Michael's AMC Javelin Build

[milner351]

Nice

[Javelin]

I drove it further! I actually went to a friends house (about 1.5 miles away) and back.

Video of the first re-start: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVO2X...ature=youtu.be

[Beagle]

burnout vid?

good to get them moving!!

[Javelin]

No burnout yet, but it's coming!

The very first drive since 1986: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVPYW...1&feature=plcp

I also drove it to the gas station and back. Next stop, the shop for some mufflers!

[Javelin]

Fan issue solved



This took way longer than it should have, but I finally got the right combination of bolts, washers, and spacer to make the fan and pulley work correctly. Belts and upper radiator hose followed it in.

Finally got the trunk open, too



And boy was it full! Two tires, a wheel and tire, and a wheel, plus some cool old metal boxes of light bulbs, the original plates, and a pile of 727 TF internals! I think the repair the Javelin got abandoned for was the transmission got rebuilt! Woohoo!

26 years off the road...



Yes, these are the original 1973 Oregon plates. Don’t be fooled by the “98” registration, it’s actually an 86 registration upside-down. This car spent 26 years off the road!

[Javelin]

Dropped the tank



Part of the rebuild process was to get the Javelin off of the fuel can and onto it’s own fuel system. As the earlier updates showed, I had replaced the fuel pump and all hoses already. The last step was to drop the tank and assess. It still had gas in it! There was a little sediment, so I drained it (into a pan for recycling), added some fresh gas and swirled it, drained, repeat, etc. It was nice and clean inside and solid (ie - the baffles haven’t rusted off), so back in it went!

Trunk floor



It took a lot of unloading and cleaning, but here’s the bare trunk floor. There is some surface scale, but no rust holes! I will wire-wheel this, prime it, and paint it with AMC splatter paint in the near future.

Brakes are done!!!



With the correct spacers for the booster in hand I completed the brake rebuild/upgrade with a rebuilt booster and new master cylinder. I had to install one conversion fitting and bend the original lines a bit to get it all in, but it’s done. Bled out nicely with new DOT4.

[Javelin]

Exhaust fail



The original duals have had it. Both mufflers were completely rusted out and both pipes were smashed. Sawzall took care of all that weight…

Video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVO2X...&feature=g-upl

Movement!!!



The jackstand test of the transmission shows movement in both axles and all four (including reverse) gears! Let’s put the wheels on…

Disc swap



The disc swap portion of the brake job was actually stupid easy. These are the factory Kelsey-Hayes discs that would be on 360 and 401 Javelin’s and AMX’s optioned with them from 71-74. Everything came off of a Javelin and bolted right to mine with no issues at all. The new hoses fit great and the red calipers look pretty good to me.

[Javelin]

Down on all fours!



This is the first time in over a year that the Javelin has been on it’s own four wheels and tires! Next step is to make it drive…

First Drive!!!



And there we have it! The first drive under it’s own power since 1986!!!

Video of the actual first move:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVPYW...&feature=g-upl

Another pressure washing



With the Javelin out in the sun it was time for another pressure-washing. Goodbye mold, mildew, dirt, cat prints, and other grit! Hmmm, the paint looks good. Maybe I can save it?

[Javelin]

Adjustments



Well if you watched the first drive video, you know the brakes were dragging. The rears would lock up as soon as I let off the gas. I took this to mean that I messed up the install, but the drum popped right off. A little digging showed that my power booster uses an adjustable threaded rod for the master cylinder. So I adjusted that inward a lot, and voila! No more brake drag! I then went on a real test drive. A couple of miles through the back of the neighborhood to a friend’s house, stopped and showed off the car, then came back. Nice!

Save the paint?



Here’s what 5 quick minutes of hand-rubbing with a mild polish got me… I do believe that with my Porter-Cable and a lot of elbow grease I can get this “orange” at least back to glossy!

Started scrubbing the interior



After getting some gas in the car (trip 2!) I decided it was high time I took some elbow grease to the inside. I cleaned the mold up, vacuumed, and generally wiped things down. It ain’t anywhere near done, but at least now you can sit in the car without a biohazard suit on…

And into the shop with you!



Trip three was to the local repair shop staffed by some good friends. They are going to do the 727’s filter and fluid (you can drain the torque convertor in these) and the rear end grease. These are two jobs I loathe, and I always spill, so I farm them out! From here it’s off to the exhaust shop!

[Javelin]

And that brings us up to date! I did buy the cruise pass I was asking about earlier, which is on the 25th, so I still have quite the amount of work to get it ready to drive. Loving every minute of it!