Matador
Machine
1971 from American Motors
You probably never have heard of one. Most people
haven't, even long time AMC fans. AMC's brilliant advertising department had a funny slogan
for the new Matador body style in 1971 with "The Nicest Car You've Never
Seen!" as the public was caught off guard by this new model, which replaced
the Rebel Series (1957-1970). They also had the full lineup for 1971 touting what
would you do?
Many parts were shared with Ambassador Series platform however, so tooling was kept at a minimum, which was important, as AMC was in financial trouble in 1970 for a
number of reasons, including a general strike that cost them production of
36,000 cars; slow selling 1970 models still on dealership lots (exceptions were
new Hornet Series and late intro April/1970
Gremlin) and the acquisition of
Jeep from Willys Corporation for $40 million, a lot of money in 1970. So now you
know why some models did not sell worth a crap in 1970 and 1971.
AMC had a great looking lineup, just struggling it
seemed as usual.
1970 was AMC's last year for the Rebel. Deciding to go out with a bang, a 'new AM Supercar' was introduced to lure people into the showrooms. American Motors was enjoying success with several racing programs, notable Trans Am, with Mark Donohue driving for Team Penske. So performance activities would hopefully draw many younger buyers onto lots, and into showrooms, which would translate into sales. I have a large number of AMC photos for sale, which shows a nice array of American Motors performance activities in the 60s/70s, click here. To see some great Nash, Rambler and AMC Dealerships, click here!
So how, or why, did a Matador Machine come into existence if the previous year, the Rebel Machine sold only 1936 units? It seems, that customers were still interested in a intermediate muscle car from AMC. So AMC offered a performance package called "Go Machine" for those who were willing to take them up on it.
The "Go-Machine" was a $373 option on Matador hardtops with the 360V8 and $461 with the 401V8; which included, 4V carb, dual exhausts, handling package, power discs, E60X15 Polyglas tires w/raised white letters, 15X7 styled steel wheels (Machine rims) and spacesaver spare. No scoop or stripe kit as seen in my original photo below. Remember, after the initial 1000 1970 Rebel Machines were built in white with the r/w/b strip kit, you could get a Machine in ANY regular production color, including the last year Big Bad colors. To check out a slew of Rebel Machines in red, white and blue and solid colors, click here.
To contact the Rebel Machine Registry, click
here.
There was 68 of these made according to some literature I have. Some put the
figure at 50, others, 42. Who cares.
It is one of the rarest
American Motors musclecars ever built.
Here is a photo I took of the Matador Machine
in the 1980s at a NAMDRA Nationals:
At the time, the vehicle was owned by longtime AMCer and vendor Pat Wnek who is
listed on my vendors list. He sold it to Dominic Silvestri, who sold it to Dan
??, who sold it to Brad Denning who has done a awesome job on it.
It is the real deal and this car is rather well known. As is it's travels! I
passed on this car for sale in 1990 for $2000. You can add a extra zero (or
more!) to that figure now after this car was on a rotisserie with a ground up
restoration. No, it is not the original color but that is not the point. The
point is that this car was saved. There is possibly another Matador Machine
in Colorado still in existence.
I would love to see a 1973 NASCAR Matador package, which
was available to AMC buyers who bought same 2 door body style in 1973, which was
the last year of this particular wonderful body. What a neat piece
of AMC history. John Rosa has some neat tidbits on his site about this car and
it's travels and restoration.
And THIS is the finished product:
Front DS angle;
Front end
; engine
bay showing Ram Air; and side view. Engine
bay,
a great low end front
angle, and the Matty's
trunk. Great job Brad!
This car is currently in the Fred Phillips AMC Collection in Canada. Fred owns a formidable collection of American Motors cars, many of them one of a kind like this Matador Machine. Also in his collection is the 1966 AMX, commonly called the Vignale AMX; the 1969 AMX II; a new addition besides the Matador Machine is the Bonanza SS/AMX many remember in the CHiPs episode with Ponch & Jon; he also owns the James Garner Baja 4X4 Hurst SC/Rambler.
This was the actual Ebay Auction in 2005 of the 1971 Matador Machine.
My 1972 Matador on Ebay: July 14th-21st, 2005
Well, on my way out to buy a 81 Eagle, (which is for sale) I stumbled across yet another AMC, a 1972 Matador w/ Go Machine package and what is unique about it is not only is it a factory Z coded 401/4barrel monster, but it was the first year American Motors hooked up the 360 and 401 engines with the new Chrysler Torqueflite 727, which is a indestructible trannie and any of you who have ever driven a AMC 72-74 401/727 can easily testify, you can chirp the gears at 70 miles per hour; and blister a set of tires off at a stoplight! Gone was the boat anchor Borg Warner M11-M12 used in 1971 if you had a 360 or 401. This took performance to a higher level.
Sold new at Vance & Sons AMC in Houston, Texas! I would later buy out this dealership's inventory. Many of my cars are/were from Vance & Sons, and to see many of their vehicles, showroom, engine repair bay, and other aspects of this neat dealership which had been around since 1912, click here, which is my AMC Dealerships Section of the website. Scroll down towards the bottom for the Vance & Sons Photos.
I am not sure whether the "Go Machine" package was offered in 1972 considering it didn't sell worth a crap in 1971 with only 68 made. Regardless, this is the only known Yuca Tan 72 Matador 401 known to exist in 2005. The car was heavily optioned, which is unusual. One must remember, American Motors was still heavily promoting their performance capabilities and had just won Trans Am in 1971, and 1972, and was now into.............................
NASCAR!
Click
here to see awesome photos of the NEW 1972 NASCAR
MATADOR!!
Speaking of this style NASCAR Matador, I have a longtime page on my own website here dedicated to Police & NASCAR vehicles, click here.
So I bought this extremely unusual car. However, it is sad that I will have to part company with a ultra rare vehicle with wonderful potential as I thin my collection in the summer of 2005.
This is the third AMC I have owned with this type of engine tag. I have always thought of it as a "Fleet" tag. Others call it a "Interceptor" tag, yet still others refer to it as a "Police" tag. As long as I have been in this AMC stuff, no one has ever been able to ID the tags. Very few AMC engines had them. All were 401 V8 4 barrel. I refer to them as "AMC Police Interceptor" tags, only because two of the three AMC's I have owned with them were ex police vehicles. Yet other say AMC Police Interceptors don't exist, yet there is more than enough literature out there to show otherwise. The "special engines" are referred to in the AMC 1972 publication of Performance American Style as "special blocks" that were "installed in 1970 Javelins to meet homologation requirements for SCCA Trans Am racing. They feature a beefy lower end with provisions for a Four Bolt Main. The bore is 4.08, but it can be over bored to a maximum of 4.187 because it has thicker walls than standard blocks."
However, upon referencing this number on the tag, it shows up as Group 1.002 Engine Assembly (Including cylinder block, pistons, rings, connecting rods, main bearings, crankshaft, camshaft, camshaft bearing, timing gears and timing chain) which is a 1972 401 PAKS CODE 23. Which does not explain why all three of these I have owned have been in 1971-72 models!
The options on my 1972 Matador 'Machine' include the following: (original prices from AMC shown)
401V8 four barrel $89.00
Torque Command Automatic (727 Torqflite) $305.00
Dual Exhausts $31.00
Heavy Duty Cooling System $16.00
All Season Air Conditioning $377.00
Center Armrest Cushion $54.00
Front Disc Brakes $50.00
Power Disc Brakes $81.00
AM/FM Multiplex Stereo $230.00
Power Steering $11.00
Electric Clock $17.00
Front Bucket Seats $136.00
15 inch styled 8 slot rims $136.00
Tinted Glass All Windows $42.00
Tinted Windshield $35.00
more to come.....
Some called the Matador the "Next Generation Machine" as it replaced
the long running Rebel Series for 1971. The press had some very positive
comments about the new Matador in 1971, as AMC incorporated the bumpers into the
vehicle's body. This body style was used from 1971 thru 1973.
If you did see something
like this in your rear view mirror, it best get outta the way as it
is either fixin to eat your lunch, or it was a cop! This is a passenger
side view of the Matador. People who like American Motors have always
liked to be "different". At a cruise night, not only would this
Matador command attention, but respect. A passenger
side front angle shot shows the nice stance. From the
rooftop, the sloping lines of this vehicle shows it's 67-70 Rebel
Heritage. This is a driver
side 1/4 angle view of this Matador. Of the 301 AMC vehicles I
have personally owned, this is the only second 71-73 Matador I have ever had. I
can see why AMC, Team Penske, and Mark Donohue liked this body
style.
Both 401 4 barrels, the 68 Rebel convertible "Machine" lines
up against the 72 Matador "Machine". Note the changes to
the front of both vehicles. The Rebel 'flat' front end' didn't change much from
1967 thru 1970. It was not until 1971 AMC incorporated the bumpers into the
design of the car, and auto writers noticed, although the buying public, for the
most part, didn't. I'm getting too old to crawl up on my roof and take
photos like this, but it was worth it anyhows. This is a roof
angle showing the body lines of the 72 Matador. A different
view showing interior of the 68 Rebel convertible "Machine"
parked next to the 72 Matador. This is a intimidiating angle of the 1972
Matador.
You know, in the 1980s, I changed my gauge
setup in my 68 Rebel convertible "Machine" to this 70 AMX
gauge setup. It is a bolt in, and
only changes you have to make is change the pins in your main wiring harness
plug. In other words, move them around. I wrote a article for AMO and NAMDRA
describing what goes where, it is really simple to do. The other thing you would
need is a 67 Rebel or Ambassador gauge overlay which was for round gauges.
However, since this 72 Matador already HAS round gauges, this would be really
simple to do! This is a angle
of the 68 Rebel's busy dash, only 823
last year 68 Rebel convertible's were made and AMC lost money on about every
one, especially this one with a staggering 38 options. To see more, visit build
sheets.
Enough of that, this shot shows my 68 Rebel convertible "Machine" 72
Matador "Machine" 68 Javelin under cover which I am fixing to take a
SawzAll to, and inside the garage is my 71 SC/360. Not shown here are a 68 AMX,
69 AMX, 71 Matador 2 door (yes, the one with 14,000 miles, the fellow is making
payments on it still); 72 Ambassador SSt station wagon, 74 Hornet Sportabout
wagon, 74 Bricklin w AMC 360V8, 81 Eagle, 82 Eagle and 88 Eagle. So
sort of crowded.
I recently added some brand new spanking 15 inch
tires to the Matador late April 2005. They have ZERO miles on them, and
those are the original 15 inch AMC Rally rims. that came with this booger.
Original 401 emblem is striking
against the Yuca Tan paint.
Neat shot of under the block showing casting.
This car has 56K miles according to the person I bought it from. This is another angle of the silver speedometer. The original seats reflect little usage; the front buckets are in mint shape, as is the rare center armrest, and the rear seats appear to have never been sat it.
This photo is of the gauges and rare AM/FM radio.
Original emissions sticker lets one know that this Matador ain't screwing around.
A photo of the original plastic door VIN sticker. Note no overspray, it appears this vehicle has the original 1972 Yuca Tan paint. While the roof, trunk and hood show peeling, this is common for Texas cars. Very unusual is that there is NO DATE on this decal, as American Motors always put the date on them when the car started rolling down the line. You can learn more of this in 'decoding your door tag'.
This is the original metal door trim tag. Interesting that this car appears to have been built in early 1971 production; which would be somewhere in late September 1971 thru October 1971. Production began on the 1972 AMC models on August 1st, 1971, and they appeared in dealer showrooms in mid September.
Formidable 401 V8 from American Motors driver side, and passenger side while it has been repainted, still shows the 401 4Barrel decal on the base, and a excellent original emissions air filter element decal too. The top is not original however, it is a shorty AMC lid, which was changed out when the owner decided to make the car functional Ram Air decades ago. This is a underside of the Ram Air opening and scoop. The scoop, is shown below, is new. The car had a Ford(?) type scoop on it from many years ago. The original Blackstone Radiator with AMC Part Number.
The car currently is not running, but turns over freely. It has a number of new parts, like the 15 inch tires mentioned, also points, plugs, rotor, condenser, also recently bought some NOS front bumper guards for it, a set of mint interior sail panels, a set of great looking 1972 tail lights! It also sports a brand new out of the box REBEL MACHINE SCOOP. I have a number of NOS AMC and used parts, that will go with this car, in the trunk, this is a driver side view, and passenger side view. Some were already installed, like the headlight doors, and scoop.
Sold NEW at Houston, Texas Vance & Sons AMC in Bellaire, Texas, a dealership I would later buy out their archives and many parts in the late 1980s.
The Matador's Vance & Sons bumper sticker!
I was asked by a interested party if I had found a Build Sheet in this vehicle. I did not remove the rear seat, nor the passenger side turtle back bucket, but did remove the driver side shell and found this original sheet. The gibberish on it I do not understand but it could be a seat/inspector for AMC in 1971/72 personal notes. You do find stuff like this in chalk, crayon, and sometimes paper behind seats and door panels, and under dash pads. It reads:
21A
Robert(?)
19-7
765
S5 (or 55)
DM
R.A.D. 3
This 1972 Matador will need to be gone thru, it has some rust in the trunk and
lower 1/4 panels, while floor pan is perfect. To me, while I realize everyone's
degree of difficulty and restoration is different from person to person, this to
me is a 2 year project. In other words, a complete, original car that needs
items mentioned here, which to me, is easy stuff. All glass, dash, interior
intact, will need carpet and those new plastic interior sail panels installed I
just bought. There is a small dent in lower part of the front driver side fender
and the vehicle will need a steering column, as the ignition switch is missing.
However, any 70-78 AMC Matador, Rebel; and Ambassador column will easily fit and
you can find one used for about $25. All the parts are easily obtainable from
Mike's Auto Salvage 505-443-3400 or several other people I know. It will need
the front valance, although someone might opt to make a NASCAR CLONE and forgo
that piece. Here is the #16
NASCAR MATADOR and the #61
NASCAR MATADOR.
The bottom line is that while I had big
intentions with this extremely rare car, I simply do NOT have the time right now
to dedicate to it and restore it how I want to properly, especially with Noah,
who is fixing to turn 4, and Jacob, who is 2. So in July 2005, I will
be listing it on www.ebay.com with
NO RESERVE.
This vehicle sold for $2600.
This is my 1971 Matador with 14,000 miles I finally sold on ebay for $2650.
At the Nationals
Side view.
Interior.
More
interior. Dash.
Engine.
Another
angle. Original
Bill from 1993 with 14,768 miles.
This
shows how LITTLE I drove the car from 1993 to 2006.
Yes 208 miles!
Original
Dealership Bill of Sale & ID. The buyer traded in a Rambler!
