AMC Matador's Secret Weapon That Dominated the Racing Circuit!

[@tylervaughn6328]

I got the hood from Bobby Allison’s Matador when I was a kid. Davey Allison wadded it up in turn one at Phoenix. Walked up to Bobby in the pits and just asked he said sure so me and my friend carried it off.

[@sidgysoho1960]

I used an automatic trans out of a "77 Matador X which was the Chryco 904 model. Put a shift kit in it and installed it a '68 Javelin. We had a 71 Matador sedan with the same ole reliable 304 powering it. AMC patterned engine design philosophy after Pontiac. One basic engine block that could scale up to a number of displacements. Which was a stroke of genius. It was the monopoly mentality that pushed most creative auto makers into history. Ain't that the 'Mare-icun way ?

[@Mrroberdetective]

Wow, that's some impressive automotive knowledge! It’s fascinating to see how AMC’s design philosophy influenced so many models. Your experience with the Matador and Javelin really highlights the ingenuity of that era!

[@Mrroberdetective]

Sounds like you’ve got a Matador love affair going on! Just remember, if you start that '68 Javelin at a car show, be prepared for the '77 Matador to get jealous!n hahahh

[@jmflournoy386]

AMC heads were more like late Buick and much better than SBC larger bore front oil pump needs work

[@Old_Sailor85]

Thanks for the memories. My first car was a metallic green '69 Javelin. Never did get that AMX I dreamed about.

[@SARCASTICLES]

I remember some of the Petty fans were more upset that Bobby Allison won the race, not so much it was in an American Motors car. The only driver they hated more than Bobby Allison was Donny Allison. Raise your hand if you listened to NASCAR on the radio before TV.....sideways on some North Carolina dirt road. Seems like a million years ago.......

[@Mrroberdetective]

It really does feel like a million years ago-maybe we should start a support group for those who still remember the sound of the radio over the roar of the engines!

[@Mrroberdetective]

Bobby Allison and Donnie Allison, often known together as part of the "Alabama Gang," were legendary figures in NASCAR history who left a significant mark on the sport with their talent, fierce rivalry, and memorable moments.

[@ZOOTSUITBEATNICK1]

without all the circular, irrelevant chit-chat, this could have been a 5-minute video

[@deansapp4635]

So true

[@sd31263]

Exactly.

[@Mrroberdetective]

This is not fair

[@Mrroberdetective]

No, this is not True. Seriously!

[@janofb]

They keep showing a Hornet instead of a Matador.

[@Mrroberdetective]

Thanks for pointing that out! It seems like the Hornet is stealing the spotlight. We'll make sure to clear that up in future videos!

[@skxj]

They only showed the hornet from the James Bond movie and a couple times at a dealership . It's a bit misleading due to the 2 completely different Matador body styles it could be mistaken for a third. Overall it's a pretty good video

[@Mrroberdetective]

Ah, the classic case of mistaken identity! Maybe I should hire a detective to figure out which Matador is which! 😂

[@SARCASTICLES]

Your channel would be a great place to teach the kids about the 1968 Hemi Dart. A factory drag-only car, not street legal, acid dipped doors and no window crank mechanisms to trim weight.....straps were included.

[@Mrroberdetective]

You mean I can teach kids about a car that's basically the Batman of the drag strip? Count me in-just don't tell them they can't drive it to school!

[@billkilbourne6409]

I was at the Ontario race. That car would dominate

[@Mrroberdetective]

Absolutely! With that kind of performance, it’s like the car is saying, “Catch me if you can!”

[@caribman10]

A real shame that AMC was not able to produce a floor shift manual version of this car and a high performance version as well.

[@johnmcmullen456]

My friend had a 1974 Javelin with its original 360 V8 & 4spd. Ran pretty strong. Would have been cool to offer that drive train in the Matador.

[@Mrroberdetective]

It really is unfortunate! A floor shift manual version and a high-performance model would have taken this car to the next level.

[@Mrroberdetective]

A Javelin with a 360 V8? That's like bringing a knife to a gunfight-except the knife is a muscle car and it’s winning every time!

[@phantomblott1]

Original owner of a 1973 AMC Javelin AMX. Ordered it new March of 1973, D4- Cordoba Brown Metallic, all black interior, 401, 4 speed with Go Pac, dealer install 3.73 rear gears. It was a real quick car in the day, today, it still draws attention. Very rarely do you see one anymore.

[@FranzBrueger-ll3fp]

Didn’t this car wind up with Porsche 917/30 brakes, leftovers from Roger Penske days in CanAm

[@jmflournoy386]

My Car! I was in charge of sales to Hurst then Forrest Service for 4 door police cars, I was given a 74 Matador Oleg Cassini Coupe with the Police Car suspension, trans and 401...for Racing== Later we bored the 401 out to 4 5/16 (AMC bore centers are same as 455 Buick) we snuck in an Engle roller cam for Riverside and Wally Booth influenced heads as with the Penske Javelin the Motor was dropped down and back BMW consulted on the Front suspension Porsche 917 brakes Dry sump improvements would have solved the oiling problems great car on a budget later went back to a mushroom lifter cam from General Kenetics and then was able to make a stock size (but expensive ceramic faced lifter) Engle flat tappet work and as said won some races with legal engines Fun times aero changes pushing the grille foreword was the most obvious AMC may have been first with x exhaust with pipes out both sides, Circle track had pipes out one side only

[@UberLummox]

Wait, the #16 stock car was yours???

[@jmflournoy386]

@@UberLummox I was in charge of cars for the norcal and socal dealers associations not the Pensky cars but we worked closely and sometimes ran their hand me downs Trans Am and Nascar and the Grant Piston Ring Hayden Proffit funny car BTW Grant's George Alinski flamethrower was a genius

[@Russell-nk7do]

​@@jmflournoy386,, ,, READ, "FROM, LAST, !!, TOO, FIRST," !!, IN, THE,, BOOK, MR, BOBBY, ALLISON, SAY'S, !!, THERE, WAS, NOTHING, "WRONG," WITH, THAT, "RAMBLER," !!, "A, M, C," "V," '8,' !!, BUT, GETTING, SOME, ?# 1. TO, "WORK," ON, IT, !!, WAS, ANOTHER, STORY,

[@joeybonin7691]

Engine failure is a surprise for me. I've heard that AMC motors were widely used by oval track racers because of their durability (after mods, of course). I drive a '66 wagon with a 327, and it will probably outlive me.

[@bultacowally]

Where in God's name did you hear that??? Never did that happen.

[@glocke380]

I made it half way through the vid before the music DROVE me away.

[@Mrroberdetective]

I appreciate your feedback! Music can definitely be a make-or-break element. I’ll keep that in mind for future videos!

[@donwest5387]

AMC's secret weapon was Penske

[@uhfnutbar1]

is this one AI movies , the music killing me

[@Mrroberdetective]

AI movies?

[@Sunspot-19]

The music makes Muzak sound good...

[@paulmetcalf4471]

Not surprise that AMC was successful in racing with the Matador coupe, or the AMX or Javelin for that matter. I mean, the Hudson Hornet was very successful in NASCAR in the early days, so what's so surprising?

[@Mrroberdetective]

Surprising? I guess you could say the only thing surprising is that they didn’t bring a racetrack to a car show! AMC had a strong racing pedigree, and the Hudson Hornet set a solid foundation for their success on the track.

[@UberLummox]

But Hudson was only competitive before AMC bought them around '54/5.

[@bultacowally]

@@UberLummox Thank you!

[@daleadkison3349]

Great story. I love the inline AMC 6 cylinder engine in my 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee, which by the way, is one of the best engines ever made if your talking reliability and power. Terrible gas mileage though. They could make good stuff.

[@twotwentyswift]

The 4.0 in my 87 Cherokee was the worst engine I ever owned. Terrible gas mileage, lack of power and a complete failure of the oil pump at less than 80k miles after receiving meticulous care and maintenance and being driven prudently.

[@Russell-nk7do]

,, ,, TRY, PUTTING, A, # '4,' 02, L, CRANK, IN, THAT, "RAMBLER," # '6,' !!, FOR, MORE, - GRUNT," !!,

[@Russell-nk7do]

​@twotwentyswift ,, ,, &, A, "BIT," OF,, PISTON, - "SLAP," !!, - ON, SOME, OF, "THOSE," # '4,' L, # 6,'S, !!,

[@wayne971]

What size engine does it have? Horsepower rating?

[@UberLummox]

Too much info for an AI video I guess. Probably the 401, but maybe the 343 or the 304.

[@joeybonin7691]

@@UberLummox 401 sprung to mind.

[@douglaslynch5808]

I believe they always raced the 390 version. Same block so could have been any mentioned ci...

[@ronbuckner8179]

I loved this car, until I drove one, it could a been, but it wasn’t. They muscled up an AMX and should’ve thrown in the towel, but didn’t. “Drived?”. Bobby Allison, good tires along with that aero more to do with winning then anything else.

[@michaelgautreaux3168]

Penske made it brutally expensive for AMC...both in NASCAR & Trans Am. 😐

[@Mrroberdetective]

Looks like Penske took a page out of the “How to Make Racing Costly” handbook. Who knew racing could be such an expensive hobby?

[@ramblerdave1339]

Perfection is never cheap! AMC tried it on the cheap with others first, in the Trans Am series.

[@ramblerdave1339]

​@@Mrroberdetective Penske wrote that book. This whole video is Nonsense. I'm an AMC guy, and I know what happened. AI is a JOKE. No "domination" happened.

[@UberLummox]

@@ramblerdave1339 When you're right you're right, Rambler Dave.

[@bultacowally]

They did very well for themselves...but dominate???? Not a prayer...

[@BobGeogeo]

Good topic and narrative. Visuals for Matadors? So many Hornets and other AMCs then Penske's brief F1 entry.

[@Mrroberdetective]

Visuals for Matadors? I guess they’re just waiting for the right moment to “hornet” in on the action!

[@dave3657]

I bought an Oleg Cassini edition a few years ago. Why? Because I like to go to car shows and have the only one there. But, I just didn’t enjoy driving it, it was okay, but meh, so I sold it.

[@nzsaltflatsracer8054]

I have a 74 Matador in my collection of unrestored drivers but I only made it half way through your video due to the annoying music.

[@Mrroberdetective]

Ah man, sorry the music wasn’t doing it for you! But hey, props for having a Matador in your collection! That’s awesome!

[@laureanosanchez5265]

Why take an oleg cassini matador to do this?

[@davidevans774]

Why that awful music???????? Ruins the video

[@matthewchase2512]

It’s called epic music

[@jonathanhernandez4304]

I am not a Matador fan but holy crap can you report apples to apples here. You are all over the place with clips of the Hornet in the James Bond movie, then the brick like 4 door matador. It's obvious that the Matador Coup had a lower drag coefficient than a Hornet or the 1971 to 1973( Flying Brick) Matador's. Introduced in 1974 the Coup was the first car to compete with Disk brakes and was no longer considered the Flying Brick. You have the Matador Coup in the video dropping out of a race in 1972. I know you edit it to keep viewer attention and latter explain the Matador coup actually being an aerodynamic car but damn..

[@Mrroberdetective]

Haha, I guess my editing style is a bit of a wild ride, just like the Matador itself! Maybe I should’ve called it "Cars Gone Wild" instead!

[@Mrroberdetective]

I appreciate your detailed feedback! The comparison between the Matador and the Hornet is definitely a complex one, and I’ll take your points into consideration for future videos.

[@ramblerdave1339]

​@@Mrroberdetective Complex? They are two completely different cars. If you want to know the real story, I suggest the book "The History of AMC Motorsports" by Bob McClurg. Your editing may still be bad, but you could start by knowing something. AI is neither artificial, or intelligent.

[@UberLummox]

@@ramblerdave1339 His answer sounded AI generated just like the video! 🤣 But hey, for all we know he could be a non-English speaking guy trying to make a living from the jungle of Africa. 😁

[@petervossos4816]

So it was Penske that won the races not AMC….

[@sd31263]

"Drived"?

[@SARCASTICLES]

"What's a Matador?"

[@Mrroberdetective]

Its not "Whats a Matador" its a Matador. 😉

[@SARCASTICLES]

@@Mrroberdetective It was both. I remember people saying "It's a Matador!" whenever one drove up. My friend had a black one, dog-pan hubcaps with a 390, full Fuzz package...that old ship would cruise. Thanks for posting the excellent video.

[@Mrroberdetective]

A Matador with a Fuzz package? Sounds like the perfect car for fighting off bad vibes and cruising in style!

[@UberLummox]

No, it's a What'samatador.

[@Zekais]

This hits a new low among supposedly accurate historical automotive videos. Awful.

[@twotwentyswift]

The one and only cool car that AMC ever made was the Mark Donahue Javelin. I always thought that the Pacer was the ugliest car ever designed but the Matador is certainly a contender. 😂

[@UberLummox]

'68-'70 AMX looked cooler imo.

[@sd31263]

Except for the AMX and some years of the Javelin, AMC cars were butt-ugly.

[@UberLummox]

@@sd31263 Much like some modern motorcycles.

[@JohnLutz-r4t]

Wooowww...

[@Mrroberdetective]

Thank you for watching! Your reaction means a lot to me!

[@JohnLutz-r4t]

@@Mrroberdetective You got it!!!

[@brianandglendaharkin9457]

In my book it’s Mopar AMC Ford then GMH last 👍🏻🇦🇺✌️.

[@Mrroberdetective]

Looks like we’ve got a Mopar fan in the house! I guess GMH will just have to step up their game to climb those ranks! 😉

[@CarsandCats]

Listen: This AI produced garbage needs to stop. You had some excellent footage - unfortunately MOST of it wasn't of Matadors! The narrator with the British accent made no sense for an American car video. Nice try though.

[@pawpawdiablo313]

Hmmmm black it out switch to ls and 6 speed ...interesting

[@fullsenderman8291]

You spelt coyote wrong lol

[@Mrroberdetective]

Interesting choice! Just make sure you don’t accidentally black out while driving-safety first, right? 😂

[@Mrroberdetective]

Oops! Looks like my spell-checker took a vacation. Coyote or coyote, they still howl the same!