Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!! I finally own my original dream car, an AMC Javelin! Granted, it’s the 70 Mark Donohue that have always intrigued me, but this will do, as it can be a 73 Trans Am Championship car (which was a dealer-ordered fender decal). It’s a 1973 AMC Javelin SST. Trans-Am Red, Black interior with White vinyl high-back buckets. 360ci V8 with a 4Bbl and dual exhaust. 727 Torque-Flite transmission, full length console with a floor shift. Power brakes, front sway bar, power steering, and electric wipers. Mods so far: MSD Coil, K&N open-element air cleaner, 1970 high-flow non-emissions exhaust manifolds, 2.5” dual exhaust with Hooker Aero Chamber mufflers and downturns, KYB shocks, Weld Rodlite wheels with BFG radials, and a factory AMC front disc brake swap. Project costs: Car: $250 Transportation: $150 Solenoid & cables: $36.49 Remote start & ignition switch: $25.93 Plug wires: $24.72 Tune-Up parts: $100.72 Points & coil: $75.39 Air cleaner: $33.99 Brake lines: $168.32 Water pump, etc: $168.84 Wheels & Tires: $400 Fuel pump, hoses, shocks, etc: $181.72 Turn rotors, rebuild calipers: $52.00 Brake hardware: $34.40 U-joints and starter button: $78.63 Transmission and differential service: $212.01 Drums: $77.90 Mufflers: $152.00 Exhaust: $188.83 Optima: $169.09 Battery Return: -$66.01(CR) Oil change & wipers: $78.96 Lug nuts: $57.62 Spacers: $25.00 Total: $2676.55
Here’s the Optima I had to buy to make it through the autocross. This stupid …
The big news since the autocross is that my original alternator was dead (which killed …
Even though the Javelin still has teething issues, it really does drive well. Plus I …
So we had the car on jackstands before our run group went to decide on …
Well it can make it around a course! Nothing has broken, nothing is leaking, and …
Can you believe that less than 10 weeks ago this thing drove for the first …
More time, more drives, more miles. Just driving this thing on mundane trips, like here …
That same wheel is horribly sized for the front, however. The 285 is the absolute …
In preparation for the upcoming autocross, I borrowed a good friend’s Enkei RPF-1 from his …
When you look at pictures of just the Javelin, it looks massive. In reality though, …
On a drive home from work I started to get a growl, then a squeak, …
My lighting problem came and went and came again, and I finally traced it down …
We’ve all seen that commercial. Old dude in a Camaro, it overheats, he stops for …
The new exhaust collector gaskets needed to be tightened as well after a few miles, …
I started with the squeaky belts. They stretched as they wore in, so I had …
Suddenly the Javelin’s brake lights went out, and then the taillights and parking lights followed. …
Now that the Javelin is running and driving, it’s time to start putting some miles …
Do you see the busy road on the left? That’s I-5. I don’t like that …
After the show and cruise I ended up taking the Javelin to work nearly all …
And the first stop after the new exhaust? Why the parts store, of course! Actually …
With the new manifolds in I was finally able to make it to the exhaust …
The original exhaust manifolds on the Javelin had EGR provisions, which are these tubes that …
My Javelin got picked as one of the cars featured in Popular Hot Rodding’s annual …
I was tired of the outside looking like absolute trash, so I spent a day …
Now I can finally drive this project places, like to work! It’s still loud (no …
Lots of vacuuming, de-carpeting, scrubbing, de-molding, etc, etc got me to here… You can ride …
The rest of the front suspension finally arrived! My special welded LCA’s got damaged beyond …
The passenger door didn’t even open when I got the Javelin. It took longer than …
After a thorough scrubbing of the door panel pieces and a coat of 303 Aerospace …
Don’t be afraid of interior upholstery! After fixing the plastic inner piece’s cracks with JB …
Of course the main reason for popping the door panels was to rebuild the innards. …
The next item on the list was to rebuild the doors. I started with the …
Trip three was to the local repair shop staffed by some good friends. They are …
After getting some gas in the car (trip 2!) I decided it was high time …
Here’s what 5 quick minutes of hand-rubbing with a mild polish got me… I do …
Well if you watched the first drive video, you know the brakes were dragging. The …
With the Javelin out in the sun it was time for another pressure-washing. Goodbye mold, …
And there we have it! The first drive under it’s own power since 1986!!! Video …
The jackstand test of the transmission shows movement in both axles and all four (including …
The original duals have had it. Both mufflers were completely rusted out and both pipes …
With the correct spacers for the booster in hand I completed the brake rebuild/upgrade with …
It took a lot of unloading and cleaning, but here’s the bare trunk floor. There …
Yes, these are the original 1973 Oregon plates. Don’t be fooled by the “98” registration, …
And boy was it full! Two tires, a wheel and tire, and a wheel, plus …
This took way longer than it should have, but I finally got the right combination …
And I finished off by finishing mounting the spindle, caliper bracket, and dust shield on …
The new K&N filter is in and some general cleaning and maintenance performed. I want …
Then the problems started! The new water pump has a different shaft and snout compared …
The new GM-style alternator I have from a Wagoneer won’t work on my Javelin without …
I kept going on the engine today. The thermostat has been replaced, and I’m glad …
Yes, I painted my calipers bright red. It’s my car and I’ll do whatever cliche’s …
I removed the original water pump while I was doing the fuel pump for better …
Time to start attacking the front brakes now. I cleaned, sanded, and painted the various …
With the drums completed on both sides, I polished up the new Welds and mounted …
With the correct wheel cylinders in hand it was a snap to get the drums …
I cleaned and painted the power steering pump off of the bracket and reinstalled it. …
The new shocks are KYB’s. Not anything fancy, but since the suspension is stock right …
The shock tower hats/mounts are re-installed all cleaned up. The old Monroe shock is on …
Since the rear was up on jackstands and everything was apart, I blacked out the …
When I had the Javelin delivered the right rear axle was frozen solid and the …
The master cylinder, brake booster, and some of the lines are removed. Threading in the …
I took the front shocks out to replace them and cleaned and painted the mounts …
I also ordered up a new aluminum water pump, thermostat, some gaskets, and that K&N …
All the suspension parts (sort-of) came in! I’ll explain; I wanted to get a spare …
Got the fan and pulley cleaned, sanded, primed, and painted. Cleaned the spacer bracket as …
The roof primer is holding up well. There’s no bare spots or rust besides a …
The front plate mount was large, steel, mangled, rusty, and heavy, none of which are …
Since I was already there I decided to pull the original 55 amp alternator out. …
Now I’ve got some good access to the front of the motor. Obviously I need …
I have a seriously bad habit of going “while I’m in here” with this car… …
I also managed to start the coolant system rebuild. The old coolant actually looked really …
The grill header panel is finished and reinstalled. The driver’s fender needed a little tweaking …
This weekend was the giant swap meet at Portland International Raceway and the Portland Expo …
That wraps up the primer-thon for now. I removed the tape and I’ll let it …
After hand sanding or wire brushing in the channels, using compressed air to spray all …
Unfortunately, the a-pillars are rotted out. This is very common in cars this old, and …
An hour or so later, and many sheets of 80-grit gone, we had a somewhat …
One of the reasons all these little jobs take up so much time is that …
The bracket then got coated in the original semi-gloss black. Every little bit helps on …
Even though the Javelin came from a dry area and has minimal rust, there’s still …
One of the next little jobs on the Javelin was to restore the throttle and …
We had a freak snow storm drop 12” in 24 hours this January, which was …
The last thing to do to the control arms was weld in side plate supports. …
I also finally got around to scrubbing, sanding, and painting the wheelwell on the driver’s …
Here’s a spare pair of front lower control arms that came with the brakes. What’s …
I was finally able to get to the brake assemblies that my Dad sent and …
Part of the reason progress on the Javelin has been so slow is that my …
And with that I cleaned and painted the hardware for this side and installed the …
I finally got around to the Driver’s side valve cover and the numbers on this …
It may not look like much, but this metal and tarp contraption will allow me …
I finally started making some progress on the other side of the engine! The intake …
So the Javelin hasn’t been worked on much (at all) lately, because I’ve been getting …
Another box from Santa (my Dad) came in containing everything I need to restore the …
I celebrated July 4th by firing the 360 up and letting her turn some gas …
Not the most exciting update, I know, but the broken lens would have failed the …
Now that the battery tray is solid and rust-free I was able to reinstall the …
The new battery tray is now installed with new hardware. Since the fender/framerail metal was …
I kinda hate to admit it, but my motor is only 1/2 clean and shiny… …
I have to confess, I was nervous about this. See, there was supposed to be …
Well one box contained a new power booster, a master cylinder, a radiator hose, a …
There were some heavy boxes left on the doorstep, I wonder what they could be?
That’s why! After a few hours of cleaning, degreasing, scraping, and vacuuming, I was able …
These are reproductions of the decals originally found on my engine. Usually you got either …
The inside of the engine is amazingly clean! There was no varnish or sludge in …
I’ve slowly been able to de-grease the engine and get it repainted it’s factory EN66 …
The battery tray bolts to the inner fender apron, and mine was pretty solid underneath. …
I can’t help it. Old American V8’s are probably the only truly pretty motors out …
The first shipment of goodies has arrived! This is one of the many cool parts …
I also took the spindle off of the passenger front. You can see there’s a …
After much cursing and hammer beating I did finally manage to get the drum of …
Well work on the Javelin ground to a halt. Between Mother’s Day activities, making family …
So I did! I hand-scraped the majority of the gunk off, took a wire brush …
The Javelin is actually pretty clean underneath, but every car could use a good scrubbing …
Well yes, the actual trim molding will come off too, but right now I’m talking …
Now that the Javelin is a confirmed runner I need to start focusing on other …
While the suspension is no doubt tired, it should be OK for the inspection to …
The next step to getting the Javelin totally operational is to change the brakes. The …
After running up to temp again the old oil was drained. It actually looked pretty …
This is how it’s fueled for now. Basically, I have no idea what kind of …
Yesterday the Javelin got started again, she fired right up. The engine was run for …
So after months of trying, buying and swapping parts, testing things, and generally working my …
Hmmm, coil didn’t do it (even though the old one tested bad). Only one thing …
So after an off weekend to start autocrossing, it’s back to the Javelin! First up …
Yes, that is another new solenoid. I’m 99% sure the other two are actually fine …
Whilst chasing down the still no-start issue it was pointed out that grounds could be …
We got hammered with a snowstorm last week, and then again on the weekend. Hours …
Okay, a recap. The Javelin now sports the following new parts: battery, battery cables, ground …
Still had a no-start situation with the Javelin, so I grabbed a new ignition switch …
Here’s the new starter in place, with new cable. This old car is a joy …
Okay and a few hours later, everything is installed! We are really close to trying …
All eight spark plugs were then pulled both to assess their condition and to spray …
Now that the long, cold, and rainy winter is nearing being done I’ve been able …
This simple looking device is an AMC V8 engine priming tool. My grandfather actually machines …
This is the original Motorcraft 4 barrel carburetor. First time it has seen the light …
Did a little cleaning today and some more inspecting. The interior should clean up nicely! …
First off, under the hood. I shop-vac’d up all the dirt and mouse poo and …
You'll need to log in to post.
