Hot Rod magazine said: 'Since the Purple Pacer looks like it could have come in a little plastic package it's only fitting that it runs 17x-8-inch Hot Wheels-branded wheels by KMC'.
WOW! My Dad snagged NOS WHITE door panels on eBay for $200! Not before or since has he seen a pair of NOS door panels on eBay, in any color. It was sheer destiny!
For the second year in a row, the MoPacer wins 1st place at the O'Reilly World of Wheels Car Show in Shreveport, LA.
The MoPacer makes an appearance on 'My Classic Car' (from the Cruisin the Coast event)
Professional illustrator Andy VanDalsem's 'Car-icature' of Anna Beth's 'MoPacer'!
Place free racing parts classifieds on my Dad's web site. 'Still Too Slow'. Thanks.
Several automotive innovations that first appeared on the AMC Pacer are still used today (and are probably on your car!)
* Cab-forward design (engine partially underneath the windshield)
* Rain gutters (drip rails) hidden underneath the window frame of the door reduced wind noise and drag.
* Its small frontal area and round shape made it aerodynamically superior to most 'square' cars at the time. The Pacer's drag coefficient is only .32.
The MoPacer Story
Spring, 1995
I was born into a Pacer family. My Dad built his 10 second Pacer about 4 years before I was born, and he sold it 4 years after I was born. At the time, I didn't know that the rest of the world thought Pacers were strange. I liked my Dad's Pacer race car. He later regretted selling it, so as I was nearing driving age, he started looking for another one to be my first car and daily driver. Mom wasn't too keen on the idea of me driving a Pacer anywhere! But Dad insisted and bought one when I was 11 and another one when I was 12, but they were both not good enough to fix up. They say 'the third time's the charm' and it was true in our case because the Pacer that he found in 2005 was the one we were looking for; no roof rack, no vent windows, no brown interior, with disc brakes, A/C, and a genuine Pacer X. This 1976 Pacer X had been sitting in someone's backyard since 1987, just six miles from my Dad's transmission shop! And it belonged to a girl who used to work where I work now!
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This is how my Dad found the Pacer in 2005,
where it sat for 18 years! So sad!
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My Dad and I were going to just fix up this 1976 Pacer X for my first car, but Dad got carried away with it when he found out how easy it was to stroke the Jeep H.O. 4.0L engine. The 258 AMC crank and rods are a true bolt-in, which adds 1/2" of stroke and 33 cubic inches to make it a 4.5L (275ci). And better yet, the original Pacer 258ci motor mount brackets bolted perfectly on the 1995 Jeep 4.0L block.
It has a Crower Baja Beast camshaft, a ported H.O. head, a stainless header (w/header wrap), and 24# injectors.
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Dad also designed an adapter plate to fit a GM 700R4 overdrive transmission to the Jeep engine, and made the original Pacer shifter work with the overdrive. Believe it or not, we were able to use the original driveshaft since the 700R4 is the same length as the original 904 transmission. He combined the Jeep EFI harness with the Pacer harness and everything works, including the Jeep cruise control. He modified the Jeep plug-in cruise turn signal stalk by heating, flattening and drilling a hole in the end to mount in the original Pacer column. It has a Northern aluminum radiator with an 1800 CFM fan from a Pontiac Solstice (very quiet), and can sit for hours in traffic with the A/C blowing cold air (I know, from doing two Power Tours!). The car gets 27 MPG (w/87 octane) at 70 MPH with freezing A/C running, and it can cruise all day with the Pacer's 22 gallon gas tank!
May 2005. After sitting 18 years, it only took a little work to get it running!
Besides doing two Power Tours, we took it to Cruisin The Coast and won 'Most Interesting Car' (out of 2800 cars); we also took it to the Dallas Mopar Nationals and won 'Best AMC'; at the 2008 North Louisiana World of Wheels it won 'Late Conservative' and 'Rising Star'.
This summer we took the Pacer to Pensacola and Mom told Dad on the way home that the Pacer was more comfortable than her car (and she loves her 2006 Toyota 4-Runner!).
When we left town headed to Cleveland to start my first Power Tour (my Dad had already been a 'Long-Hauler for 3 tours), the Pacer had a mere 25 miles on it, and we now have 8600 miles on the car and nothing has broken or malfunctioned!
Before the '08 Power Tour, Dad installed a 2-way alarm w/power door locks, hatch release and remote start. It will even display the temperature inside the car on the remote!
Here are a few links to see more of my Purple Pacer X:
This is the MoPacer's 4.5L H.O. EFI Jeep Stroker Engine
Here is my Dad's Pacer race car that he built in 1987. Even at 3100 lbs, it ran a 10.80 @ 125 w/1.44 60 ft, foot-braked! He felt bad afterwards 'cause he gutted a rust-free, 9 year old Pacer just to build a race car.
My Dad's shop. Notice my Pacer in the bay. (it was still red)
wowwwwwwww look great you mopar!!!!! very very very good job anna!!!! nice pacer. 50000000000000000 stars 4 your amc.
checkout my wife's cobalt and my se-r
Posted by: xxxGTP
07/05/2009, 11:01am
For me the most beautiful AMC Pacer. 5 stars*****