My 73 AMC Matador "Machine"
 

Extremely rare car now. Built 401, Edelbrock UR-11 tunnel ram. CRT built 727 full manual valve body ,Moser axles, Locker and 4.11s, full Rebel Machine interior on a zero rust california car



https://www.flickr.com/photos/137705.../in/datetaken/

Looks good Harry.Post more pics please!

Link doesn't work for me.

more pics. Bought the car in 2003 for $300 plus shipping to Florida= $1500. decided to build it after selling my vettes in 2009 to be different. Have run it locally here for a few years with a mild 401/727 and currently motor is out waiting for the new stroker 401 to go in along with a bunch of new parts to take it to the next level. The 71-73 Matador hardtop is basically a 70 Rebel Machine with a different front clip. There are virtually none left with a production run of 20k in 3 years. The 71 Matador Machine is one of the rarest musclecars produced. Of the 52 roughly produced only 2 are known to exist. My dream in building this car was first to continue the Matador Machine legacy but also build a true AMC midsize 2 door hardtop musclecar with a vintage 70s vibe which is my era.
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Really cool AMC

Back in 1991 or so, my buddy picked up a one-owner yellow w/ black top '73 Matador 2-dr from the original owner to use as a daily beater. I think he got it pretty cheap.

We were 20 yrs old, and no one really cared about Matadors with small V8s back in those days. He drove it for a few years and then sold it. Added a stereo, but other than that, it stayed stock, right down to the hubcaps.

Never knew they were rare, but I've never seen another. Now I wonder what happened to that car?

Harry, your AMC is really cool. What part of FL are you in?

I am in Clearwater

Cool, I'm about 2.5 hours south of you in Naples. Car looks great.

The Matador has been down since last summer getting it to the next level . New motor is a 408 with 71 AMC heads fitted with chrysler 2.08/1.60 valves and full port polish with twin Eddy 500 carbs. Molnar rods, wiseco pistons, Schneider mechanical cam, Howards EDM lifters and many many other top shelf internal parts and custom oiling system work. The trans is a Cope Stage 5 727 with billet drums and a 10" Turbo action steel stator converter. Ignition is MSD 6AL with a pro billet distributor with the magneto pro cap mod and DUI livewires. New Weld wheel 15x10 (5.5BS) and 15x5 with M&H N50-15 and pro trac front tire combo to get the car lower along with many many many suspension mods. Ripped out the power brakes and steering (who needs that) so only a real man can drive this thing (lol)...... My Goal is to make this the most over the top Gen 1 Matador in the country (world) if not one of the fastest.

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That is going to be awesome!

Love it!

I finally was able to fire the new engine up over the holiday after thrashing for 2 days. There is a no more glorious sound than a mechanical cammed tunnel ram with big ported valves and open headers. Literally sounded like a funny car in the garage minus the nitro of course. Engine is broke in with no issues other than a couple valve cover leaks which are not typical for these engines but will fix. Looking forward to the first terror ride


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That thing is just bad-azz. If you get a chance, post up a video of it running open headers, heh.

I like that a lot.. Very refreshing to see different cool builds.

My mom had an Ambassador wagon, it was cool. Big brown beast. I still have a set of front turn sig lens for it. Lol

Thanks...lots of hours and years in this build and its a keeper at this point. Here it is when I bought in 2003 and when I took it apart in 2009


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I already put on some purple hornies with built in 3" dumps but frankly its almost as loud. I will get some video this weekend. I am dying to drive this monster I have created!!

I can see why you are excited. Looking good. Looking forward to seeing (and hearing) your video!:biggthumpup:

You are a visionary. That is hard to believe it is the same car!

Beautiful car, beautiful color, killer engine. This is truly unique. Very nice!

Now that's a Matador!!

here is a pic outside today before I drove it around a little. A real traffic stopper but too loud ...here is a short video too


https://youtu.be/Xg90dWbn4lc


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“Too loud“?! That sounds just about perfect to me! Thanks!

Thanks but trust me its really loud live (lol). Love that Chevelle btw. My first car was a 69 Chevelle malibu in burnished brown and black top circa 1977. I need to find one to complete my collection (or maybe my old car is still around Jersey?).

x2! Car looks and sounds awesome....kudos to you for daring to be different.

Love the look and dig the car! Not something you see too often, but I remember these cars well and would have to say it's sounding wicked!

I'm gonna have to give a few pointers to whoever was shooting the video though. :scholar:

Great car Harry!

Yeah my goof on the video. Wife had the right idea and then I grabbed the camera. I will post a way better video soon as I get it sorted. Thanks for all the comments. This has been a lifelong dream to build a car to this level. The hood is going back on with a couple holes in the Machine scoop for the stacks to fit through if my measurements are correct....should look pretty cool :wink:

Badass car, never seen one of those up here in northern Canada. Love the tunnel ram.

There is just a little more to this story. Back in 2002 I had a friend who passed away suddenly at just 53 years old. I was charged with disposing of his estate which included a large number of AMC cars and parts. One of the pieces was a 401 shortblock he built along with a set of home ported cylinder heads and I purchased these from his family. This engine has sat for 16 years in storage bags when I finally decided last year to build "his" engine. I updated the build with more modern parts but kept it much the way he intended and located a TR manifold. He was a Hornet Pro Stock fan and wanted to build a tunnel ram replica of the Maskins Kanners cars. So I built this car with that engine in mind. My old friend is never forgotten and will always be riding shotgun in this car.


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Great tribute to your friend, I'm sure he appreciates it, may he RIP.

Took a better video today. No sound. Solved the overheating issue....had the fans wired backwards duh. Runs at 180 now with 65 lbs of oil pressure at 3000 rpm....PERFECT!! Car is a blast just cruising around town.



https://youtu.be/jdouL4Q-oI0

Well the car is finally done done after 15 years. The hood closed over the carbs but no room for an air cleaner so went with the stacks through holes in the repro scoop. Car is very fast and very loud despite mufflers and baffles. Draws a crowd wherever it goes. Decent street manners despite no power accessories.
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Nice! Maybe Adam-12 HAD to switch to Ramblers!!

Absolutely love the tunnel ram! Just screams cool.

Very nice!

Very cool love it!

Harry - just beastly looking! One of the tuffest AMC street cars I've seen. Congrats!

Love it. Had a friend back around 1990-1991 or so that had a yellow '73 Matador, and this brings back memories. Spent a lot of time riding around in that car, going to metal concerts, listening to Anthrax, Metal Church, Megadeth, etc cassettes, and just doing the dumb (and sometimes less-than-legal) stuff that 19-20 yr old males did to pass time in the pre-internet age. :)