1972 AMC Javelin TX NMNA

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1702725270125048/?mibextid=dXMIcH

Somebody come get this thing, please.  Save me from divorce.

Pros: 4-speed, good year, buckets and console, looks straight

Cons: No title, rusty roof where the vinyl top used to be, and absolutely knackered inside

Solution: Trans Am style racecar build!

Very interesting....

I've been looking for cars from the time I was born off and on for years.  How hard are these to find things for?

In reply to AnthonyGS (Forum Supporter) :

Depends on what you're looking for. Mechanical parts are super easy. A lot of the interior is available. Roof skin doesn't exist at all (which is why I sold mine). Trim, grill, and taillights are also hard to find.

The roof could be better, but it could be much worse.  Curious what the less photogenic side and back look like.

In reply to LionPride :

It's way better than mine was. I had a 73 (flat roof, not the T-bar store of this 72) that had a full vinyl top. The roof skin was Swiss cheese and the support bows across it were trash. I couldn't bolt visors to it and spent way too much money custom building the a-pillars just the windshield would have something to glue to. 

This car honestly looks not that bad at all rust wise, but they do have a deficiency with the vinyl tops. 

This Javelin doesn't appear to have ever had a vinyl top, just sun burnt paint on the roof.



It does, however, have a decent sized hole in the windshield.

That being said, it's been up for 2 months so the $2,500 price is likely negotiable.

And being a Texas car, its in decent shape. Has anyone here shipped cars from Texas? Can anyone say what the charge was? It would go to Iowa if that helps.

I'm thinking you may not want to engage in a monetary transaction with this chap.   (Yes, this is an actual photo from the seller's profile)

In reply to Russian Warship, Go Berkeley Yourself :

How so? I leafed through the ad last night and nothing stood out, but I didn't study it.

GIRTHQUAKE said:

In reply to Russian Warship, Go Berkeley Yourself :

How so? I leafed through the ad last night and nothing stood out, but I didn't study it.

In the FB ad, click on the sellers name and then click "see profile" to learn more about the seller.  That is where you will see the pictures the seller has put onto FB (the one listed above.) 

Russian Warship, Go Berkeley Yourself said:

This Javelin doesn't appear to have ever had a vinyl top, just sun burnt paint on the roof.



It does, however, have a decent sized hole in the windshield.

The 71-72 T-bar roof Javelins had funky split vinyl tops only in the insets.

The 73-74 flat roofs had full length tops:

It's tough to tell if it had them or not since AMC didn't use bright work trim on the edges like the 73-74, but given the much heavier rust in the inset compared to the white sun fading on the back of the roof, and the rust up by the windshield, is why I'm leaning towards it did.

Either way it's not a deal breaker per say, just really look at the roof close if you are going to buy it. You can get replacement metal for absolutely everything else on those, but no roof skins or support bows.

In reply to Javelin :

There is trim along the inside edge on the two piece vinyl roof which screwed to the edge of the inset, as shown in your image above.    Also included with this top is a fairly large piece of trim that goes behind the side window down to the termination of the upper door sill trim.

There also will be trim at the base of the windsheild, shown here in chrome, but I'm pretty sure matching the color of the top was common, as well.



There is zero indication of any of these trim pieces having ever been mounted to this car.  

Furthermore, the burnt paint on the roof is both where a vinyl top would have been, behind the top would have been attached to the roof, as well as on the front fender.  


Not to mention the fact that this is obviously a low optioned car, as evidenced by the lack of sport mirrors, or brightwork along the leading edge of the hood and fenders, drip rails, door tops, rockers, or wheelwells, for that matter, nor indications that there were in any of those locations, which leads me to believe that this may well be a '71 base model Javelin, which would make it highly unlikely for it to have been optioned with a vinyl top.  (There was no base model Javelin in '72, and the brighwork was standard on the SST and AMX)

In reply to Russian Warship, Go Berkeley Yourself :

The roofs were painted body color under the vinyl. Mine was, too.

You're right about the trim though, there's no holes anywhere on this one. 

In reply to Javelin :

It's the fact that the paint is burnt the same way on all three surfaces that tells me this isn't vinyl top damage.

Also, the door panel is '71 base model.  Antenna appears to be mounted to the cowl as opposed to the fender on the '72 and later, but I can't be 100% on that.

In reply to Russian Warship, Go Berkeley Yourself :

We could tell if it was a 71 or 72 if the ad showed the grill or taillights. I was just going off of the ad.

Being a base Javelin, there's a chance it's a 3-speed manual instead of a 4-speed.

In reply to Javelin :

I'm thinking that is possible, as well.   But the pedals are more difficult to find than a decent 5 speed to swap in.

In reply to Russian Warship, Go Berkeley Yourself :

Absoberkinglutely! This car is super worth picking up for those alone (and the steering column).

In reply to Russian Warship, Go Berkeley Yourself :

When carrying cash to transactions I have been known to take protective measures and friends.  In this case I'd probably deal in protective measures, friends with protective measures, and want to see IDs to validate the bill of sale needed.  Getting a bonded title in TX is no big deal just takes time and the correct forms.  This car probably is worth saving, but I decided $2500 would go better towards LS swapping my truck that I already have. 

I've got a couple former Rangers (the Army kind, not the DPS type) that I'd take with me to that transaction.

You guys right now:

No, I actually live several states away in Iowa. Getting it would require quite a bit of work.

CrustyRedXpress said:

You guys right now:

I've always joked that the only things I knew about NYC were from watching Charles Bronson in "Death Wish"

In reply to CrustyRedXpress :

Please...  I've lived it Fort Worth and not an especially nice part.  I was in a high school class with a kid that was murdered at a party.  

Drawing victims in with the promise of a favorable transaction is a tactic older than written language.  It's literally in the Old Testament.  

You have two valuable pieces of information.  The seller has access to firearms and looks like he could be an idiot.  The guns don't bother me an iota.  This is Texas, I just assume everyone has one.  The idiot part gives me pause.

One idiot contains the destructive power of a legion.  The potential human suffering is literally unlimited.  I've done stuff no sane person should, but I'm not rolling to meet a potential idiot less than three deep.  Urban, rural, farmersonly.com, I don't care.  

​

In reply to CrustyRedXpress :

I've lived in big cities.  I like being the country.  The deer aren't dangerous.  You know what's the most dangerous thing to people?  
 

And I'd hardly call me scared, but you are free to think whatever you like.