Spectacular 1969 AMC AMX Restomod Rocks 600+ Horsepower and Porsche 911 Paint

But American Motors has quite a few automobiles and achievements to brag about. It turned Jeep into the brand we all love today and pioneered the compact and subcompact car segments. AMC also introduced many features long before the Big Three adopted them. The list is quite long and includes highlights like the tandem master cylinder, automatic shift indicator sequence, and dual reclining front seats.

And even though many of its vehicles didn't keep up with Ford, GM, and Chrysler products sales-wise, AMC left a few noteworthy automobiles behind. The AMX is one of them.

Introduced in February 1968, the AMX was rather short-lived, going into the history books after the 1970 model year. But it was a unique offering. While it looked like a muscle car, it had a two-seat layout. It was basically a Javelin with a shorter wheelbase and without rear seats. This configuration turned it into a competitor for the Chevrolet Corvette at a more affordable sticker.

AMC also used it to introduce many industry firsts, including a one-piece, injection molded dashboard, and a safer windshield. More importantly, two specially-prepped AMXs set no fewer than 106 world speed and endurance records.

Despite all this, the AMX wasn't popular with the muscle and sports car crowds. AMC sold only 19,134 units over three model years. For reference, Chevrolet delivered 84,344 Corvettes over the same period. Perhaps America wasn't ready for such a car. And sadly enough, the AMX doesn't get a lot of love as a classic either.

With most enthusiasts restoring more popular and valuable vehicles from the Big Three, many AMXs are still rotting away in junkyards today. Some, however, are still roaming the streets as survivors or restored gems. The 1969 example you see here is slightly different because it's a modernized restomod. But it's decidedly spectacular.

Even though it's not an over-the-top build design-wise, a quick peek is enough to notice this AMX is not your average 1969 rig. It rides on larger, custom five-spoke wheels and sports a special paint you won't find in the AMX's factory palette. This hue is called Aventurine Green Metallic, a color Porsche offered on the 911 in 2020. The owner says he fell in love with it at a dealership for the way it changes color (green or blueish-grey) depending on the light.

But the story is entirely different under the skin. Yes, this AMX still relies on its original 390-cubic-inch V8 block, but it's been bored .030 over to 407 cubic inches and stuffed with high-performance components. There's a solid lifter camshaft, an Indy intake, a Holley Sniper X-Flow EFI, and custom headers, just to name a few.

The power increase is impressive, considering there is no forced induction. The owner, Ed Ivaldi, says the unit generates 649 horsepower at the crank. He has yet to do a proper dyno run to find out how much oomph hits the rear wheels, but it's an impressive figure, nevertheless. The kind that would give a lot of modern muscle cars a run for their money.

All that oomph is routed to the wheels through a Tremec TKO-600 five-speed gearbox (yes, it has the right amount of pedals) and a narrowed 3.73 Ford rear end. The fully independent front suspension, 4-link rear suspension, and adjustable coil-over shocks help keep all the power in check when the pedal hits the metal.

This AMX isn't just about raw power. By replacing the original suspension, the stock wheels, and the hood (it has a fiberglass unit), Ed lowered the curb weight to under 2,900 pounds. That's a reduction of over 100 pounds compared to the stock 1969 AMX. And needless to say, it contributes to an impressive power-to-weight ratio.

So why an AMX of all the muscle cars from the golden era? Well, it's mainly because Ed was introduced to the AMX at an early age. His family ran a small AMC dealership in Canton, Massachusetts, and he got to see the AMX up close when it was launched in 1968. "As an apprentice mechanic, I got to appreciate the look and performance of these cars," he told me.

Ed has owned this AMX since 1976, so it's also a lengthy affair that lasted nearly 50 years as of 2024. He restored the car to factory specifications in the mid-1980s and drove it like that until the late 1990s. After some 15 years on the road, the AMX needed a makeover again. But Ed began raising a family, so life got in the way, and the AMC ended in storage.

Fortunately, while many classics with similar stories are forgotten for good, the AMX got its much-needed second chance in 2017. That's when Mr. Ivaldi retired and began spending time with the car again. He decided to rebuild it as a one-off restomod in what was supposed to be a father-son project with his oldest son.

Sadly, Ed's son passed away at the beginning of the project and at a very young age. Despite all this, Ed went ahead and completed the project in his son's honor. The AMX you see here saw daylight in 2023 after years of work, and I'm pretty sure Ed's son would have loved how it turned out.

A super clean restomod and a wolf in sheep's clothing performance-wise, Ed's AMX has already snatched numerous awards at local car shows. But more importantly, it's a great conversation starter, keeping the AMX flame alive, even for younger folks who don't know much about AMC.

"The interest from the public was great. I had many wonderful conversations with both old and young alike," he said, adding that he's planning to attend several US shows this year. If you're in the Petersburg, Virginia area, Ed's AMX will show up at the 2024 AMO National meeting on June 19-22. Meanwhile, you can have a closer look at this AMX restomod in the photo gallery above.