Re: [gremlintime] My Gremlin Tales

[RHETTRO88@xxxx]

I have pretty much always had a love for the AMC Gremlin. When I got my 
license and enough cash to buy a car...or replace my current one ('84 Ford 
Tempo...yuck)...I looked in the Auto Trader. Sure enough there was a 1976 AMC 
Gremlin for sale, however, it was $3000...a price well above what I was 
willing to pay. The ad said it had 37,000 miles on it. Well, after about two 
more months of wrestling with the Tempo, I kept looking for another car. I 
found the same 1976 Gremlin in the auto trader that much later...with its 
price reduced to $2700 OBO. Well...I still didn't have that kind of cash, but 
called on the car anyway.

I went up to look at it and it was beautiful. It was a clean, straight and 
shiny 1976 AMC Gremlin Custom. Orange with white Rally stripes, Turbocast II 
wheels, a roof rack, and Potomac Stripe interior...it was certainly and 
eye-catcher. Well, I drove it, and the non-power brakes were very uneven. My 
Mom decided it was not the car for me. I moved out two months later, and 
discovered the car was STILL for sale. This time, I decided to reapproach the 
man who was selling it. Needless to say...one Gremlin richer and $2000 
poorer, I drove her home.

Promptly I washed, buffed and waxed her up so she shined like nothing else. 
She was gorgeous. People turned their heads wherever my car went. I promply 
named her The Disco Lady.

Me and an older friend of mine worked on the brakes, as the front shoes 
(4-wheel drums) were badly worn. He told me that there was no way in heck 
that the car had only 37,000 miles on it...more like 137,000. I was 
disappointed, but the car was solid and beautiful, as well as easy to work on 
and in great shape.

It was my daily driver, as I commuted an average of 90 miles a day. In 
October, she was keyed in the High School parking lot. The scratches wasn't 
very deep, but it was still maddening. By December, 1999, 4 months after I 
first bought it, my beauty had 145,000 miles. Then disaster struck, 
literally. On December 8th, I was on my way to school when a lady pulled out 
in front of me on the freeway and slammed her brakes. I hit mine and my 
wheels locked up, sending me fishtailing. I was going 35 mph by the time I 
hit the concrete barrier on the right front side. I bounced off the barrier 
and skidded another 5 feet pointed in the opposite direction. I didn't feel a 
thing, and I drove the car home. The insurance company instantly ruled it a 
total loss, even though only the front fender, bumper, valance panel and 
right headlight bezel were damaged. The right front frame rail buckled 
slightly in the accident, but the suspension and steering were all just fine. 
The hood, in need of adjustment, still opened, as did the right door. 
Everything seemed to be fine.

I got $1100 out of the insurance company and put new tires on the car ($277). 
The body panels are still mashed up, but the car is still going 
strong...running like a champ. In fact, I've been on a 500 mile trip in it, 
through the snow, since the wreck, and it ran flawlessly.

To date, I've put on almost 16,000 miles in 7 months. Never once has she 
broken down...and only failed to start once. The clamps to the distributor 
cap weren't holding it on...so it popped off...a 10-second fix. I love this 
car. She has served me well, and I plan to keep her for a very long time. I'm 
currently working on getting the parts together for her completion. 
Apparently, I have a bumper, fender and valance panel coming from North 
Carolina on a Greyhound, but I'm still looking for a 1976 right side headlamp 
bezel, an original Gremlin locking gas cap (my original non-locking one was 
stolen), and a drivers' side 4" chrome rocker panel molding. I also plan to 
get her repainted the same Sienna Orange she already is.

She has the 258 1bbl I6 with auto on the column, power steering, delay 
wipers, and an aftermarket cassette deck with 2 pathetic speakers on the 
transmission tunnel.

I love my Gremlin. She' dead-reliable, beautiful, and comfortable (in the 
front seat, anyway). My only problem is economy. I don't like going above the 
speed limit. I'm a pretty conservative driver, but I get about 19mpg on 
average. Coupled with a 21 gallon tank, making a 399 mile range, gas is an 
often-bought commodity for me. Especially since I drive 90 miles a day. 
That's about $35.00 a fill-up...once every 4 days.

I love this car. However, my dream Gremlin is a 1977-1978 Gremlin X. If it's 
a 77, it has to be orange and white...the 78 being red and black...Levi's 
preferred.

Anyway, there's my Gremlin story. I hope you all enjoy it...and if anyone has 
the skinny on where I can get parts, let me know.

Thanks,

Rhett <><