nukesec1

I had that gleam in my eye that someday my 14 year old son would pick an Olds for his first car. He loves mine, loves to help me detail it before shows, loves to ride in it, and even brags to his friends about how cool it is, and after looking at a few "first car" Olds prospects we were almost there, until......a co-worker of mine mentioned that he had the "perfect" car for a kid like my son that likes the old school steel. So we went and looked at "it." And I wasn't sure what "it" was until we got to my co-workers place because he would only tell me that "it" was a 2dr and had a V8/auto. And this guy knows I'm an Olds freak and he digs my low mileage Olds, so I was thinking he had an Olds to sell. Now, I'm not going to hide the fact that I was excited on the way there because I didn't know what "it" was going to be. Was "it" a '64 442? (OH PLEASE, GOD! PLEASE BE THAT!) Was "it" a '73 Split Bumper Z-28 (OH GOD, THAT WOULD BE AWESOME!) Was "it" a way cool Dodge or Plymouth something with a HEMI? (OH, MIGHTY MUSCLE CAR GOD. PLEASE BE
THAT!)
"IT" wasn't any of that (much to my disappointment). "It" ended up being a 1973 AMC Matador. My initial thought was "Oh, please, I hope my son doesn't like this abortion." WRONG! He loves it! The interior is crispy, minty, clean. It has 72K original miles. The body (quarters) needs "some" attention. It's going to be a fairly easy project. It has a 304 that runs very good. And even if the engine fails down the road I have an AMC 360 from a jeep project I had that has been bored and is ready to be assembled. Mostly, the price was right. It was free. My co-worker asked my son what he thought about it and his response was...."COOL!" My co-worker advised him that it was a deal. He could have it free of charge.
So if any of you Olds guys are closet AMC afficianados, PLEASE PM me as we will need some parts that it needs. The rear quarters can be fixed, but both front fenders need replacing. What have I gotten myself into?

rocketraider

You would be surprised how much AMC and Olds have in common, other than getting no respect from the "mainstream" car crowd. I think you'll grow to love your Smash Rambler.

Enjoy! http://www.cascaderamblers.org/commo...ersonid=&carid=

Don L/442

At least "it" wasn't a "Thing" or would that have been better?

442much

I feel for ya man. My youngest son wants a 66 Mustang for his first car. Where did I go wrong....

Cecil Anderson

Very right they both burn Petrol--Andy

nukesec1

I think "It" is growing on me. And the price was right. AMC made some mad cars back in the day. I'm being told that "It" could be made into a Rebel machine clone if I change the dog house. It's a cool car. I think it will be fun to work on.

Don L/442

Let the games begin. I'm sure he'll love "it"(First car)

My wife had a yellow AMC Hornet,I could spot her in traffic with no problem.

Jamesbo

Hey man,

I've allways wanted a Kubelwagen. I'd put sum Africa corp emblems one it.

Then we [you] could practice the ole 5 sec fan belt change drill I prefer to keep my fingers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPddNvjfuV8

Bluevista

I've always wanted one of those Stuka dive bomber with those high pitched whistles to terrorize people on the leading edges of the wings.

I would take a Schwimmwagen too, they're so cool.
Afrika Corps palm tree emblems would be neat-o but I don't know if they did much schwimming in Sahara Afrika?
My radio controlled German Tiger tank is desert camo. I have a Star Wars Sand People (Person?) figure manning the turret machine gun, seemed apropos.

70 cutlass s

You can look at it this way. That it's kind of cool first car. There always is a second car down the road and nothing says it's not going to be a Olds. He can have both if he wants.

WhatIf

The 73 Matadors aren't THAT bad, at least it wasn't the egg-shaped 74 Matador model with those gargantuan headlights!

A kid's first car......if you tell a child that he can finally have a dog, and you go to the humane society to pick one out, he's going to fall in love with the first one he sees, even if it's a poodle/rottweiler mix that someone happened to be walking outside!

When you said it was time for him to buy a car, his excitement of getting his very own wheels, well, it could have been a purple 1979 Le Car for he cared, he'll fall in love with it. Think back to the moment when your parents said you could buy a car! The first one you could afford was THE one, you fell in love with it. It meant freedom. I was lucky, I got my dad's 65 442 for a first car, but if that wasn't there, I would have accepted anything. But it got me into Oldsmobiles.

Is this Matador a 2-door? Here's an idea, show him a picture of Dave Marcis's red/white/blue 1973 NASCAR Matador, and paint it like that! Now THAT would be excellentl!!!

gearhead1218

You definately taught your kid well. He chose an American classic as opposed to a Honda.

WhatIf

Ok, if it's a 2-door, go for a NASCAR look:





Or if it's a 4-door Matador, how about an Adam-12 paint scheme?

citcapp

A 1973 yellow with a tan top was the second new car i bought my wife. Her step dad was a salesman at the AMC dealership. It was a great car with plenty of snap with the 304 once I installed a good cam. Everyone will ask him what it is.

OLD SKL 69

x2 Hope I'm that lucky too

1969w3155

Well, it's probably too late for a DNA sample...so your stuck

W-30 Dan

This is exactly what I was thinking. Good job!
My son tells me that he wants a 4X4 Chevy truck as his first.
My first car was a nice 71 Cutlass S with a blown engine.

nukesec1

lol!

nukesec1

In all honesty. "It" is a clean, low mileage car that needs a little rust repair, with enough engine to not hurt himself. He wants it to look like the attached pic. And I must say, that "that" is cool! And it will look good in the stable next to my Olds. Two 1973 American Made cars side by side.

Jaybird

I had a 1974 Gremlin X with the Levis interior. It was the first car I bought. I ordered it from the dealer. It had a 304 CI V8 with a 3 speed on the floor. I paid $4,000.00 CDN for it. A woman friend of mine had a 1973 and I liked hers so I ordered mine. Hers came with a white stripe and a blue interior. My 74 came with a blue stripe and a blue interior. I was a little bummed. I wanted a white stripe. The dealer said he could switch the stripe for $125.00. No thanks!

mugzilla

I want one with a go pack ...

mugzilla

401s' are nice ...

mugzilla

73 with wind wings ...

nice ...

Bluevista

You don't get something for nothing so be prepared to spend something for nothing.

It has a good interior, what more could you want?
A that age you got the first car "beer goggles" on and anything looks good, then you wake up in the morning next to a Rambler.

The Stickman

Not so bad if you ask me.





But I rather like the this one better.

BIGJERR

And you think Olds gets no love.......LOL my 1st car was a 74 Ford Torino.........I beat that car and it never let me down........If your son likes it you have to roll with it! Good luck!

toro68

That is true, (during the 1980s my family had a 1980 Eagle and Toronados (1968 and a '73) but as Rocketradier knows, MArch of 1995 my relatioship AMC was over! The rear axle broke on my 1983 AMC Eagle wagon, it cost me over $650, and I sold the wagon, in March of 1997 for $500.
Remeber all AMC used O style rear ends, even up to their last days in 1987/88.

agtw31

take it to that knucklehead that appraised your cutlass for 15k.

i bet he appraises it for 10k.