Flying Fishbowl: 1979 AMC Pacer D/L
If there was a contest for the quirkiest cars ever built, the AMC Pacer would surely make the shortlist. In production from 1975 to 1980, it offered buyers the interior space of a full-size car in a much smaller package. One that was more than one-third glass! This ’79 Pacer is the D/L which means it came new with a higher level of trim. It’s a survivor-quality automobile that needs some TLC and other attention. But it’s available for only $3,900 here on craigslist from its home in Portland, Oregon. Kudos to Rocco B. for another nifty tip!
Design work began on the Pacer in 1971 at the same time that Ford brought out the Pinto and Chevy the Vega. The best AMC could do then was chop up a Hornet and sell it as the Gremlin. They were billed as “the first wide small car” and looked nothing like anything else on the market (then and since). The cute nicknames quickly surfaced, such as “Jellybean”, “Upside-Down Bathtub”, and “Flying Fishbowl” (my personal favorite). The car would later attract a cult following after its appearance in the Wayne’s World movies.
Pacer did a good job helping the AMC bottom line by selling 145,000 copies in Year #1 and 280,000 units overall by the curtail call five years later. By then AMC was busy working on the Eagle, a car with four-wheel-drive. The seller has a hatchback in D/L trim which made the automobile more appealing to a larger number of buyers (it would become the base model in ’78). While you could get a Pacer with a small-block V8, most had the 258 cubic inch I-6 which is what’s under the hood of this car.
We’re told the round automobile is in good running condition at 122,500 miles. The brakes have been recently serviced and the tires are decent. A mechanic/electrician will need to take a look at the wiring, as apparently there are gremlins (pardon the pun) at work with the horn, turn signals, and radio. The Pacer came with air conditioning but it’s in-op and the belt has been removed. While the body, paint, and interior look fine, there is a bit of rust in one of the wheel wells. Is there is “fishbowl” like this in your future?
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Comments
I called my Pacers “peoplequarium.”
No mention that this is actually a Pacer wagon and not a standard Pacer.
Looks ‘wagonish’
The “Upside-Down Bathtub” gets attributed to virtually every AMC car but only the Nashes of the 1950s really fit that moniker.
I thought these were homely when they were new, but my viewpoint seems to have changed. I like this, and IMO, it looks almost contemporary with the boxy stuff being sold today.
When I came home from three years in the military in Germany, I sold my Porsche 911 and ordered a 1975 AMC pacer. The only thing it didn’t do better was speed. Later when I needed a second car, I bought a 1978 pacer wagon. I drove both of them over 200,000 miles. They were the best highway cars I’ve owned out of the over 20 vehicles I’ve owned.
Sorry… I accidentally hit the “Report comment” on your posting! I hope that they realize it was a mistake as there is nothing questionable about your post! I wanted to share that I had a 1975 3 Speed Pacer X that I loved! It held it’s own on the highways and never flinched as the semi trucks passed by me. On a few occasions, I would just pick a direction and start driving for hours with the song “Games People Play” by The Spinners playing on my 8 track! Regards, Ted
Some may be too young, but I see this horrible style and I remember the corduroy and polyester wide lapel ‘leisure’ suits, bell bottoms and platform shoes. With Comb-over executives and puca shell beach accessories. 8 track tapes shuffling through the tracks, sometimes in the middle of the song especially if hitting a pothole. Innocent times. Newspapers ran articles in series so you’d keep buying them. You might only need 10 minutes of reading to know everything necessary, but you won’t know that for 2 weeks. Instant news was extremely limited. Yet somehow uncluttered minds seemed tranquil by comparison. That’s why The Pacer is iconic. It represents cluelessness of the era. Imagine they actually made that intentionally!!!
I had a Pacer back in the 80s. It was amazing how many comments and questions were asked about it. I MISS AMC!
“They were billed as ‘the first wide small car’ and looked nothing like anything else on the market (then and since).” I beg to differ with the author’s claim. Apparently, the author never laid eyes on the full-size wagons GM marketed in the ’71–’76 period…which to me is exactly what the Pacer looked like, only in a much-stubbier package. I personally always liked the look of the AMC Pacer, as a kid and even today as a cranky, middle-aged man. It looked to me like a shrunken Chevy Kingswood, or Buick Estate, or the Olds and Pontiac offerings whose names escape me right now; I loved the looks of those wagons, the best-styled wagons/SUVs ever, bar none. I think that people who like regurgitating the clichéd lampoons of the looks of this car, and incidentally the one before it (Edsel) that carried the same model name, really have no bizz in the vintage-car field. Styling a small car is somewhat similar to tailoring a sport suit for a dwarf; no easy task. So when a company pulls it off–like AMC did with this car, or Pontiac with the Fiero (surprise, it was pretty, never mind the reliability issues), or Buick with the Reatta, just to name a couple more small cars I like seeing when I can–that company deserves kudos for the feat, even begrudgingly from its detractors. “Flying Fishbowl,” phooey! AMC did a nice job shrinking GM’s SUVs of the time, at least in looks.
That said, I won’t say these cars were without their issues. One of those issues actually was related to the aforementioned GM, which at the time of the Pacer’s conception was trying to build a workable Wankel engine for its new small cars. AMC gambled a huge wager that said engine would be in production in a timely manner, and entered a deal with GM to buy those engines for use in the Pacer…even going to the point of designing the car’s engine bay to be just large enough for that engine to fit. Then, GM pulled the plug on the Wankel project, leaving AMC hyundai–err, sorry, typo error; *high-and-dry*–without an engine to use. The straight-6s Pacers got in the end were a desperate filler to get the cars to the dealerships, being the only engine AMC had that was small enough to fit without redesigning the whole front end…and even so, it was a very tight squeeze, making small repairs and even maintenance an ordeal.
If I were into small cars, an AMC Pacer of any year would be on my short list. I have an assembled model of one in my model collection, so that proves that I like these cars and am not merely arguing for the sake of arguing, cranky and middle-aged as I am. Of course, the above rant applies to the standard Pacers, not the wagons like the one showcased here, which somewhat lacked the aesthetic appeal with their lack of the wrapped rear glass.
These came to market in hopes of AMC being able to scrape enough revenue together to make them front wheel drive cars. They were unsuccessful though and that’s why they were like little tanks to drive. They were beefed up in the front end to accommodate the weight of the engine/transaxle. That’s why they felt so solid to drive. I really wish they had made them FWD. Even with my employee discount at the time, I opted for a new 1976 Chevy Malibu because AMC dealers just wouldn’t give a decent deal on one of these.
GM rotary engine is correct. The cancellation of that engine caused a last minute redesign of a number of GM models as well.
Not a bad price for an unusual car in decent shape that someone might want to tinker with and drive around. I’d get the A/C working, and look for original rims and hubcaps. I’ve never seen one with a cloth interior, tilt wheel and A/C.
LOL Be glad it wasn’t the “Rattlesnake” interiors that were popular back then. That’s what we referred to the ones with the god ugly southwest themed interiors. They were horrendous. In contrast to your statement, I drove very few without cloth interior in 1976-1977 when I was a final inspector at the Kenosha plant.
I had a’78 wagon with a 232 and the 4spd stick, my father bought a ’77 as leftover ( in Aug. of ’78) 258 and auto. and both had the indian blanket interior. Great cars both of them. The daughter of the local Jeep dealer wanted one and AMC would not send it him. He went down the street to the AMC dealer and ordered a S/W fully loaded with leather interior.
They look better without the Faux Woodgrain Paneling that was de
Rigueur in the late 1970s. It would be perfect with the “X” package and a 4-speed. Add 1 Newcomer Torque Monster, Fuel Injected, Jeep Stroker 6 and Toyota AW4 Overdrive Automatic Transmission and it’s a perfect driver.
We met the kind “celebrity” couple here in Woodenville, Wa., near Seattle at a car show with their Pacer wagon which now has a Corvette engine. I say celebrity because Jay Leno did an entire show in their Pacer. Apparently they didn’t upgrade their brakes which he found unsettling at high speeds. I’ll try to attach episode here. We’re not connected with them, just car show tire-kickers at this point. https://youtu.be/NJ4M829GTz0
My dad ordered a 1975 Pacer. I was 22 and he took me along. His order was very basic. 6 cylinder, 3 speed manual with overdrive. No a/c, (we lived in Iowa), no ps or pb, no tinted glass. I tried to get him to put the shift on the floor, no deal. If my memory is accurate he did splurge on cloth bucket seats. When the car was ready for delivery, I went too. While dad was signing papers, I was walking around the car. Something was nagging at me but I couldn’t figure it out. The car was a dark brown, with a tan interior. I finally saw what was nagging me. The right side had a tan vinyl strip running down the side, on the left the strip was black. Lol. A new strip was ordered and in place in a week. I loved the car except in the summer with no tinted glass or a/c.
Can’t remember if I’ve seen a wagon before? Looks super function and very subtle as a wagon. Did they make a Pacer X in wagon form? That would be cool!
I don’t know why but when I see the front end it reminds me of Mayor McCheese from mcDonalds…
I can see that! 🍔
The AMC Pacer was always a favourite of mine, after a friend gave me a ride in one, in 1975. I utterly LOVED the novel idea of a full-sized interior within a compact car. I was driving a 1946 Ford Super DeLuxe Tudor sedan at the time, with the 239 flathead V-8 and a scary number of miles on it. Because the clock ticked so prominently, I got accused (in jest) of having a time-bomb aboard. But what a great long-distance radio! And Columbia Overdrive sure helped on the highway. I was to drive that same Ford up until 1994. But I’ve thought that it would be neat to find a low mileage Pacer in nice shape and top trim, and drive that in my 80s. Few cars are both cute and practical: ithe AMC Pacer should have been a greater seller than it was, in my opinion. However, my 1988 Mercury Grand Marquis ain’t bad, either, with its 357,468 (as of to-day) miles!
Blah, Blah, Blah. I drove cars off the line at final inspection before they loaded onto transports. The best of the best were Pacers. They were the closest things to a GM product AMC ever produced. It felt like a car. The undercarriage was solid feeling unlike the other cars that AMC produced except for the Javelin. The glass made them heavy and people made fun of them. Compared to some of the encono boxes others produce today, it was a nice little grocery getter and it was comfy inside.
there were a couple in my family/friends circle and i got to work/drive on them. not bad rides at all, though i preferred the looks of the gremlin better
.
and yes we all called them “fish bowls”
these ramblers and gremlins were what i knew back in the day.
My brother and I took the new Pacer for a test drive as we were both looking for new cars. My impression as the frugal economizer brother was a very nice car, solid with nice appointments. My lead foot sibling was put off by the lack of power, but both of us couldn’t believe that it would turn around in a two lane city street! He went on to get a Buick Regal Turbo coupe. I was sold until raising the hood…..the engine is in the dashboard! Kept my Gran Torino but always loved the handling of that beautiful fish bowl.
I like the column shifter and straight 6. If I’m going to have a GarthMobile, this is an excellent starting point. If compression good on all cylinders, full fluids flush gas too and fuel injection with CDI ignition, maybe a freeflow exhaust first so it’s tuned properly at fuel system update time. But it’s neat. The ultimate geekmobile. Or do they prefer “nerds”? Anyway, enjoy it new owner. Should be fun!