1975-1976 Pacer X v8 4-speed wanted

[mikeo]

I live in New England, so Pacers around here are extinct. My dad came home with one in 1980 and I thought it was the coolest thing ever. However I love V8 4-speed cars and would love to find one in good shape. I'm willing to travel to pick it up. Would prefer one from the south or midwest. The West coast is too far for me. I don't care about the color, but I would prefer a 75 or 76 with A/C. Hope to here from you soon.

[CoolPacer]

First off, the first year for the V-8 was in 78 and they didn't make many. Also, they never mated a 4 speed to the V-8 cars from the factory. Converting from an automatic to a manual is actually pretty easy (I did it on mine) so buying an auto car and converting it to a manual is going to be your best bet.

Do you simply prefer a 75 or 76 for the hood? Depending on how much work you wanted to put in, you could merge two cars to get the hood. Take a 75, 76, or 77 car and use a 78, 79, or 80 V8 subframe. While there are other suspension differences between a I-6 and V8 car, it would be your best way at getting a non-bulged v-8 car. I personally have to come to like the bulge,

[mikeo]

Well that goes to show how much I know about these things. Alright so if I want one that way I'm going to have to either do it myself or find one thats already done. Thankyou very much for your response. That car is awesome!

[CoolPacer]

Why thank you. Certainly keep your eyes open for one that was already converted. I've seen a few go on eBay because there are a lot of people out there that hate the bumped hood...you never know what you'll come by. Now, finding one that's also a 4 speed may be another problem. To get the car you want, you should expect to modify it. Or, just settle for a bumped hood and do the manual trans swap. If you get all the clutch linkage out of a junked manual Pacer, the swap is surprisingly easy.