AMC Hornet sedans, where are they??

[mausersmth]

Never dawned on me until now: Hornet was a heritage name for AMC, Hudson used the name in the early '50s for their hot sedan.
Personally, I prefer the Hudson!

[laughinlark]

When I was in High School my brothers girl friend bought a 72 Hornet. It had a 232 with a 3spd column shift. That car was a blast to ride in and ran really strong. It would beat a lot of the V/8 cars around town from stop light to stop light in town. It got to where the trans was making to much noise to drive much from all the racing. One night on the way home from cruising town I saw a guy from school standing next to his recently wrecked Gremlin X. We stopped to check on him an ended up buying the car. The next week end we swapped the 304 V/8, larger full synchronized 3 sp with floor shifter, limited slip and front disc brakes out of the Gremlin into the Hornet. That just added to all the fun racing the Hornet.


Gordon

[BobPalma]

Never dawned on me until now: Hornet was a heritage name for AMC, Hudson used the name in the early '50s for their hot sedan.
Personally, I prefer the Hudson!

Most people did, but it was a good name to use because it had a positive image. (I mean, do you think Ford would name any new model the Pinto...or Chevrolet name any new model Vega? <GGG>) BP

[R_David]

I found one!!!! And going for pretty good money too. Must be the "Gucci" package....

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/AMC-Hornet-Gucci-Package-1972-AMC-Hornet-/321086339199?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item4ac23cb87f#ht_500wt_1064

[62champ]

I had one of those Hornet sedans the last few years of high school and then into college...problem was the tail end was lopped off and it had a nameplate on it that said "Gremlin."

[R_David]

I had one of those Hornet sedans the last few years of high school and then into college...problem was the tail end was lopped off and it had a nameplate on it that said "Gremlin."

ROFL

[PresidentsDay]

BobPalma is right -- I had a '72 Hornet in high school (purchased for $500) that was a former government car -- pale green, and you could see where the decals had been on the doors. It wasn't pretty, but it was a champ! High school girls aren't notorious for car care, and for 3 years that car took a licking, but kept on ticking... until the radiator fell out one day. Good times.

[showbizkid]

I found one!!!! And going for pretty good money too. Must be the "Gucci" package....

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/AMC-H...#ht_500wt_1064

I'd drive it!!! A Sportabout wagon with V8 and that wild upholstery? Bring it on, baby - I'm there!

[Bob Bryant]

BobPalma is right -- I had a '72 Hornet in high school (purchased for $500) that was a former government car -- pale green, and you could see where the decals had been on the doors. It wasn't pretty, but it was a champ! High school girls aren't notorious for car care, and for 3 years that car took a licking, but kept on ticking... until the radiator fell out one day. Good times.

So radiators in Hornets can fall out! My son had just returned from service in Germany. He needed a car and we bought a 6 cyl. Hornet 2dr. I later was talking with a friend who had bought the car for his kids. He said they severely over-heated that car and he would have told us not to buy it. Too late. We lived in Niles, MI and my son decided to visit a former army buddy in Davenport, IA. He called me and said the radiator in the Hornet had fallen out and he needed money to get it fixed. After a couple of days he called and said it was ready. After work I met him in Rock Island, IL, so I could eat and follow him back to MI in case he had more problems. Never had I traveled that far to eat at Mickey D's! We got rid of it and I gave him a low mileage 1980 Ford Fairmont I had found and that is another story. The car after that one we got it right!

[56H-Y6]

Hi

Here in western New York, Hornets are nearly extinct. One long-time SDC member has a plain blue sedan he preserved when his sister was trading it in. Occasionally, a Concord or Eagle turns up (saw one of the latter yesterday) but good examples are scarce.

I thought the most attractive of the body styles were the two door hatch/fastback and the Sportabout wagon. While AMC V8's were fine engines, that 232/258/244 six cylinder was a magnificent design: tough, durable, versatile, serviceable, long-lived. Absolute shame it's no longer in production.

Steve

[showbizkid]

Second that about the 258. When I owned a Grand Wagoneer, there were many guys in the FSJ (Full-Size Jeep) group who would yank the 360 V-8 and replace it with a stout 258 for the fuel economy and plain cussed toughness.

[Bordeaux Daytona]

There was a nice 4dr in the town I work in a few years ago. I think I teenager had it. It came up for sale and disappeared. It was usually parked on a 2 lane road that had parking spaces on the sides. I was worried that it would get sideswiped. Last year there was an older sable that got rear-ended really bad on that road so I don't know why anyone would want to park there. It really should be made into a 4 lane road.

[Blue 15G]

My wife bought a '76 Hornet Sportabout new and we had it until 1988. 258 6 cylinder. It was a very good car mechanically. In fact we only sold it because we wanted something newer. The next owner had it for quite awhile after we sold it to her. AMCs were good cars.

Dave Bonn
'54 Champion Starliner

[studegary]

My niece had a plain Hornet two door sedan with a V8. She surprised a lot of people with that car.

[sals54]

I totally dig the Hornets. In fact, AMC Hornet is one of my favorite Craigs List searches. they come up here once in a while. Dry No California is a good place to find some of the normally rust prone cars. I prefer the fastback model. Like the one used in the Bond movie to jump the river. That stunt was done in real time by a real car. Corkscrew jump over a river... way cool. I still love that chase scene with the Beautiful Red Hornet fastback chasing that Matador. WOW. AWESOME.

Here it is in mid "screw".