mpc Pacer x it has a mile of glass but no class lol

[Faust]

In Canada, it’s Thanksgiving Day weekend, where we give thanks for what we have, or what we don’t, depending. Well, I’ve definitely got something to be thankful about this year!

I’ve wanted a Pacer kit for a while, but the old MPCs just command too high a price. Well, they did, until the Round 2 reissue of the 1978 Pacer X came out! I picked up this newly repopped classic the other day, and I couldn’t wait to share it. You can click on the link to see my Out Of Box review of this newly available classic!

Just out of curiosity, what colour should an AMC Engine block be? I’ve found out colours for the body and interior, but the engine is still a mystery. Thanks for any help!

Edited October 12, 2013 by Faust

[jeffs396]

Just out of curiosity, what colour should an AMC Engine block be? I’ve found out colours for the body and interior, but the engine is still a mystery. Thanks for any help!

Adam, AMC V8 turquoise is HARD to find in spray cans, I use Duplicolor 440 Bright Aqua, its a close match...

[Faust]

Whoa! Now that's weird!

What about the 6 cylinder enignes? This kit only has the 258 I6! Are they the same wacky colour?

[jeffs396]

Nope, plain ol' blue, kinda like Ford blue...

[Faust]

Oh, alrighty then.

Plain, light blue it is... Kinda boring.

By the way, what happened here; It seems like my topic got merged with this one. Is that normal?

[ToyLvr]

Testor's "Boyd's Pacific Blue"

[Casey]

By the way, what happened here; It seems like my topic got merged with this one. Is that normal?

Yes, when there's a pre-existing topic of the same subject.

[Guest]

Here's an option for this reissue

Apparently it's a real life Darryl Starbird creation too!

http://www.remarkablecars.com/1979-illusion-starbird.html

Any of you guys want to try and tackle it?

That is cool! Wish there was a kit of it.

[Faust]

Oh man, if they could repop the Chevette kit, that would be amazing! I would, most likely, hyperventilate if I saw that coming.

I've read in a few spots that the "formal" grille on the '78+ Pacers had nothing to do with the engine, radiator or any other mechanical fit issue.

As far as I can tell, it was purely an aesthetic update. There are a few components to this: 1.) The Pacer needed a facelift; three years of the same fishbowl is a lot. If you want customers to keep buying a weird car, you better refresh it a bit. 2.) "Personal Luxury" cars were becoming increasingly formal, in fact, obnoxiously so. Check out the silliness of things like the Mustang II Ghia and Monza Town Coupe for details. Thus, it only made sense to make the Pacer follow this trend. 3.) As a proof of #2, the Pacer was constantly being pushed upmarket at AMC. The deletion of the "X" and the improvement in equipment of the D/L (later DL) model, and the introduction of the "Limited" a bit later showed that Pacer was being marketed to those who wanted comfort. The Limited, at the end of Pacer's life, was, in fact, the most luxurious model in AMC's lineup!

So, I think it was just AMC going with the trends, and trying to make the Pacer more relevant to people who were looking for a "formal"-type personal luxury car, but wanting to downsize to save money on gas and save some room in the garage.

Given the sales and how they petered off, I guess it wasn't very successful!

[Tom Geiger]

Oh man, if they could repop the Chevette kit, that would be amazing! I would, most likely, hyperventilate if I saw that coming.

There's a good chance we'll eventually see the Chevette. Of course it would be the later version sold as the "Bear Bait". To get back to the early 1977 era version is easy. The only difference in the kit is the hood and grill.

I got a yearning to build a Chevette a while back. My wife's sister is 7 years younger than her, so I was there to help her buy her first car. We wound up with a lime green '77 Chevette with a four speed. I taught her to drive the clutch and she's had stick shift cars for most of her life.

So I thought I had a Chevette kit in my hoard. I headed down to the basement and to my horror, I only had the Bear Bait later version. So I hit eBay and found that unbuilt kits sell for $30-40 and old built ups in the $20 range. I wound up with a built up and when it arrived it was a bit 'gluey'. That's when I discovered I could use my Bear Bait kit with just the grill and hood from the eBay purchase. And no, I haven't started it yet.

Doing a bit of research, I found it would be fairly easy to create some different versions. For instance the even later version of the Chevette could be done by scratch building the larger tail lights. Once you've done the tail lights, it's easy enough to create some Pontiac emblems to buld a T-1000. I also saw there was a Vauxhall Chevette that just had a different grill and tail treatment. It looked easy to do, the toughest part seemed to be the right hand drive conversion. And if you are ambitious, a 4 door Chevette conversion is also possible.

So there's much that can be done!

[Erik Smith]

Cool write up on the Pacer! Maybe AMT could get out the wagon, too!

The chevette would be a stretch, I think. Not as much niche interest, but who know. You can pick up promos of 1977 and 1978 models pretty cheap on eBay, though.

[ToyLvr]

Cool write up on the Pacer! Maybe AMT could get out the wagon, too!

The chevette would be a stretch, I think. Not as much niche interest, but who know. You can pick up promos of 1977 and 1978 models pretty cheap on eBay, though.

I didn't think that there would be much interest in either the Gremlin or Pacer reissues, but they apparently are selling well. Can the Pinto be far behind???

[1972coronet]

I'd like to as many of those refugees from the "Automotive Dark Ages " (1973-1984) reissued as possible !

I realise that that isn't all together possible , as some of the originals were retooled numerous times throughout the years , many times at the expense of original interiors / engines / hoods / tyres / etc.

Let's see the return of the Vega / Monza (or any H-Special , esp the Buick Skyhawk !) , the Pinto , Pinto II Mustang II , Chevette , etc. , etc. !

[retroguy]

Personally I like the Pacer,the Gremlin and other cars from the 70's that were considered "ugly",but at least these cars have personality,character and most of all,individualism,some thing that 98% of the cars today don't have,along with todays designers...

[Faust]

Oh, okay.

That does make sense. I didn't see the Pacer topic when I posted my review link.

Sorry about the duplication!

[lordairgtar]

It was funny about AMC in that they would use up emblems and such from the year previous. In the beginning of the model year there were a few Xs made for 78. All others were Sports or D/Ls. I had a friend with a 78 Pacer X bought new at a Milwaukee dealership.

[Faust]

I had a friend with a 78 Pacer X bought new at a Milwaukee dealership.

Whoa... a real 78 Pacer X? That's awesome! Do you have any pictures? That's pretty awesome!

I'm with you on wanting "Dark ages" cars; I'm doing well though; I've got a Fiero and a Fiero GT, a Mustang SVO,. Shelby Charger, Cavalier, EXP, Omni 024, '82 Camaro, Pacer, '77 Monza, '76 Gremlin, another EXP and the 81 Citation (even though it's not an 81). Oh, I have an 85 Civic too. That's pretty lame, right?

However, Pintos, Mavericks, Comets, Hornets (were there kits of ANY of these?) would always be welcome to the fold.

[lordairgtar]

Whoa... a real 78 Pacer X? That's awesome! Do you have any pictures? That's pretty awesome!

I'm with you on wanting "Dark ages" cars; I'm doing well though; I've got a Fiero and a Fiero GT, a Mustang SVO,. Shelby Charger, Cavalier, EXP, Omni 024, '82 Camaro, Pacer, '77 Monza, '76 Gremlin, another EXP and the 81 Citation (even though it's not an 81). Oh, I have an 85 Civic too. That's pretty lame, right?

However, Pintos, Mavericks, Comets, Hornets (were there kits of ANY of these?) would always be welcome to the fold.

no pics, this was some time ago. I do see hints of these existing on the various places on the web. Pintos, Mavericks and Comets were made by JoHan as stock builds and funny cars like their Hornet hatch. Basically a promo body over a Logghe chassis. Palmer had a few of these cars made as kits but Palmer had really bad kits. Multi piece bodies and stuff and a generic chassis. Lindberg's Gremlin and Vega are from old Palmer tooling in a goofy scale size. I have a couple of Hornet X hatch promos which are going to be converted to full detail models using AMT's Gremlins for chassis and engine. In real cars, I've owned a 76 Hornet X V8, a 78 Concord D/L coupe, 2 Gremlins, 1984 Dodge Charger, and a 74 matador 4 door ex cop car from Santa Barbara.with a 401 V8.

Edited October 14, 2013 by lordairgtar

[Edsel-Dan]

The 1/20 Vega & Gremlin from Lindberg were Tooled by LINDBERG NOT Palmer!!

I have an Original Vega.

It reads Super Mini-Lindy, or such on the chassis!!

Lindberg also did the Vega & Gremlin in their Matchbox/Hot Wheels size "Mini-Lindys".

The Larger kits are just Enlargements of those, save the custom blower/intake on the

top of the hood of the Vega!!

I have both the smaller ones, and can compare the 2 Vegas!!!!

[Tom Geiger]

However, Pintos, Mavericks, Comets, Hornets (were there kits of ANY of these?) would always be welcome to the fold.

As said above, all these exist in scale. I'm working on getting some Chevettes on the shelf right now. Look up "Vauxhall Chevette" for the British version, which looks 100% possible. And a Pontiac T-1000 is something I want to convert with minor effort.

Don't forget there's some interesting diecast too. Recently we got Dodge Omni and Plymouth Horizon 4 door sedans, Dodge Aires, and Dodge Diplomat 4 door sedans as well as an 80s Chrysler T&C. These are cool shelf pieces as they come, but can be made into models by blowing them apart and rebuilding them your way.

[Tom Geiger]

Yes Casey those are the end of the line kits. The same if we got a Volare, it would be the square headlight 1980 version. I don't think I have any of that square headlight Pinto wagons. I have a few of the earlier issue. The Pinto sedan delivery was sold as the Cruisin' Van but also was in the commercial catalog. There was a survivor in a recent issue of Vintage Truck magazine. I believe it was originally sold to a utility company. I also remember my local post office in NJ had some, I don't remember if they had side glass or not. But I do remember they had one bucket seat for the driver and a sorting tray mounted along side. And New Jersey Bell once had a fleet of Gremlin service vehicles. No back seat, just a flat bed for tools and such. Around 1978 a local used car lot had a bunch of them.

[Mark]

Doing a bit of research, I found it would be fairly easy to create some different versions. For instance the even later version of the Chevette could be done by scratch building the larger tail lights. Once you've done the tail lights, it's easy enough to create some Pontiac emblems to buld a T-1000. I also saw there was a Vauxhall Chevette that just had a different grill and tail treatment. It looked easy to do, the toughest part seemed to be the right hand drive conversion. And if you are ambitious, a 4 door Chevette conversion is also possible.

There's much more to the later ('80-'87) Chevette than the taillights. The rear hatch is completely different, as are the quarter panels and quarter windows. The rear hatch glass was flush mounted, and the windshield changed to flush mounting at some point ('81, I believe). My mom had two Chevettes, one '80 and one '81. I don't think the '80 had the flush-mounted windshield, but the '81 did (the original windshield, anyway). While my mom was away on vacation, she let my sister use the car. A truck dumped some debris in front of her on the highway, cracking the windshield. The replacement was installed with the old-style rubber gasket. Mom didn't specifically notice it, but did say something about how the car looked different when I picked her up at the airport with it...

[unclescott58]

Time for me to put my two cents in on Pacers. First I love just about any car that is perceived as loser. I love cars like Edsels, Corvairs, and Marlins. Vegas and Mustang IIs. You get the idea. Second, though I've never own a Pacer. I remember when the real car came out. And I loved it. Third, I have a bachelor of science degree in automotive history. So I sometimes know what I'm talking about when it come to cars.

I want to address the redesign of the front end on the 1978 Pacers. It's a myth that AMC did that hood and grille to accommodate the V8. As noted by John Shoe (1972coronet), Randall AMC in Arizona was putting 401s in Pacers with the original nose on them. How could a dealer do it, but the factory could not? I've heard people say the bigger grille was need to accommodate the radiator to cool the V8. Again, how was Randall AMC doing it with the small grille? In Arizona no less. The real reason for the redesign? Poor sales. Pacer sales dropped like a stone after the first year. A big reason for lack of sales? One word, Styling! Look at what was selling. Cars with formal standup grilles and hood ornaments on top of that. Two things Pacer didn't have. People who liked Pacer's quirky styling bought them the first year out. Most others were buy things like Ford Granadas, which also appeared for the '75 model year (6 months ahead of Pacer), and sold well for several years after. The trouble is the more formal grille on the Pacer did not make it look any better.

On to the MPC model of the '78 Pacer. Take a look at the grille in that kit. Then take a look at the grille on a real '78 Pacer. The grilles texture is all wrong. Makes one wonder if they designed the kit's front end on some fuzzy photos they had of upcoming Pacer redesign. Also it's promoted as a "Pacer X". AMC dropped the "X" package for the '78 Pacer. At the time I'm sure MPC was aiming their kits at the youth market, and they felt the details of the grille and Pacer X would not be noticed by those building these kits. As you can see, I've noticed. Do I really care? Yes and no. It would have been nice to have those details right. But at the same time I've picked up the reissue. And I am delighted to have a model of a Pacer.

I would like it if they back dated the Pacer back to the '75 through '77 front end. And I would like a kit of a '77 Pacer station wagon that could be built showroom stock.

Last, the guy who did the Pacer model marriage proposal shown on the uTube link in an earlier post. Did it work? And if it did, you need to hang on to that girl.

Scott Aho

[Tom Geiger]

Scott, I too like those cars of the mid to late 1970s. After all we're the same age! I liked the Pacer design when it came out. It was so innovative for a small company with a limited budget to do something so radical. I've always thought that part of it's failure was that it was an AMC. If that same design was sold as a Chevy, they would have sold much better! Also, it would be fun to think about how well it would have done if GM had indeed sold AMC the rotary engine. I see one on a regular basis as a guy in our model club owns a Pacer Wagon.

As for the kits, MPC was a bit lazy on it's annual updates. but they were necessary since they had promo contracts on them. I believe the only thing different on the two years of annuals are the hood and attached grill themselves. So I'm surprised that a resin caster hasn't offered the back dated parts. I still think that Round 2, with their history of TV and movie cars, will eventually sell the Pacer as the Wayne's World car. Then they'll have to tool up the older parts.

I've been playing with Chevettes lately and again the only parts that are different are the hood and grilles. So if Round 2 saw fit to reissue this kit, again the entire conversion kit could be molded in 3 parts. One part if they molded the two grill halves with the hood!

Edited April 19, 2014 by Tom Geiger

[Mark]

Because there was no '78 Pacer promotional model, MPC probably tooled the hood and grille out of pocket, to try and wring another year or two out of the kit. It turned out to be one year; MPC quit on the Pacer kit after '78 though AMC sold them for '79 and (briefly) '80. After '78, only the bigger AMC dealers kept a Pacer in stock, and then usually a wagon. I was shopping for a new car in early '79 (bought a Spirit GT) so I was at several AMC dealers in that time frame.

I believe a few Pacers with the X package were built as '78 models. Early in the model year, it was renamed the Pacer Sport. The Sport vanished at the end of the '78 model year along with the Levi interior package (in AMC cars, at least). Had MPC produced a '79 Pacer kit, it probably would have had an incorrect interior as they wouldn't have changed it from '78. MPC gave all of their '79 annual kits names ("Bear Bait" Chevette, "Street Savage" Camaro)...what might they have done with a Pacer?