AMC’s Forgotten Muscle Cars That Could Humiliate The Corvette

Pan Am. Pontiac. Some companies just don’t make it through bad times. Hell, some brands in the history of the auto industry have been out of commission for so long that young enthusiasts may not remember or even recognize them. Take American Motors Corporation (AMC), for example. The muscle cars of the American Motors Corporation live on today only at car shows, in fans’ garages, museums, and in the history books. Since the company shut its doors in 1988, you simply won’t find a modern, tire-eviscerating AMC muscle car rolling off the line anytime soon.

But that doesn’t mean the American Motors Corporation didn’t wheel out some serious potency back in the day. Sure, you won’t have much luck launching a classic 1960s or 1970s AMC muscle machine against a current-market C8 Chevrolet Corvette. However, several muscle-bound AMC models would have unapologetically put a classic Corvette from yesteryear through its paces. What’s better, some of these oft-overlooked AMC muscle cars and pony cars aren’t prohibitively expensive today.

1968 AMC AMX 390

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Back in 1968, when AMC was just getting into the muscle car market, V8-powered pony cars were already a hot commodity. The Ford Mustang stole the show with its “1964 ½” debut, followed by the likes of the Plymouth Barracuda, Chevrolet Camaro, and Pontiac Firebird. In response to the youthful muscle market, AMC rolled out the Javelin in 1967. Shortly thereafter, American Motors debuted the AMX, a shorter-wheelbase two-seater with eight-cylinder engines as the only propulsion option. The “Typhoon” 390-cubic-inch V8 was the largest, most powerful V8 in the lineup, and it turned the AMX 390 into a proper rocket.

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With the 390 V8 under the hood, an AMX 390 could pull off quarter-mile runs in the 14s and 15s. That’s on par with early 1960s Chevrolet Corvettes. Not too shabby for the segment’s late arrival. At the time of its release, a mighty AMX variant started at around $3,245, over $1,000 less than a comparable Corvette. Today, nearly 60 years later, a solid 1968 AMC AMX 390 isn’t an unobtainable classic muscle car. The average value of a 1968 AMC AMX 390 in “Good” condition is around $31,700. AMC produced the AMX 390 for the 1969 model year, too, and values are slightly higher at $32,300.

1968 AMC AMX 390 Specs

1969 Hurst SS/AMX

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Automakers sometimes release specialty cars in limited numbers. They believe a limited-run car will create urgency, leading collectors and enthusiasts to buy rather than miss out. Then there’s the 1969 AMC Hurst SS/AMX. Born of a partnership between AMC and Hurst Performance, only 52 of the drag-strip-focused 1969 Hurst SS/AMX saw the light of day. Unlike the “SS” badge you’d find on Chevrolet products, the SS in SS/AMX stands for “Super Stock,” referring to the NHRA’s Super Stock racing category. And that’s exactly what the Hurst SS/AMX is: a factory-built drag car with an appetite for straight-line dominance. After proving the drag strip potential of an AMX build, veteran racer Shirley Shahan and her husband, H.L., paved the way for AMC to build its limited-release drag car.

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By bumping compression in a stock AMC 390 V8 from 10.2:1 to 12.4:1 and adding a host of performance parts like modified cylinder heads, a Crane roller cam, a set of Holley carburetors, and an Edelbrock crossram intake manifold, H.L. and company were able to transform the AMX into a strip-commanding weapon. Those tweaks translated to speed, too. At the hands of the racers of the day, the SS/AMX managed to run 11s in the quarter mile at over 120 mph. However, the AMC Hurst SS/AMX was a seriously pricey affair. When new, the SS/AMX had a price tag of $5,994, an eye-watering sum for a V8 coupe of the day. Today, Hagerty estimates that an SS/AMX in good condition has a value of about $77,700.

1969 Hurst SS/AMX Specs

1969 SC/Rambler

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While the typical AMC Rambler didn’t do much to establish itself as a road warrior, the SC/Rambler didn’t do subtlety. Not at all. A mere glimpse at the SC/Rambler (or “Scrambler” as some called it) makes you think of Captain America giving up his shield for a pair of racing slicks and a Hurst shifter. So, how did AMC take something as relatively workaday as the Rambler and give it fangs? The SC/Rambler got a performance-oriented 390-cubic-inch V8 (sensing a trend here?), a Hurst-equipped BorgWarner T-10 four-speed, and a 3.54 rear end, to name a few speed-minded tweaks.

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And American Motors wasn’t shy about it, either. The automaker took out an advertisement at one point that read, in huge typeface, “A Rambler that does the quarter mile in 14.3.” No beating around the bush for that marketing team. Like the SS/AMX, the SC/Rambler wasn’t produced in huge numbers. However, demand prompted the brand to build more than the 500 units originally expected. What started as a planned 500-unit run doubled to 1,000, before finally ending at 1,512. Over the last year, average sales put the SC/Rambler’s value at $45,950, with the most recent sale on record netting $55,000 at auction.

1969 SC/Rambler Specs

1970 AMC Rebel Machine

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It might be one of the wildest names in the whole of muscle car history. “The Machine.” What sounds like the callsign of an ace fighter pilot or a guitar-obliterating live music act is, in actuality, the name of one of AMC’s wildest projects. In 1970, American Motors debuted the cartoonishly in-your-face AMC Rebel Machine, and promptly stopped producing it after one year. The result? AMC built fewer than 2,400 Rebel Machines. That makes it one of the rarest muscle cars AMC ever produced. If that wasn’t enough of a selling point, the rare AMC muscle car was potent, too.

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After adding killer kit like a performance camshaft to the 390-cubic-inch V8, the AMC Rebel Machine was good for 340 horsepower. Better yet, the Rebel Machine got a limited-slip differential with hard launches in mind. Remember the 14.3-second quarter-mile AMC was so quick to celebrate with the SC/Rambler? Well, the AMC Rebel Machine was reportedly capable of that same 14.3-second sprint. So, let’s say you’re on board with “The Machine.” How much will it cost you? In the last year, a 1970 AMC Rebel Machine sold for $46,200. Before that, another Rebel Machine netted nearly $70,000.

1970 Rebel Machine Specs

1971 AMC AMX 401

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Ah, the 1971 AMC AMX 401. It was quite simply American Motors’ last hurrah, over-the-top flex before the Malaise era all but closed the book on the American muscle car. Under the hood, the spiciest AMX packs a Z-code 401-cubic-inch big-block V8 spitting out a claimed 335 horsepower and 430 pound-feet of torque. It was basically a stroked 390, but it was also the biggest V8 AMC ever put into a car. Add a Go Package with a stout front anti-roll bar, stronger springs, a Twin-Grip limited-slip differential, and cowl air induction, and the AMX 401 became one of the wildest cars the American Motors Corporation ever produced. Like other muscle-bound AMC options, buyers could have the AMX 401 with a BorgWarner four-speed or a three-speed Shift Command automatic.

Okay, so you’re convinced. You want one. While exact production numbers aren’t available, experts believe AMC built around 2,500 units for the 1971 model year. Turn the clock forward nearly 55 years, and the AMX 401 is even rarer. Still, even with its scarcity, the AMX 401 is, on average, more affordable than some of its closest late 1960s and early 1970s rivals. The most recent sales data put the average 401-powered 1971 AMC AMX at between $30,000 and $50,000. Not too bad for an interesting chapter in the story of early 1970s American muscle cars and pony cars.

1971 AMC AMX 401 Specs

Sources: CarBuzz, Classic.com, Hagerty, Hemmings, HowStuffWorks