & put it in a gremlin X. Talk about a beast. We called it the GREMSTANG.
I absolutely love the Gremlin, as well as the Pinto. The Gremlin immediately caught my attention as soon as I first saw one. The owner of a local mechanic shop sold his Mercury Cougar Eliminator to buy one. He put Mickey Thompson L60-14 tires on the back of it, that stuck out about 2" past the fenders. Many years later I drag raced a 1972 Gremlin for 7 years. Yes, it had a small block Chevy engine in it. By then the small block Chevy had become my favorite engine. The Gremlin body and chassis was built like a tank. Solid as a rock. I wish I still owned a Gremlin. I have owned three Pintos, and currently own and drive a 1972 Pinto woodgrain wagon. It came with a 2.0L SOHC inline 4 with a 4 speed transmission. It now has a 289 V8 and C4 automatic transmission from a '67 Falcon.
My auto shop teacher in high school had one of those Gremlins. I had no idea how rare they were. I wish I would have rode in it at least once in retrospect...
If he had one of the real 20 then wow that is crazy rare
well, if dealers were doing the modding- there's no way of knowing how many made it onto the streets- you had no idea because you had no choice.....
My Dad loved Gremlins and owned 3. The last one was an X model with a 304 3speed manual and posi rear end. It was quick off the line but had no top end. Fun car.
Cool, these cars were so odd looking, you either liked or hated them. When I was in highschool my friend's dad got him one as a first car, base model with a straight six and a three speed on the floor. Over the summer of our junior year, we swapped in a 340 and a 4 speed, was a completely different car. He was actually outrunning Zs and TAs, so much fun 👍🇺🇸🤘🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
That had to be a real hoot with the V8
@@rarecars3336
Yes indeed, with the short wheelbase, he could almost lift the front tires when launching. Also, the new intro is nice and, love the channel 😎👍🇺🇸🤘🔥
and thats what made them so dangerous to drag race with- the short wheelbase quickly turns the car into a handful when you aren't hooking up @@kerrypierre9494
A friend of mine did something similar in high school, mid 80s, but he wound up totaling the car.
255 hp was net hp, so this was a good chunk of power for the time. The 1972 304 powered Gremlin X's were capable of in-the-8 second 0-60 mph times and in-the-16 second quarter mile times with 150 rated hp (again, net, not gross), so you know an extra 100 hp in the lightweight Gremlin was going to kick some asphalt.
I knew nothing of this 401-XR version.
Thank you for this...VERY interesting.
☮
I will always love how the front ends look on AMC of that era!
Another great episode!
Glad you enjoyed! Thanks for watching
@@rarecars3336 I wonder if you understand how important your content is right now to those of us who desperately need a distraction from...
Rarer than hens teeth and 10x harder to document. Although there were maybe 20 or 21 XR 401 Gremlins, I'd be perfectly happy to own one of the nearly 11,000 V8 Gremlins produced from 1972 through 1976. I happen to have a 232-powered Gremlin and it's more than adequate.
In Australia we had the Hornet under the Rambler badge (6 cyl) but not the Gremlin. I remember my dad talking about Studebaker Larks and Rambler Rebels being cop cars here in late 1960s, early 1970s. Great video mate 👍
Believe it or not, there was ONE single Gremlin that was prepared for the Australian market and it was even badged as a Rambler Gremlin. It appeared at one or two shows back in the 70's, and then shipped back to the states as it was decided there wasn't enough market space in Oz for the Gremlin. Today, it is the ONLY RHD Gremlin known to exist. It has been restored and is in private hands.
@@That_AMC_Guy I didn’t know that mate, thanks for reply 👍 I do remember in the 80s Jeep wranglers running around with the 401 motor, I’m guessing that was the AMC engine?
Wow thank you for the History regarding the Gremlin XR. Nice car for the time period and you couldn't beat the price .
Right! Absolutely an unbeatable straight line speed value
I see a lot of RUclips videos that claim the 390- V8 was the largest motor made by American Motors. Glad to see the 401-V8 getting some recognition.
Outstanding, thanks for the history lesson. While I was alive and loving anything with wheels it's nice to hear of lesser known cars.
Being a lifelong AMC fan, and owning four some decades back, I like the Gremlin. They were on the road many years after the Pintos and Vegas were consigned to the junkyards. This 401 stuffed in a Gremlin.... Basically they "AMXed" the Gremlin. 😎👍
AMC themselves did this later in 1980 when they created the Spirit AMX. The Spirit bring the follow-on to the Gremlin but better looking. Limited to the 304 V8 though.
I would absolutely take a gremlin over a pinto, the Vegas I like but a the gremlins are so unique in their own special way
It was just as easy to put a SBC 400" into an H-body after 1975 such as Vega, Astre, Firenza, Special, Monza, Sunbird, etc... I still have my ultra rare '77 Pontiac Astre Formula Safari (kammback) Station Wagon...
@@rarecars3336well if you look at the pinto so basically you can tell that all ford did was stretch the grimlin design.
For had a bad habit of copying other automakers.
79 Spirit AMX was only one with 304 ... in 80 you could only get 258 6 like jeeps had
@@FrankStein1 nope
The Gremlin was a simple yet really cool looking car. AMC was kind of ahead of their time when it came to the styling of this and the Javlin/AMC .
and look where it got them....
Ahh! Otto! There's a Gremlin on the side of the bus!
LMAO
Street raced a 401XR with my 64 Falcon convertible.
The 401 wouldn't hook up, smoked the tires all the way through 3 gear.
My friend had a Gremlin X 304 Levi addition. What a great car all around easy to drive. The engine was bullet proof like all AMC engines.
1972 Gremlin with the 258 six. Loved that car. ❤️❤️❤️❤️
I never heard of these factory units, even though I owned a Gremlin back in the mid-seventies. A friend speculated that a 401 out of a Matador would be a fun project for my car, but I never seriously considered it. It was a nice little car though the front end would leave alignment and start eating tires if I so much as kissed a sidewalk with it. Mine was one of the base models with no opening hatchback and no back seat. Thanks for the info.
You're not supposed to drive on the sidewalks.
Thanks for sharing that. I can imagine if these were super mainstream with a 401 for such a low price people would get into a LOT of trouble lol
They weren't "factory", just 20 dealer specials with likely no warranty...
I would of done my best to get one. What an awesome sleeper. Absolutely Love It.
There was nothing wrong with Gremlin's, some rare performance option like this aside that I don't have any experience with the standard Gremlin's were good car's, all that nonsense people have talked about for years claiming they were "junk" and everything else was just smack talking based on people just not liking their style, but they were decent car's.
I worked as a mechanic all through the 80's so I worked on my share of them and it wasn't new one's, they were car's with miles on them and I never saw any kind of inherent flaws, they were pretty solid decent car's, people just didn't like their looks when they came out and that's what doomed them.
I had a friend in high school who's dad had a Gremlin cloned out with a 401. Smoke show machine. They rarely drove it. It was a beauty, a show car.
always loved the gremlins... my first car was a 1975 gremlin, slant 6, 4 wheel drums... scary
I remember Kenny's White with orange striped Gremlin X from back in 1979 on Forest lane in Dallas. Man that thing was sharp!
Always loved this car as a teen!
I always like the looks of the Gremlin. There was one in my area that was the glossiest black with Cragar mags that looked awesome.
when i vacationed in orange county, ca. in the 70's- i used my bros girlfriends gremlin while she was visiting in ohio. that ugly thing got me all over the southland without any problems.
Back in the day, my older step brother worked at AMC in Wisconsin. He would talk about how the guys working at the factory had one heck of a side business modding Gremlins, and other AMC cars. While not production of factory approved, a lot of bad azz AMC's were running around at the time.
and that makes me wonder why they went under- could it be the guys doing modding at the factory is what got them into trouble? who would manage a motor manufacturing facility where workers had a side business selling non-factory-backed cars?
@@tommurphy4307 No, AMC's line up of viable cars started to go down. In the end the only one was the eagle. To many bad business decisions added up and killed the company.
I owned a Gremlin X with a 6 in the early 70’s and I remember seeing one of those 401 Gremlins
Wow no way, with only like 20 made thats so cool that you actually saw one!
@@rarecars3336 I actually remember someone said it came from Arizona
so rare that i never heard of it growing up & have'nt seen one at a car show - 20 or 21 super-lucky
owners, though.......
A friend of mine had one and I used to drive it all the time. Blew the doors of a Boss 302 mustang in a drag from light to light. Surprised the hell out of him.
WOW, the Boss 302 is no slouch either!
Had a Gremlin with a 258/6, and a 4 spd....for years. Gave it away and THAT girl drove it for years. She loved it
Had one in High school with the V8 was the X with the 304, Loved it was bad ass Had it in 1976, 1977, 1978.. FUN FUN
I really enjoy this format. Thank you!
Back in high school a teacher had a 390 Gremlin X,it was purple with a hugh X on the car. I miss the 70' s.
My parents had a gremlin X i love this little cars.
You can make whoopie in the back of one easier then most cars , which makes them cool
The seats were hideous in these things! I had a Honda and ripped the seats out of that and installed them. You could stick just about any V8 you wanted in these cars. I had these crazy biker friends who helped me build it! People hated being smoked by these things you're right about that!
I had one! Loved it ❤❤❤ in 1974
That's so cool that you had one! Love hearing stories from the owners directly
This was a very interesting model, and I certainly appreciate you covering this unique car with your excellent, thorough post.
Thank you for your excellent, fact-filled and interesting post!
Great job telling us about these gems!
This channel provides me with a shopping list of dream cars
Awesome,I feel like building a tribute car since I've never seen one in flesh
I loved my Gremlin, Drove it to Texas 3 times from Conn, Pulling a 8ft u haul trailer, did great, I seen 1 of the v8 Gremlin in a used car lot . Nice car.
Years ago I bought a 77 Gremlin ( 2.0/4-speed ) and dropped in a nearly stock 360 and auto from a 76 Matador coupe and a rear axle from a V8 Hornet. I put some earlier closed chamber heads ( 291C's ) and a Comp 268H cam. With 3.15 gears on stock sized 175R-14 tires I ran a traction limited 13.87@101 quarter mile. Easily one of the most fun cars I've ever owned.
How cool I remember seeing V8 powered gremlins when I was a kid never gave it much thought. My family had one for a little while six-cylinder manual shift. I guess it was an OK car. Thank you for the video.
Yeah the 304 V8 gremlins really weren't that fast, but if you put a 401 in one.....
Quick for the rat box it was , paid $400 ? used at Pontiac Store 1979 . @@rarecars3336
Those are the greatest cars ever. They quit making them because their other models were not selling.
Mine has 12,984,909,843,978,684,583 miles.💪
My criticisms after owning two Gremlins were the steering wheel turns, lock to lock, competed with the window crank rolling up or down for most frustrating lag time
HAHA good to know, gemlins had awful steering
This was very interesting!
glad you enjoyed it!
I drove a 304 powered Gremlin X as a demo
Fun car to drive but loose in the rear.
A sheriff in central NJ had one that surprised a few who thought they could outrun it. It was pretty dent so I'm guessing he played rough.
I had a friend that owned one. We were amateur Drag racers I had a 67 GTX 440. That light Gremlin was fast and it was I think if my 440 was stock would have been a close race.😊
A story I read way back when said that like the GTO, AMC engineers replaced the 304 with a 390 and tore the rear axle out when they banged second gear. This made the suits blanch and ban the big engines from the Gremlin. But that never stopped the hot rodders, and they rolled their own.
engineers did that without foreseeing any problems with the driveline- amazing
@@tommurphy4307 Engineers aren't necessarily gearheads. The story behind the GTO was that they dropped a 389 into a 326 car. They didn't tear it up because they wanted to impress DeLorean, but once they got the go-ahead stronger driveline components found their way into the cars. A 389 four-barrel or Tri-Power could easily destroy transmissions and other things designed for a 326 two-barrel.
A friend bought a '72 Gremlin with the 304 and a 4 speed. I few years later he was at an auction and bought a '72 Matador ex-LAPD patrol car that had 70,000 on it. He pulled the engine(a 401) and trans out of the Matador, rebuilt both, and put it in the Gremlin. Long tube headers, intake manifold, Holley carb with a home made "Shaker" cold air hood scoop, Sig Erson cam and cam kit, rebuilt 998 with a Trans-go 2 shift kit, and the limited slip differential with 3:91 gears, made the Gremlin a screamer. It dipped into the 11's a few times on good days. I have a picture of it at Irwindale with it's left front tire about 6 inches off the ground coming out of the lights. My '69 440 Road Runner(that was no where close to stock!) didn't stand a chance against it.....
WOW thats a sweeet story thanks for sharing that, and 11 seconds that is MOVING
I couldn't find a cheap gremlin, so I ended up getting the smaller and lighter Geo Tracker 2dr 4x4 convertible. I'd love to squeeze a small walk in there though lol
Very cool...I think the Chevy Vega was the coolest looking of the small American cars like this
Agreed, the Vega definitely looks the best!
Just watched your short & it intrigued me.!! 👍 👍
They shoulda just called it The Dorkmobile. I had a purple Gremlin X back in the mid-80's. It had a 304 in it with a 4-speed.
We had a 74 6cyl and the only thing I remember bad about it was the hinges. They would cause the doors to sag
what a cool car! great episode
I had a Gremlin , it was a fun car . I was a lot less worried about getting burned to death as I was with my Pinto !
My grandpa, who always drove American from the Hudson forward, had a 304 Gremlin. You don't really think of your grandpa as a hot rod guy, but there he was zipping down to the store and muscling back up his driveway with a sweet rumble.
my grandpa used to drag-race his 64 galaxie at dragway 42 in salem, ohio. the crazy thing was it was a 390 convertible (no bar, hoop or cage).
Wow! My G,pa was in Owensville Ohio
Our neighbor was an old man who drove a Studebaker Lark with a V8 and 4 speed Another old motor header
In 1975 Ford based the Mustang on the Pinto. The 289 V8 was an option. The dealers charged hundreds of dollars to replace spark plugs because the motor had to be lifted out. Thats where i came in. I had business cards made that said "Mustang tune up $100 points and plugs." When they called me I said if they agree that i can cut 4 holes in the fender well and replace the 4 inch disc that I cut out after changing the plugs and painting over them with undercoat, that would be $100. I had a lot of Mustang tune up business along with other cars.
I remember the commercials!
Woman pulls up to a desert gas station and the attendant asks " Where's the rest of your car Toots?" She says" Gimme a dollar" The attendant asks " A dollar?" " A dollar".
Good stuff!
First I heard of this car but I think it's so cool that there was an AMC equal to the likes of Yenko, Baldwin Motion and Royal Pontiac.
There was a home built 401 Gremlin around my town years ago and it would dance, let me tell ya, so I don't doubt that these Randall built examples were pretty impressive.
These had to upset A LOT of people back in the day lol
My sister had one of these, I was home on leave from the Army and put two clutches in it over 30 days.Definitely driver related.
Were the clutch issues driver related or car related?
Went for a ride in a yellow 304 manual trans car it was scary as hell hitting 100mph in that tin can🤯 Couldn't imagine a 401
Exactly my thoughts. I had a 6cly auto. Scary at 80mph.
We made one of these cars at the salvage. We put a V8 out of a matador in a gremlin... couldn't keep rubber on the back of it.
i can imagine that was probably a HOOT to drive lol
@@rarecars3336 closest I ever drove to it was '66 Corvette convertible that you could do a U turn with the gas ⛽ pedal. Didn't believe it until I tried it.
I had a 1972 Gremlin with the six cylinder with the automatic transmission in it. You could light up the tires from a start very easily, On one or two occasions I spun the wheels at 50 just by flooring it. The car was very lite in the rear end.
Winter time driving is a unique experience...
I always liked those Lil gremlins. Never knew they had a v8 option at all 😂
After making this video I have a new appreciation for them