If you give a hot rodder three things: a welder, creativity, and time, you are guaranteed some type of cool result. Such is the case with my neighbor (literally about a 1/4 mile down the road) Scott Huyghe and his near seamless melding of a forlorn 1969 AMX and a wrecked 2006 Pontiac GTO that he bought for pennies on the dollar from the interwebs. I met Scott one day while working on my tow truck. He stopped by the house in one of his cars and asked if he could look at the Javelin I used to have planted in the back yard. He started to tell me about this project he was doing and I started thinking that the guy was either drunk, completely full of it, or he had spent too much time in the sun. He found nothing of value on the Javelin to take but he invited me over. I rumbled down the street in the truck and sure as hell the AMX/GTO project was on a rotisserie right there in front of my face. You could have scraped me up with a snow shovel.
Scott has restored a bunch of cars but this was his first try foray off of the deep end of the pool and all of that old resto experience was called into play. While the AMX and GTO dimensions are close to one another, they aren’t exact, so working things like the firewall, floor pan, trunk and rear wheel wells in, along with the subframe, and all, was like a massive metal jigsaw puzzle. We have absolutely no idea how many miles of welding wire Scott went through on this car, but it had to be several. The idea came to him while attending car shows and mulling his next project. He wanted to try to do something along these lines but when the AMX shell became available, he started showing up to those shows with a tape measure. It didn’t take long to figure out that a late model GTO was pretty close to the AMX size with respect to underpinnings, so a plot of hatched, and a donor cars was found in Texas. The GTO had only 15,000 miles on it and had been rolled over. The underside of the car was relatively unscathed (at least the stuff Scott wanted) but the top side was wrecked. He was cutting that off anyway, so no big deal. Then the year long process of cutting, welding, fitting, measuring, refitting, cutting, and welding more began. There were multiple opportunities to walk away from this car and set it ablaze and we have to think that a couple times during the build Scott asked himself why he didn’t just swap an LS2 into a decent AMX and be done with it, but frankly that wouldn’t be near the same level of accomplishment. We’ve hung out with Scott and this complete car at cruise nights and watching people try to figure out what they’re looking at is awesome. Some shrug it off as a swapped AMX, others think he somehow modified a late model GTO body, a third group really hates the thing altogether because it isn’t a pure AMC product, and a fourth group largely stares and enjoys what they are seeing. This car is like a rolling social experiment!
(We’re going to show you a bunch of build and finished photos but we’re also going to include a gallery with more than 300 photos from the construction of this car at the end of the story)
We’re going to tell the rest of the story through photos and captions. Pay attention kids…there’s going to be a quiz at the end!
To understand the finished product we’re going to take you right back to the beginning of where this madness started. Remember, Scott did all the work himself other than paint, which was laid down by great local painter Chris Cope.
Here’s one half of the equation, the 1969 AMX that Scott bought to start the project with. Some guys panicked when they saw the paint and thought this was an old magazine car but it was actually a local car painted to look like the one from a magazine.
…and here is the other half of the equation. This GTO was from Texas, had 15,000 miles and was wrecked violently as this photo attests to. It gave up some drive line pieces and anything else Scott could grab. Scott started working on the project in the corner of a friend’s body shop.
Here’s a bit of a comparison between the AMX’s track width and that of the GTO front end. Note that they are very close!
The real work began when Scott chopped the nose off of the AMX and then cut out the stock firewall to start incorporating the parts and pieces from the wrecked GTO.
Here’s a look at the GTO firewall section grafted into the AMX. And we’re off!
With the floors cut out, Scott was able to roll in the GTO subframe pieces and get a visual on where they would “live” under the AMX.
There was some pretty decent work to be done on the floors to get them fitting correctly. The GTO was a four passenger car where the AMX is a two seater. Scott lopped 14-inches off the rear of the floor pan and then and inch and a half on either side. After doing that, the fit looks damned near factory!
The rear section of the AMX was cut out because Scott wanted to use the factory IRS. He then removed the rear section from the GTO and…
worked on getting it to fit properly within the confines of the AMX body. There was lots of small metal work done here to get the fitment just right and seal everything up.
Power comes from the lightly modified LS2 that ran the GTO. The motor has long tube headers on it and that’s all as far as Scott knows. The car runs HARD.
Here’s the engine in the car with the grafted on GTO front subframe rails.
Another look at the GTO underpinnings on the front end of the AMX.
The real bizarro work started when Scott began figuring out how to mount the fenders and stuff on the GTO subframe.
Relocated back to his house after the body shop he was squatting in went abruptly out of business, Scott carried on by blowing the car apart and going to town on the finish work of stitching all the different panels and piece of the car together.
Just a quick look at some of the work involved here. Many days I would go over to Scott’s house and just shake my head because this was such a huge job!
As much as the car “fell” together according to Scott, there was still massive amounts of work needed to tie it all up.
With all of the heavy fabrication work done, it was now time to get the car ready for paint and body. That meant stripping it to bare steel.
The first thing to be painted was the engine bay, which promptly…
Got a mouthful of LS2!
Next the rest of the car was primed and sanded for what seemed like weeks. (Ask Chris Cope, he did lots of it!)
Next the car had the trunk and door jambs painted and the interior was readied for install.
One of the things that is so freaking neat about this car is that Scott kept the factory GTO dash and everything in it works. GPS? Works. Electronic gas door popper switch? Works. HVAC, all works, gauges, you betcha.
The GTO seats were recovered with some AMX stitching.
Yes, he went so far as to use the factory GTO door panels!
Chris Cope laid down the miles deep red paint. The color is a Mitsubishi hue. It looks great on the car.
The car is awesome to drive, handles like it is on rails and will absolutely destroy the rear tires in the first three gears. If we were going to critique one thing it would be that we’d dig the ride height being a little lower, but that’s it. The car runs and drives fantastic.
Note the addition of the AMX lettering on the engine covers.
These badges are cool and stop people at car shows in their tracks.
The front end of a 1969 AMX is totally unmistakable. The paring of the big round headlight at the small round marker is racy and cool.
The seats are well bolstered and that is a good thing because this car can haul ass around the corners just as well as it can in a straight line.
We think that the Pontiac wheels look good on the car. They’re needed to clear the big factory brakes.
Burnouts can happen at will in this car. It will even totally torch the tires from a roll in second gear. It is way lighter than a stock ’06 GTO, we know that for sure!
This is one of the coolest owner built projects we have ever run into and it was built a few blocks down the street! Hit the link below for more than 300 build photos of this awesome car! The car has been very well received since Scott started cruising it and taking it to shows. In fact, he won a big award at a national level AMC meet held in New England last summer. We think that is both cool for him and the AMC community that he wasn’t stoned or thrown in the ditch for showing up with this car!
EPIC BUILD GALLERY: 
Having owned several AMX’s, I’m in awe of the workmanship here.
The guy has skills.
I miss my 04 GTO! Put some ROH Drift-R’s on that bad boy to complete the transformation. Freaking beautiful car!
Gorgeous. And basically putting a GTO on a diet is a win-win.
I love these final generation GTO’s, but they were really boring to look at.
This body totally transforms the car; since this AMX is one of the best looking cars ever built.
The 69 AMX has always been one of my dream cars, ever since my dad brought home a 69 Ambassador coupe with the AMX 390.
Beautiful AMX,great craftsmanship.
I have trouble wrapping my head around combining a unit body car with a body on frame car.
Uh, what?? GTO’s are just Holden Commodores (Monaro’s if they are 2 doors) – NO Commodore is a body / frame car…. OK, they use a subframe type front but so do heaps of GM cars…
They are both uni-body cars
As the owner of an AMC only restoration shop, all I can say is WOW! Very well done and a kickarse car to boot. I would love to own this car.
At last, someone does something about the blah, crummy styling of the recent GTO: put a sexier body on it!
Mad fab skills most of us only dream of.
I always get a laugh out of how most US guys think they’re bland.. I do too, but here in Aust the Holden boys want to worship them for how they look. Jeez its just a commodore!! (or Commonwhore as they are widely known here..)
Great build, awesome craftsmanship and if I remember my AMC history correctly they sourced parts from the Big 3 including GM so whats the big deal about a few more GM parts. Love it! Better than being crushed!
Wrong! The only GM stuff AMC ever used was the steering box and column, PS pump and the top of the dizzy. Early jeeps used the GM V6 (crap) and the TH400. Up to 71, they used Borg-Warner trans (like Ford) after 71, Chrysler.
I’d love to see what everybody thought if somebody took a 69 Camaro and swapped in a new Ford Coyote or Hemi?
Bruce I said if I remember my history right you don’t need to be such an ass in your reply. Drop the exclamation point and try to act like you have some manners.
Sorry. I usually do have a few manners.
I was just thinking about this car a week ago. It turned out AWESOME!! Great work Scott and thanks for letting Brian share it with us.
Wow, just amazing. Love the emblem and coil covers!
I know it’s sacrilege to say it, but I’m not all about the down-low and slammed look for classics; the stance and ride height on this crossbreed looks just fine to me.
Awesome job! really make me miss my AMX… One car I wish I never got rid of. Maybe time to sell something and buy another one!!
Scott your the man when it comes to cahs. This one is much nicer than the blue firebird and still cant wait to see the 69 convertible. If I had 1/10 of your skills my truck would be much nicer but for now it is what it is. Congrats on all of your recent accomplishments and keep inspiring those around you like me.
A magnificent car. I applaud your creativity, talent and perseverance in producing a truly one of a kind, beautifully constructed automobile.
Love the concept. Amazed by the fab work. Love the execution!
Just think it looks like a 4×4 at that height. They’re almost that high from the factory, but with big wheels and low-pro tires, it doesn’t look right.
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That is cool slammed but the rear tires scrape because the gto suspension is so soft, every time I let the car loose the noise was horrific! I didn’t want to, and I am not going to alter the exterior at all. I tried to contact Chip Foose for a torque thrust type wheel, but what ever I will figure it out. Eventually I will change the rims and the offset so I can drop it but for now I am having a blast beating the snot out of it. Thanks for all the feedback.
You might try drag bags to make the car not squat so much when you get on it.. I have’em under my ’06 GTO.. Super sweet car man !
The car is beautiful and the work is incredible. Nice job! I do miss mine…
What a sweet ride!! I own a 06 GTO and that’s just crazy cool …. It looks like the factory GTO color mine is !!
Very nice car. Cudoos to the workmenship & expertise that created such a fantastic customized car!