Lustre-Gard Baked Acrylic: 1977 AMC Hornet AMX
The metal door vin plate on this next car has one of the most awesome inscriptions I’ve ever seen on a door plate — it says; AMERICAN MOTORS ADVANCED UNIT CONSTRUCTION; Advanced Unit Construction combines body and frame into a single all-welded structural unit, deep-dip primer paint, galvanized steel sections, plus lustre-gard baked acrylic enamel protect against body rust. It just sounds amazing. It sounds like a car that will last for a hundred years with just regular maintenance…until you remember that American Motors is AMC…and this car was built in 1977, which has been scientifically proven to be the worst year of all time for cars to be manufactured, but paradoxically the best year for a movie to be made (Star Wars, A Bridge Too Far, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Kentucky Fried Movie, Jabberwocky, The Car, A Saturday Night Fever, Speedtrap, The Spy Who Loved Me, and last but not least Slap Shot). Find this 1977 AMC Hornet AMX offered for $6,500 in Colfax, WI via craigslist. Tip from Picklefork.
From the seller:
1977 AMC AMX
condition: good
cylinders: 8 cylinders
drive: rwd
fuel: gas
odometer: 21000
odometer rolled over
paint color: red
title status: clean
transmission: automatic
Too many projects, this 1 has to go. Very rare car, only built 1 year on this platform. Car has spent it’s life in Wyoming until last fall. Very solid, but not totally rust free. Original firecracker red paint, no bodywork. Unibody and floors are perfect. 304 V-8, auto on floor, has the AMX rally gauge package, Has the Desert package with white seats. Headliner and door panels are great, will need carpet and front seats redone. Updated wheels and tires, Very nice 14×7 and 14×8 Western wheels with 235-60-14 and 245-60-14 tires. Glass is all good. Runs, drives, stops, no leaks, but has not been on the road for 10+ years, bring a trailer. Still has factory exhaust with cat. Lots of work done but needs more TLC. Call with questions please. Clean Wyoming title.
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Just posting to say thank you for the thoughtful, quality writing! That list of movies is so on point and I had never heard that list all in 77. Wow! I remember seeing Slap Shot as a kid and it feeling so illicit — was like the bad news bears on the next adult level.
I could see this thing having some potential as a bit of a wild resto-mod type build like the bug a few days back or like the 70-80’s Japanese cars. Make it a Targa top since that white stripe on the sides and roof looks similar to the Porsche Targa strip thing, do something about the suspension/tires so they fill the wheel wells better, pull the bumpers off and make it look a little more modern with some sort of body kit and put in some sort of nice leather interior.