At $20,000, Is This 1968 AMC AMX Project An Excellent Bargain?

Confusingly, the ad for today's Nice Price or No Dice AMX describes its condition as "excellent" despite the car lacking much of its interior trim, and, on the outside, some of its paint. Let's decide if this otherwise all-there classic Corvette competitor is a "some assembly required "deal. 

Lake Tahoe, which straddles the California/Nevada border right at that weird bend both states share, is one of the oldest lakes in the U.S. At 6,225 feet above the playa, it's also one of the highest Alpine lakes, surrounded by mountain peaks perennially capped in snow that are even higher. On sunny days, the lake's deep center turns a picture-postcard blue, while its shallower edges show off in emerald green. Combined with the alpine forest lining the glacial valley in which it sits, Lake Tahoe is one of America's most beautiful locations.

The 1999 Chevy Tahoe we looked at yesterday, while in amazingly nice condition, wasn't as picturesque as its namesake lake. Even more unattractive was its $35,900 asking price. That was seen as borderline insulting in the comments and resulted in a massive 94% "No Dice" loss in the voting.

While not all of the present domestic automakers may be considered large enough to comprise what was once called "the Big Three," that term still applies, if only in a historical context. In the 1950s, the juggernauts General Motors, Ford Motor Company, and Chrysler Corporation accounted for the majority of U.S. auto sales, much to the detriment of smaller, independent car makers. Many of the indies would pair up in an effort to have some semblance of survival. This led to Packard and Studebaker joining forces, and saw the Hudson Motor Car Company merging with Nash-Kelvinator to form the American Motors Corporation. Only one of these two combos would survive the 1960s.

Under the leadership of George Romney, American Motors (AMC) shifted focus to small and compact car lines—the Metropolitan and Rambler among them. This strategy may have seemed good on paper, but it led to low profit margins and no upward path for customers.

Today's 1968 AMC AMX exemplifies an important shift in that strategy. This was a model intended to bring younger buyers into AMC showrooms, move the company up-market, and add excitement to the brand. As was the case with most of AMC's new products in the '60s and '70s, the AMX (American Motors eXperimental) was an ingenious effort to create a new car out of existing parts. Notable for being the only domestic two-seat competitor to the Corvette of the time, the AMX is little more than a chopped-down and massaged AMC Javelin.

As it was considered a direct (albeit cheaper) competitor to the Corvette, the AMX was offered exclusively with V8 power. This one has the top mill for the model year, a 390 CID pushrod V8 topped with a four-barrel carburetor. From the factory, that engine was rated at 315 (gross) horsepower and could move the ton-and-a-half AMX impressively. This one comes with the Borg-Warner three-speed automatic, with a console shifter. According to the ad, it also includes factory A/C and power steering, all bolted to an engine that appears to have seen some work.

The ad also notes that this car was originally fitted with the "Go-Package," an option box that, when checked, imbued the car with a higher-performance suspension, wider wheels and tires, and power disc brakes in the front. That's all good stuff. A set of Goodyear Eagle GT tires wraps the factory Magnum 500 wheels and looks like they all still hold air. Above that, the bodywork looks solid and rust-free. Perhaps even more importantly, all of the glass and badging appear to be intact and in viable shape.

That's about as far as the good stuff goes on this car. This is a project car that requires either a new coat of paint or an unquenchable love for old patina. These cars were innovative for their era, featuring the first complete molded dashboard of any car and futuristic chrome bumpers contoured to the car's body lines. Both features appear to be in good condition, but many other components, such as the carpet and headliner, which the seller says are currently boxed up, need to be installed. 

Craigslist

The mechanicals could also be called into question, as the seller claims to have fired up the engine a decade ago, but has kept the car idle in a trailer ever since. I'll bet the gas tank has an Olympic-level of skunky smell to it. Suffice to say, this car will take some work to make roadworthy, and the seller calling its condition 'excellent' in the ad is specious at best. It does come with a clean title and a claimed 70,000 miles.

I know that the thought of rolling up our collective sleeves and getting a bit dirty on any project car is not on many a bucket list around here. Still, how bad could this car be to get halfway presentable? After all, the car's bones and basics appear good, and the expensive bits like the glass are intact.

The more important question is whether opinions would change when the seller's $20,000 asking price is considered. That's a lot of money for a car that needs work, good base or not. We should also consider the model's history and the car's relative rarity. How many of these things are actually left these days?

What's your take on this AMX and that $20,000 asking price? Does that seem fair given the car's relative condition and desirability? Or for that much, would it need to be much further along the restoration pathway?

You decide!

Denver, Colorado, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.

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