Michael's AMC Javelin Build

[SuperBuickGuy]

somehow it looks like a spaceship without the wheels...

[Javelin]

Mid-June:

Stuck axle solved



When I had the Javelin delivered the right rear axle was frozen solid and the car dragged across the ground. It took days of soaking in penetrating oil and the biggest hammer I own to get the drum off. (Yes, the parking brake was unlocked) Turns out the shoes actually rusted to the drum! Funnily enough, the other side popped right off and the drum is even reusable. Everything here has to be replaced.

Blacked out the back



Since the rear was up on jackstands and everything was apart, I blacked out the wheelwells in the rear to match. Once again I scrubbed all the dirt out and found surprisingly good metal. The only rust in the quarters is at the very bottom where the mud collects, and it looks patchable. No rust on the inside structures at all!

Scrape, scrape, scrape



There was a ton of oil and sludge buildup on top of the oil pump, which is par for the course in a 39 year old car. More scrubbing and scraping…

New drums



Since the right rear drum was shot I had to buy new drums. The ones that came in are finned! Woohoo for unintentional upgrades! I’ll keep the good old drum around as an emergency spare.

Shock mounts in



The shock tower hats/mounts are re-installed all cleaned up. The old Monroe shock is on the fender. The new shocks bolt to this mount first, then the whole assembly goes into the car. It’s a slick way of doing it once you figure it out.

KYB's



The new shocks are KYB’s. Not anything fancy, but since the suspension is stock right now anyways, they’ll do just fine.

Yet more blue



Since the alternator is out it was time for more blue! I know it’s not the greatest job, but once all the brackets are back in it will look pretty good. At least it’s clean so I can spot fresh leaks.

Power steering pump



I cleaned and painted the power steering pump off of the bracket and reinstalled it. Came out nice!

Wrong parts!



And then I hit a snag! The rear wheel cylinders didn’t fit. The bolt pattern and the way the lines entered were both different. Back they went! Luckily the right ones were the same price and in stock. Never did figure out what these were actually for as they weren’t listed under Javelin in the computer at the parts store…

[Javelin]

I'm debating on whether or not to sign up for the biggest local show and cruise. It's August 25th and they close off most of downtown for a cruise. It's really cool and sells out fast. It would give me a concrete end goal though...

[Russell]

How much are the tickets? What do you think your chances are of making it?

[SuperBuickGuy]

I learned how to rebuilt brakes after a situation similar to yours

[Javelin]

How much are the tickets? What do you think your chances are of making it?

$30 for entry for the weekend (Fri night and Sat day show, Sat night cruise) includes cruise pass (can't get into the closed streets without a pass) and a dash plaque. I'd say my odds are about 50/50 right now.

[Russell]

$30 for entry for the weekend (Fri night and Sat day show, Sat night cruise) includes cruise pass (can't get into the closed streets without a pass) and a dash plaque. I'd say my odds are about 50/50 right now.

I would buy the ticket!

[Javelin]

I think I'm going to buy the ticket! This will really put my butt in gear...

[Javelin]

These are from Late June/Early July:

Rear drums completed



With the correct wheel cylinders in hand it was a snap to get the drums together. I also figured out that my axles are good, but the differential is an open one. But, no brake drag, no seized bearings, and everything seems to work well. Great!

New wheels fit well on the back



With the drums completed on both sides, I polished up the new Welds and mounted them up. They fit really nicely, albeit with small tires. The 215’s on here have many, many inches of clearance all the way around. When I burn these off I’ll likely replace them with a 235, or better yet, an appropriately large Drag Radial…

Mocking up the front disc conversion...



Time to start attacking the front brakes now. I cleaned, sanded, and painted the various brackets. Test fit looks good, so I went ahead and dropped of the discs to get turned…

New fuel pump is in!



Next up was the fuel system. I took the old fuel pump off. It had a good wear pattern on it, so I installed the new one in the same spot. It’s just a stock replacement, but for now it will do fine. Fuel lines were cleaned out, all new rubber fuel hoses installed, a new metal fuel filter installed, and then I topped it all off with brand new clamps. No more fuel can!

And new water pump, too!



I removed the original water pump while I was doing the fuel pump for better access, and because I was replacing it. This replacement is an aluminum one, saving me about 4-5 pounds right on the nose of the motor. No we’re making serious progress with the new parts!

[Javelin]

And with this update this thread is now 100% up-to-date with the actual state of the car!

Rotors turned



The used rotors I have were able to be turned and I got those back from the machine shop this week. I also had them remove the old bleeder screws in the calipers, bought new bleeders, and the neutral safety switch arrived.

Because I can, that's why



Yes, I painted my calipers bright red. It’s my car and I’ll do whatever cliche’s I want! I actually think it will look pretty good once the car is painted, because it’s supposed to be bright red, too. So this is more of a color-matching thing then a stand-out thing. Still, they turned out nice.

More work on the engine



I kept going on the engine today. The thermostat has been replaced, and I’m glad I did it because the one in the car was a very incorrect 195 degree one! The correct factory 180 degree one is in there now. I cleaned all the paint off of the aluminum housing, installed the new crossover hose with new clamps, and did some other cleaning and painting such as to the oil fill tube. I also added in my new wire looms and started fitting the lower radiator hose.

[Javelin]

Picked up some new caliper slider bolts and a rear center brake hose today.

[Russell]

Looking good! did you get yor cruise ticket yet? Dont forget to take your camera!

[Javelin]

Check out page 32 of the September 2012 Popular Hot Rodding!!!

[SuperBuickGuy]

already did - congrats man

[Javelin]

already did - congrats man

Thanks! I figure I'll give it a few days and then post a scan of the article. I was really surprised that they picked my car as one of the 20!