Nicest One Left? 9k Mile 1978 AMC Concord DL
I’ve always been one who often enjoys rooting for the underdogs, so growing up during the seventies in a neighborhood with an AMC dealership nearby probably helped influence this at a young age. Learning to drive on a stick-shift Gremlin likely didn’t hurt either, increasing my appreciation for American Motors Corporation offerings, and even to this day I still get excited when a survivor such as this 1978 Concord DL here on eBay shows up in the marketplace. This one’s at Classic Auto Mall in Morgantown, Pennsylvania, and it’s a beauty, with the current bid of $10,200 not enough to lift the reserve. If you’ve got to own it right now, immediate gratification is possible, as there’s also the opportunity to buy it now for $21,901.
This first-year Concord is the top-of-the-line DL model, and by period standards, it’s a pretty elegant coupe. However, more important to this particular car is that the seller claims it’s all original, with the two-tone paint and vinyl roof still looking amazing for how many seasons have passed since they were applied at the factory. Considering how well the outside is preserved here, it’s not surprising to learn this compact has seen such little use, as only 9.318 miles of pavement have been covered during the past 46 years.
The freshness continues inside, with the interior said to consist of all the original components as well, with those vinyl seats still presenting much like they would have when this Concord was new. Plastic wood dash coverings were a popular feature in the late seventies, and this one is adorned with plenty, but the gauges, pad, and just about everything else in here remain in fine condition. This Concord is also equipped with factory air conditioning, and an AM/FM radio, plus that cool quartz LED clock is a fairly high-tech timepiece for an AMC from this period.
A 232 cubic-inch inline 6 was the standard powerplant, with this one having the optional slightly larger 258 displacement. It would have been fun to find the 304 V8 under the hood of this DL, but I’m fine with the six here having such low mileage and an unmolested engine compartment. The seller says the motor runs beautifully and the automatic transmission shifts smoothly, so hopefully, this one needs little more than the next owner continuing the same level of care it’s gotten for nearly the last five decades. What are your thoughts on this 1978 AMC Concord D/L, and what’s a reasonable price to pay for such a well-preserved example?
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Comments
Nice one, Mike! What a beauty. I have a weird question for the AMC experts out there: were power windows ever an option for the Concord? They were in the Eagle series but I don’t see them listed in brochures as an option for the Concord.
Power windows were available on the Concord starting in 1980.
I doubt we can dispute the mileage on this one. One can clearly see the difference. 9K is still unusual, for whatever reason, it’s the real deal. Now as far as interest,,,two( 2) viewers, and $20 grand is surely dreaming. Heck $10 grand is dreaming, but I suppose for a car in this condition, and considering what’s out there, I could understand. The Concord was yet another in the long line of successful cars based off the old Hornet. They were great cars, probably made up for most AMC sales, and soldiered on until ’84, when the Eagle Premier came out, and the eventual slide to the Alliance. I’d venture to say, the Concord was the last great AMC car made.
The “2 viewers” being me and Scotty.
These and the Monza trunks, were handsome for the time. Still are. 😎
Well Howard. If you’d like….. I can go on Ebay and hit the watch button and we can make it 3…. But seriously, this has got to be the nicest Concord coupe Ive ever seen. I have no doubt about the mileage claim either. Hope it gets preserved.
I’m sure it is, driveinstile. However, I am reminded of Joseph Frazer’s comment on being told Frazers were now collectible cars “so are fossilized dodo eggs” . But 21K? Maybe if it looks like one that has some personal memories for you and you have that kind of dough to spend. They did a superb job of warming over an 8 year old car and that 6 will outlive all of us. It was an attempt to recreate the original Nash Rambler concept of a small well appointed reasonably priced car. However, by that time such cars were a dime a dozen. Unless there’s some AMC fan with deep pockets out there, I don’t see it making the reserve.
I just watched Adam talking bout this and showing it on Rare Classic Cars & Automotive History on youtube 2 hours ago :P It’s a beauty that needs to be driven daily,storing cars for posterity annoys me..lol
In October 1977, I bought as my first new car as a 22-year-old teacher, a very similar car to this except that it had the 304 V-8 instead of the 258 straight six. I threw some Group 19 parts at it that included a 4bbl carb, making it for its time, a very quick car.
With a ski rack, it took me on many ski trips to New England until replaced two years later with one of the very first 1980 Eagles to roll off the assembly line. (Does anyone here know that car’s connection to the 1964 Ford GT Mk 1?) While not a great car, it was a good car that with the exception of the Eagle that followed, it was the last real AMC-built car. I know. I’ve owned more than 20 AMCs in the years since my first, a red/white bucket-seat 1965 Rambler American 440H two-door hardtop.
All that being said, if it was more reasonably priced, I would make a run at it.
I bought one of these in 1999, just before I graduated high school. It was a hatchback with a 304, buckets and a center console with the extra gauges under the dash. It had the sport steering wheel and the 5 spoke wheels like this one. It didn’t have much rust and the seats were in great condition. I put a set of Firestone Firehawk SS10 tires on it (letters out, of course.) It would do smoky burnouts better than anything I’ve ever had. My sister ran it into a stopped Jeep Cherokee at 25 MPH, she was wearing a seatbelt and walked away without a scratch (nobody got hurt) but the car was toast. I still have a piece of the grille with the marker lamp and AMC logo hanging inside my garage today. I really miss that car.
Fun to see. The two-tone paint coupled with the vinyl roof make the car. The inside looks great too, including the prominent “QUARTZ” clock. Always good to see everyman cars like this which have been preserved.
Obviously, us currently in our 60’s now would have never considered looking at one of these back in the day. But today I say…Wonderful!
In 1978 my 7 yr old Pinto that I bought new in 1970 needed a head gasket and had some rust with 63,000 miles, so I then bought a new 1978 Concord with 258 motor. Should have splurged for the 304 because this was not a fast car, but was very dependable except when the car was ready for pickup at the dealership. The engine knocked so the salesman then pointed out the stereo radio and turned up the volume. I brought his attention back to the knocking sound and he told me that it most likely was due to some bad gasoline so they would take care of that and give me a call when the car was ready. When he called he informed me the zone manager inspected the car and found the 258 engine had piston bearings that belonged on the 232 engine. So they were going to replace the bearings. Stupid me should have just said keep the $50 deposit and keep the car. But I was naive and took the car anyway. Engine gave out 14 yrs later with 135,000 miles on it. When it was only 2 yrs old it was found to have a stuck valve. Other than that, a pretty durable car. I drove it from Arizona to Pennsylvania after being told my transmission was slipping when it had high mileage, but it made the trip just fine and I never bothered to repair the tranny. I don’t recall ever seeing a 2-tone Concord, but that was a long time ago and maybe I did see some but just forgot. In the early 1990’s I bought a 1982 AMC Eagle S/X red coupe with 4 wheel drive. One of my favorite cars that I owned. Great on ice and snow in PA. But when I bought that 1978 Concord 2 dr, I later regretted not getting the fastback model instead. But I was in poverty consciousness then and was afraid to spend the extra money probably.
The 304 wasn’t fast, I lost stoplight races to Corsicas with 3.1 V6s. Mine was a two tone blue, light blue on top and dark blue around the wheel arches and a long the rockers.
This is a beauty. I love the front appearance but thought they lost interest when they reached the back of the car. Actually it all looks good together. What a fine looking example.
Remember these new. That 258 engine is more reliable than any junk being built today. Nice car. Has to be the best one on the planet. This seller asks far too much for his cars. It’s an old outlet mall off the PA Turnpike near Philly.
I remember when that place was a furniture outlet mall.
Nice looking car, but 20 g’s?!? I bought a new ’79 Burgundy Concord with 232 and it was a pretty good driver, UNTIL it wasn’t. My wife was the Administrative Assistant at what was a rural hospital 25 miles from our home. Mostly she drove on a 2 lane road through Central Florida Orange groves, but after the time changed after the 1st year we had the car, it developed a “ticking” or “tinking” noise somewhere in the engine. Neither of the two AMC service departments could figure out what it was. Not wanting my wife getting stranded on a country road with very little vehicular traffic after dark , we traded it after only 2 years! Oh, BTW, that 2 lane country road from 45 years ago? It’s now a 6 lane highway with bumper to bumper stop and go traffic from early in the morning til long after sundown these days.
This is 15 miles from my house. Stored in an old shopping mall. Along with 100’s of other classics. All of which I believe are for sale. They do have a website Classicautomall.com . I have been there . It takes hours to walk through. Ad for the Concord? You could eat off of any surface on the vehicle.
Well yeah, it has leather. I had one with tan velour interior. Hit a bump and spilled some jello mold on the seat. Never could get that stain out.
The one odd thing about these Concords and the Eagles was that even with bucket seats they had no console. By the ’80’s consoles were in everything.
Mine had a console with a locking lid. It did not go around the floor shifter, if memory serves, but it was there. I rested my right arm on it all the time.
What model? All the wagons and sedans, not a single one I have seen had one.
It was a hatchback two door. There was no designation other than Concord. It seemed to be one step away from an AMX, just missing the rear window louvers. It was not a D/L, it was not marked as such.
I have never seen a sedan or wagon with a console. They had the optional “console” that had gauges under the dash, but nothing between the seats.