Coffin Nose: 1978 AMC Matador

Not having anything to lose at the time, calling a car something that means 'one who kills' and giving it a nose shaped like the end of a coffin was something only AMC could pull off.  Find this omen to their own demise, a 1978 AMC Matador, for sale in Elizabethton, TN for a very reasonable $4,000 via craigslist. Tip from Rock On

The 14" Pacer wheels, though visible only through a telescope, still keep it in the family as factory AMC goodies from something much smaller. The coffin-nosed Matador was still very similar to the very pretty early cars, however, it was getting quite long in the tooth in just about every way by the late 70's.

Hopefully the 11-year-backdated time stamp on the motor picture is incorrect. We deserve something more recent as an engine can spit up and bake all kinds of fluids on itself in a decade. The 360 shown in this picture looks as good as one could hope to find, even in a restored car which this claims not to be. A 1978 AMC 360 nearly gets the coveted Lowest Specific Output of the 1970's Award but they're strong motors nevertheless.

With seats the color of a blue raspberry slushie, the interior is a sea of velour and Naugahyde calm. As you'd expect for a garaged 60,000 mile car, the soft bits are in top nick. I was expecting a bit more tufting, but vinyl accents with buttons stitched over fuzz works just fine.

See a more killer deal? email us here: tips@dailyturismo.com

Matt, a self-proclaimed bottom-feeder of the classic car market, spends half of his time buying cars, half of his time retrieving them, and the remaining third on keeping them on the road.