What have I done

Call me jelly and put me on a sandwich. That thing is beautiful.

Ohohohohoh- Those were originally designed around a non-existant wankel. Pacer with Renesis...

One thing I love about cars like this, you don't lose your car in a parking lot. You'll spot that baby a mile away.

Joe Gearin wrote:

nderwater wrote: Turns out the Pacer and Pinto were harbingers of today's crossover era. Who knew?

I'd say the AMC Eagle was really the grand-dad of the whole cross-over craze. It hatched too soon, although it was a financial success in it's day.

Agreed. Never thought I'd buy a wagon but one of the best vehicles I have ever owned, sad to see 'em go.

Turbo magnum mopar. And a transfer case.

Streetwiseguy wrote: Ohohohohoh- Those were originally designed around a non-existant wankel. Pacer with Renesis...

Ok I like this. Renesis seem to be plentiful too.

The0retical wrote:

Streetwiseguy wrote: Ohohohohoh- Those were originally designed around a non-existant wankel. Pacer with Renesis...

Ok I like this. Renesis seem to be plentiful too.

Because they are equally reliable as the AMC product featured in this post?

That said, I think a Pacer wagon with a braaaap is pretty much perfect.

I don't like spinning doritos but I agree with the renesis plan anyway.

Joe Gearin wrote: So it looks like this is getting dropped off at my home soon. Against my will........well, sort of!

That is twelve kinds of awesome. GRM-tested, Knurled-approved!

Didn't all AMC cars of that era have the same firewall, making it easy to drop in an AMC 343 or 390 V8? Just saying.

M2Pilot wrote: Didn't all AMC cars of that era have the same firewall, making it easy to drop in an AMC 343 or 390 V8? Just saying.

Nope. There were different suspensions as well. The pacer is pretty unique among amc.

oldtin wrote:

Its so beautiful.

Dusterbd13 wrote:

M2Pilot wrote: Didn't all AMC cars of that era have the same firewall, making it easy to drop in an AMC 343 or 390 V8? Just saying.

Nope. There were different suspensions as well. The pacer is pretty unique among amc.

A little googling makes it appear that a v8 fits between the shock towers ok, and amc v8s have the distributors in the front, so i dont think the swap should be too difficult. I wonder if any magazines have done in depth, multi issue engine swap articles lately?

I remember a family in the neighborhood selling one of these back when I was a teenager. What caught my attention was that it had a V-8 in it.

Toyman01 wrote: Call me jelly and put me on a sandwich. That thing is beautiful.

AGREED!!!

Looks kinda like:

Did the Pacer wagon get the same asymmetrical doors as the the rest of them?

I love this board! It is possibly the only place in the world that I could post a pic of a ratty-- non drivable Pacer and I'd get a couple of pages of gushing adoration.

The car had been sitting at a friend's shop, but he has too many projects ongoing. He knows I love AMC's for their wackiness, so he insisted that I take it. "I don't want it" I told him. "Great....I'll drop it off next week" he says. "No...really.... I don't want it" I responded. "You know it's a 6 cyl with a manual trans" he says. "Really............

So he's threatening to drop it off next week. Plans are uncertain. Most AMC's are fairly lego-like, but not the Pacer. Front brake parts are unique and hard to source, rear axles break, transmissions are made of glass etc.

I'm going to see what I have, and then assess. I have a buddy who is an AMC freakazoid--- seriously the guy knows every nut and bolt on every AMC product ever made. I've offered the car to him--- as he's the best home for any AMC product. He may take it.....he may not.

In any case, the car deserves to be saved. They are weird, wacky, and so nerdy they are cool. If I do keep it, I'd probably retain the beastly AMC straight six. Nothing wrong with that engine, and I'll have plenty of work to do before even considering an engine swap. First issue would be to address the braking system. I guess it runs well.......just doesn't stop.

I'll keep you folks posted on what I've got when it arrives. That Baja Pacer does look freaking amazing!

The roadkill guy had a freind that had a green hornet wagon that kept the str 6 and added lots of power and nos....very cool and needs some more fun and updating to better brakes and such. you really need to see that this gets into GRM very soon Joe....like the challange is just around the bend....

I know you are all dying in suspense, so yes, the Pacer Wagon is now in my possession! I traded an old damaged airplane propeller for it, and lunch. Seeing how I got the prop for free, this is about a $15.00 car!

Last night I cleaned most of the leaves and debris off with compressed air, and then gave it probably it's first wash in 10 years. It looks pretty darn good. (from certain angles) Bad news is the A-Pillar on the driver-side is badly rusted. I think it's repairable enough to be safely used, but this ain't gonna be a concours queen. (unless we're talking about Concours D' LeMons!)

I hooked a battery up to it, splashed a bit of nasty old gas down the carb.......and the 258 straight six fired right up, and settled into a smooth, steady idle. Throttle response was fantastic, and the auto trans (thought it was a manual at first but was mistaken) shifted into all gears as it should.

It currently has no brakes, as the PO cut a line to free a stuck caliper. I'll investigate that soon, but it looks like this may be a brake-job away from being a driver! With any luck, I'll be able to show it off at the Challenge! We'll see!

and yes.....the big / skinny wheel combo will have to stay....at least for now.

<img src="

<img src="

Stefan wrote: Because they are equally reliable as the AMC product featured in this post? That said, I think a Pacer wagon with a braaaap is pretty much perfect.

Pretty sure the Pacer had the same 6 cylinder motor they put in like a bazillion Jeeps. I thought they could be had with a 304 V-8 toward the end. I knew a guy with a Levis Gremlin with that motor and it could scoot.

You need to run the sub 1k class at the challenge. Ill volunteer as the other amc to assist.

Toebra wrote:

Stefan wrote: Because they are equally reliable as the AMC product featured in this post? That said, I think a Pacer wagon with a braaaap is pretty much perfect.

Pretty sure the Pacer had the same 6 cylinder motor they put in like a bazillion Jeeps. I thought they could be had with a 304 V-8 toward the end. I knew a guy with a Levis Gremlin with that motor and it could scoot.

Yes, but originally the Pacer was designed for a GM Rotary motor that never arrived. So they shoe-horned in the Jeep 6-cylinder and AMC V8.

https://ateupwithmotor.com/model-histories/amc-pacer-history/

In reply to Stefan:

This reminds me. At one point the XJ was designed specifically so that 6 cylinder wouldn't fit. Only so they could shove it back in there when the decided nobody liked the 2.8 V6.