The Other American Musclecar

American Motors and the Muscle Car Movement

American Motors was an extremely conservative automobile company, happy with building basic transportation cars and small, economical compacts. When Pontiac stunned the world with the sales success of the ’64 GTO, many of the other car manufacturers also wanted to cash in on the new emerging muscle car movement. If strong-running cars could bring additional cash into the coffers, they were all for it. All except conservative American Motors, which denounced the idea of building fast cars because they wouldn’t be safe in the hands of young buyers. AMC continued on, content with building Ramblers. That idea lasted for about two years, but after seeing the sales success of the other auto manufacturers, AMC finally decided to cash in on the youth movement.

The company’s first attempt was to put a strong-running American Motors engine in the more mundane Rambler, but it soon learned that a significant part of the mystique of the muscle car was styling. The AMC management also realized that they needed a special muscle car with great styling and a potent engine. The design department put pen to paper, and in short order the new ’68 AMX was released with a very forward fastback styling. It was short, light and designed as a two-seater, so it became America’s second sports car behind the Corvette (the T-bird by now grew in the number of seats, to four, and in size). American Motors also invested considerable engineering time to produce a strong-running 390ci engine. In magazine road tests of the time, the AMX was one of the best-performing cars in 1968. Suddenly, performance enthusiasts took note, and the car enjoyed rather brisk sales, at least by American Motors’ standards.

The company was pleased by how well the car was received and continued to build strong performers. The company’s Javelin AMX ended up winning the Trans-Am Manufacturer’s Championship in 1971, with the famed Penske Racing Red, White and Blue team.

Brad Harrison and His ’68 AMX Build

Brad Harrison, the owner of a used car dealership in North Irwin, Pennsylvania, has always been a car enthusiast, and has built many nice super rods over the years. One of the muscle cars he always liked was the ’68-’69 AMX, because they had excellent styling and great performance potential. About 10 years ago, he had the chance to buy a ’68 AMX for a reasonable price, so he took advantage of the bargain. The AMX took backstage for a while, but about five years ago he started its transformation. He wanted a strong-running show car and weekend cruiser that would be different.

He disassembled the AMX and rebuilt it from the unibody up, beginning with the undercarriage. The front suspension is highly detailed and original, but the draglink and crossmember were modified to accept a new engine. The rear of the AMX retains the stock leaf springs, but the original rearend was replaced by the stronger Ford 9-inch design, complete with Strange axles and 3.50:1 gears. When Harrison set the theme for the AMX, it wasn’t going to be a restoration, so Colorado Custom wheels were selected. He used 17×8-inch Lasear wheels at the rear and 17×6-inch wheels at the front, with low-profile BFGoodrich tires on all four corners.

Engine Build: Small-Block Chevy Power

Although the original AMX engines were strong runners, Harrison opted for a small-block Chevy because the parts are more plentiful and less expensive. The strong four-bolt-main block was bored out 0.030-inch and received JE forged dished pistons and Speed Pro rings, giving the engine 8.5:1 compression. A Lunati forged steel crank was used along with Eagle 6-inch rods with ARP bolts for strength. A Melling oil pump circulates oil, and crank-to-cam timing is done by a Cloyes timing chain.

The healthy short block is topped with a set of ported and polished Brodix aluminum heads, with valve activation handled by a Lunati hydraulic roller cam with 0.560-inch lift with 287 degrees intake and 308 degrees exhaust duration. Evanuik Performance built the engine and ported the heads, and then it was topped with a Blower Drive Service 6-71 supercharger running a pair of Barry Grant 650cfm carburetors. An MSD distributor and coil handle the ignition, and exhaust exits through Street & Performance Jet Hot-coated headers and Stainless Specialties mufflers. Other engine accessories include Aeroquip braided-steel lines, a custom-built four-core radiator, Taylor wires and custom-made billet valve covers.

The extremely potent small block hooks to a Turbo 350 automatic transmission with a TCI torque converter.

Bodywork and Paint

One of the reasons the little AMX was priced right was because it needed a little bodywork. Harrison started by having the body stripped to bare metal by Envirosafe in Neville Island, Pennsylvania. When the panels were bare, the body was delivered to Varacalli Auto Body for complete refurbishing. Along with the panel straightening and replacement, the hood was cut for the blower, the cowl vents were filled and the firewall was smoothed for a nice appearance.

After all the body and prep work was finished, Varacalli Auto Body painted the AMX with PPG Rangoon Red DBC basecoat with DCU 2001 urethane clear. The glass also needed some attention, so 4 Sure Auto Glass replaced what was needed. The shop did a great job because, in finished form, the AMX is exquisite.

Interior Upgrades

After building the super strong-running small block, Harrison planned on driving his new muscle car, so he wanted a comfortable interior. He started by replacing the old-fashioned seats with some nice ’95 Z28 Camaro bucket seats and then took the car to J.C. Auto Trim for a completely new interior. The comfortable interior was reupholstered in shale leather and wool carpets. The original door panels also were replaced with custom-designed units.

While Harrison was in the process of altering the AMX, he decided to upgrade the dash with a billet panel filled with Dakota Digital gauges. Creature comforts also include a Vintage Air climate control system, an ididit steering column topped with a Billet Specialties steering wheel and an Alpine AM/FM/CD stereo system with Polk speakers and a Bazooka 8-inch subwoofer.

Hitting the Road

Since the AMX was completed, Harrison has been having fun with his new little super rod, going to car events and cruise nights up and down the East Coast. He really enjoys watching the other car enthusiasts check out his unusual muscle car while they attempt to try to figure out if the blown small block is a Chevy or an American Motors engine.