1971 AMC Hornet SC/360

While it never offered the marquee high-performance engines in the vein of the Street Hemi, Super Cobra Jet or Stage 1, AMC built muscle cars that were nonetheless competitive with the mid-range performers from its Big Three competitors-on the street and track or with the checkbook.

Special models such as the 1969 SC/Rambler and 1970 Rebel "The Machine" blended performance with the visual distinction that characterized the era. By 1971 muscle cars were declining sharply and so was AMC's fortune. The company was betting big on segment-transforming vehicles such as the Gremlin and, later, the Pacer, so there were precious few dollars leftover for frivolous specialty performance models that added essentially zilch to the bottom line.

Nevertheless, AMC had strong V-8 engines in the 360 and 401, along with a raft of proven supporting components such as the Twin-Grip rear axle. It didn't take much, then, to continue offering strong performance options in cars such as the Javelin. The same went for the almost invisible Hornet, which was introduced for 1970 (replacing the Rambler), but hadn't made much of a splash in the crowded compact market. About 100,000 were built that first year, but Chevy sold more than three times as many Novas.

Raiding the parts pins to build a performance-oriented, "sizzle" model was about as cost-effective as it got, and that's how the Hornet SC/360 was born. A two-barrel-fed version of the 360 was standard and rated at 245 horsepower. Ponying up another $199 for the Go Pak brought a four-barrel carb that raised output to 285 horses. It also added a Ram Air induction system fed by a distinctive matte black hood scoop, as well as dual-exhaust, a handling package, tachometer and Polyglas white-letter tires. The limted-slip Twin Grip rear axle was another $43 option and regardless of the optional Go-Pak, all SC/360 models--the "SC" stood for Super Coupe--featured a white upper body stripe.

With 285 horses, nearly 400-lb.ft. of torque and a shipping weight of around 3,300 pounds, the SC/360 was no slouch. It was a 14-second car off the showroom floor, and it didn't take much to make them much quicker.

AMC's vision for the SC/360 was ambitious, with plans to produce up to 10,000 of them, but market conditions and unexpectedly high insurance premiums conspired against it. When the dust settled on the 1971 model year, only 784 were built. It was a disappointing result to a promising muscle car, but the low production count makes the few remaining examples that much rarer sights today.

The 360 engine was rebuilt to stock standards, but required tracking down the Motorcraft 4300 four-barrel carburetor that was missing when the car was acquired. One of the chrome rocker covers had to be located, and the original cast-iron exhaust manifolds were replaced, as the corroded originals were beyond saving.

For Jim Pisano, a Long Island resident with a lengthy list of muscle cars that have resided in his garage over the years, it was the SC/360's rarity that sparked his interest. He'd never owned an AMC before and found himself less-enthused by the succession of Chevelles and other mainstream muscle cars he'd owned.

"I had about 30 cars in my collection at one time and was a regular at all the auctions," he says. "It got to the point, however, that I felt like I'd seen it all and won it all with the same cars you see at show after show. I kind of dropped out of it for a while and stopped buying cars, because there wasn't anything that was interesting any longer."

That was before he ran across an SC/360 in an online auction.

"I just didn't know what it was or what it was about," says Pisano. "It piqued my interest, and I started researching it. When I found out how few were made and how unique they were, I knew I had to have one."

With only 784 made and perhaps less than 100 remaining, finding one proved easier said than done. Pisano spent years seeking one out, before stumbling on one unexpectedly in the Bronx.

The interior was recrafted to match the original upholstery's style as closely as possible, including the pleats in the seat covers and contours of the door and side panels. Also, the rear side windows don't roll down-they push out, but the original latches were broken and had to be remade.

"I'd been invited to attend a classic car auction in an old BMW dealership, but there was nothing there I was interested in," he says. "It was the same cars I'd grown bored with, but after it was over, I left for lunch with the gentleman who ran the auction. We were walking through the basement of the dealership and there, over in the corner, was a blue SC/360. I couldn't believe it."

Pisano immediately asked about purchasing the car, but was met with skepticism.

"It belonged to someone else who'd left it there a number of years earlier," he says. "My acquaintance wasn't even sure he could contact him any longer--and besides that, he thought I was nuts for wanting a car that had obvious issues. It was a Bondo bucket."

Nevertheless, Pisano pressed his acquaintance to dig up the contact info, and they succeeded in tracking down the owner. A deal was struck and the car was soon in Pisano's possession, but that was only the beginning of a restoration journey that would consume more than a decade. Before turning the car over to a shop for a full rotisserie resto, Pisano spent the first several years tracking down parts.

"It needed almost everything," he says. "The original carburetor and other engine parts were gone. The hood scoop was broken. The grille was cracked. You name it and it needed it, but I was determined to make the car completely authentic, so it became a quest to find the correct parts. I made a parts list and got started."

Rust-free bumpers were tough to locate, along with the grille and passenger-side taillight lens, but Pisano says the biggest parts challenge of them all was a single, solitary center cap for the styled steel wheels.

"It took me two and a half years to track one down," he says. "I had three, but that fourth one was like trying to find the holy grail."

He finally found it in a salvage yard near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where he'd been attending a Mecum auction. It was a stroke of luck, and after accumulating most of the hard parts, Pisano set about searching for the right restoration shop. After several recommendations and an interview with the shop's owner, he shipped the car to The Winning Collection, in Asheville, North Carolina, where it would spend the next six years.

"With so few replacement parts available, they had to fabricate virtually all of the necessary sheetmetal, and my brother even helped by fabricating one of the front fenders," says Pisano. "It was a mammoth undertaking that the guys in the shop executed perfectly. I couldn't be happier with the results."

Unfortunately, The Winning Collection recently closed its doors, but the legacy of their craftsmanship is evident in Pisano's stunning car. It's one of 578 built with the Go-Pak and wears the original B6 Electric Blue Metallic exterior color. It is also a "Shift Command" automatic car, which paired the 360 engine with a Borg-Warner three-speed automatic, and was originally equipped with the 3.15-geared Twin Grip axle.

Inside, it's black vinyl throughout. The dash pad had to be redone, along with the door panels, headliner and upholstery. Some of the gauges weren't working and neither was the original radio. Pisano wasn't exaggerating when he said the car needed everything.

The challenge is part of the reward in a restoration, but not every element of the SC/360's refurbishment required dozens of hours of fabrication or years of searching. Some of it was downright easy.

"The white rally stripe was a cinch," he says.

"With less than 1,000 cars built and something like 80 of them left, I figured there would be no way of finding one, but it's reproduced. I found it immediately online. Go figure."

Pisano hasn't put many miles on the car since the restoration was completed, but plans to hit the major AMC events throughout 2017.

"I've met a lot of great people while tracking down parts and researching the car," he says. "I want to share what all the work was about and celebrate one of the rarest and most unique muscle cars ever built."

OWNER'S VIEW

Somebody asked me why I was bothering with the restoration on an AMC that was in really rough shape, and my reply was, "Because no one else is." This car does it for me in a way that others don't. It's rare and unique, and there's always a story to tell with it. And there's a real feeling of satisfaction that comes restoring a car that's such a challenge. With Mustangs and Chevelles, virtually all of the parts are available, but with the SC/360 it's a mental game as much as a physical restoration. You've got to use your head to find the parts and work out all the little details. It's taxing but fun at the same time. It's been a great experience.--Jim Pisano