1973 AMC Gremlin X from North America - Comments

Clutch.

This was a well built and dependable car, considering the time period it was manufactured and the platform it was. Many newer cars copy the design, like the Nissan Murnao. I literally rodded the heck out of all of my Gremlins 1972, 1973, 1974 for eight years. The '73 was the best. It was a Levis X with a 304, manual tranny. It was far superior to the Ford, Chevy and japanese products. I owned a Maverick, Pinto, Nova, and Firebird as well thru the 1980's. The Gremlin was the party and racing mobile and was a total sleeper. It was EASY to repair, and parts were widely available. I had no rust problems and engine was outstanding. The '73 was the best car I have ever owned. (I own only trucks now, specifically a Dodge diesel, '03) I could not blow any of my Gremlins up. I had two 258 ci I-6's ('72 and '74) as well, it they were fun to hold the gas down until the valves floated. Never blew one up. The shift forks in the Borg Warner manuals did not like racing. The 727 autos were bullet proof, especially with a high stall converter. Great drag race car, especially if you could find an early one with an AMC 390 or later with a factory 400 and wheelie bars.

There may be a few 390/401 Gremlins around, but they are not factory. The only V8 the factory ever installed was the 304, and that only from 1972-76. After that, they only came with the straight-6 or (ugh) a 4-cylinder.

I owned a '73 Gremlin X - Maxi Blue, 304 V-8, with auto. Bought it new in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. In the 2 years it had 2 valve jobs, the dash all most fell in my lap, from poor assembly, the bearing the rear end let go. I later found out that the timing gear chain would stretch enough to throw the timing off a slight amount that the exhaust valves would not be closed when the spark plugs fired, thus burning them. This would happen at or near the red line on the tack.

They're great summertime cruisers. I just got one myself and theres nothing else quite like it. Yes, it is hard to find, and that's part of the enjoyment of having one. It's easily identifiable and rare.

Umm, that's why there is such a thing as a red line--the RPM's that are excessive for the engine to function properly. If you were driving it at red line, maybe that explains the burnt-out bearing in the rear end. And maybe your lack of care explains why the car was falling apart on you.

Why do these people complain about how their cars fell apart after beating the hell out of them? It will happen to your Honda, too.

Take good care of your car, and it will give you years of trouble free driving. Red line that thing, and drive it as if it was a tank, and it will fall apart. Your car should need a valve job after about 15-20 years of hard driving. Cars do not last forever. Unless it is maintained. Never drive over 60 mph until the engine is sufficiently broken in.