One-Owner '71 AMC Hornet Survivor Has the Hot V8, Kicked Fords, Chevys in the Big-Blocks

The result was a two-door sedan that could have a Chevelle SS 396 crying for a rematch on the quarter-mile bout. If you dislike the association, replace Chevy’s muscle with Ford’s Fairlane with the 390, rated at over 325 hp (330 PS). The small Hornet brought the SC/360 to the gunfight – and when it was all over, turned around and did a headcount of the defeated.

That’s the story told by Ken Martin, a former American Motors Corporation employee who bought his special high-performance 1971 AMC Hornet SC/360 as his first car. Two details set him and his automobile apart from the already-rarefied owners’ club members. He had this car since it was new, making him one of the 784 lucky gearheads who got to buy one from the factory.

The man tells the story in the video below, and he is one of the last people to buy the special Hornet. A couple of days after he spec’d and sent in the order, in January 1971, AMC sent a note to its dealers informing them that the SC/360 was axed from the sales offer. (The Hornet would share the same fate in 1977, when the nameplate was dropped for good. Ten year later, American Motors Corporation would cease to exist).

As fate would have it, Ken’s car made it into metal – it was assembled in February of ’71 – and has been with its original owner ever since. The vehicles in this particular trim option were few and far between when new, let alone 52 years later. Lou Costabile, the vlogger who made this video, is at his first encounter with an SC/360 – and he’s seen and documented his fair share of rare American muscle.

Even Ken Martin admits to his car’s scarcity of peers: he has only seen nine (including the two he possessed, this Brilliant Green survivor, and a second one). Hats off to him and his appreciation for this rare American Motors machine. And to his parents, who made this Hornet a high-school graduation present for their son.

There’s a nice bit on this part, too: Ken’s mom and dad paid the base price of $2,663, and the grad had to cover the expenses for whatever options he wanted. It was all nice and sweet until they came across the ‘Transmission’ check box on the options list. The teenager ticked ‘four-speed manual,’ but his old man immediately denied his preference and slipped his son the three-speed automatic money.

In 2023, Ken admits that was a wise decision, but he also has some memories of how the de-armed Hornet out-paced some great names of the golden era of muscle cars. Two in particular come to his mind – the Chevelle SS and the Fairlane 390 I mentioned previously – and the three-speed Command-Shift gearbox didn’t disappoint him.

Ken was so confident in his trusted SC/360 that he even allowed his opponents to give him the hit. Even with the handicap, the hot Hornet recovered, and, by second gear, it was showing the other guy its SC/360-only red panel on the trunk lid uniting the taillights.

The small Hornet relied on its low body weight – 3,200 lbs/1.5 tons – and hard-punching engine to deliver the lethal blow. The 360 cubic inches of displacement (5.9 liters) produced 245 hp / 248 PS (in stock form when equipped with the single two-barrel carburetor) and 365 lb-ft / 495 Nm.

The optional $199 ‘Go Package’ – installed on Ken Martin’s Hornet – offered performance. A four-barrel carburetor, a functional Ram Air induction hood scoop (see it work In the video), dual exhausts, a tach, Polyglass tires, and a handling package were well worth the extra money.

Only 578 SC/360 Hornets came with the upgraded quadruple-throat carburetion that kicked the V8’s output to 285 hp (289 PS) and 390 lb-ft (529 Nm). Between August 1, 1970, and July 31, 1971, just 249 AMC Hornet SC/360 automatics were assembled.

The main character of our story has one more unique feature on it – literally: the air inlet – with its vacuum-actuated flapper in the upper innards of the hood – made its last appearance on a production vehicle from American Motors Corporation. Incidentally, the SC/360 was a one-year-only option that fell victim to emissions, insurance, and AMC’s troubled internal affairs.

The corporation didn’t invest much in marketing the automobile that was a direct competitor – some might say ‘threat’ – to Chrysler’s Plymouth Roadrunner and Dodge Dart. The only ad for the SC/360 was a one-page flyer – see it in the gallery – that didn’t do the car justice.

Out of the original production run of 784 SC/360 Hornets, 82 are documented to have survived to this day – in more or less good shape, which makes Ken Martin’s example a very precious survivor with 67537 miles / 108,667 kilometers on its record. Granted, the owner has added factory air conditioning to the car – and at a great price, I might add.

If ordered by a regular customer on the car’s build sheet, the A/C was a $399 option. Ken, having the luxury of working for AMC, sourced an original kit once the car went out of production and spent $75 on it – a quarter of the list price. That’s not a bargain; that’s a steal of a deal.

Another after-market feature of this SC/360 is the bronze stripe on the side: no factory Hornet came with any other stripe color except white. A friend of Ken’s offered to personalize this Hornet with some brass dust and clear lacquer. Also, the power steering and power brakes are not factory-installed on this Hornet. Still, they are perfectly correct, being outsourced from the other SC/360 Ken has owned over the years.