I often (probably too often) say that drag racing is not a beauty contest. Yes, your equipment has to be well maintained and hard running but it does not necessarily have to be ready to be judged for the Ridler Award. I say this not because I am taking a shot at the 1970 AMC Hornet you see before you but actually as praise for the car. No, this is not a car that will be taking home best appearing any time soon but we’re in love just the same. We love the massively radiused rear wheel wells, the hoodless engine bay, and the old school spun aluminum style wheels. Honestly it would be interesting to know the full history of this car because who knows if it was ever a pro stocker or something back in the day, right?

Today the machine is a sportsman bracket racer and the reason that it caught my eye is because it does not have a Chevy small block or a Mopar big block in it. Nope, this thing has a pissed off 410ci AMC big block that has 14.25:1 compression and all the old school AMC building tricks in the book. Using factory dogleg heads packed with Chevy intake valves and Ford exhaust valves as well as a Torqueflite transmission. Hey, AMC used Torqueflites in a bunch of stuff over the years so that’s “in the family” so to speak.

The engine is topped with a custom made tunnel ram with two carbs, it pulls wheelies, and it has AMC power. What else more could you ask for? In a perfect world we’d take this thing home and give it a little cosmetic make over. What color would we paint it? C’amon, man the right colors. A red/white/blue AMC factory livery job would be the only way to fly here!

eBay link: This 1970 AMC Hornet goes 10s and is AMC from front to back