Spirit arrived today!

[Buck27nz]

My Spirit arrived today. it was shipped to the local city about 40km away. We were going to tow it home. But I lost the tow car when filling up with gas so I ended up driving. At first the brakes stuck but after a time it freed up and just got better and better. I got some weird looks with the brakes smoking. Luckily I met no cops as I had no plates.
What a great car! it drives beautifully and has a great auto box. My tow car eventually found me and we got it home safe. I spent the day cleaning it and it started looking a whole lot better. It needs some serious rust work at the bottom of the screen (which is cracked) but apart from that theres little wrong with it apart from a rust hole in the hatch. The interior is great for a 27 year old car the body passable. Anyway its straight into the garage having been stored outside for the last few years. I'll find a screen first then get the work done.
'Loving the motor, I 've always liked sixes for their smoothness. Most of our big Fords (Falcons) and Holdens (GM) have 6's. V8s being consigned to luxury models. having such a large motor in such a small car is a rarity. We mostly drive Japanese cars 1600cc -2litre. I was surprised at the economy. the fuel gauge hardly moved. And the way the car shoots along the highway is pure pleasure with reassuring precision on the corners. (we have lots) for most of you with Javelins and AMXs the Spirit is probaly a little tame but driving one for the first time is delightful and the looks really start to grow on you. (I keep on having to duck into the garage for another gawk!) Besides I prefer cruising to road racing and the Spirit is a great Cruiser!
With it came the original bill of sale from Chicago, and a handbook and lots of other stuff including a ticket for failing to keep to the left (its a left hand drive car in a right hand drive country) The original owner imported it to New Zealand and drove it around. I am the 3rd owner. MY first prioity is to reregister it, then slowly get it up to a reasonable condition. Its great to have an American car and a sports coupe to boot. And this Spirit has a lot of character!

[Buck27nz]

Sorry forgot the picture:
http://www.amx-perience.com/AMCgalle...oto=531&cat=52

[Big Bad AMX]

Nice score Buck! It's always fun to bring a "new" car home. Glad you got it home okay, despite the bit of excitement you had. Thanks for posting the picture, keep us updated as you go along. The Spirits are good looking cars, especially with mags and spoilers like the GT, SX4 and AMX. Lots of potential there, or stock is nice too.

And the 258 is tried and true. They've been around a long time and are proven tough and economical. 25mpg is quite common. In 1980 they had 110hp or thereabouts, I believe the latest ones are over 200hp. So you can really have fun under the hood too.

You'll want to find a 1980 Technical Service Manual (TSM) for it. They're a must when it comes to working on them.


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