'74 Gremlin

[Lizard Racing]

Our LHS is closing and they had this AMT '75 Gremlin on sale.  Our first new car was a '74 Gremlin, so I decided to do a homage replica.

First, I had to call it a '74.  The 1:1 car had a bench seat instead of the skinny kit buckets, so I modified a leftover seat from a '59 Chevy.  I didn't have any narrow steel wheels, so i stripped the chrome off the kit wheels and painted them body color.  I paper-punched some .030 sheet to simulate the dog dish hub caps.  The '74 Cheapo had a different stripe from the X model, but it was an easy stencil to make.

Anyway, I did meet my goal of completing it before our anniversary in August.

 

[AC Norton]

very cool, I love it......my first  car was a new 73 Gremlin X with a 304 stick.....added wheels, tires, headers, Lakewood trac bars, shifter, gauges, Accel ignition,,,,etc etc.....had more fun on the street and the strip than probably all the other cars that followed.....still miss that little car, after over 40 years.....the Ace....

[darthsideous]

Nice build, you should post more pics!

[DumpyDan]

Love it, great build

[landman]

very cool, I love it......my first  car was a new 73 Gremlin X with a 304 stick.....added wheels, tires, headers, Lakewood trac bars, shifter, gauges, Accel ignition,,,,etc etc.....had more fun on the street and the strip than probably all the other cars that followed.....still miss that little car, after over 40 years.....the Ace....

I love what George did to replicate his first car. Mine was a '73 X with 304 & stick too. What should I use to do one? I see there is a '72 available.

[AC Norton]

I love what George did to replicate his first car. Mine was a '73 X with 304 & stick too. What should I use to do one? I see there is a '72 available.

as far as I know, there are resin cast 71-72 bodies made,,,,but, you will have to get the bumpers chromed as they come straight resin, and decal striping for 72, and of course 73 which as you know are a bit different may be a problem, as I don't think any of the decal guru's make sheets. AMT started their annual Gremlin X kits in 1974, and only made that funny car kit with the early body, but it had mods to it that can be changed, but could be a task.....not to mention the kit is sought after now, and seems to draw good money. I guess the way to achieve what you need is to go resin, chrome the bumpers, buy a reissue 75-76 AMT as your donor, then get someone to make decals for your particular needs....I have always wanted to build 2, a white with black stripes like my car,,,and a black with white stripes like my best friend's 73 was......I've worked on and off with a 76 kit building a drag piece, so won't consider jumping into more Gremlin builds until I one day complete that one....hope this long winded testimony has helped....lol......the Ace........

[Tom99]

Nice!

[Hubert Rollins]

Cool memorial to your old car.

[shoopdog]

Very nicely done!

[Lizard Racing]

Luckily, Gremlins didn't change much in the early years.  Some research can be done to see what styling changes need to be made to achieve the desired year.  Or you can do what I did and call a '75 a '74.

Ours was a base model with 6 cyl and auto.  We were even too cheap to pay for an installed radio.  We just hung a transistor (AM only!) from the mirror.

Thanks for the kind comments.

[unclescott58]

Nice build, you should post more pics!

Dito. More pictures please.