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1977 AMC Pacer for a Fat $7,000!
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Elhigh
08/20/09

In reply to 1977 AMC Pacer for a Fat $7,000!
It's the Great Pumpkin!

(Linus faints)
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Bentoboxx, My Tank is full of it
08/20/09

In reply to 1977 AMC Pacer for a Fat $7,000!
My neighbor had a Pacer....Maroon with a white vinyl top (Yes, they made em with vinyl tops!) It had no AC and would get scorchin hot in the car. Crank down the window and the weird door panels made it very uncomfortable to lean your arm out. He bought it used for $800 bucks back in 1983. Thats about all I'd spend on one now......but it better have a vinyl top! or AC!
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Tanshanomi
08/20/09

In reply to 1977 AMC Pacer for a Fat $7,000!
Cowboy.

It really doesn't have much to do with this, but I think of it anytime AMC comes up in conversation, so I felt compelled to post it.

So, just...Cowboy.
Now, doesn't that feel good?
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Tanshanomi
08/20/09

@Tanshanomi:
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yachius
08/20/09

In reply to 1977 AMC Pacer for a Fat $7,000!
I have a 77 in white, picked it up for ~$600. This is more like a Heroin Needle than a crackpipe. It'll ruin the lives of those around you too.
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discontinuuity is missing Uncle Pete, the Auto Insider, and the Banhammered Nine promoted this comment yachius was starred yachius was unstarred

Timtoolman, sporadically speaking
08/20/09

In reply to 1977 AMC Pacer for a Fat $7,000!
Well, I wouldn't go so far as to say crap-e, but it is crack pipe. I used to love this car, with its uneven-sized doors (the passenger door was wider for easy access to the back seat) and quirky look. Note the lack of 50 cupholders, and for that matter, any kind of grab handle or strap with which to close those giant doors.
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JB_Finesse
08/20/09

In reply to 1977 AMC Pacer for a Fat $7,000!
If it's not blue with Hot Wheel flame decals, IT'S NOT WORTHY! IT'S NOT WORTHY!
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dwegmull comments for the purpose of obscurity
08/20/09

@JB_Finesse: Shwing!
I wondered how long it would be before a Wayne's world reference...
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Edited by dwegmull comments for the purpose of obscurity at 08/20/09 11:21 AM

DrLemming
08/20/09

In reply to 1977 AMC Pacer for a Fat $7,000!
The Pacer tends to be underrated. It took quite a bit of courage for AMC to come out with such an unusual design at a time when common wisdom called for the Granada treatment -- boxy cars with radiator grilles and landau roofs.

That said, the Pacer is also a tragic monument to terribly compromised design. For example, the car was essentially an updated Gremlin. There was no engineering reason why it needed to be stretched to 77 inches in width -- as wide as a 1977 Chevy Caprice. This certainly didn't improve interior room.

The Pacer killed AMC as an independent automaker. This was partly because the Pacer was so heavy that it simply wasn't viable in the CAFE era, but also because its design wasn't flexible enough to allow AMC to base a whole product range on it. That's in contrast to the old Hornet body, which ended up surviving the Pacer.
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Tanshanomi
08/20/09

@DrLemming: Unfortunately, AMC quickly learned that courage doesn't necessarily sell many cars, and the Granada Treatment outlasted the Pacer.
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Elhigh
08/20/09

In reply to 1977 AMC Pacer for a Fat $7,000!
Mila Kunis needs this car. At least one of them will have an ass.
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jedchev
08/20/09

In reply to 1977 AMC Pacer for a Fat $7,000!
For 7,000 clams, it had better have the Indian blanket interior, not have nasty aftermarket speaker grills cut into the doorpanels and the seller could have thought of something better than mid 70's Dodge Dart hubcaps. For that price, it had better be the best Pacer in the world. Seriously, I could get two Cordobas for that price and have money left for a white 3-piece suit and some 8-tracks.
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engineerd
08/20/09

In reply to 1977 AMC Pacer for a Fat $7,000!
I like the Pacer. Maybe it's because it's so derided by "true gear heads". Maybe it's because of Wayne's World. Maybe it's because the engineerd Fair Market Value (eFMV patent pending) seems to really be in love with the fishbowl on wheels.

The average of 3 1976 to 1978 Pacers on Autotrader Classic was $3,000. That seems a fair price for a quirky car. However, you get to add on $1,500 for low miles (assuming the dude didn't forget the odometer rolled over 15 years ago), $5,000 for it being a classic (by the 25-year rule), and another $1,500 for general awesomeness. I tried to unclick the general awesomeness tab, but the eFMV WOPR-like computer threatened to redirect the path of Hurricane Bill towards Cocoa Beach.

So, with an eFMV of $11,000, this Pacer is solidly in Nice Price territory.
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Novaload
08/20/09

@engineerd: Nah. Look at that homemade cut up speaker install. And surely those aren't the original hubcaps?
For people and cars, just because you survived 25 years means nothing about what you're worth.
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Graverobber
08/20/09

@engineerd: Been missing these. Welcome back.
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Mike the Dog is sitting by the door with a pair of cow slippers, and a very sad face.
08/20/09

@Novaload Wants the Jez 9 Back: Actually the speaker install is as clean as it gets in these cars, it looks like they didn't even cut the door panel (there was a stock grille there that's fairly easy to remove without damaging the panel). Those are the original hubcaps, too. I think the eFMV number is a bit high, but the car's a borderline nice-pricer at $7k. You can drop an AMC V-8 in these fairly easily, or avail yourself of some of the many readily obtainable go-faster bits for the 258, either way you could end up with a really unusual car that will surprise ricers at the stoplights.
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Mike the Dog is sitting by the door with a pair of cow slippers, and a very sad face.
08/20/09

@engineerd: What Graverobber said; It's good to have you back.
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Elhigh
08/20/09

@engineerd: WOPR, nice. That movie gave me hots for Ally Sheedy that haven't worn off yet.
However, achieving an eFMV of $11,000 seems to point up that the Pacer doesn't really fit any paradigm well - not even math.
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Edited by Elhigh at 08/20/09 3:02 PM Elhigh was starred Elhigh was unstarred

tonyola
08/20/09

In reply to 1977 AMC Pacer for a Fat $7,000!
I know these cars well - as I've mentioned before here, my late Dad owned a '75 Pacer for around 10 years. His was white over blue with a white bucket seat interior, 3-on-the-floor manual, and A/C. Between the width and all the glass, there was an impression of lots of interior room. However, the rear floor under the hatch was quite high due to the live rear axle. The 258 six was a pokey, rough groaner, and sportiness wasn't part of the experience. Changing the rear plugs was a nightmare because they were under that huge windshield. Sales were pretty good in '75 and '76 mostly because of novelty, but fell off dramatically until the end in 1980. A V8 was optional for '78, which were also given an even uglier facelift.

This particular car looks rough beyond first glance. As others have mentioned, there's something wrong about the body panel alignment and engine compartment. The color combo is ugly and bench seats are a minus. However, this one does have the rare, optional door vent windows. The nicest Pacer in the world might be worth $7,000 because there certainly hasn't been another car like it. This one isn't it. Crack pipe.
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Muscles Marinara
08/20/09

In reply to 1977 AMC Pacer for a Fat $7,000!
Why wasn't this car included in the ten best cars to drive across the USA? Look at that bench seat, its like a freaking futon.
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Keepin' It Regal
08/20/09

@Muscles Marinara: If it's anything like the futon I had in college, I probably wouldn't make it very far. Doesn't futon literally mean "Don't stay very long"?
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Muscles Marinara
08/20/09

@Keepin' It Regal:
Haha, true, but I think if you put one of those mini coolers within arms' reach of the seat, stocked with PBR/Rolling Rock/cheap-ass beer of your choice, you'd be good. And come on, this car is WAY cooler than a VW hippy van.
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Tanshanomi
08/20/09

@Muscles Marinara: It would also have worked for the "Cars to take to college" question. Look at that back seat...you could get up to somethin' there.
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Novaload
08/20/09

@Keepin' It Regal: "Futon" actually means, "chronic back pain in your future."
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Keepin' It Regal
08/20/09

@Novaload Wants the Jez 9 Back: How true this is. My chiropractor always tells me how awesome his vacations are because of me :(
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Keepin' It Regal
08/20/09

@Muscles Marinara: I would take this over the hippie van for sure, still a crack pipe for me. I do like where you are going with this mini cooler idea!
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pinkshinyalan is kind of brown
08/20/09

In reply to 1977 AMC Pacer for a Fat $7,000!
I've always been simultaneously grossed out and deeply intrigued by this car. In orange, even. How perfect!

I voted nice price, but I really should reconsider. Yesterday's Mercedes, after all, was roughly half that price and twice as classy (if twice as slow).

I officially rescind my nice price vote.
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Tanshanomi
08/20/09

@pinkshinyalan: So, you're saying this is your Jeneane Garofalo? I can see that...
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Flathead Smith
08/20/09

In reply to 1977 AMC Pacer for a Fat $7,000!
Body panels look misaligned, wonder how long the engine has been missing the air filter, tires are mismatched, it looks like the belt on the air pump is misaligned, which means some jack ass had parts left over after some maintenance. Crack.
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HurtsSoGood
08/20/09

@Flathead Smith: Uh, yeah. I think for 7 large, the car should be both cherry and extremely low mileage. And if it were Garth Algar blue, that would help too. I don't see this one as particularly worthy.
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dal20402
08/20/09

In reply to 1977 AMC Pacer for a Fat $7,000!
$7000 on a Pacer that fit together would make sense. Even these low-res pictures show that this example has serious problems: bent trim, panels that don't fit correctly, disintegrating plastic. Pass the crack.
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beercheck promoted this comment Edited by dal20402 at 08/20/09 8:55 AM dal20402 was starred dal20402 was unstarred

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