Restoration, Restify, Renew, Custom
(under heavy construction)
This page is not a "you better do it like this or you are a idiot" page. It is geared to all those American Motors fans who want to simply improve their car, and in many times, taking it to the next level, whether for local or national car shows. You will finding a number of people commenting on here as time goes on so you will have a variety of opinions and options when restoring your AMX or Javelin, regardless of how YOU want to fix it up; this page is nothing more than tips that might help one make a educated decision. As with all the cars AMC built, your individual results will vary!
AMX & Javelin Rust Areas
Photos of 68-74 common rust areas. American
Motors rustproofed their vehicles, however, how well a 1960s or 70s car rusts
depends on a whole slew of factors! For instance here in Houston a car with a
vinyl top will rust under the vinyl top as it is a big sponge with the constant
humidity over 60%. A car in the 'rust belt' states loses 1/4 panels, floorpans,
and troughs. Cars stored inside out of weather might not show much rust, whether
a daily driver with 150,000 miles or a 14,000 mile vehicle. So lots of factors
determine rust. There are some great patch panels available for AMX &
Javelin like floorpans and 1/4 patch panels. Also available are fiberglass items
like trunk lids, doors, hoods, bumpers to help with restoration. Also available
is POR-15 which I have used on some of my cars and stops rust, and it never
comes back. Rust sucks, and can be extremely difficult to get rid of on any car.
So with that in mind, you will have to make a choice whether to turn your
restoration into a money pit...a fight you might never win, or try to find
another example of same vehicle with less rust that can make sure you enjoy the
car for many years to come instead of fighting a losing battle with a rust
bucket. This is a 1968 Javelin SST 343 Typhoon I parted out, and what better way
to show "common rust areas" on a AMX or Javelin than by photos. You
could then know where to look whether buying a car, or your own car simply
double check as not all rust is visible, like in the sill panel and rockers.
I may add that there are known
"factory defects" in AMX & Javelin when it comes to rust. The
three common rust pockets are: 1. quarter
panels. Driver
side 1/4 panel Passenger
side 1/4 panel
Inner wheelwell
passenger side This area rusts
as it traps dirt and other items inside the pocket either side inside the
trunk: Inner 1/4
trunk pocket passenger side
Forward rear wheel well
Driver side On
71-74 Javelin and AMXs, I recommend highly if you plan on keeping your wheel
well moldings, to run a line of POR-15 under it BEFORE remounting them, if you
use them at all. Those stainless are the leading causes of rust along wheelwells
as they trap road debris between sheetmetal and trim. 2. Sill
panel, this is the panel that runs between your
trunk lid and rear glass. If you crawl up and look at it inside the trunk, you
will see two holes. Basically this is a small oven, and the temp change and
humidity would get in there and rot it. There is no reproduction of this
difficult to find item. 3. Pillar posts.
On either side of the lower
pillar post (passenger side) a the
bottom of your windshield lies a tiny rain drain hole. Driver
side with vinyl trapment. The vehicles
didn't even leave Kenosha and that had filled up with dust and dirt. There is no
reproduction pillar posts. I recommend sealing this hole unless you wish to
later fix this area. This
is a AMX too far gone.
Other areas of high concern should be:
Troughs:
Especially northern cars or areas roads were salted in winters. These photos
show a Javelin with 38,000 original miles from Texas. No sale. Perfect troughs
however. Trough
passenger side.
Whole trough passenger side view.
Trough driver side.
Whole trough driver
side
Wiper motor. Always
look for rust around the drain hole at the bottom of the wiper motor, whether
the vehicle is vacuum or electric dose not matter, rain, water, leaves, bugs and
debris commonly fell thru the cowl here and accumulated.
Rockers Driver side The
rocker panels on both sides should be thoroughly inspected. They are
basically tubes and since close to ground, were exposed to salt, sand, and
water. Rocker panel clips.
All 68-74 AMX and Javelin had rocker panels except the 70 Trans Am Javelin.
These clips were galvanized and as time goes on, rusted. Note that this is a
generally rust free Texas car, however, this clip is fixing to take out the
whole rocker panel spreading rust.
Sill panel upper The
Sill Panel is the panel that runs horizontically between the rear glass and the
trunk lid. I highly recommend you pay especially close attention to this
troublesome area! Crawl in the trunk and look upwards at it, and poke around
with flashlight. This piece usually held moisture like a sponge. No replacements
available.
Trunk pan The trunk pans is usually the most neglected area, and is also prone to rust, especially the areas toward the rear with the welds below the tail lights. Pay extra close attention to the Tail light inner sockets as usually below them rust would form. And on the 73-74 models, few have escaped this problem as AMC sealed the lamps on with foam, so basically you had wet sponge between the housings and sheetmetal! Tail lights and lower valance behind the bumpers. While this tailight panel shows no rust, note the bottom frame rail. This is caused by humidity in this part of the country, other areas by salt.
Front floorpans should always be inspected, and should you find problems you will also like to know that these have been expertly reproduced.
Floorpan behind seats is another troublesome watch area, more so in northern cars. The reason why is this area hung closest to the ground. And if you had any sort of leaks inside the vehicle thru the years, it would end up right behind the seats in the lowest possible point. Lower radiator support While not a huge concern, no replacement is available for a 68-70 and 71-74. And many people have commonly made the mistake of thinking this flimsy tin lower support was what they could tow a car with. And it is tack welded on. Factory welds This particular photo shows under the driver side fender towards from cowl. Note the triangular brace. This is a major area of rust on northern cars. Factory weld lines While not a major concern or point of interest, these areas should be inspected before painting. This is a passenger side upper 1/4 panel weld line. The roofrail on all 68-74 AMX and Javelin Series should be inspected thoroughly, especially if the 68-74 Javelin or 71-74 AMX ever sported any type of vinyl roof. Roofrail outer lip shown here poses no problem with the stainless molding removed. However, this 68 AMX shows signs of life near the Gulf Coast here in Texas. AMX roofrail outer lip
Inner 1/4 glass rail
Rarely do you see this extensive rust unless it is a vehicle sitting outside,
windows down for years, but worth showing a photo of, as this area would be
covered up by a panel otherwise.
Hood lip and corners The
68 AMX has a defect in the hood that causes it to bow downward. This was
corrected by 69. It does not cause it to rust, however, special attention needs
to be shown in this area for 68-69 and into 70. Steel hoods for 71-74 are more
apt to rust like this than cowl induction hoods. Fiberglass hoods are now
available for all 68-69 AMXs, 70 AMX and Javelin and 71-74 AMX and Javelin.
Armrests. The armrests AMC used in 68-70 AMX & Javelin (and 68-71 Ambassador, Rebel & 71 Matador) are boxy type. Very prone to curling on top and pulling away at bottom, and also on the bottom very prone to breaking the center mount. These are held in by three long Phillips type screws. They are not easy to fix, especially in areas where heat (like here in Texas) shortened their life when new. Years ago, in the 80s, Barbara Szyjko or Willow Lane Coachworks in GA reproduced them, however, as nice as they were the bottom was closed. And the bottom serves as a vent with flap for air to flow thru the vehicle. In 2006, Mick McNeice of Canada has been restoring these and offers them at a very reasonable price. Note his craftsmanship on the plastic backing. To contact Mike, click on my Planet Houston Vendors List. Follow this set front & back:
Armrest 1 Armrest 2 Armrest 3 Armrest 4 Armrest 5 Armrest 6
AMX Javelin 68-69 Passenger Side Mirror Template Printable. Courtesy of Steve Lusich. Use this to install your Group 15 Accessory AMX and Javelin passenger side mirror.
Electrical
Wiper Schematic for 1968 thru 1970 AMX/Javelin.
Please note that the electric wiper switch back is
different for Rebel and Ambassador Series. It is IDENTICAL from the front,
however the plugs on back are different and won't work. You commonly see people
put them on ebay as 'amx/javelin electric wiper switch' when it fact it is for
reb/amb and will not work! To view the differences see your AMC Technical
Service Manual (shop manual) page 4-35 ELECTRICAL which shows the
differences. Speaking of wipers, AMC was the last automaker to use
crappy vacuum wipers on their vehicles. You could get them thru the end
of production July 1971. I have never understood why AMC was paying a UAW
autoworker lots of money to configure a contraption that was only going to fit a
1971 AMX or Javelin with vacuum wipers. The dash is unique to those cars, so the
wiper switch and washer switch would also have to be really unique. Electric
wipers were only a few dollars, so why bother and how much money did AMC waste
on making a contraption like this? It is a mystery to me, but here is one of two
I have ever had in stock, a 1971 AMX & Javelin Vacuum Wiper & Washer
setup. Front
& Back!
Rebel Machine Rims.
The AMC name for them is 15 inch styled steel wheels. They were part of standard
equipment on the 1970 Rebel Machine. However, you could get them on any 1970
Ambassador, AMX, or Javelin. In 1971-72, they could be had on on Ambassador, AMX,
Javelin and now Matador. While finding a set of these rims almost 40 years
later is a chore, and good rims command $400-$600 per rim, you need to know that
the trim ring was pressed on by AMC. So it is a Catch 22. If you try to remove
the trim ring, you risk damaging or destroying it and no replacements are
available, although there are some Chevy 15" inch rings that snap on which
look close. If you do NOT remove the trim ring underneath it will be a large
amount of dirt and dust that has accumulated thru the years, no matter how the
rim was taken care of. This causes a
ring of rust
on the rims which could cause collapse of compromise the structural integrity of
the rim itself!! This is a photo of one such rim that the trim ring has been
removed. While it can be sand blaseted and the rim repaired/fixed, note the rust
ring where the trim ring once was. There is a fellow who restores these specific
types of rims on my VENDORS
LIST. Look
up Jeffery Thomas on there, give him a shout, as he also not only restores
these, but he also usually has some for sale.
Air Guard System. This is your smog emissions system for manual transmissions starting in 1968. Also shown is the PVC setup for all 290, 343, and 390 two barrels. This will help you route your lines properly, or for those who wish to hook up smog equipment on their AMC. Air Guard. PVC setup.
AMX 68-70 Sail Panels. A number of AMX;s built in 1967 (60 AMXs built up to Dec 31st, 67) thru their introduction in February 68 didn't have shoulder harnesses. Some did, others did not. You will see brochures & drive reports of this era reflect this. The mounting hole in the 1/4 panel was moved in early 69 production however, but no one has ever told me why, which leads me to guess it was federally mandated change, or customers complained about it being uncomfortable in the early cars. And there were a number of changes AMC listened to their customers and responded to concerns, like the hard to read tachometer in 68 for instance. And hooded overlay. But this running change has always baffled me. Since this file is photo heavy, best way to show difference is by photos! This is a pair of ORIGINAL USED AMX Sail Panels. The 1967-68-to early 69 one is on the bottom, note the harness hole. The Early 69-all of 70 is on top. both original. This is a pair of my NEW reproductions. Note shoulder harness hole; the Early 1967-68-Early-59 one is on bottom; the early-69-all 1970 on top. I reproduced these with original grain in 2005, and sell them on ebay. They do not have the thin sheet of aluminum pressed behind them, but fit great, and you can get them with no hole, 67-68/early 69 hole near 1/4 glass; or early 69-thru all 70 hole in middle. This is a photo of a pair.
I have a few neat items I sell, one of them is a upper and lower radiator kit, this is the hard rubber seal shown here that is stapled to the baffle. The other similiar and thicker one is stapled to the lower radiator support. Both are commonly forgotten during restoration, although some cars did not have them to begin with. Mine come with original staples and flat spread clips just like originals. Check my ebay auctions.
AMC forged steel crankshafts vs cast crankshafts. I get this a lot and a picture is worth 1000 words. The photo is courtesy of BJ Builds A Engine. Forged has a line, cast does not!
AMC Go-Pack & Clock Restoration. A relatively new item in a sea of restoration items for the 68-70 AMX & Javelin is decals to restore the often faded faces of your 68-70 clock, 69 silver faced tachometer, 70 tachometer, and the fuel and temp gauges along with 140 miles per hour face. For more information, contact Mark Parks on my VENDORS list. You can also find his wares on ebay.
AMC 1970 Heated Rear Window Schematic. Not that you have one, only 56 AMXs in 1970 had one. I do not know how many Javelins left Kenosha with this option in 1970. I may add you could have this installed at your friendly American Motors Dealership also. This WAS NOT a option in 1968-69 on AMX and Javelin. 1970 only. And it was a grid of wires in the glass. Whiele the 71-74 AMX and Javelin rear glass is shorter, AMC used same grid for 71-72, and for 73, the rear window defroster was a fan in the rear package shelf below the window, in which this same setup was used for 73-74 Ambassador & Matador & 75-78 Matador.
AMC Paint. See PRODUCTION/TECH.
Shadow Mask Paint. See PRODUCTION/TECH.
AMC deviations & AMC Suppliers. Possibly the biggest question(s) I get is why difference in cars built possibly days apart. AMC used a wide variety of suppliers. A simple way to look at this is AMC Paint Suppliers. A look thru any AMC Annual Report thru the years to stockholders verifies this. And what was in the parts bins that day might not have been in the parts bins a month before. This also has been confirmed by many former AMC line workers. It is not that aMC was not consistent....they were! However, if the line slowed down or stopped for any reason, everyone loses money and heads would roll. Then you would have to face angry stockholders to explain why you ran out of something. One of my favorites is the red, rear lenses for 68-69 AMX & Javelin. While all the brochures show dark lens, there were in fact 3-4 shades of red plastic used. The lenses, and housings, were all made in Canada. I bought out the last remaining stash of NOS 68-69 housing/lens/emblem combinations known in 1988. There were 189 of them, some were dated 3-70, some 8-70 meaning they were pressed in March 70 and August 70. All were lighter than previously thought. All had been remaining stock from a Sarnia, Ontario, AMC dealership. Here is a variety of NOS AMC rear reflector lenses, and some combinations complete three piece as AMC sold them, undrilled from behind. The 68-69 panel itself is AMC part number 4485312 Group 26.039 for Javelin and 4485313 Grp. 26.039 for AMX. A single NOS lens. This is my favorite as the one NOS lens on the left, and all the combos are NOS. The far right is excellent used. This one shows a number of the NOS 68-69 Javelin combos, again, undrilled for mounting on the rear. Note light red. It is why you find oddities like several different grains of vinyl on same series. Here are two different red, rear lenses, same part number, different shades. Lens #1 Lens #2. Or different Ram Air seals on SC/Rambler. This continued into the 80s. This is three different Eagle SX/4 decals.....all made within a 3 year span by AMC. All AMC part number 3741517. Note the differences in open faced, closed face, and rounded vs squared edges on the letters. Radios? AMC used Ford Philco; Motorola, RCA, Mitsubishi to name a few radios. I could go on and on about interior colors, molded soft and hard items. The bottom line is this. You will find deviations in many aspects of American Motors. Even low mile original cars. Don't read too much into it. AMC didn't they sold someone a car.
Ill Fitting Parts. Don't be led to believe that just because it is NOS (new old stock) it fits right. That's bullshit. AMC used, as mentioned above, a huge numbers of suppliers and whoever had the lowest bid got the job. So you have NOS items in bag you go to try to install and they break, snap, or fit awkwardly on the vehicle. NOS dash items come to mind, mostly because they were molded, however, grilles also quickly come to mind, as while most were plastic inject molded, even if same company did them repeatedly, the molds could only be used for X amount of pressings before they sag. Think of it like Jo-Han models. The molds could only be used for limited time before the car no longer looked right or pieces fit as they should. Another ill fitting part (I could write a whole manuscript for 1970 AMX & Javelin ALONE) is the Ram Air trims. The passenger side never did fit right, even out of bag. So the mounting holes where usually oversize and/or slotted to make them fit. That is passenger side. This is driver side, appears fine. The ram air hood is original and off a low mile 70 Javelin I parted out in late 1970s. Note the difference hole sizes for the mounts! So you take a NOS pair of Ram Air trim out of factory bags (3616215 left and 3616214 right) and note while the left will almost fit; the right is totally off mark. Driver side 'almost fits'. Factory AMC Parts sold by American Motors! The 'dummy ram air scoops' (not all 70 AMXs had factory Ram Air, and many Javelins also sported these) are AMC part number 3616216 right and 3616217 left. While the left scoop snugly fits in the trim, the right won't fit at all. Again, this is attributed to whoever the supplier was to AMC in the early 1980s. What to do? Resize the hole like the Dealership did.
Myths & Weird Stuff.
This could be titled true or false to test AMCers knowledge. However,
usually better to just shove vintage photos on there.
All AMXs & Javelins came with shoulder harnesses. False.
Many of the early production 68 AMXs did not have a shoulder harness. It was not
into late production AMC started adding them, somewhere I believe in July 68.
However I do not know a established timeline, but have seen early 1967 (built
before Jan 1st, 1968 and well before release date of Feb 28th 1968) AMXs with no
hole provision for shoulder harness. The hole was later moved back in early 1969
production on the AMX....several inches from the 1/4 glass. I do not know if
this was federally mandated due to safety concerns or because of customers
complaints of being just damned uncomfortable. I have reproduced all three
however in cardboard, they are nice, and are NO HOLE, 68-early 69, and early
69-thru all of 1970. Look
in here to view.
The early Javelin, which came out many months before AMX....had optional shoulder harnesses. This is a November 1967 built AMC Javelin SST....and note the plugs in the sail panels. Front & Back. This was a Go Pack car.
Super Stock AMXs didn't have wipers.
Sure am tired of this one. False. Yes they did. But they
would later get a block off plate. This is a exclusive photo I sell (of many!)
but shows Shirley Shahan working on her car (another myth that H. L. and crew
did all the work) but working on the 390 of the Drag On Lady in Nevada in
1969.
Note
the electric wiper motor. Want
to go back further? Let's go to Hurst
Research in 1969 as they put together the
Super Stock AMXs. Yup, there is another damned electric wiper motor.
Crane Heads were stamped. True. The Crane heads for the Super Stock AMXs were indeed stamped as they had been modified by Crane. They were regular production heads worked over. Stamping. Head Casting Number.
1971 Javelin & AMXs have oddities only found on 1971. True. And to name a few right off the bat: Last year vacuum wipers, one of the ugliest configurations you will ever see. Low Fuel Warning System. While this was only used in 1970 and 1971, it was dropped for 1972 on ALL AMCs. Black dash knobs. Strange and goofy hidden ashtray and cigar lighter. Base Javelins have no hood trim or "J" fender trim. T-top indented roof line, howeve this was carried into 1972 until AMC flattened roof out for 73. Back to the ashtray thing. Whoever designed this was a non smoker. You had to open door, then fiddle around to find lighter and ashtray, all the while putting your new AMX into a concrete pillar. This is a 1971 and 1972-74 dash glovebox center housing. The later is on top, the 71-only is on the bottom. This is a closeup of 71 glovebox opened.... and closed. Note in the opened position the last thing the poor fellow saw as he ran his Javelin off the bridge while trying to put out his smoke was this contraption. I could go on, but this is only things off top of head I could think of unique to 1971!
AMC Made Shit Fit. True.
I could share dozens of stories and photos here, but this is one of my
favorites. The 70 AMX & Javelin dash is possibly one of the biggest pieces
of crap ever put on a American Motors car. Even up to last minute AMC was having
problems with it. So you have glovebox locks that don't hold; and glovebox will
fly open when accelerating. The small U shaped woodgrain around the glovebox
lock would fall off at dealerships. Before the cars even got out of Kenosha the
crash pads (eyebrows) were curling! And the woodgrain overlays were bucking
above the tachometer and sometimes even the speedometer. Here is a really low
mile 1970 dash assembly from a Javelin i parted out in early 1980s. The crash
pad had never been removed. Note the shaved "make it fit dammit" grind
areas around the holes on the dash frame to make the dash pad fit closer to the
dash. Amazing. I have had a number of 1970s AMXs and Javelins with this! Close
up #1.....Close
up #2. Ever talk to line
workers? The stories are hilarious. My favorite is the Sportabout wagon
that had disc brakes on one side front and drum on the other. There is another
myth here.....however....
AMC Molded their parts in all the correct colors. False.
I have parted out cars and restored ultra low mile AMCs with less than 4000
miles on them, making notes of colors, oddities (this is how this file came
about I guess) and things that might help others. If you noted, the green 70
Javelin dash from early production A0C797x190116 Nov 69 build) the dash started
it's life as black. AMC then painted it green to match rest of interior.
This is a 1970 Javelin red dash that started it's life also black, but was painted red in December 69. You will find a myriad of colors when you disassemble the vehicle. They were painted to match that car's interior amd the workers would use whatever was in the parts bin that day. The line had to keep rolling or stockholders and others heads would roll. It is why you see some deviations in colors on some low mile survivor AMCs. It is not because of fading with time, it is because it was slightly off color when new. Oh, did I mention the ill fitting 70 AMX & Javelin dash would not line up the the defrsoter ducts AMC used from 68-69 so AMC simply shoved small spacers in there to cover up the holes. Yup, that is the small spacers shown in front of the upper defroster ducts. I believe this is how many AMC fans, myself included have come to love American Motors and all it's quirks.
AMC Used Steel Hoods on Late Production
AMXs. True. This one is still being debated however there has
been 5-7 late production AMXs documented know with steel hoods. Built after
production would have ended July 30th, 1974...you have a whole array of oddites
here. AMC ran out of 360V8s. They had been selling them to Bricklin and also
International Harvester and simply could not keep up with demand. It's why
Bricklin shifted to Ford 351s in 1975. You have 1975 AMC colors on 1974 cars.
There is nothing that shows this except that car's paint code. You will not find
it in any literature, brochures, anything, except one day you see a 74 AMC
painted something like J7 Jade Green.
What happend was AMC asked for, and got, a extension to continue production on
1974 models due to the changing laws with emissions. So production whihc began
on Aug 1st, 1973 for 1974 models, and should have stopped in end of July
1974....ran into end of November 1975. This also pushed back Pacer introduction
slightly and AMC had to do a lot of mods concerning plants as no longer was
Ambassador, AMX (except 1975 Matador AMX in Mexico/VAM built) and Javelin being
produced. I do not know if buyers of 1974 AMXs that got steel hoods in lieu of
fiberglass non cowl induction hoods got a discount....or voucher that they could
later get a regular hood once production caught up and possibly more hoods
stamped. Why I do not know. Many of the late production AMXs I have seen were
bare bones editions...304 two barrel, some even three speed standards with no
options. Some of the running changes and extensions in production are fully
covered in letter to shareholders however.
Tachometer Wiring. 1968-70 AMX & Javelin. 1971-74 AMX & Javelin.
Fusebox Wiring. Fuse Panel diagram
1970-71 Low Fuel Warning Instructions diagram
1968-70 factory air conditioning wiring diagram
1968 thru 1970 floor shift automatic Shift Command Wiring diagram
Disc Brake Interchange (1965-71 4 piston Bendix to 1972-up 1 piston Kelsey Hayes)
Altenator Interchange (1965-1973/74 Motorola to Delco)
One of the neatest products I came across and use religiously is something called Dyn-O-Mat. Just about every place you will every display your vehicle when finished will require you to have something under your car. While your car won't leak, it is the show's rules and regs you have to follow, just like having your + cable disconnected from battery, or gas tank cap taped with duct tape, having a fire extinguisher these are just 3 I can think of. Some judges will NOT ALLOW YOU ON THE FIELD if no fire extinguisher, and some shows, like ISCA, are tough on you if battery cable on, ro gas cap not taped, it could cost you a crap load of points. The Dyn-O-Mat is leak resistant and made of polypropylene, so it retains 100% of anything that might drip on it. Again, when showing, you have to usually have SOMETHING, cardboard, carpet, anything to protect the pavilion or area floor. So I recommend you check out Dyn-O-Mat, you can call them at 561-747-2307 or visit them on the web at www.dynomat.com
68-70 Engine Decals. This is a template showing where your decals would have been located on 68-70.
Other Decals, this is where other factory decals would have been located on your car.
AMC Engine Detailing 68-69-70...Detailing Your Engine For Show
