1977 AMC Hornet

The 1977 AMC Hornet was a compact car by the standards of the time; however, today the car would be considered mid-size. In addition, the Hornet existed in the American Motors lineup from 1970 to 1977, and the car listed here is from the last year of its availability, being replaced in 1978 by the AMC Concord. I bought the car in 2008 from the second owner, who lived in Lynchburg, Virginia, to have as a fun daily driver in the summer months because I liked the total bare-bones aspect of the vehicle. Essentially, the only options the car has are an automatic transmission and a radio, even though it is strictly AM. Without a doubt, I had fun with the car from the summer of 2008 until 2017, driving it every summer to work on dry days and a few car cruises on the weekends. I received many favorable comments from older people who owned one or knew someone who did, and from the young generation that wanted to know who made the car and were astonished at never having seen one before. We all know that car shows are full of Mustangs, Camaros, and Novas, to name a few, but not many AMC cars, if any. Nevertheless, as the years passed, my life changed, and I lost the time to enjoy the car. As a result, I have decided to give someone else the opportunity to pick up where I left off years ago and help to clean up my garage. If you've read this far and are still interested, please continue. Furthermore, be sure to look at all the photos and watch the YouTube video, for which the link is included in the listing.

The car is equipped with the 232 cubic inch inline six-cylinder engine coupled to a Torqueflite 904 automatic transmission, both working together to transfer power to the rear axle. In addition, the car has front disc brakes with rear drums, which was common for cars of the era; however, the brakes are not power-assisted but manual. The brakes work and stop the car as well as they did on the day it was new, but the technology is out of date by today's standards. Simply put, drive ahead and give yourself a larger safety cushion as compared to a car made in the last twenty years. Moreover, as stated in the vehicle overview, the car has not been used regularly since 2017; however, it has been in dry storage. During the years I drove the car regularly, it ran well with no major issues, and the 110-horsepower six-cylinder engine cruised comfortably at 55 mph. In addition, be sure to watch the YouTube video to hear the car running and to listen to a noise in the motor at idle that the car has had since I owned it. Also, before listing the car for auction on this website, I removed the gas tank to remove the old gas and then put in fresh gas after reinstalling the tank. The car started easily after priming the carburetor and idled on its own in less than a minute. After which, I took the car and drove briefly to ensure the transmission shifted properly, and it did so perfectly. In conclusion, the car's mechanical condition is good for its age, but in the future, the car could use new suspension bushings and shocks due to the rubber bushings showing signs of dry rot. I am sure most of these parts have never been changed since the car was produced nearly fifty years ago. Moreover, to learn more about the car, look at the pictures and watch the YouTube video. Please continue if you are still interested in learning more details about the exterior.

The car is painted golden ginger metallic AMC paint code 7M and retains about eighty percent of its original paint and still has a decent amount of shine. If you don't believe this statement, study the photos carefully, and you will see the "unleaded fuel only" sticker on the trunk lid. Without a doubt, if the car had been repainted, that sticker would have been gone for years. In addition, the car has accumulated several battle scars and dents over the years, all of which can be viewed in the photos, and has had the right front fender replaced. The fender being repainted constitutes the largest part of the non-original paint. All in all, the original paint and imperfections add a pleasant patina to the car. The car also has lots of cracked window wipes and some cracked weatherstripping. Finally, due to their age, the tires should be replaced even though the tread is good on all four tires.

The interior is the weakest area of this old car. Indeed, being a basic-priced car from new AMC, it lacked the use of superior materials inside its vehicles. Between the photos and the YouTube video, I have highlighted all of the imperfections. Be sure to watch the video and look at the photos.