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8.2L V8 AMC Pacer for Sale on Craigslist

The AMC Pacer... 4.3 meters of automotive innovation. Too compact to be taken seriously by American buyers, too big to be considered a compact by Europeans. Ridiculed and laughed at by both. Until now.
8.2L V8 AMC Pacer for Sale on Craigslist 5 photos
Photo: Craigslist
1978 AMC Pacer 8.2L V81978 AMC Pacer 8.2L V81978 AMC Pacer 8.2L V81978 AMC Pacer 8.2L V8
It's been 35 years since the Pacer has gone out of production, and it's finally time for revenge, in the form of an awesome sleeper that surfaced on Craigslist. Owner Phil, who's selling the car for a mere $6,000 (no sarcasm here), took a slightly rusted 1978 Pacer and paired it with the biggest V8 that has ever entered mass production.

Yup. Phil took out the original 3.8-liter straight six and put an 8.2-liter Cadillac big block under the hood. There are no crazy horsepower numbers. Just 235. But with 522 Nm of torque, on a 1.3-ton car, Phil told Hot Rod Magazine he can "start off at idle in drive, and you’ll have to work your Mustang to death to try and keep up with me." Nobody's laughing at the fishbowl now, are they?!

The Pacer had a V8 engine option of its own starting in 1978, but that 5-liter only put out 125 hp and had 300 Nm of torque. It could reach 150 km/h. Maybe. The AMC Pacer on Craigslist has a claimed top speed of around 190 km/h. While going nearly 200 in a modern compact is not that big of a deal, nobody will expect it out of a modest Pacer.

Other than a Cadillac emblem that feels very out of place on this AMC's hood, there's nothing inconspicuous about the car's exterior. And the interior is pretty much original too, save for some gauges.

"It’s more of a shock-and-awe car. Now, there’s a lot of cars that can beat it, but they’ll have to come out of the hole with a 3,500–5,000 rpm," says Phil, who modified the car ten years ago. He's kept the original brakes, but used a V8 Pacer rear axle and tied the frame together with 2x2 box tubing.

The owner added that he's a real AMC nut. Since 1964, he's had over 200 of them!
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