Did anybody else ever own an AMC Pacer?

I had a 1975 Pacer-X 2dr hatchback which I loved. It was a glass fishbowl inside, with almost unlimited visibility in every direction, which nearly eliminated blind spots. The waistline was low, so you got the impression you were driving in a 'tractor' cab, looking down on the world. The interior was spacious and comfortable, very well thought out and convenient to all passengers, with electric windows, locks, exterior mirrors and driver's seat. My girlfriend had two kids and we all fit in there easily. The passenger door was larger than the drivers door so the kids could just jump into the back seat without moving the passenger's bucket seat. The doors had built-in crash bars and the roof had a built-in rollbar. The cargo space was huge, and the aerodynamic shape of the car was unique. We called it our "Moonbuggy".

Because all that glass created a real greenhouse, the AMC Pacer had one of the most wonderfully-aggressive air conditioners I have ever experienced. It could make you shiver on a hot day.

The car was a big-6cyl automatic, which gave it far more power than it needed for a family car, which was what it was supposed to be. The engine was crammed into the frame, so that the cowl covered the rear half of the block. You couldn't reach the rear 3 spark plugs from above; you had to take it to a garage and lift it overhead to change those. The Pacer should have been given a big-4cyl engine; it would have made it even better than it was.

The fuel evaporation canister under the hood was actually a real coffee can, bought in bulk by AMC to save them the cost of making their own. Funky, but it worked.

The rear shocks were sharp and harsh, but who cared? Only the kids rode back there, not real people. The stereo sound system was outstanding, with lots of adjustments and far more speakers around the car than you found in any other showroom car. The car was insulated on every panel and you could hardly hear any road noise. It could be very quiet to drive in.

Ours had a single problem; it stalled dead each time it hit a big bump. There was a particular set of railroad tracks btwn our house and the rest of the world, which could be counted on to stall the car every time we crossed them, but any other sort of significant bump in the road would sideline us instantly too. Once the engine quit we could restart it without any problem (shift to neutral and turn the key again while coasting), but the interruption was disconcerting, to say the least. After many AMC "mechanics" threw their hands in the air and gave up trying to find the cause, a backwoods Carolina boy spent an hour with the car and announced that the intake log manifold had a hairline crack in it. The weight of the carb and manifold bouncing downward over a bump would open the hairline crack enough to dump all the manifold vacuum, instantly killing the engine. It couldn't be fixed on the car, and removing the entire engine was the only way to access everything needed to replace the manifold. That cost would have exceeded the value of the car, so we sadly said goodbye to our beloved "Moonbuggy".

I would gladly own another one today if they had survived the years better than they did. The excessive glass allowed UV light to literally deteriorate the interior parts, which are today irreplaceable.

Anyone else have any experiences with these cars?
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1970 240Z

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1970 240Z

So Frank, this was your idea of a "chick magnet" back in the day?

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John Kish
1971 240Z - original owner

No, I still owned and drove my Z, but my gf drove the Moonbuggy almost every day. And hey ~ all those seats inside laid straight back to form a continuous bumpy platform you could camp on....and stuff.

I thought the car was a brilliant answer to some unasked questions. It was the right size for just about everything, had R&P steering, PB/PS/AT, felt about as wide as it was tall, had a great stereo and that wonderful air-conditioner. It was comfy and seemed larger inside than it looked outside.

I don't recall our fuel mileage with it but they later installed a V8 engine in them ( ) which was about the last thing it needed. My gf drove it to Woonsocket and back to NC several times without any problems, until that manifold cracked.

Anyway, all this because I found a shoebox full of papers and came across an old insurance card for the Moonbuggy. I'd like to own another one today if it was in good shape.

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1970 240Z

You had a Pacer AND a girlfriend.........at the same time?

I don't have experience with them personally, but I do remember when I was really young my uncle had one. I'm pretty sure my dad wasnt a fan of the styling. I always thought AMC was kind of a cool brand.....less main stream. I like the Rebels and AMXs.

Funny story for you. A few years back I was at the local car wash and got talking to a guy who was cleaning his new to him AMC Gremlin X. He was super excited about it and had bought it on eBay. As he was leaving he must have thought he'd show off by burning the tires.

It did leave a nice black stripe in the road........from the tailpipe.

Jay

Wait ~ why don't you have any experiences with girlfriends? Glad your uncle had better luck.

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1970 240Z

My uncle car was blue, and I think it had yellow and orange stores in the lower sides? I always thought it was cool looking. Lots of glass though. I remember noticing how sturdy the door handles seemed.

I assume the "X" version was a performance trim?

I read this awhile back, you may have seen it. Oddly enough I'd like to go there just to have a look around. Looks like a chainsaw would be helpful to get to some of the cars though.

https://www.hotrod.com/articles/hrdp-12 ... ving-dead/

Jay

The 'X' trim had a few more bells and whiskers than other models. It might've been the top of the line, I don't know. I liked to wash that car because of its low, aerodynamic shape, but cleaning both sides of all that glass was a chore.

AMC had a lukewarm race program for some years, and built some street cars which did fairly well on the track (AMX was a drag-master and other models won on road courses) but I don't recall anybody ever having a Pacer Racer, nor even a Racer Pacer. It was more of a comfy tow-car, so you could pull your racer behind your Pacer.

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1970 240Z

Oh, whoops! Looks like I'm wrong:

https://journal.classiccars.com/2018/07 ... -time-fun/

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1970 240Z

That's a wild Pacer! Windsors run good but it's too bad they didn't use an AMC engine, like a 390. Very cool though. I went to high school with a kid who drove a Pinto drag car. It had full tubs with Mickey Thompson steamrollers, and wheelie bars too! That had a 347 ford (stroked 302). Mid 11 second street car.

The Pacer in the link has the same vibe, reminds me of that car.

The late Mark Donohue had a brief racing stint with AMC with some success. I always liked the original AMX, although a coworker friend who had one pointed out some of the "quality" issues associated with the car which I recall one being the side windows opening outward when the car was at speed. It used to really bug him.

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John Kish
1971 240Z - original owner

The window thing would bug me too, good thing they were strong enough not to crack.

I remember seeing an AMC Javelin "Mark Donohue" edition on the highway once. It was brief and I didn't get a great look because he passed me and was out of sight quickly. Sounded good though

What was the other big V8 they offered? They had a 390 but didn't they also have a 401, or something like that?

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1970 240Z

I can only remember the 390 but

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John Kish
1971 240Z - original owner

Yep, they did make a 401. That was their largest engine.