Junkman Posted January 19, 2012 Posted January 19, 2012 Both, the Gremlin and the Pacer were sold through the Renault dealer network in Germany (so was the Rambler a decade earlier btw). I tried everything to convince my mother to buy a Levi's Gremlin, but she went for the Pacer instead. I like them both, the Gremlin and the Pacer. But for some reason I can't pinpoint, the Gremlin managed to make it further into my heart.
62rebel Posted January 19, 2012 Posted January 19, 2012 well; what's the deal with that British model company that makes model kits of obscure old cars.... oh, yeah. there isn't one.
Rob McKee Posted January 19, 2012 Posted January 19, 2012 I am going to get one of these kits for sure. I remember them running around the roads here when I was in my teens. They really weren't the best looking car on the road but I love the nostalgia behind all this. I would really like to see the AMC Hornet in a kit. Did they make one?
disabled modeler Posted January 19, 2012 Posted January 19, 2012 Rob...the company Johan made one as a promo years ago...Id love to see them back too.
Austin T Posted January 19, 2012 Posted January 19, 2012 I really hope we can get on an AMC re-issue spree and get a Javelin or mabey an AMX.
Swifster Posted January 19, 2012 Posted January 19, 2012 Like the Maverick, it was the huge bumpers that AMC put on the Gremlin (and Hornet) in '74 that compromised how they looked. I had an uncle that had a '72 Gremlin X and I really liked the car. It had a 304 with a 4-speed and I always like going for a ride in it. But like many here, I was only a kid in the 70's.
scalenut Posted January 19, 2012 Posted January 19, 2012 the Pacer may very well be the only car produced that wasn't a convertible that you could get a sunburn while riding in it or driving it. fishbowl? yeah, it got called that for good reason and when you were in one you felt like a goldfish. for the "little guy", it looks like AMC didn't do too bad a buddy of mine growing up had a tricked out Pacer..it could lift the front wheels !.. we used to call it the bubble racer no amount of trickery made it pretty
Junkman Posted January 20, 2012 Posted January 20, 2012 well; what's the deal with that British model company that makes model kits of obscure old cars.... oh, yeah. there isn't one. There are actually quite a few of them.
Junkman Posted January 20, 2012 Posted January 20, 2012 There are people who can't understand the appeal of a Gremlin and there are people who can't understand the appeal of a Hudson Hornet (I belong to the latter). If the same cars would appeal to everyone, the world would be as deprived of automotive diversity, as the German Democratic Republic was.
Harry P. Posted January 20, 2012 Posted January 20, 2012 You'll be waiting a while! The Mirthmobile was an AMC Pacer, not a Gremlin. I don't understand the appeal of this kit either, but if folks want it i'm more than happy to see them get something they want. I think Chuck hit it a few posts ago. It's a quirky car, it hasn't been seen in ages and it's not another '57 Chevy or '32 Ford. It's different, and different is good. Personally I have absolutely no interest in the car or the kit, but I can see why a lot of people are glad to see this one back again.
Joe Handley Posted January 20, 2012 Posted January 20, 2012 That's some of the reason I wanted it, the Hudson, the van kits, ect, they're not the usual Tri-5 Chevy, Pony Car, Muscle, or Tuner Car.
kitbash1 Posted January 20, 2012 Posted January 20, 2012 Both, the Gremlin and the Pacer were sold through the Renault dealer network in Germany (so was the Rambler a decade earlier btw). I tried everything to convince my mother to buy a Levi's Gremlin, but she went for the Pacer instead. I like them both, the Gremlin and the Pacer. But for some reason I can't pinpoint, the Gremlin managed to make it further into my heart. My girlfriend's parents had a Pacer. It was the most uncool car to go to the drive-in with. Not too much back seat action in that fish bowl.
Junkman Posted January 20, 2012 Posted January 20, 2012 My girlfriend's parents had a Pacer. It was the most uncool car to go to the drive-in with. Not too much back seat action in that fish bowl. I don't doubt that for a second. A Renault 4 would have been a better car for that. In Europe, the Gremlin and the Pacer were just total exotics. You New World people can't understand this, but if you parked a Pacer next to a -say- Ferrari, people would flock around the Pacer. My mother was a fashion designer. Even by the demanding standards set by British intellectuals, you would consider her being outstandingly eccentric. Hence here in Europe, in the Seventies, the Pacer was like tailor made for her. Our's was orange with a golf-course-green interior, so go figure. She knew it was the right car for her and this was the very reason that my attempts to talk her into a Gremlin were futile. The Gremlin was way too sober for her. We had an interesting mix of cars back then. My mother's orange Pacer, my father's canary yellow Renault 16 TX and a yellow Citroen H van for my mother's business. Needless to say that I got beaten up at school for that at regular intervals. It just was too different from the beige VW 1500 or Mercedes 200 everybody else's parents had.
Dave Van Posted January 20, 2012 Posted January 20, 2012 WHAT'S NOT TO LOVE!!!!! But I am bias....I have a Javelin and Matador 1/1 scale. It's an American thing. I had some Brit friends at work a few years ago. I'd drive my Javelin to work once or twice a month. I took my friends for a ride one day.....and they were hooked. Now it could have been any older car...but there is Something about a AMC. I've owned them all....Mustang, Camaro, imports....but the only ones I'd never get ride of??? My AMC'S!
Swifster Posted January 20, 2012 Posted January 20, 2012 Dave, I feel the same way about my Studebaker. I'd love to get an AMC though. Just to be different.
Chuck Most Posted January 20, 2012 Posted January 20, 2012 I think Chuck hit it a few posts ago. It's a quirky car, it hasn't been seen in ages and it's not another '57 Chevy or '32 Ford. Hey! I uttered not a breath about the '32 Ford.
Tonioseven Posted January 20, 2012 Posted January 20, 2012 They're so ugly that you can't help but love them. I will build at LEAST two of them.
Dr. Cranky Posted January 20, 2012 Posted January 20, 2012 I most certainly love it, and yes I would drive one, but not when I was a teenager, which is why back then I drove a Mustang!
Dave Van Posted January 20, 2012 Posted January 20, 2012 Dave, I feel the same way about my Studebaker. I'd love to get an AMC though. Just to be different. Me too!!! Dad was a Rambker Studebaker man. I went with him back in 1963 to Andy Granatelli's (STP) shop in Los Angles to pick up our new 64 Lark Wagon. Andy owned a lot of Studebaker stock and they paid Andy in cars and not cash. Dad was Valvoline racing rep and knew Andy and they made some kind of deal! It's where I got my love for AMC and other orphans! And yes...WW is a Pacer....... Another kit I'd buy a few of if they run it. BTW...it was a IMSA RS race car too!!
paul alflen Posted January 20, 2012 Posted January 20, 2012 MATT BACON, AMC CARS HAVE A CULT FOLLOWING. THEY WERE SORT OF AN UNDERDOG IN DRAG RACING, BUT COULD KICK BUTT. A GUY ON MY STREET GROWING UP HAD A MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY EX-PACE CAR GREMLIN WITH A 401 CU. IN. ENGINE IN IT FROM THE FACTORY. ALSO THIS MODEL KIT HAS NOT BEEN OUT SINCE 1976. IT GOOD TO PURCHASE KITS FROM OUR YOUTH FOR INEXPENSIVE DOLLARS. THANK YOU ROUND TWO!!!1
Junkman Posted January 20, 2012 Posted January 20, 2012 ...it was a IMSA RS race car too!! Very much so: It also was at Baja:
Psychographic Posted January 20, 2012 Posted January 20, 2012 In my opinion, one of the nicest Gremlin bodied modifieds ever. Kenny Brenn's Grant King car.
Lunajammer Posted January 20, 2012 Posted January 20, 2012 Our's was orange with a golf-course-green interior, so go figure.... Needless to say that I got beaten up at school for that.... Not that anyone really wanted to beat you up over it. It was more of a social obligation.
Dave Van Posted January 20, 2012 Posted January 20, 2012 BAJA PACER!!! Like I need another project!!! I have a few Pacer kits around......and that Pacer is just too strange to pass up!
Junkman Posted January 20, 2012 Posted January 20, 2012 Not that anyone really wanted to beat you up over it. It was more of a social obligation. Yeah, it's just the natural flow of things, you know.
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