Last year, a set of mirrors were purchased for a ’72 Javelin, but the angle of the lower bracket seemed off when mounted on the ’73. These mirrors can fit an AMX and Javelin with minor mods to the base, but they are difficult to locate. To customize your AMX or Javelin with a day/night mirror, you can use AMC interior parts, such as new reproduction gauge chrome ring trims.
AMC advertised that a Javelin with a 280-horsepower 343 and a four-speed could do 0-60 in 7.86 seconds. However, the day/night lever on a 68 Javelin interior mirror is very hard to move, and there are various opinions and options when restoring your AMX or Javelin. This restoration guide chronicles the entire process of AMC ownership from selecting a vehicle to disassembly to final re-assembly.
The mirror itself comes apart with two screws on the frame. The first step involves mixing two mL of Tin of Silver with 2 oz of water and laying the mirror in a tray to lubricate it. The mirror has discoloration within the glass, but the vinyl plastic trim around the mirror is in good condition.
To fix the mirror, remove the mirror from the car, heat the rubber/plastic edge with a heat gun, and use the ratty corner as the starting point. The mirror kit, painted with a chrome base, is available for purchase at $439.97.
📹 Full Build: Transforming an AMC Javelin to a 70s Muscle Machine
Tommy and Marc have new project in the shop and have some unique plans that pay homage to the street machine era. But to do …
📹 Interior electronics 1974 AMC Javelin
In March of 1973, I ordered a new 1973 American Motors Javelin AMX from Art Post Rambler in Kalamazoo Mi. I ordered the 401 Go Pac with the 4 speed manual and 3.91 rear gears, am fm Motorola stereo, all tint windows, inside map light, inside hood release, power steering, body side scuff molding. It is Cordoba brown with gold, fade to black hood T stripe, and black vinyl interior. The only changes that I have done to the Javelin are, 1970 Rebel Machine cast iron intake, Removal of the Air Injection Smog Pump. The addition of a larger 1 in. front sway bar and the addition of a 3/4 in rear sway bar, other than that the car is all original while anything removed from the car is saved and stored. My Javelin has not been on the 1/4 mile drag strip, but has been raced for several years on a Gymkhana road course. My wife has taken a few 1st place trophy’s by beating out Camaros and Mustangs in a best timed, one car at a time Gymkhana races. The Javelin was retired from racing in 1982 and now only goes to car shows and cruise in’s during the summer months. It is always garaged and stored up on jacks during the winters. This Javelin AMX is a fun car to drive yet today. Where I live, I burn unleaded non ethanol 91 octane gas with the addition of 5 ounces of Lucas upper cylinder lubricant in every tank of gas to aid the valve seats. Some day in the near future, the 401 will come out and get a rebuild along with a slightly hotter cam along with a set of nice headers with an X crossover, other than that along with new bushings for the front end it needs nothing.
My Uncle (Rest in Piece) had two Javelins. One was orange with black stripes and another dark purple with black stripes. Both had stock bored out 401s. Everything was original Sept alternator, battery, and items like that which have a shelf life. Really wish I could have gotten one but I was 15 when he decided to pass them on.
Thanks guys for paying tribute to AMC, the last of the independent auto makers and the great cars that they produced. What they accomplished performance wise with the limited funds that they had to work with was phenomenal. It was a very sad day for me when they closed their doors. ( I guess I’m giving away my age.)
2nd gen Javelin is one of those muscle cars that goes from a 3/10 looks wise to a 8/10 with some stance and mods, or 10/10 hands down best looking muscle car ever made if you are a lunatic like the Ringbrothers. lol. I love them, and given how few there were made: AMC used good steel that dealt with rust a lot better than cars from the big 3 back then.
My cousin had this bodystyle in a 74 AMX Hurst edition. I remember the dash with the Trans Am style turned machine inset around the gauges, his had a tach in the dash. He could spin tires in the first 3 gears till he shattered the axles, after fixing it he drove it normal till he traded for a 64 Impala convertible.
Love the build I had a 71 with a 401. I wish this build could have had a 401 or even a 360 and some dragstrip time. My 401 was .020 over with a roller hyd 236/242 @ .050 and .540/560 lift w/ a 110 LSA. The heads were Edelbrock with the runners opened to 205 cc’s and minor cleanup of pockets and ports. I used Harland Sharp roller rockers 1.6:1 ratio and a Torker as I found it to give more horsepower than the RPM without sacrificing throttle response. Carburetion was a 770 Demon. The oil line and distributor mods were done and I installed ARP studs on the mains and heads. The rods ( which had ARP bolts) were stock steel and prepped as was the crank. Headers were 1&3/4″ out of 3″ers. Horsepower was 524 @ 5800. It idled well, had great throttle response and sounded like a bear with it’s nuts caught in a trap. Underrated engine that 401
I remember a 1973 AMX at a local dealership in the late seventies. It was from California. It was red with a 401 and Pierre Cardin interior. That headliner is Pierre Cardin. This car had the full interior previously. Very cool. I never understood why they weren’t as popular as others when they had more style than most.
Thanks for doing an AMC – a lot of today’s generation doesn’t even know about AMC and they actually turned out some neat pony cars. I learned a lot about paint from the fella on the gun….again thanks for going into the methodology. You birds picked a great graphic and complimented it with the right colors. Good job!
My high school car was a lot like this. In November of 1986 my dad came home in a gold on gold on Gold 1975 Dodge Dart Swinger. It was 100% OEM with less than. 13,000miles on it. It took a week before I had tented the side a d rear windows dark black along with the upper 1/4 of the windshield. Add air shocks and antihope bars just like this raised in the rear with 14×8 205/35/14 front 255/45/15 rear with the exact same Crager mags, the 2 barrel Carter carb and OEM steel intake manifold, OEM Altrrnator, H2O Pump, Fuel Pump, distributor, air cleaner, all came off while the cam, timing gears, heads, rockers, lifters, came out. All replaced with MRP bolts, rockers, rods, lifters, Crower Cam, timing gears to loose the sloppy chain, alloy heads ported and polished from a 68 Dodge 340ci, alloy intake manifold from a 67 Plymouth 360ci motor, OEM was replaced by Accel Distributor, Coil, Wires AC Delco Plugs, Holley HP Fuel pump, braided stainless lines, double pumper 650cfm Holly Dominator 4 Barrel Carberator, K&N Triangle washable foam and stainless air cleaner, King electric duel 15″ fans, H2O pump and Oil pump to reduce belt drag, small underdrive pulley on the AC alternator making 12 volts still, B&M shift kit, u joints, alloy drive shaft from a 67 Cuda, rear posi axle from 69 Barracuda Fast Back, Pioneer cassette deck, 12 website equalizer, 2x 250W Pioneer AMPs for door and front speakers & 1ea 1,000W AMP for rear speakers, subs, mounted under rear window deck, speakers 2x 3″ mids & 2×4″ Highs in the dash, 2×6″ Lows in the front doors 2x 6″ Highs rear 1/4 panels, 2x 6×9 wide range rear deck, 1x 6×9 wide range center front dash, 2x 15″ woofers in custom axe shaped boxes in trunk under deck, 1 x 18″ subwoofer in large custom round box in spare wheel well.
I owned a 73 Javilin AMX with a built 401 and Go Package back in the late 80s, early 90s. Had the spray in it too. Looked pretty much the same as yours but mine of course had the cowl hood. It ran high 13s at 114 mph without spray with like 308 gears or something like that, I can’t remember exactly. I do remember it was a bitch to get the thing to hook off the line. It spun all the way through 2ond gear. Wish I still had her.
En los años 70, 78 79 en Venezuela los compraban solo los millonarios!!! Y eran tan poderosos que se mataban por las altas velocidades que alcanzaban, el rollo es que su peso era muy poso. Yo tenía 16 años y soñaba con tener uno😭😭😭😭sigo soñando a los 63, pero el que más me mata es el mejor deportivo jamás construido en todo el universo!!! El CORVETTE C3 de 1982. Chicos gracias por este reportaje maravillosos👍🏻👍🏻💎💎💎💎💎🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
I owned a 1968 Javelin SST 390 CID with the “Go Package.” It`s amazing how much knowledge about that engine has been lost over the decades. The v8 was the same motor for all 3 of their displacements. But the 390 had extra webbing in their main block for reinforcement. And it had a stainless-steel crankshaft. The 390 heads had dog-leg ports which could be cleaned out for better air flow. My best single improvement was headers which knocked a full second off my quarter mile runs.
Nice build! Good to see something unusual being built to more modern standards. I like that the standard engine was built up too, that will make a lot of people think about hopping up their own little 302, 305 or 304’s instead of forking a huge amount for a big cubic inch engine. not everybody has a loose 100000 to build their car. One thing that I do have to ask though, with the much bigger diameter tires out back changing the “final gear” ratio, wouldn’t the car make more torque and power on the chassis dyno? I would have liked to see the difference between a near stock tire size and the new wheel set and the huge rear meats. Maybe a diff gear change to a lower number like a 3.73:1 would make it easier for that little 304 to push that javelin a little quicker. I’d like to see how numbers change with different ratios and the same mechanicals.
I like the transformation BUT I really liked it how it was before, I would of added longer duration cam with a near stock cam centerline with only a bit more lift with those edelbrock heads with a decent 10 to 1 compression ratio, refresh bottom end nothing radical 190hp to the wheels I would’ve been fine with all stock exhaust. I think this car is golden . you guys did a great job btw.
Well I’m not quite sure what you guys are doing there but those are supposed to have 152 horse factory 304 engine and a 73 AMC well not just that year but nonetheless I knew it was closer to 160 as I guess I had to check I wonder if you are getting full throttle and running it to Red line nonetheless that’s a bit of a difference that’s 19 horsepower difference and at that I will say I what’s really going on LOL
That’s the way they are supposed to look. When working summers at my grandparents restaurant,I got a good look at AMC javelins, AMX … there neighbor was a AMC Fanatic and would roll multiple cars he owned and modified. They all had the stock factory tire/wheel setup. I really like the stock look …. The AMX had a powerful presence, no rear seat from the factory.
HOWdy P-N, Thank you for the ” AMC ” Episode I beLIEve that better POWER could have been achieved with appropriate SIZED heads (instead of the “401” aluminum aftermarket items) + a CARBURETOR … (instead of EFI) … those ALUMINUM Heads SHROUDED the Valves to the point that you were required to NOTCH the engine block for clearance … ( I have done this exact same BIG VALVE 401ci Heads onto a 290ci / 304ci AMC V-8 engine in the past myself – only with OEM Cast-Iron heads ) instead – I would be interested in a Cast Iron HEAD with the largest valves that would fit inside your 3.75″ bore ( + any overbore) and and appropriately sized HOLLEY Double Pumper ( just for comparison’s sake ) IMHO Thanks for the AMC Episode COOP …
My little brother has a AMX Javelin just like the yellow one you had on the beginning. That 401 damn near sits still as you rev it and is quite possibly the quickest car I’ve ever rode in that was stock. I mean it’s quicker than his twin that has a Judge with a cam. Very fun car that slams you in the back of your seat as you go through the gears and up to 100 in 2 telephone poles.
It’s great they stayed with an AMC mill in it, but I would have kept it carbureted instead of injecting it, but they have to go with what their sponsors want them to promote. A properly sized and tuned carb will perform just as well if not better than injection and would have been sticking with the 70’s image they were going for.
I love almost every muscle car that was made and the car you all built is amazing. I wish I had the money to buy it from you guys!!! Hell I’d probably sleep in it for the first few weeks cuz I wouldn’t be able to get enough of it, I’d just have to leave the keys in the house just to make sure I don’t try to sleep drive the thing lol
I bought a brand new 1970 Javelin 390, big bad green (lime green) with the half black vinyl top, bucket seats, polished Crager mag wheels, sporty tires, cotter pin hood locks, & it cost $2,800.00, damn! Today that thing would cost at least 20 times that. But I remember back in 1970, $2,800.00 was a shit load of money!💰I was in my early 20s & I looked cool as hell 😎 rollin’ down the street. 👍
I had a 73 and 74 with the 304. I added headers with true duals. Accel ignition. 460 Holley carb with Trick kit. Edelbrock dual plane aluminum intakes. B&M Trick shift trans kit. Floor mounted B&M Starshifter and open element air cleaners. Definitely needed more compression but they both had huge improvements. Both had 59 series 12″ wide real tires thanks to air shocks
Just watched this. Most likely this originally had the Pierre Cardin seats that matched the headliner and door inserts when new. The stripes matched the interior stripes and wen across the seats and up the backrest. Really nice build, as a kid I didn’t appreciate AMC, as I have grown older the looks of the Javelin/AMX have really grown on me,
Would be sacrilege to put anything other than the same motor back in there. Yes, it looks like the 70s. I had those deep dish cragers on my 68 Nova, but on the rear I was running M/T G60 cheater slicks, those look like L60s. I didn’t want them to stick out all goofy like that! Lol It always seemed like the wannabe muscle cars had that look. Cragers, Gabriel Hi-Jackers (air shocks), and Hush Thrush mufflers. No engine mods. Lol
one thing to keep in mind, you need to run 91 octane or higher in amc engines from this era. i had a 72 gremlin and the thing ran like crap on anything lower than 91 octane. that’s because when these cars came out, 91 was the lowest octane at the time. tried running 87 in it and the fuel mileage cut in half and was gutless. went from being able to smoke the tires to barely able to make it up hills.
I had a 73′ Duster. I’m about 6′-2″ 290lbs and in the mid 1980’s me and my brother were working on the Duster. We had to change the heater core. Now the average dude would do what Tommy showed all of us; loosen the clamp and cut the heater hoses with a nice sharp blade. What did I do? Well, we had ZZ Top blasting on the car’s audio system and I just locked my Gorilla hands onto one of the hoses and ripped it right off the firewall. The back of my right elbow made a V-Curve in the top of the radiator. I’m looking at the car and then I brushed off my arm and said “I broke the pretty car”. My brother and my friend Scott were on the ground laughing and howling. So, don’t be a Gorilla like me and use a sharp blade and cut the hoses off just like Tommy.
First thoughts after the chassis dyno pulls, after he said that it “kicked down” I knew it was a 304, because I’ve honestly never heard of a 401 having an auto behind it. I’m not trying to say that they didn’t exist, but I’ve never heard of a 401 auto, so it must not have been prevalent, or nobody wanted the auto. I can tell you that a 401 swap in this Javelin would be sick with a 5 or 6 speed manual with much higher compression, a set of ported aluminum heads, and a much higher duration and lift cam. I’m not saying that a 304 can’t make horsepower, but everyone knows without a power adder that there’s no replacement for displacement.
There’s no words… My Dad was an AMC man. He said Dodge was the blue collar man’s car, he only had T-shirts so he drove AMC’s. Rebels, Ramblers, Ambassadors… our yard always had a couple. As a kid, I fell in love with the Javelin. Never found one in any kinda shape or price I could afford. perusal this almost made me cry. I envy the individual that ended up with this machine. Great job guys, wouldn’t change a thing. 😎 Awesome car…
This article warms my heart. As soon as I saw the Cragar S/S’s on there, it was a winner! You guys did all the right things to make this car super fun and desirable. Kudos to using the original plant and cleaning up the rest without going off the deep end. That is one sweet ride. I always loved the AMC’s in the 70’s, in our home town, we had a couple of Gremlins tricked out a little that were super cool boulevard babies. Thanks!
My mother was a AMC saleslady successful one. She got Subaru dealership in 76? She would take her 4×4 wagon demo car though the woods 3 times a week take it through mud holes had a huge rock put in the front lot parked it on top of the rock😂 had inside wiped down vacuumed every morning. Sold a boat load of them. Story in papers then others did it. Bosses in Japan got a kick out of it.
Ok since your playing with a AMC you have to find an old commercial made by AMC. Starts out an old man while inside his house was talking about his new AMC. I’m don’t remember if it was a Javelin or a Hornet. He started walking towards the front door because he heard his son coming home with the car. He was standing on the front porch when he pulls up and there is a blower sticking out of the hood barking like a full blown race motor. Looking just like yours. Next thing he’s chasing his kid around the car saying he was going to kill him. Good luck trying to find it.
The intro talks about how much they liked Trans Am, then they did something completely different…. To make matters worse, built an engine that makes less power than they did in Trans Am. The engines they used at first (Based on a 290 and Traco built them), and made 360-380hp at the crank. By 1971 they were much more powerful (480-525) and would have been street worthy and still made more power than the engine in this Javelin, with aluminum heads, on 93 octane. Using todays tech, they got less power…. The problem today, is that most buy parts off the shelf, slam them in, and then don’t get any power out of it. Little things like using a better rod length, which they claimed parts are not easy to find. And all they had to do was look in a strait 6…. Same crank pin diameter, same wrist pin diameter, but 6 1/8 long…. Where do you think people got the idea, and the rods, to run long rods in a budget 304 that would run circles around a short rod one? 199/232/258 strait 6 rods… You can build a screaming 304, that runs fine for daily use and on pump gas. You are probably going to have to get custom pistons on any 304 build, so it really doesn’t matter if you want longer rods. A longer rod engine will run smoother, last longer, get better gas mileage, and make more top end power. Basically it would be everything this one isn’t.. This is not paying homage to the engines that roamed the streets in the 1970’s, at least not the ones that won races. Not even close. This show will never show you how to use parts from another engine to make a better engine, because there is basically no sponsorship for that.
Putting tires outside the fender well to mimic a mistake made in the 70s is kinda like putting on makeup to mimic acne some kids had in the 70s. Also, those goofy graphics in the paint could have been added on top of his red paint. Who sees a nicely painted red car and thinks “damn I’d like to sand that red paint down and paint it red.” WTF
Ese carro es hermoso el javelin 1973 es genial 😁 💕 yo adquiri uno todo dañado 8 viejo lo restaure i a medida que lo limpiaba 8 acomodaba veia li hermoso i buen diseño que tenia solo hai que mejorarlos 7n poco subirles atras ka suspensiom i ponerles los 4 rines vde 8 pulgadas quisas de 10 pulsadas atras jejeje 🙈 es todo un pura sangre de los 70 cese coche jejeje
That Javelin looks tough!! It’s kind of a shame it doesn’t have about 100-150 more hp. It’s going to get picked on by some of the big boys out on the playground with those big meats out back. It looks the part of a Saturday night street racer, but she is lacking just a little bit to much in the hp department to be very competitive these days. 400hp minimum if you don’t want to get smacked around.
Nice build and great to watch. I was hoping we would see the stock engine on the dyno and a before and after engine dyno run. A 30%+ drive train loss is crazy but that was due to those rear tyres ( do it again with the original wheels and tyres and see the difference!) and the 1970s automatic. Good to watch 👍😎
Sooooooooo. Ya fergot to tell us how much the guy payed ya to take that that thing off his hands. Lol Every collector should have one, it really sets your cars off makes them look extra good Same reason for when you go to the club to meet the ladies you always bring a buddy who’s uglier than you. Lol Anywho keepemcoming
18:44 Fun fact: Subaru is considered a “low production manufacturer.” They do everything they can to be as efficient as possible. That means reuse the same parts across as many models as possible, and buy the most common stuff from someone else. Even if that “some else” is technically a competitor. The engine accessories (AC compressor, alternator) are made by Mitsubishi and the interior switches (windows, doors, etc) are made by Nissan.
You guys have done a BEAUTIFUL job on the looks of this car. Now……the only question I’ve got is why not drop in a warmed up AMC 401 rather than the warmed up little motor? Although the 401’a don’t grow on trees…..with a little bit of work you should be able to scare on up. There truly is not substitute for cubes. C’mon guys, lets find a big mill to put the power down.
Some sanding and a few more coats of clear would get rid of those lines caused by the graphics. Being a painter 100 years ago, I can’t stand seeing those lines in the clear coat. Personally, I think it ruins all the work y’all put into it by being lazy. It would only take 1 more day and it would give it a LOT better look. JMO
44:27 A single plane on a street driven car ? Who gave the OK on that one ? Nothing but pure looks over function. 👎🙄 Those back tires are ridiculous wide, doesn’t look right and will throw all kinds of road trash on your fancy new paint job. 1:06:48 Tiny air cleaner, hot 180*F engine bay air induction. Yup, doing it right. 👌 1:09:26 A/C delete ? ! Why ? Do you like to be sweaty and miserable ? 🤔