Banacek AMX crossing the auction block

It’s a little-known fact that George Barris tried to capitalize on the two-seater AMX’s like-no-other-car look by offering mildly customized versions of the AMC sports car. That effort apparently went nowhere, but Barris did enjoy quite a bit more publicity with another AMX customization, what AMCers now refer to as the Banacek AMX or the AMX-400.

Built for one episode of the early 1970s TV detective show Banacek, in which the title character investigates the disappearance of Project Phoenix, a prototype automobile, Barris not only chopped the roof of the 390-powered 1969 AMX by four and a half inches, but also lengthened the schnoz 15 inches and added a louvered grille and matching rear strakes.

We mention all this because the Banacek AMX will head to Mecum’s St. Charles, Illinois, auction early next month, crossing the block on October 3. No pre-auction estimate is listed.

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I’ve got one I’m cooking up for Hemmings Sports and Exotics too, but one ...

Yesterday I met with and photographed the original owner of a 1946 Mercury. Roll that around in your head for a second: if the car were a person, it would be ready for Social Security any day now. (The owner is 82 now.) It’s shown around Southern California Ford events, and the owner tells a compelling tale; it’s also rolling proof that car show judges don’t know everything, as his early ‘46 is marked off for having both 1941 and 1942 components that it came with from the factory.

This is the fourth compelling original-owner piece I’ve photographed in the last month. We already told you about the ‘52 Buick Super in Glendale, CA, but we haven’t yet mentioned the original-owner no-option ‘65 Chevelle SS four-speed we shot last week, or the second-owner-who-drove-his-’48-Chrysler-to-be-reunited-with-its-first-owner-400-miles-away story. Watch for the Buick, Chrysler and Mercury in Hemmings Classic Car, and the Chevelle in Hemmings Muscle Machines in the months to come. I’ve got one I’m cooking up for Hemmings Sports and Exotics too, but one of the owners is refusing to get back to me.

Meantime, how many other original-owner stories are out there? How many owners don’t turn up at car shows, their babies left to collect dust in the carport or garage? (And how can we find them and do stories on them if they’re not brought to our attention?)

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