1973 AMC Javelin AMX - Rust Free California Car - Restored

1973 AMC AMX Go Package Description

I am selling my 1973 AMC Javelin AMX. The vehicle is a rust free California car, which I bought about about 14 years ago. It is a very good amateur restoration. The car needs nothing and is in excellent running condition. All gages and lights work. The paint is glossy, the chrome bright, the 401 V8 strong. The transmisssion and clutch work perfectly. The steering is precise.
This is a “Go Package” equipped car.

This car is smog exempt in California.
I had the car repainted and the bumpers rechromed in 2009. The car has always been garaged and driven little. Thus, the paint and chrome still look new. The Color is Ford D3 (Colorado Red).
The car was originally a 360 automatic, which I converted to a 401 with 5 speed manual. The clutch pedal assembly, all brackets and associated parts came from another Javelin. The transmission is a Borg Warner T5 with the stronger 2.95 gearset, which works well with the 3.15 Twin-Grip, limited slip (posi-traction) differential. T5’s have a neutral safety switch, which I used when wiring this car. So, the car will only start with the shifter in neutral. An important safety feature.
The engine is a standard bore 401 with stock 8.5:1 compression. I had the 401 rebuilt. It was .040 over when I got it, so I had all eight cylinders sleeved to standard bore. With a 401, a standard bore motor is preferred to prevent overheating. This engine runs at 180 degrees on the freeway, 195 in stop and go LA traffic and never overheats. The 401 currently has a Comp Cams 268h camshaft, a Holley 650 double pumper on an Edelbrock Performer manifold, and Edelbrock headers. The distributor is an MSD ProBillet unit. The radiator is a four row unit.
The original factory cold air induction air cleaner comes with the car and I have a 1970 factory four barrel manifold which comes with the car as well. To run the original air cleaner you will need to use the factory manifold. The car also comes with the original windshield wipers.
The door windows and rear quarter windows all work without problems, as well as all gages and lights.
The car has stock power front disc and rear drum brakes. The discs, drums, front calipers, rear wheel cylinders and the master cylinder have all been replaced during my ownership.
I have pretty much replaced all suspension and steering parts on this car, including the rear leaf springs (replaced with ESPO springs), the steering gearbox (replaced with an AGR box), control arm bushing, tie rods and drag link, sway bar bushings, all ball joints, etc.
The odometer read about 63,000 miles and didn’t work when I bought the car. These are 5 digit odometers and the car came with no documentation, so there is no way to know the actual mileage. The speedo needle bounced all over, so shortly after purchase, I had the speedometer fixed at a local shop which replaced the odometer with a new one set at zero miles. I have put less then 1000 miles per year on the car in the 14 years I have owned it. I put 1 mile in the listing because eBay won’t let me put “unknown.” My feeling, based upon the remarkably clean underbody, is that the actual mileage on the chassis is under 100,000.
Flaws in the Car:
When I bought the car, it had been in a minor front fender bender. I replaced the passenger side front fender, bumper support bracket and had the bumper straightened. The original bumper support bracket pushed in slightly the the lower radiator core support. Its hard to see, but I have tried to show this in the last picture. Since you can’t see it and it doesn’t affect anything, I never did anything with it.
The tabs on the plastic grill tub on virtually all of these old grill tubs break and this grill is no exception. I made some rough looking new tabs with fiberglass cloth and epoxy. There is a crack or two elsewhere in the plastic tub. You can’t see these unless the hood is open.
The hood does not quite lie level with the front fenders.
On the top of the drivers side front fender, there are three very shallow (paper thickness), dime size depressions in the paint. These are very small dents in the fender which I missed when preparing the car for paint. (I stripped the car to bare metal.) They don’t show up in pictures, but you can occasionally see them when the sun hits the car at certain angles.
A previous owner had installed a CB radio antenna in the rear deck lid. The quarter size hole was patched but there is a ghost line in the paint that is visible from some angles.
I scratched the passenger side rear quarter panel, a few years ago, and had it repainted. The shade of red is very close, but not an exact match. No one has ever noticed. It does not show in pictures.
The seats were originally white. I sprayed them black with interior dye. I was going to recover the seats but never did.
This car was originally an AC car. The AC was long gone by the time I got it and I had no interest in replacing it.
If the car sits for a few weeks, you need to tap the starter relay a little. The contacts have started to stick over the years. These are inexpensive and easy to replace.
Overall, this is a very nice car. It looks great and turns heads wherever It goes. There are not many 45 year old cars you can just buy and drive and have fun. This is such car.