When it comes to survivor cars, we kind of love them all. We just don’t love them all equally. There’s an undeniably cool element in the “survivor” tag, right? The fact that all the parts of the car have been together since the day it rolled off the line. This car, a 1974 AMC Matador is a survivor. Original paint, original 304ci AMC V8 engine, and all the rest of the stuff. Our man Rocco found this car and its $10,900 (What?!) asking price. If there is one thing that’s not a little boring about this car its the fact that someone thinks it is worth $11,000 to another human that inhabits this planet and consumes oxygen.
The car only has 33,000 original miles and according to the owner, it’s 100% functional and good. We’re guessing that this buyer was an older person that was looking for some basic transportation and a way to get groceries, make it to church, and maybe to wander across down and see the grandkids. It could be the most plain survivor in the world. You have tan paint, a tan interior, a little 304, a bench seat, columns shift, and those just jaw dropping looks that AMC graced these cars with in the 1970s.
Every brand and model of car has its fans and its fervent supporters. We’ve just never run into someone who loves a 1974 AMC Matador so much that they’d shell out $11,000 for this one.
CL Find: Check out this oddly pristine survivor 1974 AMC Matador – Crazy clean!
Make a number 16 Mark Donahue Nascar tribute car out of it. Without Donahue and Wally Booth, AMC would have been swept under the rug, yet I still have a soft spot for these cars. Gotta root for the underdogs.
As an avowed AMC nut, I assure you these cars increase five-fold in cool-factor looks once the hideous bumpers are removed. Hell, most cars of this era look better w/o those stupid government mandated 5 MPH bumpers.
When I got married in 1983 my wife brought a hideous, faded red 1974 AMC Hornet with her. Man what a steaming pile that thing was. That thing was gone within months.
My dad was a test car driver for AMC! I loved most of the cars but my favorite was the Marlin!! All the cars back then had style! I believe there is more than 1 person who would pay that price. If just to own a piece of history. Even the Matador has great lines and style. Cars now have very little anything to look at. There just…shma!!