AMT '77 Pacer Wagon - a new loser out of box!

[Faust]

Oh, and the '89 Escort? Other than the pre-80's Escorts from Britain, I've never liked Escorts. The '81 and later Escorts may have been good cars. But they're styling was just boring, like most other front-wheel drive sub-compacts and compacts of time. Though I got to admit, if Round 2 even reissued MPC's Escort EXP model kit, I'd buy one. The EXP was plain ugly. But, it wasn't trying to look like any other car on road at the time. Kudos to Ford for trying something diffent at the time. It may have not been a big seller because of it styling, and ability to seat only two people. But, like many other loser cars, I have a soft spot for it.

 

I don't like the early Escorts at all... However from 80 until about 92, I do like 'em. A lot. They're gutless and small, and yes, look like many other Econoboxes, but they are the least bland, I find. I like the little trunk step vs. Straight hatch or Sedan styling. I also like the back end of the Malibu Maxx too, though.

Yes, the EXP was plain ugly. I love 'em too. I have 5 EXP kits. The original MPC, the yellow 1/32 Monogram, the white 1/32 Monogram (Glidden clone) and 2x 1/32 LN-7s. Ugly but definitely cool today!

[peteski]

I never thought that Pacers were ugly (in a Pontiac Aztek sort of a way). Pacers to me were just different (in a good way). They sure had an interesting design (like the extremely low belt-line with lots of glass all around, or the asymmetrical doors).  But they sure were like a fish out of water when they fist came out (when other cars all looked like the squared-off Caprice-Classic mentioned earlier).  But what do I know - I drive the 1st gen Scion xB (the fridge, the toaster, da box . . .). I thought they were just ugly Japanse bricks when they first came out, but it grew on me.

[Daddyfink]

Jesse, the '77 Caprice deserved Motor Trend's Car of the Award. It was a heck of nice car right off the bat. Though I do like the Impala a little bit better. Especially the '77 - '79 Impala coupe. The '77 Chevys were the right car for the times. And unlike the down-sized full-size cars that followed from Ford and Chrysler, GM's B and C have always looked good to me.

And Adam, I think you basically hit the nail right on the head with the Pacer. I also think they're a bit like old Beetles, they're so ugly they are now kind of cute. I have only one bone to pick with analysis of the Pacer's styling. I do not see the present day cars being either as cute or ugly as the Pacer. And comparing modern cars to the Pacer is an insult to the Pacer.

 

 

Oh, indeed, it is a great car! Very comfy and they where quite reliable, for a 70's car! I was just confirming the car size comparisons of the time and the normal car observation. 

 

[pack rat]

The Pacer was unusual, oddly-proportioned maybe, but ugly?

I don't think I could have walked into an AMC showroom back then, looked at this car, and called the Pacer ugly.

[Faust]

The Pacer was unusual, oddly-proportioned maybe, but ugly?

I don't think I could have walked into an AMC showroom back then, looked at this car, and called the Pacer ugly.

Point made. 

The question is, though, what's worse. That monstrosity or the malproportioned and hideously bug-eyed Matador Coupe? Truly, the Pacer was not the weirdest in the AMC stable...

[Chuck Most]

Point made. 

The question is, though, what's worse. That monstrosity or the malproportioned and hideously bug-eyed Matador Coupe? 

That monstrosity. The Matador coupe at least had some of that "'70's budget pimp-mobile" mojo going for it. 

That being said, if I could find a decent yellow and wood Matador wagon at an even more decent price, I'd totally rock it. 

[unclescott58]

The Pacer was unusual, oddly-proportioned maybe, but ugly?

I don't think I could have walked into an AMC showroom back then, looked at this car, and called the Pacer ugly.

The '74s with the round front turn signals in the even odder looking grille was a lot worst. The '74 Ambassador with the 4 headlights look okay to me though.

 

Edited October 31, 2016 by unclescott58

[unclescott58]

Point made. 

The question is, though, what's worse. That monstrosity or the malproportioned and hideously bug-eyed Matador Coupe? Truly, the Pacer was not the weirdest in the AMC stable...

I like the bug-eyed '74 -on up Matator coupes, has long as you kept them clean. And in clean, I talking mainly about staying away from any form of vinyl roof on the car. The '74 and '75 Matador Xs were the best looks wise. I'm happy to say that I have a '75 AMT Matador X that I built a couple of years ago. It looks great with my built original '75 Gremlin and my built recently released '78 Pacer coupe. You can tell how sick I am. Not only do have the '77 Pacer wagon in waiting, but I also have the re-popped '76 Gremlin in waiting too. I love those quirky looking 70's AMCs.

 

[stavanzer]

Scott, you are sick, or alone.

I'm now planning on buying the Gremlin kit, just to rob the stock rims from it, for my Pacer Wagon.

That will leave me with a Gremlin, and some excess AMC parts. I wonder how the Gremlin will look with the Pacer baby moon wheels?

[Chuck Most]

Scott, you are sick, or alone.

I'm now planning on buying the Gremlin kit, just to rob the stock rims from it, for my Pacer Wagon.

That will leave me with a Gremlin, and some excess AMC parts. I wonder how the Gremlin will look with the Pacer baby moon wheels?

Just keep in mind that the Gremlin's wheels, while depicting a stock AMC steel rally wheel, are a bit too wide (too much negative offset) to accurately represent a stock unit. You could narrow them, but even if used straight off the sprue there's no mistaking the for anything else .

[pack rat]

I like the bug-eyed '74 -on up Matator coupes, has long as you kept them clean. 

 

Agreed.  In stock form the bug-eyed Matadors can look a little clumsy, but the basic shape is there, all it takes is a little imagination.

If I ever get around to building the '77 I have in my stash..... 

[Robberbaron]

The Pacer was unusual, oddly-proportioned maybe, but ugly?

I don't think I could have walked into an AMC showroom back then, looked at this car, and called the Pacer ugly.

My grandfather had a wood-grained Matador wagon just like this, but metallic blue instead of yellow.  Lotta fond memories of riding around in it when we were kids.  Funny thing is that I never thought it was ugly or wierd looking.

I've been car-obsessed as long as I can remember, and back when all these AMCs were common, the Pacers really did stand out because of their styling (and I thought they were ugly as sin).  I also thought Gremlins were ugly because of their rear styling, but not altogether bizarre like the Pacers.  Now I appreciate the idiosyncrasies of both designs.

Maybe because a family member owned a Matador, I was just so familiar with it that I didn't think anything of it?  Looking at objectively now, I've got to admit it's a bit fugly.  Still, in the Matador's defense, aside from the front end restyle they gave it in 1974, the rest of the body styling was pretty conventional.

[unclescott58]

Agreed.  In stock form the bug-eyed Matadors can look a little clumsy, but the basic shape is there, all it takes is a little imagination.

If I ever get around to building the '77 I have in my stash..... 

I like the stock version better. Clunky it maybe. But, that's what appeals to me. A lot of people like to strip these of their bumpers. For me the bumpers finish off the car. As I said, I have a sickness of some sort when it comes to these ugly AMCs. Big bumpers, bucket seats, and X package, yes. Vinyl roofs and Barcelona packages, No.

 

[Ron Hamilton]

I'm currently working on an original issue of this kit; fun so far. Not sure if there were any decals in the original kit, mine didn't have any, and don't see any referenced in the instructions. I did make my own decals for seats and woodgrain since most Pacer wagons seem to have had woodgrain trim. I kind of had to build this one after the Pinto Cruising Wagon...

 

Bob,

 

I absolutely love this one. When these cars were new, you would not catch me dead in "The Flying Saucer", but now, I have the coupes and the wagon to build. Hemmings "Classic Car" Magazine had a beige one that looks very interesting. That Interior, and the wood Grain works very well for me.

[oldcarfan]

You've talked me into it! Or at least not talked me out of it... I went out and bought this AMT Pacer kit and while there I got the MPC Pacer as well.

[oldcarfan]

I don't like the early Escorts at all... However from 80 until about 92, I do like 'em. A lot. They're gutless and small, and yes, look like many other Econoboxes, but they are the least bland, I find. I like the little trunk step vs. Straight hatch or Sedan styling. I also like the back end of the Malibu Maxx too, though.

Yes, the EXP was plain ugly. I love 'em too. I have 5 EXP kits. The original MPC, the yellow 1/32 Monogram, the white 1/32 Monogram (Glidden clone) and 2x 1/32 LN-7s. Ugly but definitely cool today!

I had a 1989 Escort GT. I had just joined the Navy and needed a good new car to drive across the country. I went in to buy a Mustang LX SSP and the waiting list to get one was 3 months. I drove off the lot in that little Escort GT and never regretted it. It had a little more power than the regular Escort. I drove from Texas to Virginia at 75-80 MPH many times and it never gave me any trouble. I've started watching Craigslist on the off chance I find another, but they are getting rare!

[Junkman]

I'm currently working on an original issue of this kit; fun so far. Not sure if there were any decals in the original kit, mine didn't have any, and don't see any referenced in the instructions. I did make my own decals for seats and woodgrain since most Pacer wagons seem to have had woodgrain trim. I kind of had to build this one after the Pinto Cruising Wagon...

How...errrr...oof!

[Jim N]

Keep in mind that when the Pacer was introduced it hit the market with a resounding thud.  When the car was in the planning stages, American Motors had let it be known that it would be made of fiberglass and have a rotary engine.  When it came to the market, it was made of steel and used one of AMC’s off the shelf engines.  The car was heavy, did not drive well and got very poor gas mileage for a car its size as a result.

My first car was a 1975 Matador and I think it would be cool to have one again as a reminder of that part of my life.  The reality though is that this was not a good car.  It spent a lot of time at repair shops over common stuff that nobody puts up with in today’s cars.  That seems to be a common thread to this era of cars.  There were some good cars, the vast bulk of them fill a large sea of sadness. 

[unclescott58]

 

Keep in mind that when the Pacer was introduced it hit the market with a resounding thud.  When the car was in the planning stages, American Motors had let it be known that it would be made of fiberglass and have a rotary engine.  When it came to the market, it was made of steel and used one of AMC’s off the shelf engines.  The car was heavy, did not drive well and got very poor gas mileage for a car its size as a result.

My first car was a 1975 Matador and I think it would be cool to have one again as a reminder of that part of my life.  The reality though is that this was not a good car.  It spent a lot of time at repair shops over common stuff that nobody puts up with in today’s cars.  That seems to be a common thread to this era of cars.  There were some good cars, the vast bulk of them fill a large sea of sadness. 

 

Introduced into the market with a "resounding thud"? Patrick Foster in his book on AMC, states on page 106, "After celebrating the most successful first year ever for an AMC car, sales of the Pacer began to fall off rather alarming during 1976." AMC sold 72,158 Pacers in a short model year starting in February of 1975. Hornet was in first place in AMC sales for 1975 at 85,961. The only AMC car in 1975 to outsell the Pacer, with 3 extra months on the show floors.

Sales of other AMC cars for the '75 model year? Matador coupes, 22,369. Matador sedans 27,522. Matador wagons only 9692. And AMC sold 56,011 Gremlins. All with 3 extra months of sales over Pacer for 1975.

Pacer was a hit, for AMC. The trouble is that AMC sales in general took a dump in sales starting in 1976. And Pacer's novelty wore off fast. But in its first year there was no "thud" from lack of sales. Early on people liked the car.

[peteski]

What size tires were used on Paces?  What other kit tires could be used to replace the crappy hard-plastic 2-piece kit tires?

There might be a chance that the wheels in this photo could be resin-cast.  Maybe even tires too. Would there be any interest in these items?

 

 

[stavanzer]

Oooh! I like Dem Rims! 

[Faust]

Wow! Those wheels are very interesting... not sure I like them, but not sure I don't. 

They really suit the pacer, too; they're quirky and a bit chubby but not terrible.

I can see Modelhaus might have made some once, but aren't they defunct?

[peteski]

I believe that these are the factory-stock wheels (and wheel covers) for that year Pacer.

[David G.]

My '77 AMX Hornet had those wheels, I'd like to get a set of them.

I bought a promo of the '77 Hornet hatchback that I plan to use to make a replica of my old AMX Hornet and those wheels are one of the top items on my parts list.

I've been trying to work out a way to make them myself, but... 

David G.

Edited November 18, 2016 by David G.

[peteski]

I asked one of the aftermarket resin casters if they would make those wheels (since the '77 Pacer was just released and it includes different kind of wheels). He didn't say "no" so I figured that would try to gauge interest in those wheels. But It seems that there isn't much interest (probably not enough for the resin caster to make it worthwhile for him).  It makes sense that '77 Hornet used the same wheels (those were actually wheel covers for steel wheels, correct)?