This great looking 1968 AMC AMX was a product of the late 1960’s muscle car, pony car era. The long hood and short deck design was shared by many automakers during this time. These powerful cars brought many more younger car buyers into dealer showrooms.
Legendary Automobile Designer Dick Teague
The man leading the design team that created the AMX at American Motors Corporation was Richard A. Teague.
As a young man Teague was involved in hot rod circles around the Los Angeles area. He was well known for his passion for automobiles. After high school in 1942, he began working as an aircraft technical illustrator for the Northrop Corporation. Before landing at AMC Teague had worked for the General Motors design team in 1948 and then Packard in 1950 as chief stylist and then on to Chrysler in 1953.
Teague began his career at AMC when he was hired in 1959 as Assistant Director of Design. Just a short three years later he was promoted to V.P. of Automotive Styling.
The AMX turned out to be something American Motors needed. AMC had a reputation for building relatively small economical cars. AMC didn’t have the resources that the Big Three had. At the same time they did need something to draw more attention to their brand. The AMX was a car that could bring the younger crowd into dealer showrooms.
The AMX model was introduced in January 1966 at Detroit’s Cobo Hall at the Society of Automotive Engineers convention. One month later the public had a chance to see the model in Chicago at the 58th annual Chicago Automobile Show. The AMX was introduced at this time as a concept car.
This AMX concept car was built at the old Nash Motor Company (American Motors Corporation) facility in Detroit, Michigan which, at that time, was American Motors World Headquarters. It’s interesting to note that the AMX concept and prototype models had a Rambleseat (Rumble Seat) built into the rear of the vehicle similar to cars of the 1920’s and 30’s. The Rambleseat however was not built into the production model for safety reasons.
The 1968 AMC AMX
The 1968 AMC AMX was a two seat vehicle. Of significance is the fact that the first generation AMX models (68 through 70) were the first steel two seaters since the first generation Ford Thunderbird’s. At the time, the AMC AMX would have been in competition with the only other American two seater, the Chevy Corvette. The first AMX in 1968 came out as a shorter ( by one foot) version of the company’s Javelin.
The 1968 AMX was introduced as AMC’s entry (though somewhat late) into the muscle car market. Several strong V-8’s were available to give the car plenty of muscle. The standard engine was a 290 cubic inch V-8 delivering 225 HP. Also available were a 343 and a 390 V-8.
Beginning with the 1971 model year AMC designated the Javelin AMX as the top performance model.
The AMC AMX Go-Pack
A Go-Package (optional) was available to add plenty of power to the AMC AMX . The Go-Pack included both the 343 and 390 cubic inch V-8’s with both four speed manual and three speed automatic transmissions.
There were some changes in the Go-Pack from year to year but the 1968 Go-Pack for the AMX model included either the 343 or 390 high-output four-barrel V8 engines. Included were a dual exhaust system and chromed exhaust tips, heavy-duty cooling system, power front disc brakes and an upgraded suspension for better handling. Also wide tread tires and a racing stripe.
1968 AMC AMX Specifications
As mentioned above, the 1968 AMC AMX had three V-8’s available. The standard engine was the 290 V-8 putting out 225 HP. The 343 delivered 280 HP and the 390 315 HP. There was also a very limited number of SS AMX cars built that modified the 390 engine to put out 340 HP.
Transmissions included a three and four speed manual along with a three speed automatic.
Brakes are four wheel hydraulic drums with optional front disc brakes available.
Wheelbase is 97.0 inches, overall length 177.22 inches, width 71.56 inches, height 51.72 inches. Curb weight was listed as 3,220 lbs.
For the 1968 model year total AMX production was just over 6,700 vehicles.
Additional Auto Museum Online articles of interest are found on the links below…
Reference material for this article includes..Motor Cities-Richard A. Teague: Automotive Renaissance Man…Standard Catalog of American Muscle Cars: 1960-1972 by author John Gunnell…AMC Muscle Cars by author Larry G. Mitchell.
The AMC AMX Collector Popularity and Values
While the AMC AMX models built from 1968 through 1970 did not have the massive publicity of the Ford Mustang’s and Chevy Camaro’s, the AMX is a superbly designed muscle car with plenty of power and rare to boot.
The story is that AMC had planned to build about 10,000 AMX models per year for the first three years. In reality a bit over 19,000 were actually produced over this span of time.
Current asking prices for excellent condition AMC AMX’s are in the $30,000 to $50,000 range. As always, originality, mileage and degree of restoration are determining factors. It has been noted that prices have been rising over the past few years.
(Article and photos copyright Auto Museum Online)