I'd rather watch Pacer content all day over supercar crap.

@britishcarfan9601

15 күн бұрын

Me too. Modern stuff sucks.

@Scotty_in_Ohio

14 күн бұрын

1000% agree

@bigjohnson7415

14 күн бұрын

Amen! 👍👍👍

@aceadman

14 күн бұрын

💯

@chrisnorton2837

14 күн бұрын

Yep.

Always fun to hear a youngster talk about a 70’s car LOL. I love the reference to the “3.8 liter “…nobody ever referred to engine size by liter until the 90’s😂

@townhall05446

5 күн бұрын

They started to do so back then... the Gremlin X with the V8 said '5 liter' on the back end, and Cadillac described their 500 cube V8 as 8.5 liter. That was way before the 90's. But they sure have gone to it entirely since those days, nobody knows how many cubes their engine is anymore really.

@riogrande163

5 күн бұрын

the rest of the world uses metric. get with the times

@nomadweber3590

5 күн бұрын

Even at the dealerships they referred to the 232 or the 258 straight sixes…especially in 1975😂

@bills6093

4 күн бұрын

@@riogrande163 If the rest of the world jumped off a cliff, would you jump off a cliff? I do like how the rest of the world says it's metric, but even outside the USA, imperial units persist.

@EmmyPierz-ek7hi

3 күн бұрын

@@riogrande163NOPE

"Party on, JR!" "Party on, Gabe!"

@InsideOfMyOwnMind

15 күн бұрын

Excellent!!

@user-ht1xu4gv2u

15 күн бұрын

Schwiiiiing!!!

@Danman1972

15 күн бұрын

@@InsideOfMyOwnMind Party time...

One detail you missed. The “hump” at the top of the drivers side door panel was not designed to be a door pull. You’ll notice, when fully rolled down, the drivers side window does not disappear into the door. It sticks up a few inches. Back then, the cool look for driving was to have your right hand on the wheel and you rested your left arm on the top of the door panel. On the Pacer, since the window doesn’t retract fully, you couldn’t rest your left arm there. To be able to drive in comfort, AMC designed the interior door panel to be taller so you could rest your arm there without having to balance it on the top edge of the rolled down window. Doing so would have left a painful temporary red mark on the bottom of your arm and after hitting a few bumps would have bruised you.

@johnfriend862

3 күн бұрын

We used it as a door pull, there wasn't any other door pull in the door.

The original safety car. Congrats on the Pacer. Next the cleanest AMC Eagle with 4WD?

They weren't a bad car. That 232 was built like a tank and will run forever. The transmission is a Chrysler 904, another nearly indestructible component. People just didn't like the look of them. I'm glad that you mentioned the larger passenger door. It was one of the only features of the Pacer that reviewers gave a huge thumbs up for next to the smooth drivability. It's surprising that it wasn't done with other cars. Party on JR! 🤘🏻

@Scott_From_Maine

15 күн бұрын

The Windstar was given a longer driver's door to make up for the lack of a sliding door on that side.

@WatchJRGo

15 күн бұрын

I was surprise seeing the door difference in person, it really is easy to get in the back! 💯

@kenlaub4158

15 күн бұрын

U should see the size of the doors in the back of a r class Benz. Limos are jealous

@edjacobs8876

14 күн бұрын

When new with the 232, run 80 all day long. Forget what speedo buries at.

AMC is an important piece of automotive history, I wish I could find an old awd eagle with the wood paneling trim

@Cartier_specialist

14 күн бұрын

My next door neighbor had one of those back in the late 80s. He moved to Frederick Oklahoma. Not sure if it's still around but I guess it wouldn't hurt to go to Frederick and look around and ask people. It was burgundy with the simulated paneling.

@brian5o

14 күн бұрын

My mom and stepdad had an 81 Concord wagon, basically the 2wd Eagle and it was brown with the wood grain trim and it was awesome! Back in the 80s, Eagles were crazy popular as were the Spirits. AMC was the Subaru of its day because they offered so many slightly lifted, regular cars with AWD. It seems like overnight, AMCs just disappeared from the roads. They were a tiny company but did a lot of smart things to minimize their costs. I have so much respect for them.

Add some clear ceramic window film. Keep the stock look but cut down on the heat.

AMC wanted to put the Wankel rotary, but GM mothballed it at about the time that the Pacer went into production. That's why AMC wedged the 3.8L under the hood.

AMC Anything! Attention locked in! ❤

Love the Pacer!

@WatchJRGo

15 күн бұрын

🥈 apparently I do to now!

Gm’s rotary engine was originally supposed to power the pacer. Gm shelved the rotary and amc had to shoehorn the 3.8l, thus the cab forward design and the monstrous transmission hump

@kristoffermangila

14 күн бұрын

I wonder if it is possible to swap an RX-7 engine and tranny to this car...

@tomcat630

7 күн бұрын

GM was also planning on putting their rotary into the 1975 Monza.

If "Bohemian Rhapsody" isn't played on its first drive I will send it back

@WatchJRGo

15 күн бұрын

The radio doesn't work 🫤

@mitchellgildea254

15 күн бұрын

@@WatchJRGo better find a portable boombox chief 😂

@weaselduke

15 күн бұрын

Bluetooth speaker and a pile of licensing dough.

@nickgeorgiakakis7249

15 күн бұрын

@@WatchJRGo You and gabe should dress up with wigs when you do the Bohemian Rapsody theme

@Gabe-ABNCW3

15 күн бұрын

@@nickgeorgiakakis7249this was in fact, discussed 😂

OMG It amazes me someone cared enough about it to save it this long.

The year was 1976, my father had just bought a brand new AMC Pacer - the first "new" car he had bought since his 1958 Cadillac... because he hated the instant depreciation, even though financially he could have bought a new car every year. This one impressed him... the aerodynamic design, the asymmetrical doors, and of course the "small car" rage was on. I was 16, had my drivers license, a pretty responsible "trained" driver (back when we had Drivers Education in high school!), and had been given permission to drive the new "family car" when it was necessary. That fateful day, I was driving safe, minding my own business in the far-right lane of a 4-lane city road, divided only by a middle turn lane..... when a 1955 Chevy BelAir race car (fiberglass front clip, open headers) was out taking a test drive. He was driving in the opposite direction, and went 'full bogey'... laying down a set of solid black lines on the road, tires smoking like crazy..... and lost control at probably 80 MPH. Smashed the Ford station wagon ahead and left of me, and shoved it right back into my lane... Totaled the AMC Pacer before it was 6 months old. Driver of the '55 had no insurance... my dad sued him for garnishment of wages, but never got much. I didn't get any grief from my parents, it was clear there was nothing I could have done. Dad didn't buy any more "new" cars until the day he passed, 30 years later.

@compubert2

15 күн бұрын

sad end...

@EmmyPierz-ek7hi

3 күн бұрын

@@compubert2yes😢

My dad had a Hornet with the 258 straight 6 and it moved. It was surprisingly quick for the 70s.

As a kid, we had a Pacer rental while on vacation in Hawaii. We went to Hana, and managed to get both families inside the Pacer, all nine of us. I can recall being wedged into the hatch with two teenage girls, which I quite enjoyed! Haven't seen a Pacer on the roads in decades, but I did see a Gremlin the other day.

I know a guy who has a Pacer with a white interior and the exterior has been repainted Plymouth Plum Crazy (Purple). He has approximately 10 Pacers in various stages of restoration and lives in Pennsylvania.

JR a little back story on the Pacer. It was supposed to have a Wankel engine supplied by GM and GM canned the Wankel engine. AMC had to redesign the engine bay so it could accommodate the straight I6. This caused quite a few headaches for the engineers at AMC and caused a delay in getting the car manufactured. AMC was not happy that GM went back on their deal to supply a Wankel engine.

I worked at an AMC dealership when these came out. This was at the height of the 55 MPH speed limit, so they were geared accordingly. A/C was still an option in those days, but was essential for a car with that much glass. AMC did make dealer-installable A/C unit. A lot of these came in to have this done. Also, the doors were heavy, and hard to keep in alignment.

My Mom had a brown Pacer with 3 on the tree. Brings back memories !

@brian5o

14 күн бұрын

Wow, I didn’t know that those were available with a 3-on-the-tree. That’s great to know. I want to get something with a 3-speed on the column, most likely a 70s F-100 but it’s great to know that the Pacer had them, too.

I took my wife's Gremlin in for service a day after the small town dealer received their first Pacer. I knew the owner of the dealership and asked me to take it as a loaner to get my impression of it. He told me that AMC had a marketing plan to sell them to MDs and dentists. I got lots of looks as no one had seen one. As it was a fairly cool day and had AC so I didn't notice the fishbowl cooker effect.

I have to compliment WatchJRGo on something. Even though the AMC Pacer was seen as kind of a nerdy car back in it's day, I have to say that it is incredibly refreshing to hear a KZread channel brag about the fact that he just bought the CLEANEST example of a car in the country. I get SO tired of all the jokers out there who play the copycat game and always brag about supposedly having just bought the CHEAPEST example of their car. Who wants a cheap s**t box? I would much rather see a video about a NICE car than a cheap one. Props to you, sir! Good luck with the Pacer.

Wow! That's a second Pacer I've seen this week. Maple motors on KZread. They have a Pacer with LS swap. What a difference. I myself I like the old AMC cars probably because I learned it to drive on a 19 68 rambler American with the straight six stick shift on the column with absolutely no options other than a radio and I loved that car. I was so sad when Dad decided to get rid of it. I tried looking for it for years but could never find it

The Pacer was built for traffic congestion, not fuel economy. The idea was that highways were getting more crowded, so build a smaller car that doesn't take up as much space on the road, is easy to maneuver in cities and parallel park, and has good outward visibility. AMC also decided to future-proof it for federal safety regulations by designing it to meet all the most stringent, worst case scenario, proposals NHTSA was considering for future years so they wouldn't have to constantly spend more R&D money every year to update it for new rules, it would already meet all of them from the start. The car was also supposed to have a Wankel rotary engine that AMC was partnering with GM to develop, which seemed like the future in the early 1970s. But, GM pulled out of the project and AMC couldn't afford to develop it on their own, so they had to get stuck using the engines they already had. It took them until the 1980s to figure out how to cut two cylinders off the I6 to make a 4, which was way too late for the Pacer

Man, that is a clean almost 50 year old Pacer! The ads for the Pacer called it "the first wide small car", and you had excellent visibility with all of those windows! I remember one of the big car magazines (Road & Track, Car and Driver, Motor Trend... don't remember which one) tested their Pacer, and upon "panic braking", the car immediately went sideways! I guess that driver found out how easy it was to clean excrement from vinyl seats! The story was that the Pacer was designed with the Wankel rotary engine in mind (which GM had invested in), and at the last minute the deal was called off. AMC had no choice but to shoehorn their inline 6 cylinder (either the 232 or the 258) into the car, which changed the front end styling a bit. AMC was always good at turning chicken sh*t into chicken salad, and made it work. The fascination with a wide small car wore off in a few years, and I think that Wayne & Garth having a Pacer renewed interest in both the car, and Bohemian Rhapsody! Anyway, it's fun seeing young folks nowadays "discovering" the Pacer.

You have to be missing your old shop! You had the coolest shop on KZread! I miss it. I was really wanting to see the upper level relaxing area I guess that's what you call it but anyway it would have been awesome!

I want to see Dad's reaction

@Gabe-ABNCW3

15 күн бұрын

He was VERY impressed! Nostalgic even!

My grandmother drove one of these! With wood paneling. Lots of good memories, thanks for the trip down memory lane 😊

My Uncle sold these at Overland Park AMC Jeep on Metcalf back in the day. I remember going there as a kid and seeing all the Pacers, Gremlins and Jeeps.

Groovy Man! Passenger door is a couple of inches longer than the driver's

The pacer was designed to have a rotary engine. AMC was always on the edge of bankruptcy so development of the rotary was halted. You'll find parts from every manufacturer in it. One note on the interior size the head of AMC was tall and wanted to be able to sit in the backseat of the vehicles. It started with the Marlon. The Concord and Hornet were about the same price with the same performance. Thats why my mom wanted a Concord and not a Pacer. We lived in an AMC manufacturer town.

@tomcat630

7 күн бұрын

The Rotary motors were to be supplied by GM, but they [GM] canceled them at last minute. AMC was forced to shoe in their I6.

I have a green 1970 Hornet, AMC LOVED their earth tones.

Yes, that is an automatic choke, bi-metal strip that engine heats up to open, very simple and reliable. When I was growing up, my family owned many ramblers. Bought a new 1968 American for $4000, great economic car and value. We owned a classic, gremlin, javelin, pacer, and a couple more I can’t remember.

Ok, need to clear up a couple things. First, congrats on a cool car! When AMC was designing the Pacer, it was intended to house the Wankel rotary currently in development at GM. GM canceled the program, so AMC had to work with the engines they had, meaning they had to shoehorn in the AMC six. This is why the car has some unusual dimensions-it was intended to be a much smaller car. Be very careful of those door panels-they’re quite fragile and good ones are hard to find. Be careful of the subframe bushings, new ones do not exist. Your car has obviously been painted-the hood badge is missing and the AMC emblem on back has been moved. I’d suggest having the glass tinted to help save the fragile plastics.

Love it!! What a great example of an undervalued American car.

Party on Wayne!

@jamieclayton9

15 күн бұрын

Party on Garth!

When I was a lad my family had two Pacers and I ended up taking one to college! One was a coup and one was a station wagon and the birth had the 258 six. This brought back many memories.

Speaking of the Pacer grille, it was part of an effort at developing a unified style concept for AMCs. Look at a 64 AMC Rambler American-- it's front is basically a 60s version of this, with the tunneled headlights and this clean style of grille. The first generation Hornets and Gremlins also had it, as did the Matador Coupe.

Cool fine John! I've always liked them. I believe they were supposed to be the same width as a full size car.

Of course they go highway speeds! How the hell do you think we got anywhere back in the day?

@MrWoodyBalto

15 күн бұрын

This one had the Highway Package to go with the Smokers Package.

@chansepaskins1915

15 күн бұрын

Because back then the max speed limit was federally mandated to 55mph by Nixon 😂

@gregh7457

15 күн бұрын

@@chansepaskins1915 nobody on the interstates followed that. we usually did 60-70

@williamegler8771

15 күн бұрын

​@chansepaskins1915 Claimed top speed by the company was 104 miles per hour for the base in-line 6 with 3-speed automatic transmission and numerous contemporary road tests said it was comfortable cruising between 75 and 80 mph. They said the vehicle was slower than average on acceleration and struggled to reach highway speed with a full complement of passengers and luggage with the air conditioning on but once it got up to speed it had no trouble maintaining it indefinitely.

@compubert2

15 күн бұрын

@@chansepaskins1915 drove nobody, ever... ;-)

The AMC Pacer in the day was a fantastic car. I had a 1979 AMC Pacer wagon.

This was the first family car that I have memories of, circa 1976... ours had the optional AMC indian weave upholstery, and air conditioning (it was in Texas). My grandpa swore by Nash, and my dad had to buy AMC, since Nash was part of the merger that created AMC.

My mom liked these back in the day 😂 This and Cadillac Seville bustle butts.

My Uncle had a yellow one,factory aluminum wheels,with black vinyl interior, buckets, and a 3-speed manual. It was pretty cool.

The model year for first Pacers was 1976, introduced in spring 1975. Built near Chicago area in Kenosha WI. The sold well the first year 117,000 hatchbacks left the factory, since were a "fad" with compact buyers. But, by summer 1976 they were "last year's news", sales slipped. Added wagon for '77 and V8 for '78, but still sales declined. Last model year was short run of 1980's, but last Pacer built in Dec. 1979.

I had a '72 Hornet with the 232. The upgraded I-6 was a 258. There used to be a company that made all kinds of performance parts for those engines - headers, intakes for 4-barrel carbs etc. Never got to soup up my Hornet, no money at the time.

You'll be on pins and needles when that first hail storm comes around 🤣

The advertising at the time of its introduction made a point of its *width* in pitching it’s new vision of a compact. It struck me as a spacious/stylish Pinto/Gremlin upgrade.

American Motors was like the automotive equivalent to the little engine that could. You can’t help but respect them. The Concord and Eagle were basically a Hornet but modernized, the same front end from the Concord was used on several cars with different body styles but each were unique but also uniquely AMC. If I remember correctly, one of the most popular new Jeeps, the 94 I’m wanting to say Grand Cherokee was designed by them and the Chrysler LH cars were, too. For a while, they sold some Renaults- the Alliance and Encore and maybe another and of course, they took great care of Jeep. Chrysler bought them specifically for Jeep but the continued to build the AMC Eagle for a few years and then created an Eagle brand within Chrysler for a while. My parents owned a 81 Concord. I remember buying parts for repairs being a real pain because they did source parts from the big 3 and sometimes those parts changed mid-model year. Still I loved the Concord. This was a great buy, JR. I would love to know the build date on the car because I was born in 1975. It’d be cool if it rolled off the assembly line on my birthday. Btw, there is no better 70s color you could’ve gotten than this one. I hope you enjoy your new car!

That car is an absolute time capsule.

Back in the 70's in aviation it was all about wide body aircraft. BUT AMC made the first and only wide body compact car.

I remember a TV commercial at the time that was meant to show how roomy was the interior of the Pacer. They used a Pacer shell, with the back end gone. Then they drove a Chevy Nova right into the shell. It definitely made an impression.

@new2000car

9 күн бұрын

Yes the tv ads for it bragged “the first WIDE small car.” They didn’t mention how overweight it was, or how the crude suspension protruded so much into the backseat area that it’s only rated (and only has seatbelts) for two. A Hornet fit 3 in the back. Oops!

A friend of mine girlfriend had one back in the early 80s Had the 258 six with all the classic AMC rattling hatch and doors

@lukequigley121

4 күн бұрын

YES, Body tech AMC/JEEP dlr 76-79 and remember AMC/JEEP having a recal for Pacer hinges wearing to soon.. A beefier hinge w/ larger pin bushing was the fix .. Painted and replaced quite a few hinges.. AH , Memories..

My aunt owned a Pacer. Back in the 70s I used to hop in back (there were no laws restricting seating) and remember looking out the bubble while she drove. Made me think of The Jetsons

Finally a cool car. Congrats!

Believe me JR, you weren't the first person to get baked in a '75 Pacer.

I never get bored watching you!

Back in the day it was very roomie, fairly economical, the wagon version was a great family mule.

My very first car was an Amc Spirit!! oh the memories of the interior and seats so similiar

what a gem. really well taken care of!

that car has a 258 cubic inch six one of the best engines ever built

@townhall05446

5 күн бұрын

No, it has the 232 inch six, basically the very same engine but fewer cubes.

@michaelchevreaux7780

4 күн бұрын

Clean, But Still Ugly.

AMC built some neat torquey engines. 232, 258 and the V8 was 304 as I recall. If the ride is good the springs all the way around must have been replaced. The electronic choke will fail but if you stick a big screwdriver down the carburetor's throat, you can get it started...oh wait, it will never get that cold where you are, never mind. The fishbowl can get really hot in the sun, so the air con was a bit over-built. As I recall. I'm sure the brakes are poor compared to what we can get now, but we'll see what you do.

I had one love AMC

Bought a new Pacer in 1975. Same color as yours. As for traveling, we drove it from Charleston, SC to Cape Cod with no problems.

Looks amazing! Maybe ceramic tint the windshield and windows to keep the heat.down.

At 14:34 “put car seats in”. Trust me, child cars seats were definitely not used in 1975. Kids piled in and rode wherever they could without any seatbelt usage.

If you painted the AMC Pacer a popular college color (i.e. UT Austin is Burnt Orange), an alumni parent would buy the Pacer for their attending kid? Perfect College Student Car!

Nice shade of ‘puke’ green, love it 😂😂

Not gonna lie, that is a pretty cool ride. You will get all the attention. Never going to be fast, but it wasn't made to be. Can't wait for more Pacer content.

Take it to Cars and Coffee. That'd be awesome! 👍

Whatever you do, DO NOT BREAK THE WINDSHIELD! Replacements do not exist.

@lukequigley121

4 күн бұрын

AMC/JEEP body tech 76-79 and remember replacing a few.. It took 4 techs inside and out , suction cups , 2 blankets on the hood ..I liked that work place, good ,kind folks ..top pay , for the area..AH, Memories

Oh the memories growing up in the 70s with those cars.......I drove an orange Pinto station when I was working delivery for a local pharmacy....A friend took his parents Ford Granada mug bogging....Hilarious........My brother in law...His most prized possession was a Gremlin...

It's a fishbowl. It's as unique today as it was when new.

Nice Pacer. I remember when they were new.

Party on JR.

That’s pretty cool! Now you need a Gremlin X!

I actually saw a Pacer with an older guy driving it last week in San Jose, CA. It was very clean too. A rare sight!

Beautiful little car! I love the interior, the color, the windows. I wish they made cars with character today instead of making them all look alike. I'd love to own this car.

Ah the good ol brick emergency brake. This was common practice back in the day when emergency brakes usually worked up until the first rear brake change. Then it was brick time.

Nice Fish Bowl!

We called them "greenhouses" years ago.

@WatchJRGo

15 күн бұрын

It's absolutely a greenhouse in there 🥵

I like the rear glass looks awesome

If the car is more of a green color, that color is called candy apple if not then the color is called golden jade metallic. Hard to tell on film. Pretty cool car. I wonder if you can order any parts for the engine internally speaking that would give it more power and still retain its originality? That would be pretty cool to see it upgraded. I know most people upgrade the carburetor to a 390 CFM two barrel. It's given a little more gusto in the fuel department. I don't know much else. Just promise us you will not go to burnout competitions with it and ruin it.

NO way !!!! wow..............JR....a Pacer...........that's crazy...how much was that sled?

Pretty clean little Pacer. My family had a bunch of AMC cars growing up. The only new one was a Jeep J20. The others were used, Concords and other Passenger Cars. They all had inline 6 engines and ran for years. Looking forward to the driving videos. Thanks.

Coolest car you have ever had on you channel!

Good morning JR. You've got a great car. The 1975 AMC Pacer is a awesome car.

AMC = All Makes Combined

@sawdustandcigarettes

14 күн бұрын

All Make of Cars. Lol

@realbogus

12 күн бұрын

Yup. The transmission was a Mopar 727, ignition was from Ford, as was the AC. The rack and pinion was from GM... dash bits were from Mopar. The rear end was Borg Warner...

Learned to drive and got my license in 81 in a 76 Pacer of the same color. What a flashback.

AMC made some fascinating cars.

Oh, Man. My grandmother had a '79. Favorite memory was when my '66 mustang broke on Jr. Prom night and I had to make an emergency call to grandma to take the Pacer had a great time. That car was indestructable.

Less on the other cars and selfies videos AND MORE on the ‘75 Pacer. CB

In Mexico it is affectionately known as the AMC "gordito con tirantes" or "fat-man in suspenders" - just look at it from the rear and it'll make sense. Love these cars!

Really enjoying the consistent videos & Gabe content!

I'm so jealous and so thrilled your keeping the Mac pacer on the road I had a "77" AMC Pacer wagon with a stick Enjoy!!!!

I had 2 Pacers. One was a 78, 258 4 speed. The other was a 80 station wagon with a 304 auto. Both cars were fun to drive.

Back in the 80s, I brought an AMC Pacer Wagon for $120 as cheap transportation. Back then, it was a geeky car that most folks made fun of. However, It wasn't long before I really fell in love with driving it. It was the first car I owned that had AC in it. I loved its quirkiness. The car being a wagon had quite a lot of space. I wish I had never got rid of it to buy a "cooler" car. Today, it's still one of my most favorite cars I ever owned. I never heard anything bad ever said about them by the people who actually owned one, like myself. It was truly a great "Small-Wide" car

I'm still recovering today from the 1st degree burns as a kid in the late 70's getting in one of these with the windows rolled up all day during the summertime 😉🤣

I had a 76 pacer with the 6 and a 3 speed on the floor. It ran and drove fine and ripped right along on the freeway !