V8 Gremlins

[RHETTRO88@xxxx]

Well...I think I did hear somewhere that all the AMC V8s from 1967-on were 
based off of each other.

However...a 360 or 401 in a Gremlin? C'mon...the Hornet SC/360 had blistering 
performance. I mean, think of it...280 horsepower in a compact car. Now, 
while that figure was gross horsepower, not net, it's still a whole lot. 
280..or even 335 (as the 1971 401 w/ dual exhaust had) in a Gremlin would be 
total overkill. By 1975, the 304 Gremlin just wasn't selling. Also, due to 
the fact that the Grem was six/V8 only (and had aging styling)...less and 
less people were buying them after the oil embargo. In 1974, the 232 had 100 
horsepower, the 258 had 110, and the 304 had 150. The 360 had only 180. So, 
what good, really, would a more gas-guzzling engine do for performance? Not 
much with only 30 more ponies.

In the Gremlin's best selling year, 1974, when 171,128 were sold, only 14,137 
were 304s. That's only about 8%. In 1976, only 826 V8 Gremlins were 
sold...that's less than 2% of the 1976 total. A 360 wouldn't sell at all.

Now, having the bragging rights of owning a Corvette-fighting Gremlin are 
fine and dandy, but the Gremlin was only originally designed as an economy 
car. It was supposed to be cheap and practical. Getting 10mpg (or less) in a 
360 Gremlin with a 21 gallon tank, with gas prices and insurance rates as 
ludicrous as they were back then, would be anything BUT practical.

I also think the six was a good idea with the X package. I mean...if you 
didn't want a gas-hogging V8, then you could still get a good-looking, sporty 
car that was worth something later on.

Of the 671,475 AMC Gremlins built from 1970-1978, only 40,994 had 304 V8s. 
So, of all the Gremlins ever built, 6% had the 304. Would sales be any better 
if a 360 were an option? Not much, if at all. Besides, the Gremlin is pretty 
powerful with the 232 or 258. I mean...180 ft-lbs of torque in a 2775-lb car? 
Not bad for 1976.

Oh well...there will be those who want their museum pieces, and those who 
want to make rocket-sleds. Each of us is pretty cool for liking the Gremlin.

I now digress.

Rhett <><