Random pictures that you did not take.

[special-K]

Bender!! (refer to post #25)

[72c20customcamper]

This would be so much fun .

[Steeveedee]

Back in '70-'71 there was a guy who cruised Van Nuys Blvd with an orange Gremlin. Factory 390 with a 4 speed. Nobody would race him more than once.

[FleetsidePaul]

Originally Posted by 72c20customcamper

This would be so much fun .

Ugly chicks can be a lot of fun.

The Gremlin makes the list of the most butt ugly cars. Only topped by it's ugly siblings, the Matador, and the Pacer.





For comparison. Why would you want one of these dogs when you could have one of those hot AMC's?



I don't know what they were smoking at AMC but it must have been some good stuff. What happened to them? They made the AMX for gods sake. One of the coolest cars around. Then cancelled it for that junk?

I think that they whacked off one too many times and went blind.

[Sheepdip]

Originally Posted by Steeveedee

Back in '70-'71 there was a guy who cruised Van Nuys Blvd with an orange Gremlin. Factory 390 with a 4 speed. Nobody would race him more than once.

My high school buddy's older brother had one, can't remember if it was a
4 speed though.
In 1974 he drove it to Twin Falls Idaho to watch Kinevil crash and burn on his attempt to jump the Snake River.
That dirt ramp was still there a couple of years ago, but houses were creeping to it, so I don't if it's still there or not.

[72c20customcamper]

L

Originally Posted by Steeveedee

Back in '70-'71 there was a guy who cruised Van Nuys Blvd with an orange Gremlin. Factory 390 with a 4 speed. Nobody would race him more than once.

AMC never put anything bigger than a 304 in the Gremlin . They did put the 390 in the SC/Rambler and the 360 Hornet SC . The 304 and the 401 both shared the same dimensions so people did the transplants themselves.

[72c20customcamper]

Originally Posted by FleetsidePaul

Ugly chicks can be a lot of fun.

The Gremlin makes the list of the most butt ugly cars. Only topped by it's ugly siblings, the Matador, and the Pacer.





For comparison. Why would you want one of these dogs when you could have one of those hot AMC's?



I don't know what they were smoking at AMC but it must have been some good stuff. What happened to them? They made the AMX for gods sake. One of the coolest cars around. Then cancelled it for that junk?

I think that they whacked off one too many times and went blind.

All the car companies were on crack in the mid 70s .

[Steeveedee]

Originally Posted by 72c20customcamper

L

AMC never put anything bigger than a 304 in the Gremlin . They did put the 390 in the SC/Rambler and the 360 Hornet SC . The 304 and the 401 both shared the same dimensions so people did the transplants themselves.

I was told that was the setup. Maybe it was a 401? My crowd was Chevys, Pontiacs and Fords, with the odd Buick thrown in.

[dmjlambert]

My neighbor I had in the 80's had a Gremlin that came from the factory with a big Ford engine, it was something over 400 and all original.

[Sheepdip]

Originally Posted by 72c20customcamper

L

AMC never put anything bigger than a 304 in the Gremlin . They did put the 390 in the SC/Rambler and the 360 Hornet SC . The 304 and the 401 both shared the same dimensions so people did the transplants themselves.

Well... there ya go, 304 it was then.

[FleetsidePaul]

Gremlins came stock with nerds riding in them.

Speaking of ugly...



I think Yugo's got a bad rap. I had a friend that had one and she had 3 kids and packed them in a Yugo. She drove the wheels of that thing and she couldn't kill it. Her husband was such a cheapskate that he bought her the cheapest car he could. I disliked him. She finally divorced him.

Who buys their wife a Yugo? I'll tell you who. A guy with a girlfriend on the side. That's who.

[special-K]

I never thought the Gremlin was so ugly. I think they were ahead of their time. I always kind of liked them. They were AMC's answer for the shrink the car crowd buying European brands, same as Vega and Pinto (4cyl-only). They weren't trying to be sexy for that market. More like a bold new idea which VW and others followed into and the '80s. The Gremlin X was like the mini-AMX in my eyes. It wasn't trying to look like one but the proportions are similar. I have to agree the Matador and Pacer were some ugly designs. But the Gremlin has crisp sharp lines that go together. They just left the butt-end off

[72c20customcamper]

Originally Posted by dmjlambert

My neighbor I had in the 80's had a Gremlin that came from the factory with a big Ford engine, it was something over 400 and all original.

You are joking right? AMC never used a Ford engine. They did however buy 4 cyl engines from BMW late 70s. I was buying up as many as I could find ripped out the motor and sold them at twice what I paid for the car .

[FleetsidePaul]

Vega's were waaay better looking than Gremlins or Pintos. They just had crappy motors. Nothing that a small block couldn't cure.

I knew a guy in high school that had one. It was bronze with Centerlines and a small block. I still dream of that car.

[Steeveedee]

I had a '72 Vega wagon with a 305SBC and a 350 trans. That thing was quick. My sister had a Monza with a 305. It was quick, too.

[FleetsidePaul]

Originally Posted by Steeveedee

I had a '72 Vega wagon with a 305SBC and a 350 trans. That thing was quick. My sister had a Monza with a 305. It was quick, too.

I knew a guy that had a black Monza Spyder with the V8. It was quick. He was a nut and wrecked it. Rich boy. Mommy bought him a new car.

I saw one years later at Pick A Part. Still had the V8 in it. It kind of broke my heart. It didn't look like it was all that bad.

[dmjlambert]

Originally Posted by 72c20customcamper

You are joking right? AMC never used a Ford engine. They did however buy 4 cyl engines from BMW late 70s. I was buying up as many as I could find ripped out the motor and sold them at twice what I paid for the car .

Not joking. We were sitting on the porch talking, and I thought my neighbor could not be right, no way. But I saw it with my own eyes. He opened the hood. There were Ford Motor Co tune up and emissions stickers and stamped plates with cubic inches plainly displayed. He said and I believed him that it came that way from the factory, and he bought it new for his wife. The car was not really all that old at that time. All the usual emissions stuff was there and looked very boring, typical, and factory to me, except for how big then engine was. We were wondering while standing there together and talking what on Earth a small car like this needed such a huge engine for. He had no idea why but said it would leave just about any other car in the dust. It was definitely a Gremlin. We figured AMC could have outsourced the engines, and I thought for years after that perhaps all of them were that way, but I haven't seen very many Gremlins.

[CG]

Originally Posted by FleetsidePaul

Vega's were waaay better looking than Gremlins or Pintos. They just had crappy motors. Nothing that a small block couldn't cure.

I knew a guy in high school that had one. It was bronze with Centerlines and a small block. I still dream of that car.

Vega was 1971 Motor Trend Car of the Year

[Sheepdip]

Originally Posted by FleetsidePaul

Vega's were waaay better looking than Gremlins or Pintos. They just had crappy motors. Nothing that a small block couldn't cure.

I knew a guy in high school that had one. It was bronze with Centerlines and a small block. I still dream of that car.

The neighbor across the road got a brand new 1970 Vega GT Silver with Black stripes. Nice car for a 16 year old, his parents gave him everything....he died of a drug overdose about 1 year out of high school

[72c20customcamper]

Originally Posted by dmjlambert

Not joking. We were sitting on the porch talking, and I thought my neighbor could not be right, no way. But I saw it with my own eyes. He opened the hood. There were Ford Motor Co tune up and emissions stickers and stamped plates with cubic inches plainly displayed. He said and I believed him that it came that way from the factory, and he bought it new for his wife. The car was not really all that old at that time. All the usual emissions stuff was there and looked very boring, typical, and factory to me, except for how big then engine was. We were wondering while standing there together and talking what on Earth a small car like this needed such a huge engine for. He had no idea why but said it would leave just about any other car in the dust. It was definitely a Gremlin. We figured AMC could have outsourced the engines, and I thought for years after that perhaps all of them were that way, but I haven't seen very many Gremlins.

AMC made their engines in house never used a Ford motor . If it had a Ford in it someone did a swap

[Steeveedee]

The root problem with the Vega was that people who buy the cheapest car they can get don't generally spend money on the required maintenance. I worked as a mechanic for many years, and I've seen it over and over. If a real maintenance schedule had been maintained on the cooling systems, we'd still be seeing them on the road. Every Vega that I've seen with engine overheating problems had the nastiest coolant you can imagine. Had the Vega been supplied with the cast iron 4 cylinder that had been available in the Nova for many years, we'd also still see them around.

[FleetsidePaul]

Originally Posted by Steeveedee

Had the Vega been supplied with the cast iron 4 cylinder that had been available in the Nova for many years, we'd also still see them around.

I don't know about that. How many million VW Bugs did they make and you rarely see one anymore. At least I rarely see one anymore unless I have the title. I don't see any others. I haven't seen a Vega in years. Like so many other cars that were common. They just aren't around anymore.

[special-K]

AMC just happened to have a 390 cu in motor, same as Ford. That always starts confusion down the road, same as the GMC 351 V6. These days a parts "expert" will likely tell you it's a V8 and a Ford engine.

I totally agree the Vega is a far better looking car. I feel ALL Chevys are better looking cars than the others. Very few exceptions. Definitely the best styled cars across the board all across the years. A big reason why I'm a Chevy man. But the Vega looking better than the Gremlin doesn't make the Gremlin ugly. It has to be ugly all on it's own. Even the Pinto isn't ugly. Since Chevy needed something more like the Pinto and Vega their answer was Chevette! They aren't ugly either, but ain't so sexy

A shop in town had a pro-street AMX sitting out front the other day. Biggest tires you could stuff under there. Sublime green kind of color. That thing looked mean and angry! I wish I had grabbed a picture

[72c20customcamper]

Tim there is the same confusion with Studebakers 289. People think it's a Ford motor. AMC also made a 327 ci v8

[special-K]

GM made 305s before they made 307s. That could start an argument with a lot of people.

The Patapsco River's source is just south of town along Ridge Road/MD27. It gathers up all the creeks and streams from the Eastern Piedmont slope till it hits the Chesapeake Bay at Baltimore. It's a tidal river more like the bay and what makes the inner harbor. I think it's only about 30 miles long. Nobody around here ever talks about it, but right in the middle near the mouth is Fort Carroll. It's built on a manmade 3 1/2 acre island and was designed by Robert E. Lee back before he was appointed to West Point. It was built to better protect Baltimore, before reaching Ft. McHenry. It hasn't been used since 1921 I think and the lighthouse since the '60s

Anyway, it's this cool island you can see out on the water, especially when circling around the east side of the city from the south on I-695. You cross the river on the Key Bridge