Tell me about AMC

[dishdude]

Originally Posted By: MNgopher

The Renix fuel injection - it didn't throw codes - so no check engine light. It just started running bad. Many memories troubleshooting with a multi meter...



That Renix FI system was something else. You're right, everything could be checked with a multimeter, there was no check engine light. There was a mechanical timer under the dash that you could hear clicking away anytime the ignition was in run that would turn on the main't req'd light.

My favorite part about that goofy system was the 5 second crank times!

 

[MNgopher]

Originally Posted By: dishdude
My favorite part about that goofy system was the 5 second crank times!


You'd swear in cold weather that based on how slow it was turning and how many cranks it took it wasn't going to start. Nearly always did though!

One thing working with the Renix system - you learned to understand exactly how the system worked - and that has helped as I've worked on other cars since. Had to piece together what your symptoms were, what the triggers were for the problem you were having. Goofiest one I dealt with the EGR solenoid - that tried to kill the engine too early on throttle tip in. Mine was bad, the replacement from the dealer was bad, and their mechanic agreed when he tested it - the next one was the charm... Chrysler got rid of the EGR on the 4.0 when its fuel injection was implemented in 91.

And that maintenance required light. Once it went off in mine, I took out that clear box under the dash and never replaced it. I think it was supposed to set the light off after 82,500 miles to replace the oxygen sensor...

Also had the yellow cruise control box on mine, big AMC logo on it. Burnt out a resistor in the original box, picked up a replacement box at the junkyard (well actually two since they were cheap and I wasn't sure the replacement would work

. Some things were nice - it wasn't the whole engine brain that controlled some of this stuff.

 

[mlatour]

A few AMCs in my family over the years:

uncle had a Matador,
mom a 1977 Hornet 2DR hatchback
other uncle and cousin both had 1976 Gremlins

My first car in 1986 was one of the above '76 Gremlin,
was pretty much junk when I got it but had to have one!

I often say some AMC ideas were ahead of their time but unfortunately for them not well received by the general public:

Many laughed at the Gremlin's looks...10-12 years later VW Rabbit and Ford Escort hatchbacks were quite popular.

Eagle, what?? who needs a '4x4' car...how many new cars have AWD now...

Pacer's ugly 'aquarium' glass look, won't catch on... Nissan Cube, Honda Element etc. look pretty similar IMO.

Pacer trivia: it had a 6" longer door on the right hand side, extra passengers more likely to use that door to access the rear seat.


A few AMC stories..

Mom's 258 CID inline 6 went about 250000 miles with only 3 oil changes, multiple brake system failures was the cause for getting rid of the car.

My 232 / 6 had so much pre-ignition it would keep running with 3 sparkplug wires pulled off...

On a bet from my cousin, my uncle fitted a Chevy 454 into his Gremlin (cousin was planning a SBC 350)
(backyard-shade-tree-cut-the-floor-out at it's best engineering...)
despite being a stock Low-Po engine it was plenty quick,
eventualy proved to be too much torque for the rusty unibody frame.


Gremlin bodies also quite popular with dirt modified racers
installed on their tubular chassis. (so were Pintos)
Aftermarket racing body panels eventualy copied the Gremlin's general body lines.

 

[Jim74]

My friend still owns a 4wd AMC. In very good shape, overall. 4wd still works, and it's a daily driver.

 

[dishdude]

Originally Posted By: MNgopher


And that maintenance required light. Once it went off in mine, I took out that clear box under the dash and never replaced it. I think it was supposed to set the light off after 82,500 miles to replace the oxygen sensor...



Hilariously enough, that's the only problem my parents ever had with the Jeep. I just unplugged it and told them I reset it. I remember it being a clear plastic timer directly under the steering column about the size of an audio cassette full of gears. It had about 100k on it when they got rid of it and they did nothing to it other than oil changes. The only negative thing they ever said about it was the gas mileage, it got low teens on a good day.

 

[dlundblad]

Ive always been told a lot of parts on these were interchangeable.

Look at the door handles on the Eagle for example and compare them to a Gremlin, Javelin, AMX, Pacer etc.

 

[Trav]

The AMX was one of the hottest and best looking cars they made with a 390 4V 4 spd it was a mover. The AMX II and AMX III prototypes were decades ahead of their time and would sell well even today with a little tweaking.
The 1969 AMC Hurst SC/Rambler AKA Rambler Scrambler could scorch the hide off any Camero or Mustang not sporting a big block.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Originally Posted By: dishdude
Originally Posted By: MNgopher

The Renix fuel injection - it didn't throw codes - so no check engine light. It just started running bad. Many memories troubleshooting with a multi meter...



That Renix FI system was something else. You're right, everything could be checked with a multimeter, there was no check engine light. There was a mechanical timer under the dash that you could hear clicking away anytime the ignition was in run that would turn on the main't req'd light.

My favorite part about that goofy system was the 5 second crank times!


5? You must have had one brand new!

Seems like 15-20 seconds is the norm now. The ridiculously long crank times and the exploding coolant bottles makes for an interesting vehicle. Really makes you wonder how they became such an iconic vehicle. Friend of mine has a 90 that we converted to the HO cooling setup. We often joke how far it would have to roll to be roll started. Somewhere around 1/4 mile? haha.

We did a few things like cleaning up all of the grounds, opening up the crank sensor, indexing the TPS, replacing the timing chain and it seems to start in under 10 seconds now. Whenever I drive it, I get confused since I'm used to mine which only needs 2 or 3 compression cycles to run.

But I do like the Renix 4.0L on paper better. More low end torque than the HO 4.0L and they are the half million mile engine that got the reputation; not the piston skirt tossing, oil pump drive eating Chrysler 4.0L

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Originally Posted By: Jim74
My friend still owns a 4wd AMC. In very good shape, overall. 4wd still works, and it's a daily driver.

Always wanted one of those. I'd love to put a 4.0L and AW-4 transmission in one.

 

[JHZR2]

As an 80s kid, I remember the eagle cars, and the wagoneer and Cherokee chief. I distinctly remember the commercials on tv where Lee Iacocca came on and discussed the merger of AMC and Chrysler.

 

[expat]

Originally Posted By: dlundblad
Ive always been told a lot of parts on these were interchangeable.

Look at the door handles on the Eagle for example and compare them to a Gremlin, Javelin, AMX, Pacer etc.


The big rectangular door handles was one of the first things that caught my eye in the above picture.

I do remember the TV ad 'The Eagle has landed' showing an Eagle off roading.

 

[ls973800]

I remember seeing a whole fleet of new AMC patrol cars and station wagons sitting at a car dealership one time when I was a kid. They were for the city of Cleveland, Oh. Every single one of them was painted LIME GREEN! Here's a little copy and paste about one of the officer's that drove a wagon on patrol.

Back in the day, when he weighed 145 pounds, he not only wrestled bad guys, he lugged dead bodies down flights of stairs and hauled them in the back of his black-and-white, which was a green AMC Ambassador Wagon that served as cop car, ambulance and hearse. He nearly drove off the road once, when a corpse sat upright on the way to the morgue, a lesson in rigormortis he never forgot

 

[SwampSurvivor]

I believe there were a few AMC Matadors on Adam-12 and the Dukes of Hazzard!

 

[addyguy]

Dads best friend bought a 1976 Gremlin new in 1975 as it was the cheapest new car he could get, period.

Drove it 11 years, then gave it to us...I've posted a thread on it here just before we sold it.

AFAIK, it was a solid, reliable car - he wasn't the type that would have put up with a lemon.

I always liked AMC cars from that little Gremlin....

 

[Jarlaxle]

Originally Posted By: Miller88
I believe there were a few AMC Matadors on Adam-12 and the Dukes of Hazzard!


The CHP used them, also...and Bobby Allison and Mark Donahue ran them in NASCAR.

 

[ironman_gq]

Originally Posted By: Blkstanger
I owned a 78 Jeep Cherokee. Chrysler 360, GM turbo 400 trans and GM axles. It was actually easy to find parts for it. I had very few problems with it.
Grandmother had an 4x4 Eagle that She bought new. It was loaded too. I remember the leather seats in it were plush.


That was an AMC 360, about all it has in common with the Chrystler one is the lifter diameters.

 

[Bamaro]

I wouldn't mind having an AMX

FWIW, AMC was run for awhile by George Romney, Mitt's father.

 

[GMBoy]

I've got a 1978 Jeep CJ-7. That was the AMC years. Prestolite ignition from Ford, Delco distributer, GM steering column and Alternator, etc. it was the best running and reliable vehicle I ever owned. I still own it today!

 

[silveravant]

I drove a V8 Gremlin once. Had a 3 on the floor and no power steering. 6 turns lock to lock. Really needed a necker knob to make 90deg. turns. Really easy to smoke the tires. Seemed like 70% of the weight was on the front tires.

 

[Win]

As a child, the man who owned the local AMC dealership lived down the street, so there were many AMC cars in our neighborhood, but never any in our family.

I always liked the Gremlin and the Javelin. Best I recall, the Gremlin-X could be had with a 304 V8 and a stick.

They were way ahead of the curve with four wheel drive cars.

I don't remember them being much better or worse than anything else at the time, at least up until the Renault days.