You have all seen this spot before. Some cars leave, like the ’72 Colt, and new orphans arrive. I leave the base every Saturday through this entrance/exit and I never know what I might find on any given week. Well, here we have two new orphans to view.
The fellow who finds these cars is named Randall and he is a certified car nut. He doesn’t care what it is or how bad a shape it is in. How he finds these cars I’m not sure since they aren’t on Craigslist, that I know. When I turned the corner I saw these two, he was crouching in front of the Pacer changing the license plates. He was taking off the Cadillac plates and putting back on the Pacer plates. The Pacer had just arrived moments before me on a AAA flatbed, and he changed the plates in order to use his AAA membership services. Shush, now.
I stopped and yelled out my window: WTH did you find this? He looked up, saw me, and jumped up and started to immediately tell me about the cars. I also noticed a woman watching him, so I don’t know if that is his wife or girlfriend, as Randall is 43 or 44. I did ask quietly off to the side and out of sight, whereupon he shrugged his shoulders about knowing her. I said fine, as I just wanted to know if she was his wife and what she thinks of all this. I did tell him that if he was dating her, she now probably thinks he’s a little nuts, although she seemed to get into it while we bantered. On to the two cars.
First up: A 1982 Datsun Maxima diesel wagon with 140,000 miles on it. Randall was all excited, telling me it was the first talking car, all about the electronics inside, and the original Datsun wheel covers in the back. He wants to get it running no doubt to eventually sell. He picks these cars up super cheap, does some work, and then sells for a small profit. He drives the brown Dodge van from previous pictures. Oh, the Maxima has a current registration as smog wasn’t needed, thanks to being a diesel.
It had those typical velour seats and as Randall described it a suede headliner.
Now onto the Pacer. I noticed the plates and asked if this was a ’76 Pacer based on the plates. Randall looked over at his companion and told her that I know my plates, and tells me I am right. He found the car up in Sebastopol in Sonoma County. Close to the Pacific but somewhat protected.
Now I haven’t seen a Pacer since the ’70s, and then rarely even then in the Bay Area. Randall was a little bummed as the PO used a drill to remove a perfect door cover to try to fix the lock. Nonetheless, he was still thrilled at his find, as he said he takes chances on cars everybody else ignores for one reason or another. The reason is that they are mainly mechanical nightmares for many. As you can see, he already cleaned up the tires once he got it down and before changing the plates back.
I don’t know about you but I think sitting in the back seat, with those windows, would feel a little strange, like being in a goldfish bowl.
Oh, this next year should be interesting as Randall’s used car lot cycles through whatever he finds. He did recently put the green Dodge truck on Craigslist but lamented to me that everyone who called was young and all wanted to “bro” with him, so to speak. Say “Bro” to me and you’ll get this crosseyed look from me. So I told him: You are an adult man but you get as excited as a teenager about the cars.
Related:
CC 1982 Datsun/Nissan Maxima Diesel Wagon – Bitching Betty PN
Love the Pacer, but what about the high top Maxi Van in the back of the lead pic?
I worked on a truck maintenance crew for a while back in my early 20’s, we had one similar that we kept all of our tools and spares in. I would love to have one as a camper…
I can honestly say that I loved Pacers before it was ironic and cool to do so (i.e. “Waynes World”).
I understand that all the ample glass area on the Pacer may make passengers feel like they’re on display (in a fishbowl), but how does all this added visual exposure differ from, say, a Jeep Wrangler? I’ve ridden in a two-door Wrangler both with the top up and down, and felt like any other vehicle I / we passed could see everything on the inside. I didn’t find it particularly objectionable. It just was what it was.
I love the Pacer but could never own one. I drove one briefly in the 80s and the huge plastic door panel lip that went 3 or 4 inches above the sill level (to match the lowered window which left 3 or 4 inches of glass above the sill) was a major irritant to me. I am a “left arm resting on the door sill” guy and the Pacer made that uncomfortable. Too bad.
The Mrs. and I recently re-watched the 1970s movie Oh God. Don’t ask me why. It was as much of a letdown as it was in the 70s, but for two things – George Burns and the Pacer with the white vinyl interior.
I really like the Maxima, though I could do without the talking.
I saw that movie in the theater when it originally debuted. Having been raised on a steady diet of Quinn Martin and Aaron Spelling television shows, which used Ford Motor Company products, the use of the Pacer immediately jumped out at me. It was a D/L wagon, if I recall correctly.
By the time the movie premiered, the 1978 Pacers, with their restyled grille and hood (which could accommodate the newly optional V-8), were on the market. That new hood ruined the looks of the car. Our local AMC-Pontiac dealer had a loaded dark green metallic 1978 wagon that sat on the lot for months.
My first job (two years later) was as a dishwasher at a local restaurant. One of my fellow dishwashers was the son of the family that bought that Pacer. He loved that car!
AMC raised the interior door panels because the side windows did not fully lower into the doors. AMC tried to pass of that raised ledge as a built-in grip to make closing the (massive) doors easier.
Based on the appearance of the cars here, I’m guessing they were rescued from a junkyard complete and runs row.
@ Joseph Dennis, I too loved the pacer as a kid in the 80s before it got its Wayne’s world ironic revival. It looked jetsonian in a time when everything else was enormous, bloated, had weird curves like most of the fords, or cheap plastic and tin atomic insect monstrosities. If I had a lot of money, I’d like to have a pacer. I’m a little surprised that the car is cited as mechanically difficult to work on; amc cars were basically.made out of cast iron and the same technology as a sledgehammer. I’m sure body/interior parts may be difficult but most of the mechanicals were bought from other manufacturers as well.
If I recall correctly, the Pacer’s six-cylinder engines were a tight fit in the engine bay, and at least one of the cylinders was located under the windshield.
First question, what’s the story on the Cadillac? I remember those Maxima diesels. Years ago I was at the big Datsun show in Canby Oregon, Datsun driving Canby fun.A guy brought an early Z with the diesel swapped in. It was interesting, if nothing else.
When the cars started to show up in late spring the Cadillac and a Mark IV were the first cars there. The Mark IV was sold off as was a Suburban and the Colt so far. There was a Subaru Brat for just under two weeks and that has disappeared. The Dodge truck I mentioned may also have been sold as it is off Craigslist now. For the story on the Cadillac I’d have to ask the next time I see him.
CC-in-scale has a JDM Bluebird sedan version of that Maxima wagon, but more to the point here’s a Pacer. Two in fact; but they have the later ugly nose.
I don’t have pics yet but I kitbashed the reissued AMT ’77 wagon and MPC ’78 coupe to make a coupe with the original styling and a wagon with the late hood.
The Maxima with “bitching Betty” is cool but I would prefer a stick. Now the Pacer and the Lifestyle Dodge would be quite welcome in my driveway.
Three Pacer fans, right off the bat! Have the “I Hate Pacer” people receded into the woodwork? Count me a fan, too. We all remember seeing the BMW 1600 (later the 2002) with its tall greenhouse—what a breath of fresh air! No, the Pacer wasn’t the first car with tall glass, but it may have upped the ante a bit?
My ’88 Civic wagon is another example; happy to be part of that crowd. What other makes or models pushed this particular envelope?