[dataway]

You're a wild man! It would take me two years to do that much work.

[VCho455]

Originally Posted by Verdoro 68

I was hoping to have the engine back in by now, but we discovered that the car must have had an electrical fire at some point. The harness was obviously burnt with wires fused and bare in several spots. There were also some dubious repairs and junctions to critical areas. I'm sure this played a factor into why the car was parked so long ago. I'm honestly amazed it even cranked over.

Unlike a GM car, the harness is one piece so if the engine harness goes, you have to replace the wiring behind the dash. So, we pulled the dash and column which was probably for the best anyway since the car was covered with dirt inside. The driver's side kick panel was filled to the brim with sand and dirt. I don't know how it's not rusted out.

With everything out of the car, I took the opportunity to freshen up the gauges, rebuild the steering column, replace the broken turn signal switch and give the engine bay a fresh coat of Big Bad Orange. I learned that several of the steering column parts are interchangeable with the '68 GTO and actually used some GTO parts I had laying around on the Javelin.

The new M&H harness is awesome but eyewateringly expensive compared to a GM counterpart. New seat covers, carpet and door panels are en route. I'm still missing a headliner, which isn't reproduced, but my hope is things come together in a drivable state kind of quickly once I get the wiring and dash sorted.

Great work! I wish I wish I had the time you have for my projects. 😀

I'll bet that new harness is nicer than the OE one ever was. Those AMC fuse blocks always seemed pretty sketchy to me. Money well spent. I really should replace mine too. Any dissapointments with it? Does yours have electric or vacuum wipers?

[Verdoro 68]

Originally Posted by VCho455

Great work! I wish I wish I had the time you have for my projects. 😀

I'll bet that new harness is nicer than the OE one ever was. Those AMC fuse blocks always seemed pretty sketchy to me. Money well spent. I really should replace mine too. Any dissapointments with it? Does yours have electric or vacuum wipers?

I make time. I spend most of the day on the computer for my job so I like to get out in the garage after work to tinker. Sometimes I'll go back out after everyone's gone to bed. The Javelin has been getting all of my free time though - the Ventura and GTO are being neglected.

The AMC fuse blocks are amateur hour. I thought it was something homemade when I first saw it. Unfortunately the harness doesn't come with a replacement, but there's a guy in the AMC forum that makes an updated version. I still prefer the GM style.

This car has vacuum wipers. I haven't even crossed that bridge yet. I had a fuel pump to support vacuum wipers on it when we got it, but it's the wrong year pump. Ideally I can convert it to electric, but I hear it can be a challenge to round up all the parts needed.

Continuing the theme of "nothing is usable on the car" we had to cut the parking brake cable to remove it last night because it was frozen. I also discovered someone tried to install the wrong year ignition cylinder bezel into the dash. That's why the whole ignition assembly rotated when you turned the key. Something I could have spotted in an instant on a Pontiac but had no idea to look for on an AMC.

[71GP76TA]

I thought vacuum wipers went away in the 50's.

[VCho455]

Originally Posted by 71GP76TA

I thought vacuum wipers went away in the 50's.

Oh no AMC kept that (bad) dream alive into the 70's.

I've heard of folks using a Cadillac vacuum pump with a reservoir in conjunction with engine vacuum to make the wipers work.

[Scarebird]

Do the vacuum wipers work?

I was mulling this over as I personally find intermittent wipers are a must have feature. If the vacuum unit does not work I would replace it but not with a stock electric AMC unit.

The Javelin does not have hidden wipers, making it far easier to use a "modern" replacement. And if that mount plate is flat, that much easier to use something like a 1985-94 S10 unit. This plate could be cut by an online laser outfit, along with the swing arm.

AMC unit in operation:

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/eNoTF...?feature=share

If this setup does not exist in the AMC world, producing a kit would be a nice way to offset the cost of the car.

[TXSTARFIRE]

Had a 65 Rambler American with vacuum wipers. When you step on the gas the wipers slowed down or stopped. Is that normal or was there something wrong with the setup? This was many years ago.

[OG68]

Completely normal.

[george kujanski]

Ran from manifold vac. At high throtlle/ loads, manifold vac drops. Driven from gas pumps is more constant.

George

[Verdoro 68]

Originally Posted by george kujanski

Ran from manifold vac. At high throtlle/ loads, manifold vac drops. Driven from gas pumps is more constant.

George

Hence the weird fuel pumps on AMCs with vacuum wipers.

[Verdoro 68]

I was brave and played with fire by installing the engine over Mother's Day weekend. Not quite ready to start it up just yet.

It was my first time installing a clutch. I went with a Ram unit as it seemed to have the best balance of price and performance. I tried to use the old school bread trick to remove the pilot bearing, but it just made a mess. I ended up fashioning a puller from a serrated nut and a long bolt that worked much better.







Since I had the dash out to install the new harness, I bought some supplies from Polyvance and refinished the dashpad. It came out pretty nice!

[77 TRASHCAN]

so, there's no vacuum reservoir for the wipers? just straight from fuel pump or intake?

[Verdoro 68]

I'm not entirely sure, but I think it runs directly from the fuel pump. There are no signs of a vacuum reservoir. I'm going to put an electric conversion on the to do list. If I can't get it done by Duct Tape in October, I'll just apply extra Rain X and hope for the best.

[VCho455]

Originally Posted by 77 TRASHCAN

so, there's no vacuum reservoir for the wipers? just straight from fuel pump or intake?

I'm not an AMC expert (Or any other thing expert) but I've never seen a factory vacuum reservoir on an AMC that was built before about 1978. AMC ran manifold vacuum to the vacuum pump on the fuel pump and that went to the wipers and the heater control valve and in later years hooked into the emissions system.

I talked with my buddy Dan at the swap meet last month and he told me he has a web site for his used parts now. He might have something you need. The green AMX in the photos is his car.

https://amc-performance.com/

[Verdoro 68]

We dropped the engine in a couple weekend ago and finally got it fired up and running today. Sounds like I have an exhaust leak to track down, but other than that all appears to be well. Temp is solid at 180 and oil pressure is good. I even put it up on jack stands and ran it through a couple gears.

Between the wiring and engine, we've been gradually getting the interior into shape. I had to pull the dash to install the new harness. I rebuilt the steering column and fixed up the dashpad using some Polyvance materials. Really happy with how that came out.

I laid down some cheap Amazon butyl sound deadener to help keep things quiet. Seats are at the upholstery shop. I've been fighting with the ACC carpet trying to get it to lay down correctly around the shifter. Front door panels are just about ready to install. I rebuilt the window tracks and re-urethaned them into the channels so the windows actually roll down now instead of falling into the door.

I don't want to get ahead of myself, but it's feeling like driving this thing may not be too far off!

Startup video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JcGeSwr0EM

[KS circutguy]

Nice work.

[7t4mula]

Wowzer Ken, nice work! Sounds great!

[VCho455]

Most excellent!

[Verdoro 68]

Thanks, it feels good to have it running.

I've moved on to chasing some electrical gremlins trying to get lights and signals to work. I managed to get the brake lights and emergency flashers to work last night after fixing some crossed wires in the trunk.

The turn signals have been more challenging, as I'm only getting 6v to the flasher with the key on. The harness at the ignition switch gets warm, so something is shorting out. Hopefully it's not the switch itself as those are a little hard to come by. The temp and oil pressure gauges and lighting aren't working either. The unknown history of this car along with the fact that it sat in the weather for decades is a good lesson that you shouldn't assume anything when picking up a project like this. Every single thing no matter how small has needed attention and troubleshooting.

Cole's been working on giving the front bumper a quick face lift with some Big Bad Orange. We're going duct tape style on the repaint using spray cans from Paintscratch.com. It's bent and super wavy, but we're not fixing any of that right now. I do want to see if I can clean up the Big Bad-specific bumper trim a little as it's pretty chewed up. He was so heads down on school and finals the last month it's nice to have his help again.

[will slow gto]

Nice work Ken. This Javelin is going to be the star of the Duct Tape Drags!