Amc pacer rotary engine

Amc pacer rotary engine. AMC Pacer was originally designed to get GM’s rotary engine. Even a bump in power in 1976 and the addition of an optional 5. Despite the complications, I think the Pacer was better off with AMC’s sixes. That’s why all these cars have the piston engines buried in the back of the firewall. AMC had made a deal with GM for the GM RCE rotary to be used in the Pacer. Therefore, American Motors's existing 258 and 232 cu in (4. Engine/drivetrain: 232 or 258 cubic inch overhead valve inline 6, three-speed automatic, RWD. 150 hp 124 lb-ft torque 255 lbs. As I recall the power rack was made by GM/Saginaw but was never used in any GM vehicle, or anything else but the Pacer for that matter. This forced the engineers to put plugs 5 and 6 under the windshield. They fit, barely, but it was not what the Pacer was designed for. The AMC Pacer D/L and Limited models had relatively lavish interiors with plush vinyl or cloth/vinyl bucket seats. Believing that the rotary was the power source of the future, AMC first acquired a licence to build its own, then arranged a supply deal with General Jun 19, 2019 · The Pacer was originally going to have a rotary engine that GM was developing at the time. Jan 27, 2020 · Making matters worse, the Pacer was originally supposed to utilize a GM-supplied Wankel rotary engine, but late in the car's development, GM canceled the engine and AMC was forced to shoehorn an inline-six under the hood. Instead, the Pacer got either a 4. AMC Pacer 1975 to 1980 the car was designed for a Wankel rotary engine. In 1973, AMC signed a licensing agreement with Curtiss-Wright to build Wankels for cars Mar 31, 2022 · As a result, AMC used its tried-and-true 3. When that program was scratched AMC had to stuff the 232 and 258 cid I6 units into the Pacer. When GM bailed on building those rotaries, AMC stormed ahead with the Pacer, shoehorning its venerable OHV six-cylinder engine into an engine bay originally intended for a far more Apr 8, 2008 · AMC engineers built a few test mules with various non-GM rotary engines, but AMC was unable to find one that was both suitable and affordable. Feb 19, 2011 · Welcome! Log into your account. In 1978 a 304 cubic-inch V8 could be added to the Pacer. AMC Pacer: The American Motors Corporation, known as AMC, was planning Originally, the Pacer was intended to house a Wankel rotary engine, but due to fuel economy concerns, AMC opted for a more traditional engine. Sep 1, 2024 · A pop icon due to its appearance in the '90s comedy flick Wayne's World, what many don’t know is that the Pacer was initially designed to be powered by a rotary engine. Dec 25, 2019 · On February 7, 1973, AMC licensed the building of rotary engines with 80-200 hp from Curtiss-Wright (themselves licensees of NSU-Wankel, Germany), for $1. Instead of a Wankel rotary, it made Current value for 1975 AMC PACER collector cars. This did, however, decrease the fuel economy. Sep 22, 2018 · While rough examples can still be picked up for $2,500 or less, today’s average (#3) Pacer value hovers around $5,500. GM dropped the rotary. AMC was late to the V8-in-a-small-car party. AMC even purchased a production license from NSU, which had already launched the futuristic Ro 80, but they had problems incorporating the engine in the process and were forced to fit the most compact American car out there with engines Amc pacer rotary engine. GM’s rotary engine put out 150HP, but only 125lb-ft of torque (which is what actually moves the car). This left the Pacer without an engine, and while a replacement was quickly found, this was in the form of AMC’s existing straight-6 engine and transmission, necessitating rear wheel drive. This intruded quite far back into the passenger compartment, making the front seat impractical for more than two passengers. This would have made the Pacer wildly different to drive, but instead, it got a pair of straight-six engines that weren't overly fuel-efficient nor very powerful. The Pacer is widely regarded as one of the oddest mainstream cars of the 1970s. Power was sent to the rear wheels through a 3-speed automatic transmission. 5 million. The origins of the Pacer was the Amigo concept that Teague began working on in 1971, to create a truly space efficient subcompact urban car, one that was a bit wider than the typical European or Japanese design, to appeal to Americans. The 1975 AMC Pacer was designed to utilize GM's new rotary engine, however AMC was forced to market the car with an inline six engine. Mar 19, 2009 · The 1975-1980 AMC Pacer isn't beautiful. New. The reason that AMC didn't use the GM engines is because GM canceled the program abruptly. When GM cancelled the rotary, AMC had to shoe horn their 6 cyl into it. [149] [150] American Motors designed the unique Pacer around the engine. The Pacer was launched by AMC to an unsuspecting American public in the spring of 1975. your username. Add: 258-110hp (6cyl-1V) NC: Air conditioning: 10%: Levi's The styling of the Pacer was kind of hip in its time. It had a roomy interior and a unique appearance with a short hood and lots of glass. The design is still considered Jan 20, 2016 · I worked for AMC/Jeep in the 70s and 80s and was closely acquainted with the Pacer from birth through its last gasp. 5 days ago · Over time, it would replace piston engines in all AMC and Jeep vehicles. The rotary was also supposed to go into the Chevy Monza which also came out in 1975. This engine's peak output was 110 hp at 3500 rpm and 195 lb-ft of torque at 2000 rpm. Find AMC Pacer Classics for sale by classic car dealers and private sellers near you Filters Sort Sort Results By Relevance Distance: Nearest First Price: Low-to-High Price: High-to-Low List Date: New to Old List Date: Old to New Year: Low-to-High Year: High-to-Low Mileage: Low-to-High Mileage: High-to-Low. And the 1978 RX7 used the 12A, only 100 hp at the time. Rotary Turbo. Mileage. Apr 7, 2024 · A bit of clarification: The production Pacer didn’t gain 1000lbs because the GM rotary engine wasn’t available. See full list on drivingline. Aug 2, 2023 · The Pacer, which was designed for a Wankel rotary engine that never came, ended up having the robust-but-kinda-thirsty AMC inline-6 engine shoehorned in, making the two rearmost spark plugs less accessible than atonal music. Unlike many larger carmakers, AMC couldn't invest in developing its own rotary based on NSU's license, so instead, its executives inked a deal to purchase GM's RCE and, in the meantime, designed an entirely new front-wheel-drive car around that rotary. The valuation experts at Hagerty. The fuel May 19, 2022 · For years, AMC Pacers have suffered the brickbats and ignominy that only come with being a little too different, the marketplace having long ago decided which side of the intersection of daring and dopey the Pacer parked on. With the Arab Oil Embargo of 1973, General Motors aborted the Wankel rotary engine around which the Pacer had been designed, as its fuel consumption exceeded that of conventional engines with similar power. AMC still expressed hope for a rotary engine. At the same time AMC was advertising the Pacer as the first wide small car, AMC also tried to tell people that the Pacer was really an alternative to conventional domestic intermediates. com Dec 10, 2008 · After GM cancelled the Wankel rotary engine project because it couldn’t get good fuel mileage out of rotary engines, AMC had to squeeze its own 232-cid OHV inline six-cylinder engines under the short Pacer hood by pushing the engine back into the firewall. The Pacer was originally made for a small Wankel rotary engine, but it was later changed to use a heavy 232 CID inline six. Feb 16, 2023 · AMC designed the Pacer around its powertrain. A/C blows cold, radio, heat, defrost, windows, all work. Merc even played around with the idea of a diesel rotary engine. They had planned to replace the GM engine by their own design some time later. Brand new old stock (NOS) front glass windshield just installed! Apr 11, 2017 · AMC simply stuffed in the only engine they had that would fit, the ageing 4. This combined with a heavy-for-its-size chassis, provides a small car with only modest fuel economy. 0-liter V-8 in ’78 weren’t enough to make the Pacer a sales winner. GM scrapped the project, so that left AMC scrambling to fit an alternative. The company was brokering a deal with General Motors (GM) to provide a high-volume rotary engine. [151] Both GM and AMC confirmed the relationship would be beneficial in marketing the new engine, with AMC claiming that the GM rotary achieved good fuel economy. Over time, it would replace piston engines in all AMC and Jeep vehicles. May 20, 2024 · 1978 AMC Pacer Wagon – $2,850. Increase font size Decrease font size Amc pacer rotary engine Mar 25, 2023 · The Pacer was actually initially designed with a rotary engine in mind. It just hasn't aged well. Apr 10, 2024 · Unfortunately, when GM pulled the plug on rotary engine development (AMC planned to buy rotary engines from GM for the Pacer), AMC was stuck using its venerable 232 cu in straight-six that initially was too long to fit in the Pacer’s design. Filters Sort Rotary Engine. Sep 24, 2018 · Roy Chapin, AMC’s CEO, said it seemed like everyone who wanted a Pacer bought one in the first six months. GM's cancellation of the rotary engine just as it was about to enter production put a monkey wrench in AMC's plans, and forced the last-minute redesign of the engine compartment to take the company long-in-the-tooth inline six. Sep 7, 2023 · Chevrolet planned a Corvette with a mid-engined rotary and the AMC Pacer, relying on GM to supply a rotary engine, had to have the AMC inline-6 crammed under the hood at the last minute when GM Nov 2, 2022 · Of course since the GM rotary engine was a no-show, the Pacer wound up with much more weight over the front wheels than originally planned. 4-liter engine produced 350 hp. AMC originally designed the car for a rotary engine that General Motors was developing Jan 3, 2023 · With the first fuel crunch still in everyone’s collective memory, small car buyers in 1975-76 expected superior fuel economy, and the Pacer did not deliver. Hartford and Lund wrote that the Pacer was rumored to originally have been designed for a rotary engine supplied by GM. About a year before the Pacer’s release GM pulled the plug on the development of its rotary engine, right before it was ready for production. 8-liter straight-six. Mazda tried putting a rotary into a Holden Premier ( google Mazda Roadpacer) Gutless was being kind . Jun 30, 2023 · A brief aside, the rotary engine is a far different design from your typical four-part Otto Cycle internal combustion engine with its cylinder and piston moving up and down (or side-to-side in a boxer engine). Sadly, the Pacer's performance was hampered by the car's weight: 3005 lbs! In an effort to stimulate sales and to improve performance, AMC outfitted the Pacer with a High Output 258 cubic-inch six-cylinder engine in 1976. The 4. This decision further solidified the Pacer’s focus on being a production car for everyday drivers rather than a racing machine. The Chevy Monza, Buick Skylark and the Oldsmobile Starfire was planned to get this engine as well. However, AMC never managed to fit a Wankel rotary engine into the Pacer. In the early 1970s, AMC The AMC Gremlin (also American Motors Gremlin) [1] is a subcompact automobile introduced in 1970, manufactured and marketed in a single, two-door body style (1970–1978) by American Motors Corporation (AMC), as well as in Mexico (1974–1983) by AMC's Vehículos Automotores Mexicanos (VAM) subsidiary. So the solution was to stop pretending, like the The General Motors' abandonment of the rotary engine affected American Motors, who had an agreement to purchase rotary power plants from General Motors. Yup; there was no way AMC could tool up to build a genuine compact car, like the Vega and Pinto. And that’s sad, because the Pacer was also the last all-new car designed and built by AMC. In 1971, scrappy little AMC was faced with a dilemma: how to capture buyers looking to downsize, when they were incapable of actually building a truly downsized car. Dec 3, 2019 · Under the hood, the original design specified a lightweight Wankel rotary engine, but development complications ultimately led to an overweight, low-output six-cylinder engine in production models. Originally designed for GM's aborted rotary engine. In 1973, AMC signed a licensing agreement with Curtiss-Wright to build Wankels for cars and Jeep-type vehicles. AMC’s 232 put out 100HP and 185lb-ft of torque, and was still a bit weak for the heavy Pacer. I believe it was originally to have used GM rotary engine along with Endura bumpers. The engine got cancelled and AMC has to stuff in their straight six engine. The airy greenhouse, the long doors, the last-minute change from GM’s aborted rotary engine to an inline-six… Apr 25, 2024 · Another innovation that didn't make it from the designers' blueprints to production was, surprisingly, a Wankel rotary engine. Feb 22, 2011 · The Pacer is the poster child of how questionable ideas and good intentions go awry. Not only did this larger, heavier engine negatively affect fuel economy, it was also harder to work on. It was originally designed for a rotary engine (supposedly from GM). 2 straight six, set well back in the bulkhead, to get the Pacer launched, then soon after offered a V8 option that Oct 28, 2014 · 1. [152] Dec 23, 2023 · The American Motors Pacer was advertised as the "first wide small car" in 1975. AMC planned to power the Pacer with a compact Wankel rotary engine supplied by General Motors, but when the GM program was suddenly canceled, the company adapted its trusty 232 CID inline six to the conventional rear-drive powertrain. Nov 28, 2023 · Kudos to Michelle for the GM rotary reference. your password May 4, 2024 · I spotted this one in October, 2023—it was for sale in Boise, Idaho. When the General canceled that program, AMC had to scramble to stuff its existing heavy straight-sixes into Pacer’s smallish engine bay. If this were the case, the four plugs would have been easy to access. It would have seemed odder still if it had been sold with a rotary engine, as AMC originally intended. It's definitely different, though, and people notice it. Also, they were originally designed around a (very compact) rotary engine that AMC had planned to source from GM. Those specs were considerably better than the 13A put into the RX-3. As the ad relayed, “1980 AMC Pacer Wagon · DL · Wagon · Driven 27,900 miles Very nice original survivor 1980 AMC Pacer DL Wagon. Jan 11, 2014 · The Pacer was originally designed to be powered by a rotary engine that AMC was going to build itself, licensed by Curtiss-Wright which owned the rights in the United States. The AMC Pacer is a rear wheel drive road car, with its powerplant placed in the front, and a 3 door hatchback bodyshell. Jun 6, 2019 · Adding to the offbeat appearance was an extremely short hood. AMC Pacer: The Pacer was supposed to get a GM Wankel rotary engine. May 27, 2019 · The Pacer was an answer to a question no one asked. That’s most likely why they were front-heavy & caused premature wear on the steering & suspension parts. The Pacer design didn’t have room for the transmission tunnel required, but AMC couldn’t afford the time or money to completely redesign. The goofy proportions allowed for interior space found only in larger vehicles. Even though the Apr 3, 2023 · The most visible evidence of Cole’s infatuation with the rotary were the two show cars branded as Corvettes – the mid-engine (Porsche 914-based) two-rotor XP-897 GT and the aluminum-intensive four-rotor XP-895 – though Cole also looked into other applications for the so-called GM Rotary Combustion Engine, including a small two-rotor front 2. When building such a novel engine themselves proved to be too costly, AMC decided to buy the Wankel rotary that General Motors was itself developing. 2-liter or 3. Mar 26, 2014 · Given the less than stellar torque of the rotary engine ( chookcooker to us Aussies) a rotary Pacer is going to be a S-L-U-G. Regardless, in the end, the Pacer failed to sell as well it was supposed to. But thanks to emissions problems, the Pacer would get the regular AMC straight six. AMC Pacer. Mar 24, 2020 · One area where AMC made a big mistake with the Pacer was AMC had entered into an agreement with GM in the early 1970s to use GM’s state-of-the-art compact rotary engine in the upcoming Pacer. Perhaps that’s a good thing given the problems that faced rotary engines. Here's another fun fact – during the design phase, there were plans to fit the car with a rotary engine, which was then considered the motor of the future. However, the engine was unproven, and GM never built it after the 1973 oil embargo. Sep 23, 2018 · Too, the Pacer had been planned around a lighter, more powerful GM-built Wankel rotary engine. In total, 280,000 examples of the AMC Pacer were built. The Pacer was made possible by a $60 million investment and some unusual design choices. Feb 19, 2024 · I recall reading that the Pacer was designed to use a GM Wankel rotary engine under development at that time. Find AMC Pacer Classics for sale by classic car dealers and private sellers near you. Condition. Jan 13, 2004 · The Pacer was originally to have the compact Wankel rotary engine under its sloping hood, but when development problems prevented that, AMC used its long, overhead-valve, inline six. Apr 4, 2012 · The Pacer Is Launched. The most visible evidence of Cole's infatuation with the rotary were the two show cars branded as Corvettes - the mid-engine (Porsche 914-based) two-rotor XP-897 GT and the aluminum-intensive four-rotor XP-895 - though Cole also looked into other applications for the so-called GM Rotary Combustion Engine, including a small two-rotor front-wheel Aug 16, 2022 · According to reports, its 2. 2 and 3. Into a sea of large, square and wallowy cars, they floated a design so cutting edge it took the breath away: a small car that was wider than it was tall—two feet wider, in fact—with a huge wrap-around, three-piece rear window that gave it the appearance of a spaceship. com note that the 1976 “AMC Patriot Edition” Pacer ’76 Bicentennial model–a cosmetic stripe kit–adds a surprising 20 percent to the standard Pacer’s value from that year. This inline-six unit wasn’t exactly on the light or small side. 2 litre engine is a naturally aspirated, overhead valve, 6 cylinder that produces 110 bhp (112 PS/82 kW) of power at 3500 rpm, and maximum torque of 265 N·m (195 lb·ft/27 kgm) at 2000 rpm. Instead, an AMC six-cylinder engine was thrust into the Pacer. Initially, the car was designed to have a Wankel rotary engine. Also why the back of the engine is so far up under Apr 8, 2024 · And by the time the recaP, oops, Pacer, debuted…AMC’s stiffnecked management, which had already dismissed the Kaiser-former-Buick engine as “rough as a cob”…had cut a deal to sell it BACK to GM. The center console was optional. By 1974, AMC had decided to purchase the General Motors (GM) rotary instead of building an engine in-house. A rotary engine uses a triangular “apex” rotating inside an oval chamber to compress its air-fuel mixture. Only 102 ft pounds of torque & 130 HP to move near 3500 lbs of car. Which only shows to go ya…even in those benighted days, GM’s management was sharper than 1970s AMC leadership. 8 L) AMC Straight-6 engines were used in the Pacer instead. I think the Endura bumpers never made it due to cost considerations. That had the Buick V-6 that GM bought back from AMC a few years before. Used. [10] Jan 17, 2020 · The AMC Pacer had a star-crossed history as a space-efficient car, seemingly from the future, that was supposed to run on a GM-supplied Wankel-type rotary engine. Apr 3, 2023 · AMC Pacer Like the rest of the automotive industry in the late Sixties and early Seventies, American Motors wanted in on that rotary action. Aug 3, 2024 · The Pacer-based show car had far greater room and four-wheel-drive capability combined with an unusually aerodynamic shape (Appel, 2021). emep zoit skrj rygvgeft nvdmj qxhj ichxzkcp acs jsvbjh xyhdho