A few years ago during AMC Week, Paul posted a photo from the Cohort of a faux Pacer racer. Well, this one is the real thing. It’s an International Motor Sports Association Radial Sedan (IMSA RS) car which I shot heading up the hill to Turn 2 at Sears Point (now Sonoma Raceway) in California, in 1976, according to my note on the back of the print. The Radial Sedan series was for “small” sedans, with some engine and chassis mods, running on DOT approved BF Goodrich street tires.
AMC had previously run Gremlins, which were very competitive and won the 1974 championship. In 1976 the Gremlins were handicapped by a NASCAR-style mid-season rule change to add a carburetor restrictor. So the AMC team switched to the heavier Pacer (still 258 six powered), which didn’t require a restrictor. When IMSA then mandated the restrictor for the Pacer as well, the team returned to running the lighter Gremlin. Behind the Pacer, which is trailing 1977 champ Don Devendorf in a Datsun B210, and 1975 champ Nick Craw in a BMW 2002, are a Datsun 510 and a pair of Mazdas, an RX3 and RX2. I believe the Pacer driver is Amos Johnson, who was one of the more successful AMC drivers in that era. The 1976 championship was ultimately won by a Dodge Colt (rear wheel drive).
Neat, never heard of that. Found a video of the 1973 Daytona race with Gremlins:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yxai0YsTmQ
Gremmie looks to be pushing a bit through the corners with that heavy 258 in the front. Being a fishbowl I guess a Pacer would slosh through corners.
Having driven one of them when new, with a 3-speed (girlfriend traded in her Fiat 124 cabriolet on it, yeah, I was wondering about that, too); I seriously wonder just how much they had to modify to make those competitive with BMW’s and Datsun’s.
The Gremlin in competition I could see. 304 equipped models were terrors in A Sedan autocross. But a Pacer . . . . . . ?
I think the deal with these AMC racers is captured in the old adage, “there’s no replacement for displacement”. 258 blueprinted cubic inches went a long way to compensating for weight and size, compared to the typical 90-130 cubic inch competition.
When I raced my Showroom Stock Fiesta, I competed a few times against Gremlins. While their understeer, rear brake lockup, and axle hop were entertaining (or terrifying, depending on how close they were), once they could put the power to the ground they pulled strong coming out of turns, regardless of what Road & Track said about 0-60 times. Plus, the 205/70-14 tires they were allowed by the SCCA rules helped a lot compared to my 155-12’s. We ran in the same class.
That was my thought. If they lost the power dominance in the light Gremlin, better to keep the power dominance in the fatter Pacer than to lose it in the lighter car.
I am usually pretty good at cognitive dissonance – but I cannot wrap my head around Pacer+Race Car.
I even tried mild ingestion of alcohol to increase my gullibility but I am apparently unable to increase to dosage high enough to make it work. I did see Gremlins and what was either a Datsun Honey Bee https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=j1F15xHPSGY
or a Pink Dragon; my vision was a little blurry by that point.
Speaking as a B210 fan, I’m pleased as punch to see the Datsun leading the pack. Even more pleased to hear the B210 driver became the 1977 champ.
A guy I knew back in HS was the stereotypical rich kid. His parents bought him an IROC Camaro, which he promptly wrecked. (This was in late 87/early 88) Anyway he kept the remains of it, and stuck the engine/trans into a Pacer he picked up somewhere. He then proceeded to beat everyone with it, street racing. Man I wish I had taken pictures of that thing! Picture the Pacer from “Wayne’s World”, except in Silver and with a gutted interior. He ended up building a couple “real” drag racers, including a Spirit (late Gremlin) Seeing a battered Pacer do a huge burnout and then beat a Foxbody Mustang, is kind of the definition of “cognitive dissonance”…
I had no luck finding more IMSA Pacer photos among my usual sources, but here’s one with the Gremlin amidst its (1972) competition:
And, just like that, a Pacer turns up (imsars.com)–and in color:
The name “Pacer” sort of goes with the racing theme. “Fart Bubble” would have been my pick.
If you had to climb through the window of a race car, the Pacer would be the car that you would want. After that, all bets are off.