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who here likes AMC Pacers?
i LOVE 'em! a most distinctive automobile. 41%  41%  [ 7 ]
meh, i could live with or without one. 12%  12%  [ 2 ]
NO! they are UGLY bug cars! 12%  12%  [ 2 ]
i'd rather just have me a yummy ice cream! :) 35%  35%  [ 6 ]
Total votes : 17

auntblabby
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19 Oct 2014, 7:35 pm

AspergersActor8693 wrote:
Perhaps, don't really know for sure. When I was looking for an AMC Eagle, I preferred the 6 over the 4 since the 6 is a very reliable engine and provides decent power and economy.

my only experience with that six, I am guessing it was a relative of it, was in the jeep Cherokee. that was a powerful and torquey motor, that pulled strong from low down up to redline just like a v8 but also unfortunately got v8-like gas mileage. oh, and I got to sit in a geriatric pacer which had seen better days, that six wheezed and cackled and rasped and shook and buzzed like it was about ready to fly apart. what is it about old engines which do that?



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19 Oct 2014, 7:47 pm

If they are not cared for they won't run well. That goes for any engine. When I first got my car the engine ran horribly, wanted to stall every ten seconds, couldn't take your foot off the accelerator, and ran really rough. After a bunch of new parts, a new aftermarket carb, new hoses, two 2k mile oil changes to get rid of any gunk inside, and lots of work, that engine runs great and starts every time.



auntblabby
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19 Oct 2014, 7:53 pm

AspergersActor8693 wrote:
If they are not cared for they won't run well. That goes for any engine. When I first got my car the engine ran horribly, wanted to stall every ten seconds, couldn't take your foot off the accelerator, and ran really rough. After a bunch of new parts, a new aftermarket carb, new hoses, two 2k mile oil changes to get rid of any gunk inside, and lots of work, that engine runs great and starts every time.

so that means if I found myself a reasonably low-miles pacer specimen I'd have to take it to a good mechanic for an engine renovation.



AspergersActor8693
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19 Oct 2014, 8:21 pm

Not necessarily. If it has been well cared for then it should be fine. If it has been sitting for a long time then yes it will need work. My car had a 2004 inspection sticker when I got it so it hadn't been on the road (legally at least) since then and that probably contributed to the running condition I receive it in. The most common issue for not running properly (at least with the 6 in the eagle) are cauberator issues. Unless the 6 was neglected from day 1, it is highly unlikely in my experience that the engine would be bad.

If you are bringing something like that to a mechanic, bring it to someone who is familiar with those kinds of cars or just older vehicles in general. I wound up paying someone to properly tune my car and get it running to what it is today. When I met him he had two Eagle wagons and a Sedan and was very familiar with these cars (now has an Eagle SX-4, an 80 Spirit AMX, and whatever is left of one of the two wagons which was parted out). If you can, bring it to someone like that. If your serious about finding a Pacer, join a forum. I'm use two forums for my Eagle and they have been priceless with fixing up my Eagle, even met the guy that did my engine work through one.

Considering that almost nothing for 1975-1988 AMC's are reproduced, I wouldn't feel comfortable handing my car to just anyone for work, not even for an oil change. Mechanics or 'technicians' nowadays probably would have no idea what to do since they can't hook up a computer to a Pacer or Eagle and have it tell them the problem. :roll:



auntblabby
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19 Oct 2014, 8:25 pm

yeah, it is two totally different schools of car, pre-computer and computer. and never the twain shall meet. I am old enough to where if only I had money I could've gotten one of those AMC cars when they were still current. nowadays all the cars are boring slabs of gray metal.



AspergersActor8693
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19 Oct 2014, 8:29 pm

auntblabby wrote:
yeah, it is two totally different schools of car, pre-computer and computer. and never the twain shall meet. I am old enough to where if only I had money I could've gotten one of those AMC cars when they were still current. nowadays all the cars are boring slabs of gray metal.


Amen to that! I've had people give me thumbs up on the road and have gotten comments like "I used to have one of those" or "I knew someone that had one" or "God it has been years since I saw one of those". You can't get those kind of reactions with a common camry.



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19 Oct 2014, 8:44 pm

AspergersActor8693 wrote:
I like Pacers as well as AMC cars. I own a later descendent of the Pacer and the last new car AMC ever made before they went under, the AMC Eagle. Mine is an 86 and I love it! Would love to have a Pacer someday, those strait 6's are great and contrary to every worlds worst car blog list, the Pacer was actually a decent car as well as a lot of other AMC's.
[img][800:768]http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg524/Eaglejoe93/My%20Eagle/IMG_2866_zps3f5b4621.jpg[/img]


I had a 1974 Hornet with a straight 6. One of the better cars I owned from a period when US cars were generally terrible. My mother talked me into selling it because she found a great deal on a Chrysler K car, and like an idiot I did it. The K cars were among the biggest POS junk that Detroit ever produced.

My father owner a Matador with the small V-8, and my uncle had a Pacer. AMC cars got a bad rap. They were far from horrible.


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AspergersActor8693
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19 Oct 2014, 8:57 pm

The Eagle was a 4WD version of the AMC Concord, which was a new version of the AMC Hornet. So when the Eagle first came out in 1980, it was kind of already 10 years old. They just never had the finances the big three had to really come out with new technologies, and that is part of what made them great. They made the most with what little they had and they came out with cars that were ahead of their time. The Hornet looked like a nice car. I have a 1977 AMC lineup sales brochure from the Chicago Auto Show featuring the Hornet and the Pacer too.



auntblabby
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19 Oct 2014, 9:02 pm

back in the day I got to ride in a hornet, it seemed screwed together pretty tightly, no squeaks or rattles on the rough country roads out where I lived.



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19 Oct 2014, 9:41 pm

Don't know much about this model, or American cars in general, but two British cars this reminded me of were:

Austin Ambassador (made by the ill-fated British Leyland company) and Ford Escort Mk 1, both from the 1970s.

Image

Image



auntblabby
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19 Oct 2014, 9:47 pm

DeepHour wrote:
Image

this one has quasi-loveable/cuddly qualities. I forgot the big word that normally would describe such. EDIT- this car seems "anthropomorphic" to me. :mrgreen:



Last edited by auntblabby on 19 Oct 2014, 10:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Basso53
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19 Oct 2014, 10:43 pm

AspergersActor8693 wrote:
The Eagle was a 4WD version of the AMC Concord, which was a new version of the AMC Hornet. So when the Eagle first came out in 1980, it was kind of already 10 years old. They just never had the finances the big three had to really come out with new technologies, and that is part of what made them great. They made the most with what little they had and they came out with cars that were ahead of their time. The Hornet looked like a nice car. I have a 1977 AMC lineup sales brochure from the Chicago Auto Show featuring the Hornet and the Pacer too.
j

Yes, my father bought a new Concord a year or so before he died. My mother hung onto it for years after. Wouldn't part with it. It had the Iron Duke.

I saw one or two Eagles out on the beaches of Martha's Vineyard, used as beach buggies. Along with a few of the old Subaru DL wagons. I think that's what they were called.


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20 Oct 2014, 3:59 pm

Was it a station wagon or a 4 door or two door sedan? I've got a grill from an AMC Concord as well as the clear turn signals that were used on Concords, so I could make my Eagle kind of look like a 4WD Concord if I wanted too. :lol: The grill I have on the Eagle now is from an 82 AMC Spirit GT, turn signals are stock.



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20 Oct 2014, 9:55 pm

Four door sedan, royal blue.


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AspergersActor8693
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22 Oct 2014, 5:18 pm

Basso53 wrote:
Four door sedan, royal blue.


Nice. I kind of wish my car was a bit more interesting in terms of color than white and brown. But considering how infrequently they come up for sale in good condition, I didn't really have much choice.



auntblabby
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22 Oct 2014, 7:41 pm

AspergersActor8693 wrote:
Basso53 wrote:
Four door sedan, royal blue.


Nice. I kind of wish my car was a bit more interesting in terms of color than white and brown. But considering how infrequently they come up for sale in good condition, I didn't really have much choice.

white and brown are a lot better than the flat grays that so many of today's cars come in.