Meet the Fleet – Muscle Cars: ’69 AMC AMX

• BODY: Auto World (based on Aurora original)
• WHEELS & TIRES: Road Race Replicas

The AMCs of the 1950’s and 60’s occupy a large swath of territory on the map of my automotive enthusiasm. In other words, I dig Ramblers, OK? I always have. But like most people, it is usually the clunky wagons or the cute compacts of the era that I think of whenever the AMC brand comes to mind, and that makes it easy to forget that in the late 60’s, AMC also got into the muscle car game, and for a while they did quite well. The best case to make for that statement is the odd, rare, and very cool 2-seat adaption of their own Pony Car, the Javelin. For 3 years the AMX, a shortened wheelbase 2-seater powered by a 390 mill, could easily run along side almost any Mustang or Camaro-and often could run away from them!

Having said all this,  you’d think I’d have more than one of these Auto World updates of the original Aurora body. I have always intended to get another one but, oddly enough, no, I don’t; I have only the one, strange as it seems: this bright blue model with black stripes.

As good as it looks, this color-which is similar to one available on the real thing-is not commonly found, as many of these cars are painted brighter hues like lime green, “Matador Red”, and the unforgettable “Big Bad Orange.” Though they were available with color-keyed front and rear bumpers, this version shows them in chrome, which, along with the subdued color, makes this another “wolf in sheep’s clothing.” Even so, this one clearly has the factory “Go Pac”, with the thin dual stripes from bow to stern and the 5-spoke chrome Magnums. I added these, of course, courtesy of Road Race Replicas, and last summer I also added a set of RWL tires to dress it up even more.

Those tires are not shown in these pictures, as the images in this profile are now “historical,” having been taken at Drag City Mk. II which is now, sadly, only a memory. What hasn’t changed through the years is this car’s somewhat odd performance characteristics; it’s both fast and a good handler, but it takes a lot of practice to get anything out of it, as the chassis has a “sweet spot” that takes it from slow to warp speed with very little in between. Though I’ve never driven a real one, I’ve read that driving the gin-u-wine 390-powered AMX at the limit can be quite challenging…which just shows, again, that the slot versions are like miniature spiritual representations of the real thing!

This bright blue pony car was named “Sinner,” and its driver, a mean Irish ginger named Mike “Red Devil” Ryan, has a reputation for being a nasty piece of work who’s not above some unsportsmanlike conduct to win; other drivers know that if they see this particular chrome bumper in the mirror, they best go flat out, or get outta the way! Not many AMC cars command that kind of respect, but this one sure does!