Looking for Pacer info

[gracietwin]

Hi all ~

I'm an author looking for information on the Pacer, which is the car the heroine drives in my latest novel in progress. The Pacer she drives is a hand-me-down to her, and ivory green (from the Pacer color charts). I'm looking for answers to a few questions that I can't find the answers to through Google.

1) Did the Ivory Green Pacer come with wood paneling? If so, what's the part of the car called that the paneling on a Pacer is actually on? (Rocker panel? Quarter panel? etc...)

2) Were there any particular mechanical failings on a Pacer that are sorta common knowledge?

3) Why did AMC stop making the Pacer, and when?

If anyone is willing to contribute, I'd so appreciate it! If you'd like acknowledgement in my book, you can e-mail me your name and I'll be happy to list you in the "Acknowledgements" section - though it will be a year from this spring before the book is published.

Many thanks in advance!

[LLBUX]

1.I've never seen a Pacer sedan/coupe of any color that had the wood paneling. I have seen it only on the Pacer wagons that started in 1977. I have a 1977 yellow woodie wagon myself. I have many pix if it would help. I also have a '78 tan wagon and a '76 blue sedan/coupe.

2.The Pacer was originally designed to use a Wankel Rotary engine. Late in the development stage a problem arose and that engine plan was scrapped. The early Pacers had 232 CID engines. Later 258CID engines became standard. A few 304 V-8 cars were made throughout their run.

The Pacer was a very extreme car for the time. The styling was unlike any other car on the market. The large areas of glass made the cars difficult to keep cool and many of the plastic trim pieces and carpeting suffered from UV damage(sunlight). They came out just prior to the gas crunch of the late 70's. A 2.73 gear ratio rear end differential was used to help the car get better gas mileage. That resulted in sluggish performance when the accelerator was pushed down. The car was also very heavy for its size(just under 3000 pounds).

Interestingly, a Pacer uses parts from many cars. Engines and transmissions are primarily Chrysler, many other engine parts were from Ford and General Motors.

3.The Pacer was made from 1975 through 1980. Other, more fuel-efficient ,compact cars were being made. AMC was struggling financially. They did not have the huge network of dealers as GM, Ford and Chrysler. AMC finally closed their doors in about 1985/86.

I have quite a few pix and more info if you have more questions. I drive one of my Pacers regularly and am planning to make a custom 4WD pickup out of another.

Email me at [e-mail]

Good luck!

Arnie Rahe

[gracietwin]

Wow - this is very helpful, thank you so much! If it's OK I may e-mail you in a few days. The first girl in my sophomore class in high school to get her driver's license had a Pacer and my sister and I rode to school every day in it so I have fond memories.....

Many thanks!

[cadipacer]

In addition,, the some pacers had overdrive.
the V8 production nearly 3,500..
the weight well over 3000 my last 304 was 3400 lbs+ driver, gas and cargo..(coupe-wagons worse)
Motor Trend had a 5 page article on the influnce that
women played in the design,, height ( for hair, width too close, visability etc,)
The door bushing worn out early common problem...
and the rack & pinion usually leaked under the factory
warranty,then even after that,, however today they can be repaired with success.
The engine used were ALL AMC designed and built ...
the trasnm were of Chrysler origin, but had a bolt pattern to fit AMC
The carb on the V8s 2-bbl were Autolites ( ford)
the Dist on V8 could be Delco a division of GM..
However the AMC Jeep and Chevy and the Dodge 4X4 used a Dana rear/front axle assy... as well as Muncies & Warner 4-speeds shared by all makes ,, Companys did do this !!! even today more so....
AMC officially sold to Chrslyer in Aug on 87.
Keep a lookin,,, the info s out there!!