The 1968-70 American Motors AMX was a nice niche vehicle that played the role of halo car for the entire AMC lineup. It was convenient to produce the two-seater because it was based on the Javelin pony car. However, by 1970, sales were sliding like many sporty and performance cars in the industry, so this would be the final year of the AMX as a two-seater. Among the 1968-70s, ’70 may be the one to have due to an interesting mix of available options, which is why this 1970 AMX is our Pick of the Day. It is listed for sale on ClassicCars.com by a dealership in St. Charles, Missouri. (Click the link to view the listing)
AMC advertised the 1970 AMX as saying, “We made the AMX look tougher this year because it’s tougher this year.” Under the hood, the 290 was tossed and the 343 was upgraded to 360cid, with the 390 being the sole option. The 360 was rated at 290 horsepower while the 390 was upgraded to 325 horses. Both were topped by a new hood blister that could be made functional with the Go Package, which also included power front disc brakes, F70 x 14 white-letter tires, handling package, Twin-Grip differential, and heavy-duty cooling.
Taillights were tweaked, still maintaining the full-width theme but now segmented and not wrapped around the sides. Up front, a new grille included parking lights, while the bumper cavities where they formerly resided now functioned to cool the brakes. If so inclined, you could add a side stripe sweeping from the C-pillar to the nose, or perhaps the Shadow Mask would do the trick. Inside, you’d find a redesigned instrument panel plus high-back bucket seats available in vinyl (both standard and “Ventilair”), corduroy, or leather. AMC certainly wasn’t lying about the improved AMX.
As 1970 would be the final year for the two-seater AMX, the above updates made it quite a unique vehicle compared to the 1968-69s. Our featured 1970 AMX is painted Matador Red with the Shadow Mask, which gives it a vintage custom look. The original 390 has been upgraded to a later 401 for added power, while shifting duties are handled by a console-mounted three-speed automatic with 3.15 Twin-Grip gears. Dig the Mark Donohue spoiler! Inside, you’ll find the standard vinyl buckets and, of course, no rear seat.
Other features include side exhausts, standard 14-inch mag-style wheels, power front disc brakes, power steering, upgraded stereo and, for you comfort mavens, air conditioning. If you were going to look up 1970 in the dictionary, this vehicle would appear as it does a good job of defining the style of the time. With a low 48,838 miles on the odometer and a $59,995 price, your zeitgeist-on-wheels is waiting for you.
To view this listing on ClassicCars.com, see Pick of the Day.
Source: www.classiccars.com