Car of the Week: 1970 AMC AMX
Final-year AMC AMX remains in a longtime AMC enthusiast’s hands.
Story by Darryl Salisbury; Photos Al Rogers
It was May 1968, and I had just gotten out of the U.S. Air Force plus a year in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). I had been gone from the United States basically for about five years, and while I was gone, the “pony car” era had begun and was well underway. Coming home to the Kalamazoo, Mich., area was like arriving in a foreign country as far as the cars were concerned, as I had missed the introduction of all of the cars over the past half decade.
Anxious to get a car and a job to ready myself for continuation in college, Dad took me over to our local AMC dealer. Dad had been a Hudson man in his earlier years, and had transitioned over to AMC when that change was made. As I looked over what AMC had come up with in my absence, I became fascinated with both the new Javelin and the new AMX. Being somewhat practical (the AMX lacked a back seat), I opted for the 1968 Javelin upon which the AMX was based. My Javelin was equipped with a 343-cid V-8, a four-speed manual transmission and Scarab Gold paint with a black vinyl top.
As I headed back to finish my degree, I found that I could buy a used car, clean it up, put new tires on it and sell it for a slight profit. So, this is what I did for the next two years of college. The AMC dealer wanted me to work for him, but it was a bit too far away. He just sat back and watched as I worked with used cars to supplement my income for college.
In September 1970, I took delivery of my new 1971 Hornet SC/360. What a car! Somehow, the clutch had failed that fall, and while it was being repaired, the dealer, Zantello Ramber in Allegan, Mich., gave me a new 1970 AMX to drive. Wow! Another exciting car! When the Hornet was ready to go, he called and asked about the AMX. I wanted it! I did the necessary paperwork and kept the car. Based on my past practices of buying and selling cars almost monthly, he asked, “And how long do you think you’ll keep this car?” My immediate response was, “Forever!”
And here we are, in early 2024, 53 years later and well into that “forever” statement. While the AMX is basically original, I did some things to it over its earlier years. The original carpet went bad early on and that was replaced. Both the headliner and the dash crash pad deteriorated and were replaced.
The AMX was originally optioned with the 390-cid V-8 (a 290-hp 360-cid V-8 was standard); a fully synchronized four-speed transmission; power steering; tinted glass; and the light group. It was painted Big-Bad Green, and green is my favorite color! The AMX’s base price in 1970 was $3,395, and with my car’s $600.20 in options and the $28 transportation charge, the sticker price was $4,023.20.
Eventually I added some factory options which I would have opted for had I ordered the car: tilt wheel; passenger-side rearview mirror; remote-control driver’s side mirror; center armrest; AM/FM radio with rear speakers and a fader switch; heated rear window; clock; an ultra-rare rally pak; and an AMC Group 19 Performance part: a stainless-steel front underbody spoiler.
I redid the engine compartment at about seven years, and the car still has its original Goodyear raised white-letter E70x14 tires, which are in excellent shape. The odometer reads just over 12,600 miles. While the AMX was driven to shows early on, it is now trailered.
This special AMX is proudly on exhibit at the Gilmore Car Museum in Hickory Corners, Mich., in two-year increments. It is then rotated with my 1969 blue/white/red factory promotional AMX.
Much to the chagrin of AMC Vice President of Styling Richard A. Teague, a 1971 AMX was not to be, even though he had designed and built a prototype to show how one could be done with minimal expense. As a late-June build, this became one of the very last AMXes to be built, thus making it more desirable.
I have carefully kept a record of this car’s history in a three-ring binder, which accompanies it wherever it goes. This AMX has been such a pleasure to own. It is definitely my favorite AMX of all time, and I have owned more than 30. I look forward to sharing it at various car shows in the future, letting people know about the car and why it is so special to me.
An Introduction to the AMO
“American Motors Owners Association, Inc., (AMO), is a Wisconsin chartered, non-profit organization, which exists expressly for the purpose of aiding and encouraging the use, enjoyment, preservation, and restoration of vehicles built by American Motors Corporation between the 1958 and 1988 model years. Ownership of an AMC vehicle is not required for membership in the club.” So states American Motoring, the AMO’s publication, in its opening remarks.
In May 1968, and I had just returned home to the Kalamazoo, Mich., area after having served five years in the United States Air Force (the last three of which were in Germany), and spending one year in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) where I traveled and worked for Rhodesian Railways. As the dates suggest, I had totally missed the introduction of the new breed of automobile — the muscle car. Having been a car enthusiast all my life, I was anxious to get to know all about this new class of car. And having grown up in a Hudson family, my likely move forward would be in the AMC realm (Nash Kelvinator Corp. merged with Hudson Motor Car Co. to form AMC on May 1, 1954).
That idea came to fruition with my purchase of a new 1968 Javelin SST. Over the next two years, I bought and sold a variety of AMC muscle cars, ending up purchasing one of the very last AMXes produced for the 1970 model year, which I still own. As time passed, I went through a variety of AMC cars and many part-time jobs in an effort to pay for my college education. It was during the mid ’70s that I met some fellow AMC enthusiasts and struck up some cherished friendships.
As we moved forward, we began searching for an AMC car club. We finally found an AMX club (now defunct) in Wisconsin. We immediately joined and avidly followed the club activities through its periodic newsletter. It was early 1977, and we had found information on an upcoming car show wherein the AMX club and the Nash club were combining resources in an effort to entice owners of these cars to come to Kenosha, Wis., to participate. The event took place that August in Kenosha, the birth place of our beloved AMC cars.
Time couldn’t pass quickly enough and before we knew it, we were on our way on a four-hour trek which took us through Chicago. Once at the event, we quickly learned of a fledgling AMC car club (AMO), which had also been invited there to participate. Again, we quickly joined this organization as well. We had finally found not only one but two AMC car clubs through which to interact and participate.
AMO came about as a result of the dwindling status of the American Motors Owners Association based in southern California and another AMC car club, American Motors Car Club of Chicago. A couple of individuals in the southeast Wisconsin area learned of this and combined efforts, resulting in the rebirth of AMO. This was the likely place to begin such an organization as the cars were being produced there. And, for the first decade or so, the annual AMO International Conventions were held there. This location allowed for factory tours and support from the upper echelon of people who were responsible for the ideas, development and production of the many unique vehicles from AMC.
As a result of my enthusiasm for things in which I get involved, I was appointed to fill a vacancy on the board of directors. This took place during my first year of membership (1978). Shortly thereafter, the AMO president, Don Loper, opted to retire from that position. The vice-president, Jim Krueger, took over the presidency and I was voted in as the new vice-president. Officers were elected for two-year terms and at the regular election the following year, I was elected president.
It was at this point that I really started my intense involvement. When I first joined AMO, its membership base was just short of 500. This just didn’t seem right to me. There had to be more AMC enthusiasts out there who would be excited to join a unique AMC car club. My first step was to contact our AMC vendors, such as Kennedy American, and ask to be supplied with names and addresses of their parts purchasers. All were very open to my idea and happily supplied me with the needed data. I immediately set out to accomplish my goal of greatly increasing the membership. I wrote personal letters on my typewriter (no computers then) to each individual on each list. Within two years, we were approaching the magic number of 2,000 members. What a challenge that was! But it did contribute to a much larger organization, and it grew as a result.
During this time period, I noticed that AMO did not have an official constitution. I began writing one and it was approved and put into effect in 1979. Since then, it has been updated to meet the needs of the growing organization.
Parallel to all of this, we were officially sponsoring an annual car show. As such, we needed classes and judging guidelines. 1978 saw AMO’s first sponsorship of an AMC car show. Three awards were presented. 1979 brought about more participation and the presentation of six awards. By 1980, the show had really taken off and six individual classes were formed, resulting in the presentation of 12 awards. As time passed, the event rapidly grew, with new additions to meet the needs of the event. Bronze-, Silver- and Gold-level awards were created to make the competition more equitable. That meant a car was judged on a scale on its own merit, not in competition with other cars in the same class. Car classes expanded to accommodate the cars which participated. Eventually, both Junior and Senior Divisions were created. The next step was to create Best of Show awards for each individual class. Once that level was achieved, the car would move into what was called the American Cup Class—a competitive class which placed car against car for the top award. Another step in this class creation was where “stock” versus “non- stock” divisions were created to respect the type of vehicle an owner wanted to have and to compete. During the building era of this aspect of the club—probably the first decade or so of the event—I was instrumental in writing and revising the AMO Concours Rules.
During the mid ’80s, we lost our newsletter editor. Not finding one within a reasonable amount of time, I volunteered to take over this responsibility as well. Again, in a pre-computer world, I typed out each article and glued the articles together on a larger sheet of paper, which our printer photographed, reduced to standard size and printed. This project ended up lasting six years, until we could locate another editor.
My presidency lasted for 28 years (we could not find anyone who wanted to replace me). Once we did find that individual, I was voted into the position of chairman of the board of directors for another six years. Finally, in 2013, I was able to retire from all of those positions and other responsibilities of the club. Shortly thereafter, I was presented with an honorary life membership in recognition of my extensive contributions to AMO.
What are my connections to the AMC hobby and AMO personally? I own six AMC cars, two of which are prototypes, two of which are one-of-a kind, and two of which were built at the end of their runs (one of which, my 1970 AMX, is featured here). I have a model car collection, including promotional models and all other model company-produced AMC models; I have an extensive AMC literature collection, both from the factory and the showroom floor; I have a library full of AMC reference materials; and I have a large collection of factory-produced publications detailing parts, repair, replacement, etc.
I now participate in local and international events when possible. Additionally, I support the current newsletter editor, Ian Webb, through editing and writing various articles. And, after 46 years in the AMC hobby and participating in AMO, it has been a great honor to be a part of the growth and development of AMO, the world’s foremost AMC hobby organization.
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