My first car was a 71 Gremlin with rear seat base model with AC. It's seats were very thin vinyl, and it lacked the shelf under the dash and had a cheaper steering wheel. than that it was nearly identical to this one. I kept it 4 years and put 50,000 miles on it. The rear window hinges rusted out and the engine was rusting away internally. No matter how many times I flushed the coolant system it came out rusty. It's only competition at the time was the VW, Chevy Vega and Ford Pinto, all only 4 cylinders less than 100 hp and slower acceleration to my Gremlin's 135 up inline 6 cyl. AMC was smart enough to use the Hornet as its base and saved a lot of costs as well as get it into production quickly. I suffered a lot of ridicule for its quirky styling until people saw how quick and nimble it drove. My gas cap had a lock, so it was never stolen.
The Gremlin was by far the best choice of the three, not just my opinion. It was the safest, had the best, strongest drive train with the largest engine of the three.
Totally agree it would be harder with a foreign cars though I don’t know much about the 71 Celica my favorite Celica is 75 or 76 those ones were sweet.. i’ve never owned a beetle or been in the backseat of a beetle but I’ve been in the backseat of a karman ghia there isn’t much room
@@What.its.like. The original beetles were as close to no car as you could get. A human has a better 0-60 time. The shifter is a stick in molases. They used the spare tire to blow windshield washer fluid. Exhaust leaks into the heater could be lethal. They had no blower motor They all had timing chain stretch.. My neighbor bought one in 1964 in Germany for something like $1000.00 new.
Having had at least one of each car featured I have to say the celica was the best of the bunch followed closely by the pinto believe it or not, and the pinto was a very close 2 nd but the celica was better optioned from the factory
@@PS-js9oh Did you happen to see the video on the pacer station wagon? I did not have experience with the pacer like I did the other early 70's compacts but I thought it was a unique and interesting vehicle.
Had a 71 Red gremlin and 2 small kids. Made it into a camper. Folded front seats forward, back seat down and wife and I could sleep easily. Hung two hammock type beds across the car from side to side and our two little kids could sleep up there (up wasn't very far! Lol). Camped in it on a two week trip throughout upper Michigan in 1971. Plus our doggy!
That’s awesome thank you so much for sharing all of that additional information and added insight I wasn’t sure if the seats folded into a bed thank you so much for saying that they do
@What it’s like Just to clarify, the front seats didn't fold all the way flat down. Folded forward only to the steering wheel so our "bed" was more like sleeping in a recliner chair with your body and legs stretched out. An easy compromise when you're young, not making much money, have two kids and a doggy and want to go exploring but have no money for motels! Also, on the way home on that trip we found I great 1917 National cash register laying on the floor in an abandoned country gas station, loaded it into the back of our trusty camper (it was.very heavy) and drove it home. My son still has it displayed in his living room 53 years later!
Great story! Those were the days weren't they? There you were with your wife and kids and I'm sure never questioned your safety camping in the Gremlin! Those days seem like a hundred years ago now unfortunately!
I bought a 1971 Gremlin brand new that looked just like the one in your video except it didn't have the fancy wheels. It was my work car. On my days off I used to haul horse manure for my garden in four 40 gal. metal garbage cans in the back with the seat down. Somehow I loaded and unloaded them thru the hatchback. This car was a real work horse.
We had a 73 Hornet. I nicknamed it “The Anvil” because the car was unbreakable. 6 years of service and all it wanted was maintenance. Inflation being what it was in the 70s, trade-in value for it in 79 was actual more than we paid for the car in 73. Strange times. Thanks as always! ~ Chuck
American Motors, even when their offerings still wore the Nash name plate in the mid-1950s had an available station wagon trim across its line up. With the Gremlin, it was a glass hatch. My preference was for the larger Hornet Sportabout, (which was a proper compact wagon at a time when a wagon was not available on either the Maverick or the venerable Nova).
I have a Mellow Yellow one with the H code 304 v8. Usually the only one at the shows. It’s replacing the one I bought new in 74 back in the day. Oh the relived memories. Not many survived the northern climates with the road salt etc. AMC lives!!
@@What.its.like. Well back in 74 it never was fast enough. So after a 4 barrel, cam and headers, that one was fast. This one however is plenty fast for this much older me!!! I am leaving this one original .
@@hcombs0104 Nope. I suppose that the Gremlin was less expensive than a Hornet. Car would be ok for two people who wanted to haul dogs and groceries. It could fit in a shorter parking spot. The Vega got no respect. Ok the first 2 or 3 years until they rusted through and the engines burned lots of oil. The Pinto did pretty well. The cars were durable. Of course they had a bad reputation for fire. Yet the early Falcons and Mustang could also be flammable if rear ended. The gas crunch was very good for the foreign automobiles. People bought fewer cars from US automakers after that.
After the engine seized on my ‘67 Bug “go to work car”, I came across a ‘72 Gremlin previously owned by a little old lady in my neighborhood that drove it to church and the grocery. No kidding. Sold it to me for $400. It was orange… my kids called it the “Great Pumpkin”, my wife and I called it Grumpy because it looked like a dwarf compared to other cars on the road. It was a great car with a bigger car feel, surprisingly comfortable bucket seats, and plenty of headroom for a small car. I used it for several road trips up and down the east coast when I was asked to work in several of our branch offices. Grumpy never failed me. Especially in the New York winters where it was my go-to car because the doors on my ‘78 280Z always froze and would never stay closed to the point I had to tie them closed just to be sure I wouldn’t fall out while taking a tight turn, but that’s a story for another time. The AMC six cylinders were bulletproof much like the Chevy “Iron Mike” six. Unlike my brother-in-law’s 4 banger aluminum head Vega. His car was in the shop more than on the road. Terrible engines. Only one problem with mine. The back window was latch-hinged and the hinges always broke if you didn’t hold on to the window when the struts were raising it. Solved the problem with a replacement rear window from a junked ‘74 Gremlin where the hinges were bolted to the body. I think I might have still owned it today had it not gotten t-boned when someone ran a stop sign. It was the first time my father-in-law borrowed it. And not so much as a scratch on him!
I had a 1971 in high school. 258, 3 speed, with a rear seat - it was dark brown with a white hockey stick stripe. It is my favorite vehicle I ever owned. The breaks and manual steering didn't bother me as many vehicles shared that trait. The rear window did get dirty and AMC added a spoiler later to reduce the problem.
A brother had a 1974 (with the 'crash' bumpers) in gold/yellow and the brown 'hockey stick' stripe and 3-speed on the floor. He bought it used from a guy who worked at a warehouse for Pirelli tire in New Jersey a the time. It had oversized tires. I believe he had if for several years. People used to steal the gas caps, the hatch windows were troublesome. Like other AMC products they could rattle, be noisy, but they did the job and for sure better than the Ford Pinto, Chevy Vega.
Thank you so much for sharing that awesome story what a great memory I’ve only driven one AMC product and it was pretty good it was a 56 Hudson cross country Rambler wagon
AS A VERY YOUNG KID, I rode in a Hornet Sportabout wagon, and a Gremlin.....both had AC and this dark interior.....the ac in both was cold and worked surprisingly well.
Nothing colder than AMC air conditioning with the possible exception of a country singer's third ex-wife's heart. Well, actually my 2023 Crosstrek doesn't do too badly..
THANKS ! Love AMC Content ... I bought a NEW 1971 Gremlin in 1971 ... Mine was a 2-Seater ... with NO back Seat & the Sealed REAR Window ... 13" Wheels & Tires ... 258ci I-6 cylinder Engine ... ALL the "performance options" ... Heavy Duty ... COOLING ... CHARGING ... SUSPENSION ... COST me just under $ 1999.99 ... Weight just under 2,000 lbs ... Ditched the 13" Wheels & Tires for 14" CRAGAR Wheels & 14" W I D E Oval Tires 🙂 I got a REAL 18 MPG on the highway from Charleston SC to home in Richmond, INDIANA thanks for the CONTENT ... COOP ... the WiSeNhEiMeR from Richmond, INDIANA ...
You but I love AMC love orphan cars in general I wanted to be in Waymore than orphan car channel but we dive in deep on the orphan cars that’s for sure and try to bring them put them in a light that they should’ve always been in. They say hindsight is 2020 AMC made a really good product their issue was they didn’t advertise to the right crowd if you watch any of their old advertisements they go for the weird and quirky which wasn’t a thing it’s a thing now like everything is total opposite now like wagons nobody wanted to station wagon back in the day but wagons are cool now.. Thank you so much for sharing your experience with your 71 gremlin sounds like you really dig that car
I’ve always loved the look of the Gremlin. I even tried to buy one from my neighbor in high school. But it’s so claustrophobic. When I was 10 or so, one of my friends’ moms got one. I remember riding in the back seat - as a 10 year old - and thinking this car was way too small. I also remember a girl in high school who had a bright orange one with a black interior. That backseat was miserable and - with no window to open - brutally hot in the summer. I had friends with Beetles. The back seats were also miserable … but not quite as miserable as the Gremlin. Choice #1: Pinto … always Pinto Choice #2: I’d take the Gremlin just to say I finally got one. Great episode!!!
Thank you so much for that awesome story what a great memory so the backseat and the gremlin is worse than the backseat of a Volkswagen beetle that is interesting one day I wanna compare these cars. Great choices =)
Growing up near Kenosha i saw many AMC's. My sister had a red Gremlin. The spare tire was collapsed and came with a can of air to "inflate" it when needed.
The car came from Pennsylvania but not sure where it came from before that surprisingly there’s a lot of nice cars in this part of America probably not as many as down south but the cars we have your incredible but a lot of them have been built a couple times over because of the salt conditions or just went into hibernation early
1) Pinto 2) Gremlin. This took me back! In the fall of '73, when I was a mere wisp of a boy at 10 years old, my parents bought a '74 Gremlin for my Mom. (sidenote: my grandpa also bought a '74 Hornet on the same outing) It was this funny color blue that turned lilac in the shade. The only options it had was the Levi interior and a 304 V8 with an automatic. It had these ridiculous half hubcaps and blackwall tires. I spent the next 6 years wrangling myself in and out of that back "seat". Mom called her Sleeper. She looked boring and blah but could blow the doors off almost anything on the road. My Mom loved that car! She was a tough little car too. In February of 1980, my parents were in a head on with a '78 LeSabre that crossed the line. They were hurt, but walked away. Sleeper put up a good fight. Mom bought an '81 AMC Spirit which as she put it was "the biggest piece of s**t AMC ever crapped out. LOL. No end of issues with it. Traded it for an '84 Daytona Turbo. She missed Sleeper til her dying day. Thanx for the ride down memory lane!
The base engine in 1970 was 199 ci 6-1v, gone in '71. I remember seeing the car on a new car lot when I was about 15, thought it was very cool and still do.
Almost got one of these...new in the Spring of 1972. I liked it! I remember my dad and I looking at one in an AMC car dealership in Indianapolis. I was 21 and impressed with the feel of "a new car" looking vs. "used models" (which were at that time the following: 1969 Opel GT; Toyota 510 (?) Corrola; a 1970 abused by rough rocky roads driven by a 18 to 20 year old "high-class blonde"; and, believe it or not, a 1969 Ford/Mercury "Interceptor" that was used by the Indiana State Police ("Indiana Wants Me, but I Can't Go Back There..." - R. Dean Taylor [1971] and had a gas-guzzling 6 to 8 m.p.g. 429 V-8; a 1971 Chevy Vega with the "Cosworth design four cylinder"; and finally...a just released first year Honda Civic powered by their two cylinder motorcycle engine. Well, the AMC Gremlin didn't make the choices I looked into. Dad seemed to be pretty tricked-out with the sales guy (who favored so much in eye glass wearing slick down stud he didn't care for in his attitude. So...that Spring of '72, I went back to buying another used car: the 1969 VW "Bug" which was fun for a short time till the rear engine model "blew" its 97 c.i.d. engine and spewed oil on I-465 East in Indy for about two miles to the next exit, which I "limped in" at a Sheraton Motor Inn. There, it sat for a few days before being hauled off to get repairs. (On that "fateful day" I was leaving for Dallas, Texas for a big Christian event: "Explo '72" sponsored by Campus Crusade for Christ.) Oh, the many memories that some of these older cars bring back! I like them!
I didn't really care for these when l was a kid and they were new, but I'd love to have one now. One of the last years when you could buy are car like this, simple and easy to work on. Great video - thanks!
I wouldn’t mind one that was either purple orange or silver with great contrasting color but I would want to 304 V8 in mine and at least a four speed stick..
My brother had a 73 Gremlin, both my wife and I rode around sitting in the back seat. I was 6'3" at the time. I would chose the bug for quality purposes but the Gremlin seemed a lot quicker and therefore more fun to ride in.
That’s crazy that you rode in the back there would be more space in the rear if you just hold down the seat and sat on a blanket back there which would be highly frowned upon now but totally accepted in the 70s..
Gremlin, paint was yellow with black stripped package, green interior and you will have the first new car I bought in late 1970. As an odd Artist, it hit the mark.
My Gremlin Story: 20-odd years ago I visited my Uncle-by-marriage’s house he grew up in for Thanksgiving. We ran out of whatever I was drinking so I asked someone if there was any more. ‘Sure, go out in the garage and get it from the fridge.” I went in the garage turned on the light and parked in there was a MINT ‘76 Gremlin. With the Levi’s interior no less! It was a real WTF moment. I came back in and asked my uncle what the deal was. He knew I was a car guy but had never mentioned it. Turns out they were a Rambler then AMC family going back to the 50s and that Gremlin was the last car their dad bought a few months before he died. The mom couldn’t bear to part with it. So the siblings drove it a little here and there, but it mostly sat. We joked about why is it the really ‘cool’ cars are never left behind in mint condition?
@@What.its.like. I may have missed it, but did you cover the Levi’s interior option? The seats looked like they were covered in denim and had copper rivets like the jeans. Real denim could not pass flame retardant regulations, so it was actually made out of some type of polyester. But I think the copper rivets were real. And you know how well copper conduct heat? Apparently after sitting in the sun all day, you could burn your backside on the rivets! 😫
@@UnionPacific1997 I think one my uncles’ brothers bought or inherited the family house and the car is still there in the garage. That’s last I knew from 10 years ago.
@@What.its.like. Yeah, I've always loved the LOOKS of the Vega, like a cute little car, my oldest sister was going to give me they'res but I said no thank you, ( I was 15yrs) I heard of the problems that the Vega had, back in '75
I have to admit I bought a new green gremlin in 1972 when I got out of the navy. It had the x-package. I painted the raised hood flat black I'm sure it made the car drive much faster. The car had the big six with the three speed manual tranz. I owned it untll 1979 it stll ran fine but it was much lighter since most of the car was gone because of the rust holes. The cold air vent that pointed out was for decoration only and the heating just producted irritating noise. The amazing thing is I sold it for almost as much as i paid for it in 1972.
Thank you so much for telling me that that was decoration only I pulled it nothing really happened so I wasn’t sure if it was connected or why would they put something there if it didn’t have a function which is crazy to me your car sounds really cool, sorry it rusted away
Glad you touched on the subject, our local amc dealer was H. E. Wood & sons on Franklin St Westfield mass. My parents bought all their cars there, though Hornets, not Gremlins. I watched the Renault 5 Le Car / Fuego/ Alliance/ Encore era as well, something else you may like to cover! ❤️
Glad you dig this episode I found a really hard to find AMC and I’m super stoked to share it that’s probably going to be hopefully Mondays episode I feel bad we didn’t get to do that many episodes this week I’ve been traveling a lot shooting a bunch of stuff I’m going on vacation but I’m still going to do videos on vacation =)
AMC, U.S. king of home-grown small cars. would be the first U.S. manufacturer to beat the "Big-3" to market with the first true sub-compact. The Nash Metropolitan was a wholly-built car made in England. The Crosley's were more like micro cars similar to the Austin Mini's, another British car. AMC, always strapped for cash, and with a focus on the low-priced car field, was an innovator. Taking an AMC Hornet and basically chopping off the trunk, created the Gremlin for 1970. Equipped with the usual drivetrain and undercar components, the Gremlin remained all-American while the Ford Pinto used a foreign drivetrain(the basic one used was from the English-Ford Cortina) and Chevy did something weird with a new engine and also used it's cheapest components. The Gremlins were unibody, so they couldn't help but be a step-down design. dimensions
I just thought it was really cool that it was a car based on a hornet Hudson made the hornet and they made the step down the side and I just thought it was just a tied together of a bunch of things.
@@What.its.like. It sure did tie things together. When Hudson and Nash merged, the Hornet name became the property of Rambler-AMC. Maybe if AMC had used the Hornet name instead of the Rebel or Rogue the Hornet name might have injected some old-world spirit into their "sports sedans". Maybe even on the Marlin. The original Hudson "step-down" design was a product of using a perimeter frame allowing the floor of the cars to be recessed and lowering the entire body, although the Hudsons were still pretty tall. Lowering the car like that changed the center of gravity and reduced drag coefficient, making the Hudsons superior handling cars. Putting the Hornet name on a cheap compact car was an insult to the memory of Hudson. Ofcourse that AMC Hornet chassis took the brand to the end, changing the name to Concorde and Spirit, finishing up with the Eagle. Oh, that style of outside door handles lived on into the AM/General Hummer H-1. Maybe AMC's last hurrah in the automotive vehicle field was when they teamed up GM creating the AM/General brand building transit buses and military vehicles. They used the AMC logo.
Regardless of anything concerning looks, these were fine driving little cars land quite comfortable. They were one of the only, if not the only, subcompact with that super-reliable straight six and a great factory a/c. Imagine the poor dope who chose the '71 Vega with that aluminum engine over this! I never owned one, but rented several over the decade for business trips and always enjoyed them. In fact, I wouldn't mind having one now!
My cousin had a 74 Gremlin X with the 304 and Levi's interior! That was the year of the awful governmental "interlock seat belt system" requirement. People had to belt in their bag of groceries in order for their cars to start! Even the government realized they had gone too far, and it was gone in 75,
Thank you for sharing that memory and experience with the car. That would be a really hard time to live gas prices government taking all of the fun and joy out of just about everything.. what’s crazy to me is why would anybody buy a new car back then because the older cars just seem more fun and they were cheaper
Hudson step down in a car that share a lot with another car called a Hornet? Imagine that! 🤣 And Hornet back again for the 3rd name plate! 71 Gremlin (and that is even AFTER personal experience with all 3, back in the day) 71 Beetle (not fair, my first car was one)
As a young kid in the early 70s, I remember my teenage sibling and some of their friends would laugh at these, I concluded that these cars, were not highly regarded. A few years ago I started watching the vintage car commercials, and I thought these are so weirdly unique and appealing, and they looked so peppy in motion, and had so many cool color decor options.😎I always liked the look of the pinto, and the vega. My older cousin had a metallic green '71 Vega. I think he only kept it about a year. 😅, I don't think I'd want any of of those, but I did ride in a few 79s models Celicas when I was younger, including a '73, and thought the ride was great! I'd pick the Toyota.
Great pick.. I have a soft spot in my heart for the gremlin.. The only thing that I wish it had was a full hatchback and then it could be a different to the Honda hatchback I mean Honda was making hatchbacks I think at this point or they started just a little bit later.. but they were small in the early years not saying that this car isn’t small because in the grand scheme of things it is a pretty small car but it’s bigger than a 92 civic I think 🤔 or maybe close in size
I rarely see a car so bare of options. Did not even have a AM radio. Cool car,though. I had a '74 Gremlin X that was "loaded". Air Conditioning,Power Steering,Power Brakes,3-Speed Automatic,AM/FM Stereo and Premium Wheels with Goodyear Polyglass GT tires. It had the base 232 cid six that gave solid performance and rather decent gas mileage. Was white with black pinstripping. One of my favorite cars I've owned.
My first new car was a '74 Super Beetle. My parents bought it for me as a freshman at the Univ. of Texas. Awful car, broke constantly, poor running. How I wish I'd chosen a Gremlin instead!
I knew it was ELO, couldn’t think of the song. I love Gremlin Xs especially- and in a plum color to boot. I’d be interested in learning more about the ‘71 Toyota.
I love the exes that come later with the V-8 engine I believe it’s a 304 I would love to drive a V-8 powered gremlin just to see what that’s like. I was going to choose a song from 1971 I’m not sure when turn the stone came out but I heard that song like that long ago and I forgot how cool the song it is even if it’s a bit repetitive I think it’s really cool how they came in With a little texture is going on and then by the end of it they have like a full orchestra it’s just a cool song I keep building and building on it
Back in the day in Ann Arbor, MI, I saw a guy pull out of the beer store in a Gremlin. He had an unsecured keg in the back. As he pulled out and sped up, the keg rolled backward, and busted out the rear glass, Ouch..
I always liked these, and the Pacers too. I had no idea they were so powerful. They must be really fun to drive. Round one: Gremlin Round two: Gremlin It just has more style than all the others. I do love a Pinto, though. Fun fact: Dick Teague was the young designer at Packard who took John Reinhart’s brilliant 1951 Packard and facelifted it to become the incredibly beautiful 55/56 Packard. Most people have no idea it’s the same car.
Awesome choices and great information Dick Teague designed a lot of cool cars he’s responsible for the AMC marlin he’s responsible for the Packard Caribbean. I believe he’s responsible for the AMX.
Loved my gremlins, super torquey, reliable, handled well. Unfortunately terrible gas mileage. Very comfortable and on rare occasion it needed fixing, super easy to repair. AMCs are totally under appreciated for the good cars they were. Bad management and inability to change with the times killed it. Chrysler closed the lid and put them in the ground.
Hi Jay! The gremmie was an interesting car! Not too many engines easier to work on than the old inline sixes! WYR#1 I ould go with the Gremmie, even though I am a Pinto fan (just don't get rear ended!) #2 As much as I like the Classis Beetle, I might have to go Toyota Celica here! ONLY Japanese car I ever owned was a 1973 Celica ST. While VERY hard to get parts for at the time, the car itself was actually a fun little car to drive. OHC engine, 4 speed on the floor, pretty peppy and a nice interior too.
The real magic happened for the Gremlin in 1972. First, a fully synchronized 3-speed manual, dropping the power-robbing B-W automatic for the Chrysler-manufactured TorqueFlite(Torque-Command) and the optional 304 V-8. This V-8 could be modified easily and swapping in a 4-speed made the Gremlin a force to be reckoned with. I don't remember a 4-speed being an option, initially. Another good thing, this last generation of AMC V-8's had virtually identical external dimensions, so nobody would be the wiser swapping in a 390 or 401 V-8. But alas, most Gremlins were sold to people looking for a cheap new car and having grown up with Nash's and AMC's in their families. Mom and pop's probably drove a Rambler Cross-Country wagon or maybe a Marlin? I knew several Gremlin-buyers who fit the category. It's too bad that this Gremlin is in such shabby condition. The Gremlin would probably be a reliable car, but by 1971, the VW Beetle had enjoyed a cult following for years. Given the choice, I'd go for the Gremlin. The Toyota Celica's were ugly, doggy cars still in 1971. Now, in 1975, the Celica's moved up a notch. I bought a 1976 Celica GT Liftback new and keeping it for about 20 years, I'd do it again!
Thank you so much for taking the time to put all of that added information in there I really appreciate it I two love the mid70s Celicas I think they’re one of the most gorgeous cars ever made very practical I do a foot so far to say that the 75 and 76 are probably the best looking Celica especially from the 70s I’ve been looking for one to do I’m going to try to find one this year but they’re rare than hens teeth around here. I’m finding out the cars can be a very regional thing depending on what type of car you’re looking for.
@@What.its.like. The '75 Celica's still had a slight slant to the front end but in 1976 they squared it up. The Liftbacks of 1976-7 were basically 2/3 copies of '69 Mustangs. The Liftback was a Japan home market model maybe dating back to 1973? They had the ugly slanty front ends back then. Probably because the Datsun "Z" cars had become so popular in the U.S., Toyota needed something to compete in that market segment. Toyota created the "Z" car styling and named it the 2000GT. Not many made it stateside. The 1976 and 1977 Celica Liftbacks were nearly twins, but there were some obvious and not so obvious differences. The not so obvious differences of the '77 were that they added a remotely adjustable driver's door mirror and, under the hood, they went to a fully electronic magnetic pulse electronic ignition system. The '76's still had points in the distributor, but used an electronic switching box. The rubbing blocks on the points would wear out, but the points never did. The obvious addition to the '77's was a passenger door mirror. I did all the upgrades to mine, but if it doesn't have a passenger door mirror, it's a '76. The Celica Liftbacks were versatile cars. I usually had the back seat folded down and hauled all kinds of stuff with it. I often hauled all my scuba diving gear and/or camping/backpacking equipment. I realize that it would be too small for you, but I would roll my sleeping bag out at an angle in the back and sleep back there. There was just room enough for me, so I had to put everything else outside or in the front seats. Because it had decent ground clearance, I would take it off-road occasionally. It was so funny when one morning, after spending the night on top of a ridge in the High-Sierra's, people in Jeep CJ's, in 4WD low-range, passed by us giving us dirty looks. I had a custom paint job in BMW Garnet Red. The car was reasonably quick acceleration and was shown to be slightly quicker than a 1976 Datsun 280Z in the car mags. I also took it up to 125 mph occasionally. lol
Trying to remember, but I think the Gremlin was the last US car with standard vacuum wipers - electric cost extra. WYR: 1) Tempted to gamble on the Vega, but the early ones has more serious problems than even the 'melting' engine, so no. Gremlin. 2) Celica, totally different animal than the Gremlin, would have given you a mini-Mustang image back in the day.
Back in the day the reality of owning a Gremlin became obvious if you lived in the Snow Belt in Winter. The nose heavy Gremlin would sit and spin at a traffic light with snow on the ground. You needed snow tires for sure.
@@What.its.like. in Northeast Ohio it was rare to see a car with chains on the tires even during heavy snow. For a few years studded snow tires were popular. The danger was on dry payment the car could slide with metal studs in contact with a concrete surface.
People laugh at the Gremlin today because of its unusual styling. It is interesting because the styling was one of the Gremlin’s strongest selling points. The Beetle was dominating the subcompact market and a competing car needed to have a cute, stand-out personality to have any chance of being a sales success, which the Gremlin was. It was also a great little car with proven technology so it was reliable and quick with its 6 cylinder engine. The fuel mileage was also excellent, mine could get around 25 mpg (highway) with its 232 and 3 speed w/OD.
Pinto because I used to own one. Then the VW because I owned those as well. One thing I will say about the gremlin is I can tell you from first hand experience that riding in the back seat of one of those in the summertime in Arizona is something that you never want to have to experience again. no ventilation back there and it is like sitting in an oven.
Great choices awesome story thank you so much for sharing that awesome memory with us that would suck being in the backseat in Arizona I totally agree how did you survive..?
You hardly ever see Gremlin's around anymore. My high school auto shop teacher and his son were AMC fans. My teacher had a 69 AMX with a 390, and his son had a 72 Gremlin with a built 304. In your "Rather" senarios, I'd take the Gremlin in both cases, even over the Celica. They had sixes and not fours, and very reliable with a good parts base. They got used up, but were good cars!
My whole lifetime I have never seen AMC gremlins prevalent there was a time when I was in high school I saw a lot of late 80s Lincoln town cars mercury grand marquis’s LTDs Chevy caprice it seems everybody in their mom had a green Buick LeSabre like 1998 those were the cars that I remember growing up when I was 16 17 I do have a soft spot in my heart for this car though
The first new car I owned . 1972 Gremlin, brown in color, black interior. Options included deluxe interior (bucket seats and upgraded trim..pretty much a Gremlin X interior), 14" wheels and tires, fully synchro 3-speed floor mounted, AM radio and heavy duty battery. $2,372 sticker price!
1st scenario I''ll take the Pinto, but the sporty wagon version with the blanked out sides, stripes and little round windows, called the Crusin wagon (hope you run across one), the 2nd the Celica hands down. I remember the Gremlin coming out 2 days after my birthday when I was in the 8th grade. Only seen one Gremlin without a back seat back in the day, the local AMC dealer didnt sell many of those.
That’s crazy I never knew that they made a two seat fixed back option and I thought it was a proper hatchback I didn’t know it had just a little glass window that flipped up.. that was disappointing. Cool choices =)
I had a Vega back then - really. The Pinto didn't have enough legroom, so it was out. The Vega actually had decent legroom up front and 2 smaller adults could fit in back. What set the Vega part from the bunch was a decent ride and it had a lot of space behind the rear seat for storage. The spare tire was under a metal floor panel, which made for a large flat area in back. The Gremlin had a lot of advantages and could be nice but you needed to add options for it to be nice. I drove a bare-bones Gremlin and it was not a nice place to be - but add some trim, upgraded wheels and spend money for the upgraded interior and they could be nice. Eventually the Gremlin could have a 304 V8. Down side of the AMD 6's was they were low end torque engines but they didn't rev at all. They lasted forever but the power was the total opposite of the Vega and Pinto - both being higher revving engines.
The Pinto did have front wheel well intrusion which forced a crosswise driving position but I drove a rental all over Newfoundland Canada at 14 when my parents wanted to get rid of me and my brother. It was fun.
I bought my 71 AMC Gremlin and used it while at College and later as a go to work car. It also had a large gas tank and you could go far between fills. That became very important later in the 70's. Vega and Pinto's were not good. Gremlin was not perfect but fit my needs at the time.
Awesome =) thank you so much for sharing your experience with the car what were some things that you like about it what were some things that you didn’t like about it.
@@What.its.like. The Gremlin was good on gas for a six , repairs were mostly tires, brakes, wiper blades etc... Nothing major. My wife learned to drive my Gremlin stick and we added a FM adapter. Gremlin came with a AM radio only. My wife drove the car to the market and work for her. When she was given a choice of a new car, she choice the AMC Hornet Sportabout. She kept that car until we got her a mini van. Both cars were good.
HI Jay, I have a real liking for the AMC product, The Gremlin is a sexy looking smaller car. For me, it is the little detail touches on the body that make it standout, the roof kick, the front flared wheels, and the C pillars with the 3 indents. The turn back on the C pillar has been done elsewhere, but never as successfully I think. The use of a 4 + litre straight six is an ideal combination I feel, with effortless power, as long as the car can turn and just do car type things properly. I had a mate who used to work on his Ford straight six by standing in the engine bay, which I had never seen before, true he was short. But still. The one concern for a British speaking Australian is the name. (Spielbergs 'Gremlins') which are like demons that cause things to fail without any apparent cause. Frankly it wasn't released in Australia, as the Japanese had the market sewn up for smaller cars, and it would have had to get a name change to something like "C**NT" to be accepted in 71 Australia. Not a joke. If it isn't tough it should be wild and angry and crude. The classic AMC door handles, have been copied by so many since their demise. Not a fan of the steering wheel, the flat twin spoke with a small hub look passed me by. In the 70s, I appreciated dished steering wheels or more technical hubs with tiny bolts etc. Finally, the advent of the bucket seat, with all the possible benefits of personalised ride and lumbar support which is likely forgotten here? 1. Gremlin. 2. Toyota Cellica. They were a real fun driver's car. Something which Toyota largely has forgotten now.
Awesome choices thank you so much for sharing all of that information and insight =) I wanna find a mid 70s Celica I think that was the best era of them like 75-76 but that is a super tall order those cars are like almost extinct now or at least that’s what it seems it might be a regional thing
@@What.its.like. They are really classic cars now, and so anything unrestored is going to cost a fortune I guess. Also, you guys use salt on the roads which is not going to do the bodies any favours. If you have a fortune to spend a CA car would be okay. The 75 76 are the ones I think are best too, very nice engines with excellent gearboxes. The Toyota GB's were expensive at the time, because people would fit them to V-8's, and they could handle the power and add an extra gear. Even if the car is trashed, the gearbox was worth way more than the whole car. Ask me how I know.
I had the opportunity to use one of these and its competitors for a number of years. It was actually a rather pleasant car. To compare it to Vega, Pinto and VW Bug . The Bug was best built then Pinto and Gremlin and then the rust made sure vega was last. Performance wise the Gremlin was the fastest and had a bit more interior space than the others, all were used so the engine performance may have been effected by that. The Pinto had probably the best handling. The gremlin I was driving had the Levi interior pack and that was a real winner managing to be warm in the winter and cool in the summer. I guess if I were to decide between the four I would probably take the Volkswagen though it would be close with the gremlin if it had that Levi upholstery (the weather extremes in Kansas were a lot more comfortable with the Levi upholstery).
The suspension in the Gremlin was a copy of the Ford IFS system and the rear had the Mustang style staggered shocks. The steering assembly was all General Motors as the Steering Columns were from Chevy. I though the handling on mine was amazing. The only car I could drive up to 90 Kilometers per hour and turn the wheel sharply without feeling like it would roll.....my 1972 Olds was quite different though!
My grandfather bought a 1970 beige Gremlin new. I believe he paid $1995. He said it got so good fuel economy that he had to stop and take fuel out of it every now and then. I'd take the Gremlin over the Vega and Pinto, but for the 2nd choice, I'd pick the Toyota Celica over the VW and Vega.
Thank you so much for sharing that awesome story it would be kind of hard to not choose the Celica because of how cool it was with a total hatchback 1971 I believe was the very first year that it was on offer for the US market.. I will try to find one of those cars this year they are very hard to find
April Fools Day 1970, actually. - and no, I'm not kidding! ...ok, you got that! I like the purple and gold Gremlin with the 304 in it from 1972. Was that Jim Neighbors in the Gremlin ad? Interesting rear window release mechanism. My 1977 is just a button with a key lock in the middle. Turn the key and then push the button down and grab the glass handle and lift up. The top of the Gremlin doors are steel. It's part of the steel door inner skins. The steering column is GM. My 1977 has a Camaro steering wheel on it. There are some Gremlins where the rear windows do open. I knew someone that had one, but they are quite RARE! Funny to see you sitting in the back. Reminds me of some of the people I drove around in my Gremlin in the past. That Gremlin looks a bit rough though. If I was to buy it, I would inspect the side rocker panels and tap on all the metal with my thumb knuckle and try to listen for muffled "Bondo knock". I bought a 1976 Gremlin that I couldn't put on the road because the car is uni-body and the rusted rockers became a "Structural" issue, so I can't insure it unless I replace the rocker panels first. I didn't know that was going to be an issue when I bought it...only found out when I was going to put it on the road...so hopefully someone doesn't make the same mistake.
Awesome information Thank you so much for sharing all that added information =) What do you like the most about the gremlin and what do you like the least
@@What.its.like. I forgot one thing...if you look at the Gremlin from the top down, it's actually a wedge shape with the front bumper being narrower than the rear. My Gremlin has the Audi 4 cylinder motor in it (Same as the Porsche 914, but with a carburator and Ford Bobcat transmission). The issue I have is that the Audi 4 was only used for 2 years before AMC switched it for the Pontiac 4, and Porsche doesn't want to recognize they made that motor because it was so bad, so trying to get parts for it can be difficult. Also, the Gremlin was a low-cost car, so some of the interior parts in mine have fallen off due to vibration when releasing the clutch. The Bobcat transmission has a small range 1st gear which then drops on to a large gear in 2nd, so for the first few seconds of putting the car in gear, it's like the engine is going to blow up from high RPM's, then almost stalls out when you put it in 2nd. Another thing is the location of the interior brake release rod and the fuse box. There is a plastic clip that holds the rod in place on the emergency brake and the rod passes right along side of the fuse box. the fuse box doesn't have a cover on it. One day the plastic clip broke as I pulled the release handle. The rod pulled up and dragged right along the open fuse box. Sparks flew everywhere and I blew out 5 fuses. Luckily I had some in the ash tray, so i was fine. But if I didn't, I would be stranded with my 3 friends on the side of a mountain. But when the car was running right, I loved how it cornered. It is also a standard, so shifting gears was fun. Also, most young people don't know what a Gremlin is, and the 1977 has a more streamlined front end and larger rear tail lights which makes it look like nothing else on the road. You can also fold down the rear seat and it does make a large cargo bay. I would love to have one with the straight 6 or even the 304 V8.
These bring back memories, they were all over the place in the 70s and into the 80s. They were considered ugly by some, but unique. My Gawd, you look like a Goliath sitting in that back seat! Not much room, is there? It's really only suitable for children. Still, I would choose this car over the Pinto or Vega. The Pinto gets a thumbs down because of the gas tank issue and the Vega was just a crappy car, with notorious engine problems. But I would take the '71 Beetle over the Gremlin... probably because my first car was the '66 model and you always ❤ your first car.
Yeah there wasn’t that much space in the back to be 100% honest and I was quite hunched over I was like man I did not look comfortable back there but I didn’t feel like I looked..
9:00, by the end of the run, the back glass “grew” over time to be more of a true hatchback. Similar thing happened with the Pinto. Maybe the Vega too…
Actually, the side glass was the same side until the last Gremlin in 1978. For 1979, AMC turned the Gremlin into the Spirit Hatchback, and at that time, they gave the Spirit the larger rear windows because the Gremlin had a major blind spot with it's little side windows...never fun to drive in when you had to change lanes!
@@MonsterHobbiesModelCarGarage By “back glass” I meant only the single lift up glass panel at the rear. It did grow a little by 1978 but not to the extent of becoming a whole hatch as I was picturing it. I had conflated the Gremlin back glass with the Pinto/Bobcat which did grow to become a whole hatch panel.
@@mattskustomkreations Sorry, I got the wrong "Back Glass" there. Yes, you are right. I own both a 1976 and 1977 AMC Gremlin and you can't switch rear windows. I work a few jobs, have 6 TH-cam channels and own an online store. Sometimes I'm too tired to fully understand what's going on in these comments. My mistake.
@@MonsterHobbiesModelCarGarage Hey man, it’s all good! No worries, that’s a lot of juggling! Will have to check your channel out. I do original design Lego models on mine.
@@What.its.like. My dad had a 66 Mustang convertable with 200 CID 6. It would get about 20 mpg and was a lot nicer car. He paid around $2200.00 new. It was'nt fast.
WYR1: Gremlin is a lot more car than the Vega or the Pinto, and it carries a lot less metaphorical baggage. WYR2: That Celica looks a lot like a Vega. I'll still go with the Gremlin. Personal experience, Gremlins are a lot of fun, even with the base 232 engine (seven main bearings, by the way) but a Hornet Sportabout would be more practical with two Norwegian Elkhounds.
Over the course of many years I have had 5 AMCs, 2 Hornets a two door and a four door. a Concord wagon, a Pacer and a Eagle sedan all were good cars for what they were except the Eagle a POS.
Sweet Why didn’t you like the Eagle. Are they bad cars my dad had one before I was born I saw pictures of it I kind of sort of want to own one of those one day but I would want a four-door version I really like what they did to it and lost in translation Rutledge would had his own car show for it only lasted one series unfortunately. I thought it was a good show but I guess it didn’t get the ratings that they were hoping for I sometimes get compared to him somewhat look like him.. lol
@@What.its.like. To answer your question, it was basically a Concord with AWD and if as in my case you lost either of the front half shafts the car was disabled and also in my case over time the engine bearing wore out causing a loss of oil pressure and the need for a replacement engine.
WYR #1: Well, I guess the Pinto of those three ... certainly not the sleeveless aluminum Vega ... just say not. OT: I worked with a guy, with a wife and two small girls. He had a Vega-it was the _perfect_ size for his family. He put THREE engines in it because it was such a practical little car. He figured the price of an engine (in the $hundreds back then) was cheaper than buying a new/replacement car.
Although the Gremlin was clearly a chopped Hornet, back in the 70's it didn't look THAT odd compared to the alternatives. Several magazine road tests pointed out the Gremlin had a proven and reliable engine and transmission compared to the all new Vega. The road tests also stated the Gremlin was faster and got similar gas mileage. A Pinto or Vega with a 4 cyl engine would be more taxed by an A/C but it would be no problem for the AMC 6. In the early 70's there was a need for budget cars and the Gremlin wasn't any less of a car than the American, German or Japanese competition. The Gremlin X with a 304 V8 was somewhat popular and surprisingly fast. The AMC 304/360/401 is the same block, just different stroke. Motor Trend tested a Gremlin with a 401 and 4 wheel drive. It smoked all 4 tires. The dealer was in Arizona. The car you are reviewing is in pretty good shape considering it's 50 years old. Of the choices I would choose the Gremlin for driveability and comfort. Bugs didn't have decent A/C and the Japanese cars back then were not the quality we see today. They were flimsy
Thank you so much for all that added information I knew they put a 304 V8 in the gremlin but I did not know that they put the 401 in that would be absolutely insane I knew definition for the term hot hatchback.. but the irony is the hot hatchback term didn’t coin until after the car came out in those cars had half the engine generally.. crazy
@@What.its.like. , If the Gremlin would have looked like the Spirit, would it have sold better? The later Hornets/Concord/Eagle/Spirit were arguably as good looking as any other car at the time
I dated a woman once who had a Gremlin with the Levi interior. Talk about a lack of 'back seat rhythm!' There was zero. Of course I'm about 70 now so I doubt if I'll find another woman with a Gremlin. And if I did, getting in the back seat would be the least of my worries
That car would be totally awesome if it had a full hatchback and not just a little tiny glass hatch it has that would have opened it up more.. and could store longer items for transport as well
@@What.its.like. Correct. I like the way you point out the height one would need to lift any cargo up to get in the 'trunk'. You would be doing some serious lifting in a Gremlin. The ads didn't mention that...
Those bucket seats are not original to that car. Being a low spec model, it would have had the front bench. I sold American Motors cars in 1972 and one of my demos was a Surfside Turquoise Gremlin with wide white stripes and white bucket seats. It had the 258 big six and four on the floor. It was a hoot to drive and I hated to sell it.
@@rogersmith7396 yes, but not original to that car. If you look closely, you will see that the car has the base trim back seat, no radio, lighter or glove box lock. Those seats are definitely replacements for the original base line bench.
Are you sure? I believe that the base model was a four seat sedan with no lift window. And hatchback is loosely used because just the window lifted. On the base you had to go through the door to put stuff in the back(no trunk either). I could e wrong, but that's the way I remember it.
@What.its.like. ,I stand corrected. Boy they sure didn't make very many of the 2 seater. That's probably why I never seen one. My dad had a used car lot in the late 70s and early 80s. He had a few Gremlins. I drove one while in college. I think everyone who had one has a soft spot for them.
They are super rare that’s for sure a little more than 3000 being produced. I was really bummed out to see that it’s just that little tiny window that opens up I always thought the whole thing opened as like one solid door like a Pinto I suppose or had a tailgate much like a 92 civic.
WYR - Vega (why? had one) WYR 2 VW (why? Had one) As a side note - the Vega while a mixed reputation, was in reality a pretty decent vehicle, mine had over 100,000 miles from new, no- yep repeat NO engine issues. I knew many others who had great service from them also including a couple of companies that had them as fleet service. As to VW? Hey, it's a VW.
I’ve heard mixed opinions about the Vega I’ve heard people say they are great cars and others say they were absolute turds.. You know me I’m a purist but I’ve always kind of sort of wanted to put a Harley V twin in a volts wagon beetle only because it produces the same power with two less cylinders. And would sound cool too
That was later I left some stuff out so we could come back to it. This car only lasted one generation and it only had one major facelift that came in 1978 when they change the sheet metal
![[MV] A leap of faith...ความเชื่อใจครั้งสุดท้าย (From "Petrichor the series")](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/U1piZH2CNXA/mqdefault.jpg)
Turn to Stone, ELO?
Yeah buddy you got it and the first one to do so =)
I thought everybody would be guessing ELO Mr. blue sky because of where I cut the clip..
When I first heard 'Turn to Stone ' in !978 I misheard it as Turn a Stone which would have given a different meaning.
@@What.its.like. My own guess had been "I'm Alive" by ELO. I guess all three of those songs came out within a few years of each other.
Gremlin all the way loved both of mine the 70 2 seater and my 72 Gremlin X
I just love all the AMC cars my Uncle had one would love to have one maybe one day
Brings back child hood memories.
My first car was a 71 Gremlin with rear seat base model with AC. It's seats were very thin vinyl, and it lacked the shelf under the dash and had a cheaper steering wheel. than that it was nearly identical to this one. I kept it 4 years and put 50,000 miles on it. The rear window hinges rusted out and the engine was rusting away internally. No matter how many times I flushed the coolant system it came out rusty. It's only competition at the time was the VW, Chevy Vega and Ford Pinto, all only 4 cylinders less than 100 hp and slower acceleration to my Gremlin's 135 up inline 6 cyl. AMC was smart enough to use the Hornet as its base and saved a lot of costs as well as get it into production quickly. I suffered a lot of ridicule for its quirky styling until people saw how quick and nimble it drove. My gas cap had a lock, so it was never stolen.
Cool story thank you so much for sharing those memories =)
The Gremlin was by far the best choice of the three, not just my opinion. It was the safest, had the best, strongest drive train with the largest engine of the three.
Totally agree it would be harder with a foreign cars though I don’t know much about the 71 Celica my favorite Celica is 75 or 76 those ones were sweet.. i’ve never owned a beetle or been in the backseat of a beetle but I’ve been in the backseat of a karman ghia there isn’t much room
@@What.its.like. The original beetles were as close to no car as you could get. A human has a better 0-60 time. The shifter is a stick in molases. They used the spare tire to blow windshield washer fluid. Exhaust leaks into the heater could be lethal. They had no blower motor They all had timing chain stretch.. My neighbor bought one in 1964 in Germany for something like $1000.00 new.
@@What.its.like. I like the Celica Hatchbacks that were "inspired" by the 1969-70 Mustang Sportsroof.
Having had at least one of each car featured I have to say the celica was the best of the bunch followed closely by the pinto believe it or not, and the pinto was a very close 2 nd but the celica was better optioned from the factory
@@PS-js9oh Did you happen to see the video on the pacer station wagon? I did not have experience with the pacer like I did the other early 70's compacts but I thought it was a unique and interesting vehicle.
Always liked the Levi edition.
Jeff Dunham has one
Had a 71 Red gremlin and 2 small kids. Made it into a camper. Folded front seats forward, back seat down and wife and I could sleep easily. Hung two hammock type beds across the car from side to side and our two little kids could sleep up there (up wasn't very far! Lol). Camped in it on a two week trip throughout upper Michigan in 1971. Plus our doggy!
That’s awesome thank you so much for sharing all of that additional information and added insight I wasn’t sure if the seats folded into a bed thank you so much for saying that they do
@What it’s like Just to clarify, the front seats didn't fold all the way flat down. Folded forward only to the steering wheel so our "bed" was more like sleeping in a recliner chair with your body and legs stretched out. An easy compromise when you're young, not making much money, have two kids and a doggy and want to go exploring but have no money for motels! Also, on the way home on that trip we found I great 1917 National cash register laying on the floor in an abandoned country gas station, loaded it into the back of our trusty camper (it was.very heavy) and drove it home. My son still has it displayed in his living room 53 years later!
@@bobdillaber1195 what a great story!!!
Great story! Those were the days weren't they? There you were with your wife and kids and I'm sure never questioned your safety camping in the Gremlin! Those days seem like a hundred years ago now unfortunately!
Love the car and the color! Really needs a radio, though.
People used to steal the Gremlin gas caps all the time. My dad had a 1975 and bought a lot of gas caps
I bought a 1971 Gremlin brand new that looked just like the one in your video except it didn't have the fancy wheels. It was my work car. On my days off I used to haul horse manure for my garden in four 40 gal. metal garbage cans in the back with the seat down. Somehow I loaded and unloaded them thru the hatchback. This car was a real work horse.
4:20 DANG! Look at that HUGE Tecumseh A/C compressor! And the single belt, just _waiting_ to rub on the upper radiator hose!
We had a 73 Hornet. I nicknamed it “The Anvil” because the car was unbreakable. 6 years of service and all it wanted was maintenance. Inflation being what it was in the 70s, trade-in value for it in 79 was actual more than we paid for the car in 73. Strange times. Thanks as always! ~ Chuck
Sounds like you had a lot of what’s going on now back then thank you so much for sharing your 1973 hornet experience with us =)
American Motors, even when their offerings still wore the Nash name plate in the mid-1950s had an available station wagon trim across its line up. With the Gremlin, it was a glass hatch.
My preference was for the larger Hornet Sportabout, (which was a proper compact wagon at a time when a wagon was not available on either the Maverick or the venerable Nova).
I have a Mellow Yellow one with the H code 304 v8. Usually the only one at the shows. It’s replacing the one I bought new in 74 back in the day. Oh the relived memories.
Not many survived the northern climates with the road salt etc. AMC lives!!
That’s awesome 304 v8 is it fast =)
@@What.its.like. Well back in 74 it never was fast enough. So after a 4 barrel, cam and headers, that one was fast.
This one however is plenty fast for this much older me!!!
I am leaving this one original .
Back in the day some of us called them
Sawed Off Hornet.
Basicly a Hornet from the door forward.
Different shortend body metal behind that.
I remember that, too. They didn't always get a lot of respect. But then, neither did Pinto or Vega.
@@hcombs0104
Nope.
I suppose that the Gremlin was less expensive than a Hornet.
Car would be ok for two people who wanted to haul dogs and groceries.
It could fit in a shorter parking spot.
The Vega got no respect. Ok the first 2 or 3 years until they rusted through and the engines burned lots of oil.
The Pinto did pretty well. The cars were durable. Of course they had a bad reputation for fire. Yet the early Falcons and Mustang could also be flammable if rear ended.
The gas crunch was very good for the foreign automobiles. People bought fewer cars from US automakers after that.
Yes that was how the Gremlin was created, by chopping the back end off a Hornet.
Kenosha Cadillacs!
After the engine seized on my ‘67 Bug “go to work car”, I came across a ‘72 Gremlin previously owned by a little old lady in my neighborhood that drove it to church and the grocery. No kidding. Sold it to me for $400. It was orange… my kids called it the “Great Pumpkin”, my wife and I called it Grumpy because it looked like a dwarf compared to other cars on the road. It was a great car with a bigger car feel, surprisingly comfortable bucket seats, and plenty of headroom for a small car. I used it for several road trips up and down the east coast when I was asked to work in several of our branch offices.
Grumpy never failed me. Especially in the New York winters where it was my go-to car because the doors on my ‘78 280Z always froze and would never stay closed to the point I had to tie them closed just to be sure I wouldn’t fall out while taking a tight turn, but that’s a story for another time.
The AMC six cylinders were bulletproof much like the Chevy “Iron Mike” six. Unlike my brother-in-law’s 4 banger aluminum head Vega. His car was in the shop more than on the road. Terrible engines.
Only one problem with mine. The back window was latch-hinged and the hinges always broke if you didn’t hold on to the window when the struts were raising it. Solved the problem with a replacement rear window from a junked ‘74 Gremlin where the hinges were bolted to the body.
I think I might have still owned it today had it not gotten t-boned when someone ran a stop sign. It was the first time my father-in-law borrowed it. And not so much as a scratch on him!
Great story thank you so much for sharing your experience with this car it sounds like grumpy.. was a great car
I had a 1971 in high school. 258, 3 speed, with a rear seat - it was dark brown with a white hockey stick stripe. It is my favorite vehicle I ever owned. The breaks and manual steering didn't bother me as many vehicles shared that trait. The rear window did get dirty and AMC added a spoiler later to reduce the problem.
Sweet thank you so much for sharing that awesome story what a great memory
A brother had a 1974 (with the 'crash' bumpers) in gold/yellow and the brown 'hockey stick' stripe and 3-speed on the floor. He bought it used from a guy who worked at a warehouse for Pirelli tire in New Jersey a the time. It had oversized tires. I believe he had if for several years. People used to steal the gas caps, the hatch windows were troublesome. Like other AMC products they could rattle, be noisy, but they did the job and for sure better than the Ford Pinto, Chevy Vega.
Thank you so much for sharing that awesome story what a great memory I’ve only driven one AMC product and it was pretty good it was a 56 Hudson cross country Rambler wagon
AS A VERY YOUNG KID, I rode in a Hornet Sportabout wagon, and a Gremlin.....both had AC and this dark interior.....the ac in both was cold and worked surprisingly well.
Nothing colder than AMC air conditioning with the possible exception of a country singer's third ex-wife's heart.
Well, actually my 2023 Crosstrek doesn't do too badly..
THANKS !
Love AMC Content ...
I bought a NEW 1971 Gremlin in 1971 ...
Mine was a 2-Seater ...
with NO back Seat & the Sealed REAR Window ...
13" Wheels & Tires ...
258ci I-6 cylinder Engine ...
ALL the "performance options" ...
Heavy Duty ...
COOLING ...
CHARGING ...
SUSPENSION ...
COST me
just under $ 1999.99 ...
Weight just under 2,000 lbs ...
Ditched the 13" Wheels & Tires
for 14" CRAGAR Wheels
& 14" W I D E Oval Tires 🙂
I got a REAL
18 MPG on the highway
from Charleston SC to home
in Richmond, INDIANA
thanks for the CONTENT ...
COOP ...
the WiSeNhEiMeR from Richmond, INDIANA
...
You but I love AMC love orphan cars in general I wanted to be in Waymore than orphan car channel but we dive in deep on the orphan cars that’s for sure and try to bring them put them in a light that they should’ve always been in.
They say hindsight is 2020 AMC made a really good product their issue was they didn’t advertise to the right crowd if you watch any of their old advertisements they go for the weird and quirky which wasn’t a thing it’s a thing now like everything is total opposite now like wagons nobody wanted to station wagon back in the day but wagons are cool now..
Thank you so much for sharing your experience with your 71 gremlin sounds like you really dig that car
I’ve always loved the look of the Gremlin. I even tried to buy one from my neighbor in high school. But it’s so claustrophobic. When I was 10 or so, one of my friends’ moms got one. I remember riding in the back seat - as a 10 year old - and thinking this car was way too small. I also remember a girl in high school who had a bright orange one with a black interior. That backseat was miserable and - with no window to open - brutally hot in the summer. I had friends with Beetles. The back seats were also miserable … but not quite as miserable as the Gremlin.
Choice #1: Pinto … always Pinto
Choice #2: I’d take the Gremlin just to say I finally got one.
Great episode!!!
Thank you so much for that awesome story what a great memory so the backseat and the gremlin is worse than the backseat of a Volkswagen beetle that is interesting one day I wanna compare these cars.
Great choices =)
Growing up near Kenosha i saw many AMC's. My sister had a red Gremlin. The spare tire was collapsed and came with a can of air to "inflate" it when needed.
I had a 67 AMC Rambler 2 door, basically the same underpinnings with the 232 2bbl and Borg Warner 3 sp auto. Cheers from Canada.
How did you like your 67 rambler
it is amazing that this car is from Struthers, Ohio with all the salt on the roads in winter!
The car came from Pennsylvania but not sure where it came from before that surprisingly there’s a lot of nice cars in this part of America probably not as many as down south but the cars we have your incredible but a lot of them have been built a couple times over because of the salt conditions or just went into hibernation early
1) Pinto 2) Gremlin. This took me back! In the fall of '73, when I was a mere wisp of a boy at 10 years old, my parents bought a '74 Gremlin for my Mom. (sidenote: my grandpa also bought a '74 Hornet on the same outing) It was this funny color blue that turned lilac in the shade. The only options it had was the Levi interior and a 304 V8 with an automatic. It had these ridiculous half hubcaps and blackwall tires. I spent the next 6 years wrangling myself in and out of that back "seat". Mom called her Sleeper. She looked boring and blah but could blow the doors off almost anything on the road. My Mom loved that car! She was a tough little car too. In February of 1980, my parents were in a head on with a '78 LeSabre that crossed the line. They were hurt, but walked away. Sleeper put up a good fight. Mom bought an '81 AMC Spirit which as she put it was "the biggest piece of s**t AMC ever crapped out. LOL. No end of issues with it. Traded it for an '84 Daytona Turbo. She missed Sleeper til her dying day. Thanx for the ride down memory lane!
@ Eric Great story thank you so much for sharing that awesome memory on here =) I want to drive one with the 304 I think that would be super cool 😎
Good to hear your family liked American Motors cars. My favourite car during the 1970s was the Matador coupe which was introduced in 1974.
The base engine in 1970 was 199 ci 6-1v, gone in '71. I remember seeing the car on a new car lot when I was about 15, thought it was very cool and still do.
Almost got one of these...new in the Spring of 1972. I liked it! I remember my dad and I looking at one in an AMC car dealership in Indianapolis. I was 21 and impressed with the feel of "a new car" looking vs. "used models" (which were at that time the following: 1969 Opel GT; Toyota 510 (?) Corrola; a 1970 abused by rough rocky roads driven by a 18 to 20 year old "high-class blonde"; and, believe it or not, a 1969 Ford/Mercury "Interceptor" that was used by the Indiana State Police ("Indiana Wants Me, but I Can't Go Back There..." - R. Dean Taylor [1971] and had a gas-guzzling 6 to 8 m.p.g. 429 V-8; a 1971 Chevy Vega with the "Cosworth design four cylinder"; and finally...a just released first year Honda Civic powered by their two cylinder motorcycle engine. Well, the AMC Gremlin didn't make the choices I looked into. Dad seemed to be pretty tricked-out with the sales guy (who favored so much in eye glass wearing slick down stud he didn't care for in his attitude. So...that Spring of '72, I went back to buying another used car: the 1969 VW "Bug" which was fun for a short time till the rear engine model "blew" its 97 c.i.d. engine and spewed oil on I-465 East in Indy for about two miles to the next exit, which I "limped in" at a Sheraton Motor Inn. There, it sat for a few days before being hauled off to get repairs. (On that "fateful day" I was leaving for Dallas, Texas for a big Christian event: "Explo '72" sponsored by Campus Crusade for Christ.)
Oh, the many memories that some of these older cars bring back! I like them!
Great story thank you for sharing that memory =)
I didn't really care for these when l was a kid and they were new, but I'd love to have one now. One of the last years when you could buy are car like this, simple and easy to work on. Great video - thanks!
I wouldn’t mind one that was either purple orange or silver with great contrasting color but I would want to 304 V8 in mine and at least a four speed stick..
Thank you for sharing. I like the AMC family
Thank you so much for watching we love AMC on this channel =)
My brother had a 73 Gremlin, both my wife and I rode around sitting in the back seat. I was 6'3" at the time. I would chose the bug for quality purposes but the Gremlin seemed a lot quicker and therefore more fun to ride in.
That’s crazy that you rode in the back there would be more space in the rear if you just hold down the seat and sat on a blanket back there which would be highly frowned upon now but totally accepted in the 70s..
Gremlin, paint was yellow with black stripped package, green interior and you will have the first new car I bought in late 1970. As an odd Artist, it hit the mark.
How did you like your gremlin awesome colors
My Gremlin Story: 20-odd years ago I visited my Uncle-by-marriage’s house he grew up in for Thanksgiving. We ran out of whatever I was drinking so I asked someone if there was any more. ‘Sure, go out in the garage and get it from the fridge.” I went in the garage turned on the light and parked in there was a MINT ‘76 Gremlin. With the Levi’s interior no less! It was a real WTF moment. I came back in and asked my uncle what the deal was. He knew I was a car guy but had never mentioned it. Turns out they were a Rambler then AMC family going back to the 50s and that Gremlin was the last car their dad bought a few months before he died. The mom couldn’t bear to part with it. So the siblings drove it a little here and there, but it mostly sat. We joked about why is it the really ‘cool’ cars are never left behind in mint condition?
What a cool story thank you so much fir sharing that memory. =)
@@What.its.like. I may have missed it, but did you cover the Levi’s interior option? The seats looked like they were covered in denim and had copper rivets like the jeans. Real denim could not pass flame retardant regulations, so it was actually made out of some type of polyester. But I think the copper rivets were real. And you know how well copper conduct heat? Apparently after sitting in the sun all day, you could burn your backside on the rivets! 😫
So where is it, you keep it right
@@UnionPacific1997 I think one my uncles’ brothers bought or inherited the family house and the car is still there in the garage. That’s last I knew from 10 years ago.
SIMPLICITY IS WONDERFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for the gremlin
@@What.its.like. Yeah, I've always loved the LOOKS of the Vega, like a cute little car, my oldest sister was going to give me they'res but I said no thank you, ( I was 15yrs) I heard of the problems that the Vega had, back in '75
I have to admit I bought a new green gremlin in 1972 when I got out of the navy. It had the x-package. I painted the raised hood flat black I'm sure it made the car drive much faster. The car had the big six with the three speed manual tranz. I owned it untll 1979 it stll ran fine but it was much lighter since most of the car was gone because of the rust holes. The cold air vent that pointed out was for decoration only and the heating just producted irritating noise. The amazing thing is I sold it for almost as much as i paid for it in 1972.
Thank you so much for telling me that that was decoration only I pulled it nothing really happened so I wasn’t sure if it was connected or why would they put something there if it didn’t have a function which is crazy to me your car sounds really cool, sorry it rusted away
Glad you touched on the subject, our local amc dealer was H. E. Wood & sons on Franklin St Westfield mass. My parents bought all their cars there, though Hornets, not Gremlins. I watched the Renault 5 Le Car / Fuego/ Alliance/ Encore era as well, something else you may like to cover! ❤️
Glad you dig this episode I found a really hard to find AMC and I’m super stoked to share it that’s probably going to be hopefully Mondays episode I feel bad we didn’t get to do that many episodes this week I’ve been traveling a lot shooting a bunch of stuff I’m going on vacation but I’m still going to do videos on vacation =)
AMC, U.S. king of home-grown small cars. would be the first U.S. manufacturer to beat the "Big-3" to market with the first true sub-compact. The Nash Metropolitan was a wholly-built car made in England. The Crosley's were more like micro cars similar to the Austin Mini's, another British car.
AMC, always strapped for cash, and with a focus on the low-priced car field, was an innovator. Taking an AMC Hornet and basically chopping off the trunk, created the Gremlin for 1970. Equipped with the usual drivetrain and undercar components, the Gremlin remained all-American while the Ford Pinto used a foreign drivetrain(the basic one used was from the English-Ford Cortina) and Chevy did something weird with a new engine and also used it's cheapest components.
The Gremlins were unibody, so they couldn't help but be a step-down design.
dimensions
I just thought it was really cool that it was a car based on a hornet Hudson made the hornet and they made the step down the side and I just thought it was just a tied together of a bunch of things.
Corvair. Valiant, Dart, Falcon. Chevy II, Tempest.
@@What.its.like. It sure did tie things together. When Hudson and Nash merged, the Hornet name became the property of Rambler-AMC. Maybe if AMC had used the Hornet name instead of the Rebel or Rogue the Hornet name might have injected some old-world spirit into their "sports sedans". Maybe even on the Marlin.
The original Hudson "step-down" design was a product of using a perimeter frame allowing the floor of the cars to be recessed and lowering the entire body, although the Hudsons were still pretty tall. Lowering the car like that changed the center of gravity and reduced drag coefficient, making the Hudsons superior handling cars.
Putting the Hornet name on a cheap compact car was an insult to the memory of Hudson.
Ofcourse that AMC Hornet chassis took the brand to the end, changing the name to Concorde and Spirit, finishing up with the Eagle.
Oh, that style of outside door handles lived on into the AM/General Hummer H-1.
Maybe AMC's last hurrah in the automotive vehicle field was when they teamed up GM creating the AM/General brand building transit buses and military vehicles. They used the AMC logo.
Regardless of anything concerning looks, these were fine driving little cars land quite comfortable. They were one of the only, if not the only, subcompact with that super-reliable straight six and a great factory a/c. Imagine the poor dope who chose the '71 Vega with that aluminum engine over this! I never owned one, but rented several over the decade for business trips and always enjoyed them. In fact, I wouldn't mind having one now!
One of a kind car , fun to drive & i always like the look’s of them . I had a Pacer , close enough ! Well done jay! ❤
Glad you dig this episode =) I would love to compare the two
My cousin had a 74 Gremlin X with the 304 and Levi's interior! That was the year of the awful governmental "interlock seat belt system" requirement. People had to belt in their bag of groceries in order for their cars to start! Even the government realized they had gone too far, and it was gone in 75,
Thank you for sharing that memory and experience with the car. That would be a really hard time to live gas prices government taking all of the fun and joy out of just about everything.. what’s crazy to me is why would anybody buy a new car back then because the older cars just seem more fun and they were cheaper
I had one of the 71 x model with all the godies on t the 258 engine bucket seat and rear seat and the back window that opened.
Hudson step down in a car that share a lot with another car called a Hornet? Imagine that! 🤣 And Hornet back again for the 3rd name plate!
71 Gremlin (and that is even AFTER personal experience with all 3, back in the day)
71 Beetle (not fair, my first car was one)
Haha yeah glad you caught that =)
Great choices
As a young kid in the early 70s, I remember my teenage sibling and some of their friends would laugh at these, I concluded that these cars, were not highly regarded. A few years ago I started watching the vintage car commercials, and I thought these are so weirdly unique and appealing, and they looked so peppy in motion, and had so many cool color decor options.😎I always liked the look of the pinto, and the vega. My older cousin had a metallic green '71 Vega. I think he only kept it about a year. 😅, I don't think I'd want any of of those, but I did ride in a few 79s models Celicas when I was younger, including a '73, and thought the ride was great! I'd pick the Toyota.
Great pick.. I have a soft spot in my heart for the gremlin.. The only thing that I wish it had was a full hatchback and then it could be a different to the Honda hatchback I mean Honda was making hatchbacks I think at this point or they started just a little bit later.. but they were small in the early years not saying that this car isn’t small because in the grand scheme of things it is a pretty small car but it’s bigger than a 92 civic I think 🤔 or maybe close in size
@@What.its.like. The Gremlin has enough interior room, but not a big opening for bulky items.
I'd rather have the gremlin, easy to work on and no metric tools needed, also made in America.
My buddy in highschool had a Levi's edition with a denim interior and both his parents drove Pacers
I think the Levi edition came out later I want to cover one of those I think they’re super cool 😎
I rarely see a car so bare of options. Did not even have a AM radio. Cool car,though. I had a '74 Gremlin X that was "loaded". Air Conditioning,Power Steering,Power Brakes,3-Speed Automatic,AM/FM Stereo and Premium Wheels with Goodyear Polyglass GT tires. It had the base 232 cid six that gave solid performance and rather decent gas mileage. Was white with black pinstripping. One of my favorite cars I've owned.
My first new car was a '74 Super Beetle. My parents bought it for me as a freshman at the Univ. of Texas. Awful car, broke constantly, poor running. How I wish I'd chosen a Gremlin instead!
Knew a girl in High School with a purple Gremlin. The football coach had a yellow Hornet Sportabout which we called the Bananamobile.
Awesome memory thank you so much for sharing that purple gremlin would be really cool
AMC BY FAR THE BEST OF THE THREE
I knew it was ELO, couldn’t think of the song. I love Gremlin Xs especially- and in a plum color to boot. I’d be interested in learning more about the ‘71 Toyota.
I love the exes that come later with the V-8 engine I believe it’s a 304 I would love to drive a V-8 powered gremlin just to see what that’s like.
I was going to choose a song from 1971 I’m not sure when turn the stone came out but I heard that song like that long ago and I forgot how cool the song it is even if it’s a bit repetitive I think it’s really cool how they came in With a little texture is going on and then by the end of it they have like a full orchestra it’s just a cool song I keep building and building on it
@@What.its.like. At least 20 or so years ago a friend and I saw an add for a Gremlin,got there 5 minutes to late. It was a 74 Gremlin with a 304 v8.
Back in the day in Ann Arbor, MI, I saw a guy pull out of the beer store in a Gremlin. He had an unsecured keg in the back. As he pulled out and sped up, the keg rolled backward, and busted out the rear glass, Ouch..
Wow
Great video, if possible given time, you need more videos like this.
For sure I want to get back to that style =) in a few weeks I’ll try and do more 70s 80s cars in the mix
I always liked these, and the Pacers too. I had no idea they were so powerful. They must be really fun to drive.
Round one: Gremlin
Round two: Gremlin
It just has more style than all the others. I do love a Pinto, though.
Fun fact: Dick Teague was the young designer at Packard who took John Reinhart’s brilliant 1951 Packard and facelifted it to become the incredibly beautiful 55/56 Packard. Most people have no idea it’s the same car.
Awesome choices and great information Dick Teague designed a lot of cool cars he’s responsible for the AMC marlin he’s responsible for the Packard Caribbean. I believe he’s responsible for the AMX.
I have owned almost all of the AMCs except the Pacer including three Gremlins
What did you think of the gremlin since you’ve had three of them I’m guessing you liked it =)
Loved my gremlins, super torquey, reliable, handled well. Unfortunately terrible gas mileage. Very comfortable and on rare occasion it needed fixing, super easy to repair. AMCs are totally under appreciated for the good cars they were. Bad management and inability to change with the times killed it. Chrysler closed the lid and put them in the ground.
Hi Jay! The gremmie was an interesting car! Not too many engines easier to work on than the old inline sixes! WYR#1 I ould go with the Gremmie, even though I am a Pinto fan (just don't get rear ended!) #2 As much as I like the Classis Beetle, I might have to go Toyota Celica here! ONLY Japanese car I ever owned was a 1973 Celica ST. While VERY hard to get parts for at the time, the car itself was actually a fun little car to drive. OHC engine, 4 speed on the floor, pretty peppy and a nice interior too.
Great choices =) going to try to do a Celica this year those are really cool cars
The real magic happened for the Gremlin in 1972. First, a fully synchronized 3-speed manual, dropping the power-robbing B-W automatic for the Chrysler-manufactured TorqueFlite(Torque-Command) and the optional 304 V-8. This V-8 could be modified easily and swapping in a 4-speed made the Gremlin a force to be reckoned with. I don't remember a 4-speed being an option, initially.
Another good thing, this last generation of AMC V-8's had virtually identical external dimensions, so nobody would be the wiser swapping in a 390 or 401 V-8.
But alas, most Gremlins were sold to people looking for a cheap new car and having grown up with Nash's and AMC's in their families. Mom and pop's probably drove a Rambler Cross-Country wagon or maybe a Marlin? I knew several Gremlin-buyers who fit the category.
It's too bad that this Gremlin is in such shabby condition.
The Gremlin would probably be a reliable car, but by 1971, the VW Beetle had enjoyed a cult following for years. Given the choice, I'd go for the Gremlin. The Toyota Celica's were ugly, doggy cars still in 1971. Now, in 1975, the Celica's moved up a notch. I bought a 1976 Celica GT Liftback new and keeping it for about 20 years, I'd do it again!
Thank you so much for taking the time to put all of that added information in there I really appreciate it
I two love the mid70s Celicas I think they’re one of the most gorgeous cars ever made very practical I do a foot so far to say that the 75 and 76 are probably the best looking Celica especially from the 70s I’ve been looking for one to do I’m going to try to find one this year but they’re rare than hens teeth around here. I’m finding out the cars can be a very regional thing depending on what type of car you’re looking for.
@@What.its.like. The '75 Celica's still had a slight slant to the front end but in 1976 they squared it up.
The Liftbacks of 1976-7 were basically 2/3 copies of '69 Mustangs. The Liftback was a Japan home market model maybe dating back to 1973? They had the ugly slanty front ends back then.
Probably because the Datsun "Z" cars had become so popular in the U.S., Toyota needed something to compete in that market segment. Toyota created the "Z" car styling and named it the 2000GT. Not many made it stateside.
The 1976 and 1977 Celica Liftbacks were nearly twins, but there were some obvious and not so obvious differences.
The not so obvious differences of the '77 were that they added a remotely adjustable driver's door mirror and, under the hood, they went to a fully electronic magnetic pulse electronic ignition system. The '76's still had points in the distributor, but used an electronic switching box. The rubbing blocks on the points would wear out, but the points never did.
The obvious addition to the '77's was a passenger door mirror. I did all the upgrades to mine, but if it doesn't have a passenger door mirror, it's a '76.
The Celica Liftbacks were versatile cars. I usually had the back seat folded down and hauled all kinds of stuff with it. I often hauled all my scuba diving gear and/or camping/backpacking equipment.
I realize that it would be too small for you, but I would roll my sleeping bag out at an angle in the back and sleep back there. There was just room enough for me, so I had to put everything else outside or in the front seats.
Because it had decent ground clearance, I would take it off-road occasionally. It was so funny when one morning, after spending the night on top of a ridge in the High-Sierra's, people in Jeep CJ's, in 4WD low-range, passed by us giving us dirty looks.
I had a custom paint job in BMW Garnet Red. The car was reasonably quick acceleration and was shown to be slightly quicker than a 1976 Datsun 280Z in the car mags. I also took it up to 125 mph occasionally. lol
Trying to remember, but I think the Gremlin was the last US car with standard vacuum wipers - electric cost extra. WYR: 1) Tempted to gamble on the Vega, but the early ones has more serious problems than even the 'melting' engine, so no. Gremlin. 2) Celica, totally different animal than the Gremlin, would have given you a mini-Mustang image back in the day.
Thank you so much for sharing that insight =) great choices I would love to find a Toyota Celica to review this year
All 1971 AMC models had vacuum wipers standard, final year for such.
Back in the day the reality of owning a Gremlin became obvious if you lived in the Snow Belt in Winter. The nose heavy Gremlin would sit and spin at a traffic light with snow on the ground. You needed snow tires for sure.
Thank you so much for sharing that memory. Did they still put chains on tires back then.
@@What.its.like. in Northeast Ohio it was rare to see a car with chains on the tires even during heavy snow. For a few years studded snow tires were popular. The danger was on dry payment the car could slide with metal studs in contact with a concrete surface.
People laugh at the Gremlin today because of its unusual styling. It is interesting because the styling was one of the Gremlin’s strongest selling points. The Beetle was dominating the subcompact market and a competing car needed to have a cute, stand-out personality to have any chance of being a sales success, which the Gremlin was. It was also a great little car with proven technology so it was reliable and quick with its 6 cylinder engine. The fuel mileage was also excellent, mine could get around 25 mpg (highway) with its 232 and 3 speed w/OD.
I like the styling of the gremlin they were one of the first modern hatchback cars and the ones with the v8 engine are super cool =)
1971 Gremlin for me
Sweet =)
Vega ,
When I put the link ,whole page showed up,
Mine was like the 74 4 door Hatch ,Correct Green Color too
Sweet =)
Pinto because I used to own one. Then the VW because I owned those as well.
One thing I will say about the gremlin is I can tell you from first hand experience that riding in the back seat of one of those in the summertime in Arizona is something that you never want to have to experience again. no ventilation back there and it is like sitting in an oven.
Great choices awesome story thank you so much for sharing that awesome memory with us that would suck being in the backseat in Arizona I totally agree how did you survive..?
@@What.its.like. with LOTS of Big Gulps LOL
I think Gremlin in the first one and Toyota in the second one. Love the Gremlin X Levi edition.
I need to find one of those to review
You hardly ever see Gremlin's around anymore. My high school auto shop teacher and his son were AMC fans. My teacher had a 69 AMX with a 390, and his son had a 72 Gremlin with a built 304. In your "Rather" senarios, I'd take the Gremlin in both cases, even over the Celica. They had sixes and not fours, and very reliable with a good parts base. They got used up, but were good cars!
My whole lifetime I have never seen AMC gremlins prevalent there was a time when I was in high school I saw a lot of late 80s Lincoln town cars mercury grand marquis’s LTDs Chevy caprice it seems everybody in their mom had a green Buick LeSabre like 1998 those were the cars that I remember growing up when I was 16 17
I do have a soft spot in my heart for this car though
The first new car I owned . 1972 Gremlin, brown in color, black interior. Options included deluxe interior (bucket seats and upgraded trim..pretty much a Gremlin X interior), 14" wheels and tires, fully synchro 3-speed floor mounted, AM radio and heavy duty battery. $2,372 sticker price!
Awesome =)
1st scenario I''ll take the Pinto, but the sporty wagon version with the blanked out sides, stripes and little round windows, called the Crusin wagon (hope you run across one), the 2nd the Celica hands down. I remember the Gremlin coming out 2 days after my birthday when I was in the 8th grade. Only seen one Gremlin without a back seat back in the day, the local AMC dealer didnt sell many of those.
That’s crazy I never knew that they made a two seat fixed back option and I thought it was a proper hatchback I didn’t know it had just a little glass window that flipped up.. that was disappointing. Cool choices =)
Another great video of a fun little driver-quality car, Jay. I really enjoyed it.
=) glad you dig this episode
I had a Vega back then - really. The Pinto didn't have enough legroom, so it was out. The Vega actually had decent legroom up front and 2 smaller adults could fit in back. What set the Vega part from the bunch was a decent ride and it had a lot of space behind the rear seat for storage. The spare tire was under a metal floor panel, which made for a large flat area in back.
The Gremlin had a lot of advantages and could be nice but you needed to add options for it to be nice. I drove a bare-bones Gremlin and it was not a nice place to be - but add some trim, upgraded wheels and spend money for the upgraded interior and they could be nice. Eventually the Gremlin could have a 304 V8. Down side of the AMD 6's was they were low end torque engines but they didn't rev at all. They lasted forever but the power was the total opposite of the Vega and Pinto - both being higher revving engines.
Awesome information thank you so much for sharing your experience with the Vega =) i’ve only seen a handful in person and I’ve never been in one
The Pinto did have front wheel well intrusion which forced a crosswise driving position but I drove a rental all over Newfoundland Canada at 14 when my parents wanted to get rid of me and my brother. It was fun.
I drove a couple of Vega's and they always sounded like they were on their last run.
I bought my 71 AMC Gremlin and used it while at College and later as a go to work car. It also had a large gas tank and you could go far between fills. That became very important later in the 70's. Vega and Pinto's were not good. Gremlin was not perfect but fit my needs at the time.
Awesome =) thank you so much for sharing your experience with the car what were some things that you like about it what were some things that you didn’t like about it.
@@What.its.like. The Gremlin was good on gas for a six , repairs were mostly tires, brakes, wiper blades etc... Nothing major. My wife learned to drive my Gremlin stick and we added a FM adapter. Gremlin came with a AM radio only. My wife drove the car to the market and work for her. When she was given a choice of a new car, she choice the AMC Hornet Sportabout. She kept that car until we got her a mini van. Both cars were good.
Awesome =) sounds like you really dig that car =) I want an eagle some day
That dog was pissed it wasn't sitting in the back of a real nice 70s car like an Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser.
My pick would be the Gremlin in either scenario, although Vega would have been my favourite at the time it was introduced.
Awesome choices =)
Excellent!
HI Jay, I have a real liking for the AMC product, The Gremlin is a sexy looking smaller car. For me, it is the little detail touches on the body that make it standout, the roof kick, the front flared wheels, and the C pillars with the 3 indents. The turn back on the C pillar has been done elsewhere, but never as successfully I think. The use of a 4 + litre straight six is an ideal combination I feel, with effortless power, as long as the car can turn and just do car type things properly. I had a mate who used to work on his Ford straight six by standing in the engine bay, which I had never seen before, true he was short. But still.
The one concern for a British speaking Australian is the name. (Spielbergs 'Gremlins') which are like demons that cause things to fail without any apparent cause. Frankly it wasn't released in Australia, as the Japanese had the market sewn up for smaller cars, and it would have had to get a name change to something like "C**NT" to be accepted in 71 Australia. Not a joke. If it isn't tough it should be wild and angry and crude.
The classic AMC door handles, have been copied by so many since their demise. Not a fan of the steering wheel, the flat twin spoke with a small hub look passed me by. In the 70s, I appreciated dished steering wheels or more technical hubs with tiny bolts etc. Finally, the advent of the bucket seat, with all the possible benefits of personalised ride and lumbar support which is likely forgotten here?
1. Gremlin.
2. Toyota Cellica. They were a real fun driver's car. Something which Toyota largely has forgotten now.
Awesome choices thank you so much for sharing all of that information and insight =)
I wanna find a mid 70s Celica I think that was the best era of them like 75-76 but that is a super tall order those cars are like almost extinct now or at least that’s what it seems it might be a regional thing
They put 304 V8s in them.
Yeah but that came later
@@What.its.like. They are really classic cars now, and so anything unrestored is going to cost a fortune I guess. Also, you guys use salt on the roads which is not going to do the bodies any favours. If you have a fortune to spend a CA car would be okay.
The 75 76 are the ones I think are best too, very nice engines with excellent gearboxes. The Toyota GB's were expensive at the time, because people would fit them to V-8's, and they could handle the power and add an extra gear. Even if the car is trashed, the gearbox was worth way more than the whole car. Ask me how I know.
I had the opportunity to use one of these and its competitors for a number of years. It was actually a rather pleasant car. To compare it to Vega, Pinto and VW Bug . The Bug was best built then Pinto and Gremlin and then the rust made sure vega was last. Performance wise the Gremlin was the fastest and had a bit more interior space than the others, all were used so the engine performance may have been effected by that. The Pinto had probably the best handling. The gremlin I was driving had the Levi interior pack and that was a real winner managing to be warm in the winter and cool in the summer. I guess if I were to decide between the four I would probably take the Volkswagen though it would be close with the gremlin if it had that Levi upholstery (the weather extremes in Kansas were a lot more comfortable with the Levi upholstery).
Thank you so much for sharing all of that added information and insight as well as experience with all these cars I really appreciate it..
The suspension in the Gremlin was a copy of the Ford IFS system and the rear had the Mustang style staggered shocks. The steering assembly was all General Motors as the Steering Columns were from Chevy.
I though the handling on mine was amazing. The only car I could drive up to 90 Kilometers per hour and turn the wheel sharply without feeling like it would roll.....my 1972 Olds was quite different though!
My grandfather bought a 1970 beige Gremlin new. I believe he paid $1995. He said it got so good fuel economy that he had to stop and take fuel out of it every now and then.
I'd take the Gremlin over the Vega and Pinto, but for the 2nd choice, I'd pick the Toyota Celica over the VW and Vega.
Thank you so much for sharing that awesome story it would be kind of hard to not choose the Celica because of how cool it was with a total hatchback 1971 I believe was the very first year that it was on offer for the US market.. I will try to find one of those cars this year they are very hard to find
Ha! That's funny!
April Fools Day 1970, actually. - and no, I'm not kidding! ...ok, you got that!
I like the purple and gold Gremlin with the 304 in it from 1972.
Was that Jim Neighbors in the Gremlin ad?
Interesting rear window release mechanism. My 1977 is just a button with a key lock in the middle. Turn the key and then push the button down and grab the glass handle and lift up.
The top of the Gremlin doors are steel. It's part of the steel door inner skins.
The steering column is GM. My 1977 has a Camaro steering wheel on it.
There are some Gremlins where the rear windows do open. I knew someone that had one, but they are quite RARE!
Funny to see you sitting in the back. Reminds me of some of the people I drove around in my Gremlin in the past.
That Gremlin looks a bit rough though. If I was to buy it, I would inspect the side rocker panels and tap on all the metal with my thumb knuckle and try to listen for muffled "Bondo knock".
I bought a 1976 Gremlin that I couldn't put on the road because the car is uni-body and the rusted rockers became a "Structural" issue, so I can't insure it unless I replace the rocker panels first. I didn't know that was going to be an issue when I bought it...only found out when I was going to put it on the road...so hopefully someone doesn't make the same mistake.
Awesome information
Thank you so much for sharing all that added information =)
What do you like the most about the gremlin and what do you like the least
@@What.its.like. I forgot one thing...if you look at the Gremlin from the top down, it's actually a wedge shape with the front bumper being narrower than the rear.
My Gremlin has the Audi 4 cylinder motor in it (Same as the Porsche 914, but with a carburator and Ford Bobcat transmission).
The issue I have is that the Audi 4 was only used for 2 years before AMC switched it for the Pontiac 4, and Porsche doesn't want to recognize they made that motor because it was so bad, so trying to get parts for it can be difficult. Also, the Gremlin was a low-cost car, so some of the interior parts in mine have fallen off due to vibration when releasing the clutch.
The Bobcat transmission has a small range 1st gear which then drops on to a large gear in 2nd, so for the first few seconds of putting the car in gear, it's like the engine is going to blow up from high RPM's, then almost stalls out when you put it in 2nd.
Another thing is the location of the interior brake release rod and the fuse box. There is a plastic clip that holds the rod in place on the emergency brake and the rod passes right along side of the fuse box. the fuse box doesn't have a cover on it.
One day the plastic clip broke as I pulled the release handle. The rod pulled up and dragged right along the open fuse box. Sparks flew everywhere and I blew out 5 fuses. Luckily I had some in the ash tray, so i was fine. But if I didn't, I would be stranded with my 3 friends on the side of a mountain.
But when the car was running right, I loved how it cornered. It is also a standard, so shifting gears was fun. Also, most young people don't know what a Gremlin is, and the 1977 has a more streamlined front end and larger rear tail lights which makes it look like nothing else on the road. You can also fold down the rear seat and it does make a large cargo bay.
I would love to have one with the straight 6 or even the 304 V8.
BTW back at that time all AMC door handles where the same across the entire line. My 77 Pacer had the very same ones
Awesome information thank you so much for sharing that I want to compare a pacer and Gremlin one day
Enjoyed!!!
Awesome =)
Gremlin all the way. You really can't beat it for basic transportation
Great choice one day we’re going to do the hatchback showdown we’re gonna have your favorite yugo =)
@@What.its.like. You mean Yugo from the great socialist worker's paradise of Yugoslavia?!?!
Definitely the AMC Gremlin
These bring back memories, they were all over the place in the 70s and into the 80s. They were considered ugly by some, but unique.
My Gawd, you look like a Goliath sitting in that back seat! Not much room, is there? It's really only suitable for children.
Still, I would choose this car over the Pinto or Vega. The Pinto gets a thumbs down because of the gas tank issue and the Vega was just a crappy car, with notorious engine problems. But I would take the '71 Beetle over the Gremlin... probably because my first car was the '66 model and you always ❤ your first car.
Yeah there wasn’t that much space in the back to be 100% honest and I was quite hunched over I was like man I did not look comfortable back there but I didn’t feel like I looked..
9:00, by the end of the run, the back glass “grew” over time to be more of a true hatchback. Similar thing happened with the Pinto. Maybe the Vega too…
With the Vega that was just the rear rusting away from the subframe.
Actually, the side glass was the same side until the last Gremlin in 1978. For 1979, AMC turned the Gremlin into the Spirit Hatchback, and at that time, they gave the Spirit the larger rear windows because the Gremlin had a major blind spot with it's little side windows...never fun to drive in when you had to change lanes!
@@MonsterHobbiesModelCarGarage By “back glass” I meant only the single lift up glass panel at the rear. It did grow a little by 1978 but not to the extent of becoming a whole hatch as I was picturing it. I had conflated the Gremlin back glass with the Pinto/Bobcat which did grow to become a whole hatch panel.
@@mattskustomkreations Sorry, I got the wrong "Back Glass" there. Yes, you are right. I own both a 1976 and 1977 AMC Gremlin and you can't switch rear windows.
I work a few jobs, have 6 TH-cam channels and own an online store. Sometimes I'm too tired to fully understand what's going on in these comments. My mistake.
@@MonsterHobbiesModelCarGarage Hey man, it’s all good! No worries, that’s a lot of juggling! Will have to check your channel out. I do original design Lego models on mine.
Pinto for me! It's the most reliable & parts for it were being made into the 90's at least! BTW the gas tank problem was corrected early in it's run.
Sweet choice
@@What.its.like. My dad had a 66 Mustang convertable with 200 CID 6. It would get about 20 mpg and was a lot nicer car. He paid around $2200.00 new. It was'nt fast.
WYR1: Gremlin is a lot more car than the Vega or the Pinto, and it carries a lot less metaphorical baggage.
WYR2: That Celica looks a lot like a Vega. I'll still go with the Gremlin.
Personal experience, Gremlins are a lot of fun, even with the base 232 engine (seven main bearings, by the way) but a Hornet Sportabout would be more practical with two Norwegian Elkhounds.
My brothers friend had a Gremlin X with a V8.
Sweet What did you think of it
1971 celica, had a 71 pinto it was a fill the oil check the gas
Great choices =)
Over the course of many years I have had 5 AMCs, 2 Hornets a two door and a four door. a Concord wagon, a Pacer and a Eagle sedan all were good cars for what they were except the Eagle a POS.
Sweet
Why didn’t you like the Eagle. Are they bad cars my dad had one before I was born I saw pictures of it I kind of sort of want to own one of those one day but I would want a four-door version I really like what they did to it and lost in translation Rutledge would had his own car show for it only lasted one series unfortunately. I thought it was a good show but I guess it didn’t get the ratings that they were hoping for
I sometimes get compared to him somewhat look like him.. lol
@@What.its.like. To answer your question, it was basically a Concord with AWD and if as in my case you lost either of the front half shafts the car was disabled and also in my case over time the engine bearing wore out causing a loss of oil pressure and the need for a replacement engine.
Well done, I would take the Celica
Sweet choice
WYR #1: Well, I guess the Pinto of those three ... certainly not the sleeveless aluminum Vega ... just say not.
OT: I worked with a guy, with a wife and two small girls. He had a Vega-it was the _perfect_ size for his family. He put THREE engines in it because it was such a practical little car. He figured the price of an engine (in the $hundreds back then) was cheaper than buying a new/replacement car.
I’ve heard mixed things about the Vega I really want to find one to review that’s for sure the wagon looks interesting
My friend got a new SS Vega. It was nice and ran good too. I did'nt hang around long enough for the engine to fail.
Although the Gremlin was clearly a chopped Hornet, back in the 70's it didn't look THAT odd compared to the alternatives. Several magazine road tests pointed out the Gremlin had a proven and reliable engine and transmission compared to the all new Vega. The road tests also stated the Gremlin was faster and got similar gas mileage. A Pinto or Vega with a 4 cyl engine would be more taxed by an A/C but it would be no problem for the AMC 6. In the early 70's there was a need for budget cars and the Gremlin wasn't any less of a car than the American, German or Japanese competition. The Gremlin X with a 304 V8 was somewhat popular and surprisingly fast. The AMC 304/360/401 is the same block, just different stroke. Motor Trend tested a Gremlin with a 401 and 4 wheel drive. It smoked all 4 tires. The dealer was in Arizona. The car you are reviewing is in pretty good shape considering it's 50 years old. Of the choices I would choose the Gremlin for driveability and comfort. Bugs didn't have decent A/C and the Japanese cars back then were not the quality we see today. They were flimsy
Thank you so much for all that added information I knew they put a 304 V8 in the gremlin but I did not know that they put the 401 in that would be absolutely insane I knew definition for the term hot hatchback.. but the irony is the hot hatchback term didn’t coin until after the car came out in those cars had half the engine generally.. crazy
@@What.its.like. , It was custom, by an AMC dealer sort of like the Chevy dealership Don Yenko. Look up Randall Gremlin 401 XR
@@What.its.like. , If the Gremlin would have looked like the Spirit, would it have sold better? The later Hornets/Concord/Eagle/Spirit were arguably as good looking as any other car at the time
I dated a woman once who had a Gremlin with the Levi interior. Talk about a lack of 'back seat rhythm!' There was zero. Of course I'm about 70 now so I doubt if I'll find another woman with a Gremlin. And if I did, getting in the back seat would be the least of my worries
That car would be totally awesome if it had a full hatchback and not just a little tiny glass hatch it has that would have opened it up more.. and could store longer items for transport as well
@@What.its.like. Correct. I like the way you point out the height one would need to lift any cargo up to get in the 'trunk'. You would be doing some serious lifting in a Gremlin. The ads didn't mention that...
A gremlin x is my dream car lol
I would love to drive one with a 304 V8 it would be cool to compare a six-cylinder to a V-8 model as well =)
@@What.its.like. oh ya most definitely would be cool to compare lol
Those bucket seats are not original to that car. Being a low spec model, it would have had the front bench. I sold American Motors cars in 1972 and one of my demos was a Surfside Turquoise Gremlin with wide white stripes and white bucket seats. It had the 258 big six and four on the floor. It was a hoot to drive and I hated to sell it.
I didn’t think those bucket seats were original thank you so much for pointing that out. =) 304 v8 would give this car some pep to its step
@@What.its.like. 258 six with a two barrel and a four speed is a real sleeper.
Looked like standard AMC hi backs to me.
@@rogersmith7396 yes, but not original to that car. If you look closely, you will see that the car has the base trim back seat, no radio, lighter or glove box lock. Those seats are definitely replacements for the original base line bench.
9:50 only the two stickers are data information,therest of those torn up papers were oil change stickers of 70's gas station's
It was just a lot more stuff on the door than I usually see..
They were all 4 seaters. I'm old enough to be around back then.
After 71 they were all four seaters
The 2 person one was the base model and was only offered for two years
Are you sure? I believe that the base model was a four seat sedan with no lift window. And hatchback is loosely used because just the window lifted. On the base you had to go through the door to put stuff in the back(no trunk either). I could e wrong, but that's the way I remember it.
www.automobile-catalog.com/production/amc/gremlin.html#gsc.tab=0
@What.its.like. ,I stand corrected. Boy they sure didn't make very many of the 2 seater. That's probably why I never seen one. My dad had a used car lot in the late 70s and early 80s. He had a few Gremlins. I drove one while in college. I think everyone who had one has a soft spot for them.
They are super rare that’s for sure a little more than 3000 being produced. I was really bummed out to see that it’s just that little tiny window that opens up I always thought the whole thing opened as like one solid door like a Pinto I suppose or had a tailgate much like a 92 civic.
Volkswagen beetle all day .... Great little car ☺️👍
I never had a volts wagon beetle but I’ve had a Karman Ghia same power plant it was a great little car
Death trap
71 celica is the most beautiful car toyota made in 70's of all their models
I want to cover some Celica’s this year they are so hard to find tho
GREMLIN all the way.
Sweet choice
WYR - Vega (why? had one) WYR 2 VW (why? Had one) As a side note - the Vega while a mixed reputation, was in reality a pretty decent vehicle, mine had over 100,000 miles from new, no- yep repeat NO engine issues. I knew many others who had great service from them also including a couple of companies that had them as fleet service. As to VW? Hey, it's a VW.
I’ve heard mixed opinions about the Vega I’ve heard people say they are great cars and others say they were absolute turds..
You know me I’m a purist but I’ve always kind of sort of wanted to put a Harley V twin in a volts wagon beetle only because it produces the same power with two less cylinders. And would sound cool too
You could also get the 304 ci.V-8.
That was later
I left some stuff out so we could come back to it. This car only lasted one generation and it only had one major facelift that came in 1978 when they change the sheet metal
Ahhh, something different !
Next episode is going to be something different as well.. =)