AMC Concord Pro Street Surf Wagon

Woodgrain, surfboard, tubbed rear and small-block Chevy.  A winning combo?

We like wagons because of their do-everything nature.  Usually, that means they drive like a car and haul like an SUV.  Today’s feature car is perhaps less versatile, but still  has a split personality.  It looks like a utilitarian, early 80s woodgrain wagon and has been modified to drive like a drag racer.  While this car’s weight may not be optimized to win, we love the execution, which includes woodgrain on the custom cowl induction hood and a color-keyed, brown roll cage.

The owner is quite open about the car’s condition and needs, none of which are too serious.  Even at the buy-it-now (BIN) price, this seems like a good platform for some fun.  Anything less might be a bit of a deal.  The next owner will just have to decide whether to head in a street or track direction.  We hope they don’t change too much.  If not going all-out for racing, we’d consider staggered steelies, although the Welds are legit for the strip.

Click for eBay ad
$4,500 with ZERO bids, reserve not met, $8,500 BIN and six days to go
Endicott, NY, USA

What’s not to love here?  Yes, it seems the surf boards are included in the sale…

Seller points out that decals can be removed.  We’d consider that.

Check out the wide rear tires, which are mounted on 15-inch wide Welds.

Here’s the woodgrain hood.  Sure, the color may not be perfect vs. the side trim,but we love it.

Interior appears surprisingly stock because the roll cage is color-keyed and even the door panels are in place.  Owner states that the cage may not pass inspection at tracks.  Hmm.

Tach is a good idea in this application.  Drag shifter is also present and it looks like some auxiliary gauges are mounted in a custom panel with the HVAC controls.

The cargo compartment, while tubbed, wears matching carpet

And…it conceals a fuel cell.

Here’s what the owner believes is a small-block Chevy.  Note the woodgrain air cleaner and valve covers.

Ad text:

What says summer cruising more than woodgrain and surfboards???!!!……Here’s a 1982 AMC Concord Pro Street/Surf Wagon, it’s on the road and driveable, licensed and insured, but I’m calling it a project car that is nearly completed, just needing your finishing touches. Look at the pro street cars for sale, Camaros, Chevelles, Novas, and Mustangs. Dare to be different!! This is an original paint wagon that a  previous owner had professionally back-halved and caged to drag race. It was raced in the 90’s in the Midwest.  A lot of the drag racing components are still on the car. I can’t take the credit or blame for anything in the drivetrain or chassis. I bought it approximately 80% complete with the intention of making it fully street legal, but lack of time is preventing me from finishing it. It’s probably 95% complete now, I drive it daily when the weather is good, it’s garaged and hasn’t seen rain since I’ve owned it. My loss is your gain. Cruise as-is now and then fully complete to your liking over the winter to have done in time for next spring. Here are the details:

Body:
All original steel except lift off race weight cowl hood, wrapped in woodgrain to match the side panels. Hood is held on with Dzus fasteners.
Paint is original AMC Topaz Gold Metallic, I’d rate it a 7 out of 10, it’s still waxable, but has some chips, small dings, etc.
All trim is installed on car
All glass is good, side windows all roll up and down
Lights, turn signals, dash lights all work
Rear back half is done nicely with a complete subframe kit from Competition Engineering or equivalent, ladder bar, coilovers, panhard bar, etc. Large fuel cell under rear floor accessed through panel in rear.
Factory roof rack, and 2 decent surfboards complete the appearance
Lettering is all vinyl and can be removed if the advertising isn’t your thing

Interior:
Nice 8 point roll bar with tip out bars
Original door panels, headliner, dash pad, etc.
Seats are great, no rips or tears.
Good  carpet, door sill plates, etc.
Retains most of factory wiring, key warning buzzer and dome light still work
Cheetah SCS shifter

Drivetrain:
Starting in the front, there is a custom built PermaCool Radiator and Optima battery. Starts great, never overheats, runs at 185 degrees in traffic on a hot day.
Motor – I was told it’s a 350 Chevy,  I never bothered to check, it runs great,  has some drips, has the usual bolt-ons,  Edelbrock intake, headers, and cam, Flowmasters. Still has the orginal Quadrajet that works perfectly. The air cleaner lid and valve covers have been hydrodipped to match rest of  woodgrain theme.
Turbo 350 with shift kit, works great
Rear end is a narrowed 9” Ford posi, 4 link, coilovers, shortened 31 spline  axles and new 4.11 Richmod gears with a new Yukon TracLok differential.
Electric Fuel  pump

Miscellaneous:
Matching  Weld Wheels: 15 x 4 with Goodyear Frontrunners, 15 x 15 and 15.5/29 Mickeys
Manual  steering box, Manual front disc, drum brakes with new hardware in rear
Competition Engineering adjustable drag shocks in front
Clear title in my name.

Still Needs:
Needs a horn and wipers to pass NYS inspection, I did install an e-brake setup using Ford and aftermarket cables. I have a horn kit to install. Everything is there for the wipers, probably just needs power to dash switch.
Street legal front tires
Although it drives reasonably well and tracks straight, probably could stand a 4 wheel alignment to make sure everything is square.
While the roll cage is nice, the side bars may need a re-design to pass tech if you plan on putting it on the track
5 point harness is out of date
The usual odds and ends to complete to your satisfaction