Car Spot: 69 AMX

Sporty performance at an affordable price

In the 1960s the one thing that American Motors needed was an attention getter, something to pull the younger “in crowd” into the dealer showrooms and shake that stogy image of making cars your parents wanted to drive. That car was the AMX, a 69 just like this week’s spot I found just a couple of miles from my house in Pewaukee, WI.

AMC chose Chicago to debut its new AMX, and it was one of the cars I remember most clearly, almost five decades after attending the show. Of course, it wasn’t just any AMX; it was the car that Lee Breedlove and her husband Craig Breedlove set 90 new speed records at a five-mile circular, banked track in San Angelo, Texas. “The Fastest Man Alive” gave the car instant street cred.

When it debuted in 68, the two-seat GT-style muscle car was based on AMC’s Javelin, except with no back seat. The two-seat GT-style muscle car was one of just two American-built two-seaters and in direct competition with the one-inch longer wheelbase Chevrolet Corvette. It could be bought for a lot less, $3,245, ($29,342 in today’s dollars), almost $1,000 less than the Vette. The AMX was also the only mass-produced, domestic two-seater to share the market with the Corvette since the 1957 Thunderbird.

RELATED: The closest I’ll get to the real deal, my promo model AMXs.

It was available with three engines, a 290cid/225hp 4bbl, 343cid/280hp 4bbl, or 390cid/315hp 4bbl. You could order it with a 4-speed manual floor shift or 3-speed “Shift-Command” automatic on the console. A hugely popular “Go-Package” option was available with the four-barrel 343 or 390 engine which included power-assisted front disk brakes, “Twin-Grip” differential, E70x14 red-stripe performance tires on 6-inch wide steel road wheels, heavy-duty suspension with thicker sway-bars, heavy-duty cooling. Plus buyers could purchase a wide range of specialized performance parts, “Group 19” through AMC dealers for installation on customer’s cars. My dad worked at the Parts Distribution Center in Milwaukee and told me they sold a lot of these.

The automotive press loved this car. They described the new AMX as a “handsome two-seater with American-style acceleration and European-style handling” and “that the AMX is one of the best-looking cars – if not the best-looking car – made in the U.S.A! Wow, from little AMC! They sold 6,725 cars that first year and it was a mid-year introduction.

In 69, AMXs could be ordered in “Big Bad” colors. For just $34, your AMX could be ordered in neon brilliant blue (BBB), orange (BBO), and green (BBG) exteriors which included color-matched front and rear bumpers, as well as a unique slim bright lower grille molding for the front bumper and two vertical rubber-faced painted bumper guards for the rear. These were ordered in small numbers and are hard to find today. AMC also introduced the Super Stock AMX and they were instant hits in drag racing. The 390 engine was equipped with twin Holley carburetors and 12.3:1 compression-ratio cylinder heads, plus aftermarket Doug’s headers and exhaust system, and the tires were drag slicks. Hurst Performance carried out several additional modifications. Rated at 420 horsepower the AMX could do the quarter-mile in 10.73 seconds and 128 mph and for all this fun just $1,900 more than one fully loaded.

1970 was the final year. I owned one, for a very short time. It’s a long story. Ted tells me he also owns a 70 and I can’t wait to see it. The grill and hood were new for 70, performance and comfort levels were added too but sales had fallen off to 4,116, about half of the prior year so AMC decided to discontinue the 2-seat car and make the AMX a performance package on the Javelins moving forward. There was one concept made for 71 created by AMC’s vice president for styling, Dick Teague, but it didn’t make it into production. It became Teague’s personal car and is now owned by AMC collector Mike Spangler. I’m hoping to catch up with it this summer.

Even though the AMX never achieved the sales goals, it became a holo car for AMC, before that was even a thing, and got a newer younger crowd into AMC showrooms. It was also developed on a shoestring budget which was what the company was known for.

What are they worth now? It’s an affordable entry into sporty car collecting. A 68 with the 290 base engine can be had according to Hagerty from $12,300 to $49,300. 69s with the 390s like Ted’s are significantly more. I’m guessing his is pretty close to #1 Concours condition and would sell for $62,400 although I’m sure he wouldn’t let it go for that. Since they only made around 2,000 AMXs that final year, one with a 390 in #1 Concours condition will hit 80 grand. The most valuable AMX is the SS which will go for almost 150K.

Thanks for checking out this week’s spot, a very personal one, and getting the history firsthand. My dad and I shared great memories of his AMC days working for them until the Chrysler buyout in 87. Come back next Sunday for another one along with some of its history. Have a great rest of your weekend and a great week ahead.