The AMC Javelin build thread!

Ooooo, the paint is so shiny!

Nice. Did you paint it yourself?

Yes, I did paint the roof, upper quarters, some fender patches, and the rear blackout. The rest is still original, just polished and waxed. Looks way better in twilight photos than it does in real life, unfortunately.

What were those painted with originally, lacquer or enamel, and what did you use?

You NEED to find a front bumper for it now that the rest looks so good.

Did you get an LSD for it yet?

it does look pretty great

Nice work!

More info on the paint in due time fellas, and yes, I do need a front bumper.

So backtracking all the way back to when this thread was last updated, I was tired of the original 2-spoke steering wheel, so I removed it.

And installed the red "Sport" steering wheel, as used in the same year Javelin AMX and a bunch of other AMC's. This is probably my favorite steering wheel of all time, the spokes are real metal and it just looks the business.

It also has a 3D AMC emblem in the horn button under acrylic. I'm undecided as to whether I am going to dye it all black or restore the red (depending on if I get red seats or black seats).

I also finally fixed the starting issue with another new ignition switch. Turns out the tilt column cars (like mine) have a different switch. So now no more under-dash push-button.

Looks great!

Nice work on that paint!!

didnt the 80's cherokees use a steering wheel similar to that?

and were they gm steering column spline?

Dusterbd13 wrote: didnt the 80's cherokees use a steering wheel similar to that? and were they gm steering column spline?

All AMC's from 1970 on have an actual GM column, including ignition switch.

The next thing on the Javelin to need work was the carburetor. (It's a magical mechanical box that leaks gas into a motor). AMC's mostly came stock with Carter AFB's, a good unit. By 73 they came with a Motorcraft in 4 barrel guise. This carb is not very good and parts are nonexistent. Luckily Pops had this:

Yup, a real Carter AFB Competition Series (as opposed to a new Edelbrock version), 660 CFM. A little comparison:

First step was to yank the old stock carburetor, which was in very serious need of a refresh.

Since I can't afford to replace the factory iron intake yet, I got a nice phenolic spacer to help insulate the carburetor from the heat.

Man, that was really easy! It totally helps that this carburetor and engine were supposed to be together.

Short interlude to show just how far behind I am... I got this wicked awesome TycoPro HO Scale slot car set at the Portland Swap Meet. No, not the one a few weeks ago, the one a year and a few weeks ago...

Anyway, back to work. The carb bolted right on, but the throttle and kickdown cables didn't. I needed a bracket, so I started by making a cardboard template, then tracing it on to the old master cylinder block off bracket.

Some Dremel work later, I had a rough piece.

Drill some holes, install the linkage hookups.

And finally, install on the carburetor. Now it will go with the pedal again, excellent!

The Carter works so much better than the Motorcraft. The choke actually sets and turns off like it's supposed to, throttle response is highly improved, and with some fine-tuning to the circuits it seems to actually make more power now, especially on the top end. My motor is now essentially a 1970 version with different (better) heads and (worse) cam. Yes, a cam swap is definitely the next thing on the power list.

MOAR.

Then more driving happened. Lots of Friday trips to work, and some artsy shots.

After a few hundred miles, I really had the engine dialed in nicely. Fired up on the first shot, idled down when warm, good throttle response, and a hellacious top end charge. Still a slight vague spot occasionally on tip-in though. I did have to adjust the 727's kickdown a few times to get it just right. Honestly, it could still be backed off just a hair.

Big body, meet big body. I really like the 71-3 Mustangs, and I couldn't resist a quick photo op here.

A sign of things to come... The old FR500's off of my P71 were given back to me. I had to mock it up and see how it would look. Tasty!

Alright, time to talk paint. As you've seen in all the previous photos, the Javelin's paint is a dull, flat, lifeless orange color. Almost all of it is the original 1973 paint (Trans Am Red, and the driver's door was repainted between 73-84), which is a single-stage, solid color. That means good old rubbing compound will actually work on it. So, I popped out the emblems and got to work:

A few hours of hand-rubbing later, and you get this:

I followed the rubbing compound up with polishing compound, also by hand, and then broke out the actual Porter Cable polisher for "normal" polish, then a hand wax. So far is just the decklid area, you can see the massive contrast compared to the upper quarter panels.

More comparison shots:

I also got some more ink! Car Craft printed a little blurb in their reader's section of the Javelin in action at the autocross:

That's three magazines so far.

Did I wait too long to update this?

It looks good to me, I just figured you were going to post more of your progress.

Let's see more on the paint resurrection. How and with what did you spray the roof, what did you do with the old faded decals on the side etc.

I finally took the Javelin to the drag races last summer when my baby sister visited (she drifts a built 240SX). We didn't race, but it was fun to park in the pits.

The Javelin my look big in photos, but it really isn't a very large car (except overall length). Here it is next to a 1G Mazda3, which is a compact!

Doppleganger!!! I was driving by a place one day and thought somebody had stolen my car! It turns out it's a 74 non-SST 304/2Bbl owned by a High School kid. It was originally a 74-only Orange color, and they repainted it a slightly redder shade with a pink metallic. It was not my favorite.

pres589 wrote: It looks good to me, I just figured you were going to post more of your progress.

We're finally there! August 2013: The roof primer was starting to thin, and I was worried about the condition of the metal. Step 1: Sand it all back off.

The quarter panel to roof seems were getting especially bad where the original AMC filler had cracked.

Those damned nubs for the chrome trim on the vinyl top had to go, too. I got some cut-off wheels and grinding discs and carefully removed all of them.

I then masked the whole roof off, and a a fit of wanting to try something, also sanded and masked off the rear filler panel after removing the lights.

This more entertaining than the GGA thread.

MOAR.

Okay, I'll admit, there's some missing steps here. I was working alone and there's flash time involved with filler. Basically, I mixed up some new filler, spread it on the quarter seems, and sanded. Once I was satisfied, I primed the roof again. Then came this:

Yes, I painted my car outside in the driveway.

What's the secret sauce to my paint? Dupli-Color Engine Enamel. No, I am not E36 M3ting you. I painted a large portion of a car in a driveway, outdoors, with rattle can engine paint, and it actually looks decent! Here's the story. I was going to paint the roof a contrasting color like white or black and make it look like the vinyl roof was a painted roof (which was an actual option on some cars, like Chevelle's). I couldn't bring myself to do it and was getting ready to order some paint mixed up to shoot through my airbrush when I happened upon Chevrolet Red Orange in the engine paint section (which you'll know from my model car threads is a holy grail of great, easy to use model car paint). The cap looked so close it was uncanny, so I bought it, went outside the store, and sprayed it right on the bare quarter. I E36 M3 you not, it's an exact match!

I got so excited that I started to do other body work. I hammered out most of the little dents, and spent a few hours trying to un-mangle my fender.

Then came the taillight panel. AMX's in these years had this part and the upper part of the rear bumper blacked out, and even though I won't be turning this Javelin into an AMX clone, I really like the muscle car blackout tail look, so I did it anyways. The paint you ask? Why, Semi-Flat Dupli-Color Engine Enamel of course!

Meanwhile, I masked the taillights themselves to redo the silver surrounds. This time I used Dupli-Color Wheel Paint in Silver, which is the best metallic silver paint I've ever used. It really is amazing stuff.

Time for a second coat.

Using Mini-Jav's play house as a stand so I can reach the roof.

Looking good!

Second coat of Black.

Third coat of Red.