Michael's AMC Javelin Build

[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=yVO2X0oVQEc&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=hVPYWeuTBkE&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!

[SuperBuickGuy]

very nice, it's back from the dead

[mike343sharpstick]

Congratulations!
Seriously cool to see you knock through the car and get it on the road.

[Javelin]

Thanks fellas!

[mrocketscience]

The car looks great! I like it..

[milner351]

Great work - we were out on a walk last night and a guy drove by in an orange and black amx javelin - very clean obviously freshly restored car, sounded completely stock.

It's great to see cars like this be brought back by careful owners, well done!

[Javelin]

I ordered some Hooker Aero Chamber mufflers for it and my cruise pass for the 25th came in the mail. I hope to get some work done on the doors and interior this weekend (passenger door doesn't open, windows hard to roll down, locks INOP, etc). Then get the exhaust done next week, bleed the brakes again, change the oil, and do some polishing.

[Javelin]

Phew! I've been working on this car non-stop all month. Here's the first part of catching-up the build thread:

Door panel disassembly



The next item on the list was to rebuild the doors. I started with the driver’s side and pulled off all of the parts. I bagged and tagged the hardware and went and bought all new stuff at the local hardware store.

Door innards rebuild



Of course the main reason for popping the door panels was to rebuild the innards. I took the glass off the track, rebuilt all of the seals and felts, lubed the winder and tracks, and reinstalled. I also took the time to lube all of the locks, hinges, latches, and linkage inside as well as clean out the door and drain plugs.

Upholstery work



Don’t be afraid of interior upholstery! After fixing the plastic inner piece’s cracks with JB Weld Epoxy, I glued the original rubber outer back on with 3M adhesive and liberal application of vise-grip.

Door complete!



After a thorough scrubbing of the door panel pieces and a coat of 303 Aerospace Protectant, I put the door panel back together with the new hardware. I also cleaned and polished the chrome latch handle and door lock, and installed a new window crank (from the Hornet). Now it all works like it’s supposed to and looks great, too!

Repeat steps 1-100...



The passenger door didn’t even open when I got the Javelin. It took longer than I want to admit to coax the passenger door open, but once I did accomplish that I repeated all of the steps from the driver’s door. The passenger side turned out even better (due to less use/wear), but needs the fake woodgrain trim piece to be finished up.

[Javelin]

Finally!!!



The rest of the front suspension finally arrived! My special welded LCA’s got damaged beyond repair in shipping, so these are stock ones with new bushings and a stubber (my car was only built with one…). Now I just need to find an entire uninterrupted day to install it all…

More cleaning...



Lots of vacuuming, de-carpeting, scrubbing, de-molding, etc, etc got me to here… You can ride in the car without a bio-hazard suit again! No more mold growth plants, either…

Driving places!



Now I can finally drive this project places, like to work! It’s still loud (no exhaust), ugly (flat paint), and unknown (25 miles in the last 26 years…) but it got me there and back!

[Javelin]

Break out the polish!



I was tired of the outside looking like absolute trash, so I spent a day with the polisher. The fender is washed, cleaned, and polished with the Porter-Cable, the door is just washed. See the difference? It’s not “saving” the paint, but at least it’s smooth, no longer chalky, and finally has a bit of gloss. The Javelin now looks more like a “driver” and less like a “I was in a field 10 minutes ago” car.

Phew!



And quite a few hours and many 6” buffing heads later… Voila! Again, it’s not a miracle, but it’s at least an improvement. “Polishing a turd” is how Mrs. Javelin put it…

Close up



Compare this shot to the earlier ones in the build and you can really see the smoothness difference. Now I can do a Duke’s slide across the hood!

I also installed a starter button under the dash.

[JOES66FURY]

you underestimate the difference, it is nothing short of a miracle...wht a diff...nice work!