This is my 1981 AMC Concord LD. It has the AMC 258 Ci engine, the 3 speed Torqueflight transmission, and just over 77,000 miles on it. I'm in the process of balancing out how the restoration will flow, based on multiple factors: Weight reduction, engine modification, and staying as close to original design as possible.
The car belonged originally to a couple outside of Columbus, OH, who only used the vehicle to drive to and from Church on Sundays. Before 2003, another couple bought the car, and began restoring it, before the owner was scheduled to Iraq. The wife sold it off, effectively, at 69,000 miles, which was stated by the Ohio BMV as being "Accurate Mileage", despite only having a 5 digit odometer. I bought it from the last owner for a bit over $600, after fees and such. I also bought a 1982 Concord back in 2004, in which it met it's unfortunate end in a snowstorm after trying to free it from snow... Engine caught fire. There are so few of these cars left now days, everyone who sees them says "That's a really nice car", regardless of condition. They're also history now, being as they've been out of production for well over 20 years.
With all cars close to 30 years old, all of them share one thing in common: Unless maintained from new, they all require lots of care and attention, and in most cases also share in common the need for repairs for cars thirty years old. This car has required very little maintainence since I got it, but I expect to feel the frustration of restoring a vintage vehicle. All good things come to those who wait, so patience with it is key. :)
The start will be removing all excessive chrome plating, and making the car's outline a bit more streamlined. The steps after that will involve changing the hood for a fiberglass replacement, along with both front fenders. Next steps will include higher specification parts, such as better timing gears, a more agressive valvetrain and cam, slight porting and polishing on the intake, and maybe changing the gear ratio on the transmission to acheive slightly later shift points.
-Hiatus to updates, repairing the daily driver -
