1975 AMC Hornet 4 door sedan base model 258 straight six

Summary:

Awesome car that runs like a mini-tank

Faults:

Uh. I bought it in about March of 2015 from a seller who sold cars out of his small barn like cement floor "showroom" in Rochester, MN, then drove it back to Omaha, NE. I'm only the third owner. The first was an elderly woman who didn't even have a license and the second only bought it for Mopar shows. Well, I knew something wasn't right when I'd gone through 40 gallons of gas during the 5.5 hour trip home. The car did vibrate rather heavily, so I figured that was part of the issue, even though it ran really well.

The first thing I did was take it to a shop where I found out the choke was stuck half way open (carburetor issue). Advanced Auto Parts had one in their system. Since then, belts, hoses, a transmission mount, the brakes about 6 times. Once the front brakes just fell out while driving... back brakes worked beautifully... seals, including valve cover and transmission. The car had been recalled back in the day for a power steering failure possibility, due to two parts being too closely installed, causing the power steering gearbox to overheat. Well, no recall repair done back in the day... as I had it towed to a mechanic and paid to fix it. In 4 years I've put about $12,000 into it and the MPG is now where it should be... around 15 (not the 9 it was getting when I bought it).

Oh, and turn signals (including clicker and springs), headlights/brake lights... and even radio (when the tuning clutch broke and I didn't want to listen to conservative talk crap, LOL you know, AM only). I was lucky enough to find a never installed exact model (old stock) on e-bay and a shop willing to install it. Oh, and the mechanic said the tires were old enough to buy beer, LOL, so those were done... and again since then (routine maintenance).

General Comments:

Love the car, Despite all the repairs it has NEVER not done what I've told it to... except for the one tow job because of the original recall issue. Even after I bought it and it needed, unbeknownst to me, $12,000 in engine work, it still made the 5.5 hour trip home like nothing. Drives beautifully... like a tank. It refuses to call it quits. I suspect that's because of the legendary AMC straight six. Love that engine... one of the best ever built.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 12th March, 2019

13th Mar 2019, 19:45

How could you have spent $12K just on the repairs described? That should have been enough to mechanically rebuild a simple car like this, from front to rear... twice. Fortunately, appears you bought this car to drive, not resell for a profit...

14th Mar 2019, 14:29

The car has never done what you told it to? What did you tell it?

1974 AMC Hornet Base 4.2

Summary:

A good car from a good, underfunded company

Faults:

Turn signal cam was worn.

Replaced the steering column with a tilt column.

Window feltie on the driver's door were all but gone when I got it. A 40 year old '70s car; not surprising. Driver's seat belt was worn, and hard to retract and extract.

Driver's seat foam feels like it disintegrated.

Driver's door doesn't look closed when it is indeed closed. Bought another door off a Gremlin, and will install it when I get it painted to match the snow white exterior.

Rear brakes were gone and I did a complete brake job on the rear; new everything. Brakes work very good now.

General Comments:

Despite the wear and tear that was on certain parts of the car, I just love its character.

The Hornet is so easy to work on. After working on Mercedes for exactly 30 years, it is a joy to fix and a labor of love.

The power steering is way over boosted, and it's hard to do S curves accurately.

The interior size is perfect for me. My snob wife refuses to ride in it (that's reason 2 why I bought it).

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 11th February, 2014

25th Feb 2014, 00:04

I wouldn't marry any woman who doesn't respect a Hornet.

Why, though, would you sacrifice the Gremlin by taking the door?

16th Mar 2014, 13:27

The door came from somebody's field Gremlin. EBAY, I needed it. He had it. I bought it.

14th May 2014, 21:51

The issue with the driver's door is most likely due to worn hinge pins and/or a misadjusted latch mechanism.

Buying a whole other door to fix it is kind of like buying new shoes because one of your shoelaces broke.

15th May 2014, 07:23

My snob wife commented often on my "old cars". Why when you have new cars? Especially not having air, besides being ugly. Never understood them, but appreciated how much money I made off them. Paid for family vacations with selling them. I got over it.

4th Jun 2014, 06:52

The reason for the Gremlin door to replace the misaligned door was to get the intact window felties, which I tried every outlet in the U.S... nobody sold them. AMXs and Javelins, yes. Hornets and Gremlins, no. It was a decision solely based on having a really good door, or keep the Hornet door, which had a window that rattled freely without the benefit of smooth up and down motion, and an overall quiet existence.

Yes, I am aware of the hinge pin problem. That was secondary to the god awful rattle. Thanks for second guessing me.