(first posted 8/29/2015) I love Michigan. Our state goes car-crazy pretty much the entire month of August. There are many noteworthy shows occurring that month, including the Woodward Dream Cruise in the Greater Detroit area, and Back To The Bricks in Flint. Cool, vintage American cars seem to pop up in the most random of places – including the north cell phone lot at Detroit Metro Airport.
Awaiting an arrival from Chicago, I rounded the corner to park here. My heart nearly jumped out of my chest when I saw this Pewter Silver beauty fortuitously parked in the front row of the lot, unobstructed. Both first- and second-generation Javelins have proved to be rare sightings for years in the places where I’ve lived, including southwest Florida and Chicago. I could probably count on one hand the number of examples I’ve seen, running or not, within the past five years.
I parked and got out of my rental Hyundai Elantra and started photographing this Javelin from every angle. The owner was on his phone, and I figured it would be easier to (quietly) take the pictures first and ask for forgiveness later. I then approached the open windows on the passenger’s side (a fastback and a hardtop! – only Ford’s Mustang Sportsroof shared this bodystyle among ’73 domestic sporty cars) and gave my most honest apology to the owner/driver for my obnoxious paparazzo behavior, explaining that the second-generation AMC Javelin was my main teenage dream ride. He seemed to warm up to this car-struck stranger. I then mentioned I’m a contributor to a blog called “Curbside Classic”, and he got out of the car and gave me the grand tour. Just a really nice guy.
I correctly guessed the model year by the quad taillamp pods and the lack of black, rubber bumper guards out back. He was the third owner, having purchased this car in 2009. (Imagine a then-36 year old car with just two owners, with everything all-original.) Powered by AMC’s 4-bbl. 360-V8, he said this car moves smartly out from a stop, being much lighter weight than most modern cars, and also that this mill has gobs of torque.
According to my research, this particular ’73 Javelin, with its 3-speed Torque-Command automatic transmission (which was actually Chrysler’s outsourced TorqueFlite), would be good for something like a 7.4 second 0-60/mph time. Comparing these numbers with same-year figures of the competition with similar powertrain combos (4-bbl. V8’s mated with 3-speed automatic transmissions), this would be against a 7.0 second 0-60 time from a Ford Mustang with a 351, and a 7.4 second 0-60 time for a Dodge Challenger Rallye with a 340. (I’ve omitted ’73 Chevrolet Camaro figures in my write-up simply because the upper-8 second 0-60 times I found for a Camaro with a 350-4 / 3-sp. auto combo just didn’t seem plausible, given the still hyper-competitive nature of this segment.) Numbers may differ based on the source, but ultimately, my point is that American Motors clearly wasn’t phoning it in with the Javelin, with its performance squarely in step with the competition.
The more the owner and I talked about his car, the more friendly and enthusiastic he seemed, with his initial, reserved demeanor gradually melting away. You must forgive the incompleteness of my reportage on the specifics of this car – I might as well have been getting a favorite, famous celebrity’s autograph, plus I had one eye on my watch as I awaited a flight’s arrival. The only other time I had had a chance to see the interior of a second-gen Jav was in the summer of 1989 and at a car show in Flint (yes, that’s me behind the wheel). My teenage self could have died when the owner of that car let me sit in the driver’s seat. AMC enthusiasts have tended to be unusually friendly folks – which sort of makes sense, given their love of products from America’s perpetual underdog automaker. A little appreciation of an AMC seems to go a long way.
The thing I wish I could have photographed was the smell and sound of this car. A whiff of the black vinyl interior was enough to make me delirious to the point I had to rethink every question I wanted to ask the owner about this car. (Don’t lie to yourself… you have been as geeked about a car before, which is why you read Curbside Classic.) That curved, engine-turned dash panel looked at once sporty, industrial, and sculptural. The low, gravelly rumble of that 4-pot 360 was throaty and primal, as this car passed by the Hyundai’s open windows at the curb at arrivals. I wish my own voice sounded as commanding.
As much as I love the smoothly flowing lines of the first-generation Javelin, I love the ’71 restyle from most angles, particularly the ’71 SST with its dual side-stripes and unique vinyl roof treatment. The redesign was as if the nice, affable, hometown athlete from Kenosha, Wisconsin had started weight training, bulked up overnight, and came back looking completely different – yet still recognizable. (I think I’m in pretty decent physical shape, but sometimes I wish going to the gym yielded the kind of quick, effective results as the Javelin’s ’71 restyle.)
I said I like the ’71 restyle from most angles. The least flattering aspect to me is the rear-quarter panel area from a front three-quarter view. The rear tires appear to swim in a sea of empty space under those fender blisters. Those haunches look just a little too overdeveloped, although the rest of the car is nicely proportioned and aggressive-looking. I especially like the small, lip spoiler molded into the trailing edge of the roof.
The front and rear fender blisters never gave me the impression that AMC was going for a Corvette-look, which I’ve often read was the inspiration. That assertion still seems a little dubious to me, as the overall proportions of both cars are so wildly different from one another. Instead, I’ve always seen the fender bulges as a very literal manifestation of a theme – as if Dick Teague had instructed his styling team, “Let’s give our muscle-/ ponycar actual ‘muscles’.” It’s true that many Javelins left Kenosha with a six-banger (offered in displacements of 232 or 258 cubic-inches), but the base Javelin of this generation doesn’t come across looking quite as low-rent as strippo versions of some of the other cars of this genre (especially Mustang). It wears those humped fenders well, regardless of what’s powering it.
“Heroic” is another word that comes to mind when I think of the Javelin v2.0. If sales figures are any indication, and even in the then-shrinking ponycar market, I think the ’73 Jav should again be considered a success, selling something like 30,900 units (including 5,700 AMX’s like the featured car) against 32,600 Dodge Challengers (less than a 6% difference) and 22,200 Plymouth Barracudas (a ratio of almost 4:3). The Javelin wasn’t selling in GM or FoMoCo numbers, but it clearly hit the target of its intended demographic, accounting for almost 8% of 392,000 total AMC production for the model year.
By comparison, the ’73 Camaro’s 96,800 production figure accounted for only 4% of 2,579,500 Chevrolets built for the model-year. That the ’73 Mercury Cougar (still nominally a ponycar for that one last season) outsold the Javelin by only 2:1 is also noteworthy, given Mercury’s much higher overall volume at that point. AMC’s own redesigned-for-’74 Matador coupe, intended to have a much larger market share than the Javelin specialty car, exceeded 30,000 units only in its first year (of only five in production).
I’ll summarize by saying the second-generation Javelin still does it for me in a way few other cars have continued to do so since my teenage years. The subject car has been one of my favorites to photograph, research and write about, given the endurance of my love for these rolling sculptures from southeast Wisconsin. In your author’s opinion, it remains one of the best-looking ponycars of that era, combining a visual, blue-collar machismo with an underdog likability to make it one of the more compelling classics in its field.
All photographs of the silver Javelin are as taken by the author in Detroit suburb Romulus, Michigan.
Thursday, August 13, 2015.
Related reading:
From Dave Skinner: Car Show Classic: 1974 AMC Javelin
Paul Niedermeyer’s piece on the first-generation models: AMC Javelin: Some Like It For What It Can Be And Others Would Just Like To Find One
JPCavanaugh’s piece on a ’72 Pierre Cardin model: Car Show Classic: 1972 AMC Javelin Pierre Cardin – No, Really…
A first-gen piece by Jason Shafer: CC Outtake: 1st Generation Javelin Found
Try as I might, I’ve never been a fan of the Javelin after 1970. The AMX has a better looking front end styling. 🙂
Me too, though I’ve softened a little over the years to the 71 – 74 Javelins.
These have really grown on me over time, as has the entirety of AMC. This is a terrific find and getting a tour only adds to its appeal.
Not much of an AMC fan, but this is an excellent find!!! The Javelin and AMX were pure, simple and direct. Reminds me of the early Mustang or Camaro.
Excellent article Joseph, thank you. I noticed this as a kid at the time, but the placement of the rear wheels unusually deep in the rear quarter panels, gave this generation Javelin an awkward profile. I’ve moved the rear wheel opening forward 6 inches in the Photoshop below. It seems better proportioned. Looking back, I think of it as one of AMC’s styling quirks, and it gives it a bit more character. And I’m guessing contributed to some extra rear seat legroom.
Thanks, Daniel, and you fixed the proportions! That does actually look much better. But from what I recall having read, the Javelin had unusually good rear seat room.
I’ve heard the fender styling was directly related to Can-Am racing cars which need them to house bigger wheels/tires. Eric Kugler was the designer of the 71-74 Javelin/AMX. Teauge called them blister style fenders I think.
The exaggerated coke-bottle fenders of the 2G Javelin are one of those love-it or hate-it things. Although in the past I wasn’t overly fond of the car, in general (and still like the 1G Javelin better), as other before me, over the years, I’ve warmed considerably to it, particularly as an early seventies’ period-piece. As noted, it’s entirely plausible there was a real, legitimate purpose for those bulging fenders in order to clear the tires in Trans-Am racing guise. In that regard, it’s a much cleaner solution to the tire clearance problem than the fender ‘scoops’ used on the NASCAR-special Mopar wing-cars.
While AMC made some big mistakes (seemingly from the beginning of the company’s founding), they also had some relatively decent cars, too, which is actually quite a feat considering the shoe-string level budget constraints under which they had to operate. The Javelin, in any form, would seem to fit into that category. It’s also a nice touch that, of classic car owners, AMC people would be the most friendly and willing to share their vehicles’ stories. The general underdog status of AMC seems to encourage those folks to be pleasantly surprised when someone approaches them with an appreciation and/or knowledge of their cars.
It is very much a period piece of the early 70’s. In the literature that AMC published for the 71 models had some rather beautiful watercolours of the Javelin AMX with pre production stripes which reinforce that a fair bit.
I never noticed it before, but that painting sure makes it look like the grille was heavily influenced by the last ’69-’70 Shelby GT Mustangs.
The second gen javelin is a really fun car to spot the stylistic influences, that for sure must be one of them…
Nose – 69 Camaro
Grille 69-70 Shelby Mustang
Fenders – C3 Corvette
Hood(AMX) – 70 Chevelle SS
Quarters – 69-70 Mustang Fastback
Rear end styling 1970 & 1972 Challenger
Looks even more so when you shave those gratuitous fender bulges off it.
I’d frame that and hang it in my living room – it’s that great.
AMC was trying very hard at winning the Trans-Am series back then, and even had Roger Penske and Mark Donohue as their headlining race team. They did eventually win the championship (1971 or 1972?) with this particular body style.
After 1970, almost all of the pony cars got bigger, more muscular. Ford and AMC went gonzo with the styling cues, while Chrysler and GM were more conservative.
Initially, I was not a fan of the styling, as the original Javelin and AMX were very nice looking cars and hold up well today. But this is one of the times where competition on the track and the sales floor dictated an emphatic response, et voila… Second generation Javelin.
“They did eventually win the championship (1971 or 1972?) with this particular body style”
I believe it was 1971. The win was diluted somewhat, however, as AMC was the only factory sponsored domestic team at that point. All the other big money teams dropped out that season.
AMC got the manufacturer’s championships in both 1971 and 1972 — with Penske in 1971 and Roy Woods Racing in 1972. The RWR cars then went to Mexico, where they were very successful there.
Even more impressive – they won seven of the nine Trans-Am races in 1971. Now, I can hear someone saying, “Only because they were the only factory team that year.” Fine – there was no factory team in 1972 and the Javelins still spanked the big boys.
This is the CC experience I live for: finding something so (now) unusual just doing nothing in a parking lot.
Great find, it’s a lovely automobile. My aunt had one back in the day when I was a very small boy, but I don’t recall anything other than her having it. She replaced it with a Pacer, so I guess she was AMC loyal for a while.
I travel to Michigan a couple of times per year to see my brother and his family. He lives about 15 minutes from the Gilmore – I am so jealous. The last few trips I have swung East and taken in the Old Car Festival and Motor Muster at the Henry Ford. I’m going up again in a couple of weeks and will take in the Old Car Festival again. There are so many museums and shows that I would love to go to – I have given serious thought to retiring up there. A retired layabout could stay pretty busy making the rounds of all the auto museums, shows, cruises, etc!
I have given serious thought to retiring up there. A retired layabout could stay pretty busy making the rounds of all the auto museums, shows, cruises, etc!
I am such a retired layabout.
I live in metro Detroit, and this summer there has only been two weekends between Memorial Day and the end of September when there hasn’t been something going on. Some weekends, I have had to choose from two or three different events. I thought Labor Day weekend was going to be open, then discovered the Air Force museum in Dayton has tours of their restoration facility on Fridays, so I’m off to Dayton this weekend.
Awesome! I was at the museum last month. I’m not a huge plane guy (being scared to fly and all), but it was one of the greatest museums I’ve ever visited! It’s too bad it’s not a bit closer.
I flew for the first time in 14 years this summer. I never flew until I was an adult and did fine until my late 20’s when my fear of flying came out of nowhere and stopped me from being able to do it any more. I even bought a ticket one time that went to waste because of my fear.
The biggest help for me was Captain Tom Bunn’s book “SOAR: The Breakthrough Treatment for Fear of Flying”. It turns out a lot of people are able to fly earlier in their lives and then develop the fear about the same time as I did. There are environmental and physical factors that contribute to your fear as it turns out – and you can overcome them. I made my 700 mile each way SC to Michigan trip last June by flying for the first time in 14 years and I was just fine. I’m flying back up to Michigan on September 11th no less for another family visit and to take in the Old Car Festival. Flying gives me more time up there than I would otherwise have (I can get a direct flight from GSP to DTW) plus it’s much less stressful than driving 700 miles straight.
Your the fellow that put that phrase in my head that sparked the idea, thanks!
I plan to work the Air Force Museum in on a trip to Michigan some time, I usually just don’t have the time for it. It’s a 700+ mile trip each way for me so at least a whole day is shot each way driving – not enough time to see some of the cool stuff along the way.
I’ve also been to that Air Force Museum in Dayton, while visiting with my aunt and uncle who live there. That museum is outstanding – and I’m not even a plane person.
Bulging haunches became desirable after the gorgeous 1964 Riviera changed the interpretation of modern styling. The success of the 1965 Impala inspired Dodge to add a last minute hint at a fender bulge to the slab sided 1966 Coronet. The Satellite was left out.
If I was of driving age in 1973, I think it would have bought a Javelin – I’ve always admired these cars: the styling was muscular but not obnoxious, and it has aged very well over the years. The curved dash was one of those little features that always appealed to me, too.
If I randomly saw one in a parking lot, I would have been as excited as you . Thanks for the great story!
I’m very envious of your good fortune in finding that car! I’ve been a fan of these since I was a kid.
In late 1992, I was living in Atlanta and found a blue metallic 1973 AMX with the white T-stripe on the hood and the 1/4 vinyl roof. Other than colors, it was very similar in specifications to the car you photographed. At that time the owner was selling the car for ~$4500. I was all set to buy it, when my wife informed me I was going to be a father for the second time. And then a week later, the printer I was working for closed up shop.
I’ve never been in a position to buy one again and now the prices on these things have gone way up. So, maybe I can score a Hornet or Spirit AMX before they get too expensive…
I was 9 in 1973, and quite aware of all the new cars on the roads. The Javelin, and indeed almost everything from AMC was not even on my radar back then. It was only when Concord came out with all the TV ads that I really first noticed AMC, and was somewhat smitten by Concord. I think they got most things right with this Javelin, and I do like the styling and the neat interior. It’s too bad they dropped the Jav after the ’74 model run, but with steeply rising insurance rates, emissions requirements and gas prices, they calculated that they would not have the resources to keep these cars competitive.
It still amazes me that as late as 1973 AMC was still selling nearly 400k cars. I believe their sales were still good in ’74, then took a steep nosedive, so that by the time Concord came in they were selling less than 150,000 cars annually, nearly a 2/3 drop in sales! Imagine if that had happened to GM or Ford, what panic there would have been in the executive offices. Sad that AMC were so distracted by their new Matador coupe and Pacer that they failed to seriously update their bread and butter cars. They needed Concord in 1975, not three years later.
Is it possible that the Pacer (and, to a lesser extent, the Matador coupe) were the catalysts that took AMC out? If so, it’s truly a shame. I don’t think AMC ever had a runaway ‘hit’ but neither did they have utter disasters (well, engineering-wise, anyway). Their mainstream cars generally seemed competitive enough (price-wise, at least) with the dreck that the Big 3 were churning out at the same time. With some notable exceptions (Hornet Sportabout, Jeep Cherokee), it was only when they tried something really revolutionary that they managed to get themselves into hot water.
They had to try something revolutionary or they would have died from apathy. AMC became irrelevant when Abernethy changed their focus from small cars to trying to compete with the Big Three, which was a fool’s errand. Then again, even if the quirky cars they brought out in the 1970s had been rousing successes they still probably would have been swallowed up by a larger company. They were just too small to hang with Detroit, and the sales cut that would have come from Japan would have further marginalized them.
Still, they did the best with what they had and they went down swinging instead of just fading away. That’s why we still talk about them today, and that’s why we recognize cars like this Javelin.
I think problem is AMC tried to be too revolutionary with the Pacer by building it around a vaporware rotary engine, and ended up with a car heavier than the much less costly to develop, yet equally quirky Gremlin sharing the same engines.
I don’t necessarily agree that Abernethy was in the wrong in moving away from Romney’s compact only policy, I think the problem was the American withered away in the process, recieving few meaningful changes, none of which were as quirky or distinctive as they were in the 50s. The Javelin/AMX should have come much sooner and the Marlin shouldn’t have even been attempted, the Ponycar was THE segment AMC should have been occupying for the majority of the decade.
Yeah, I don’t think Abernethy was wrong, he just didn’t have the resources to do it right. I can’t imagine AMC surviving any better as a company that only produced reliable cars in one, or maybe two, classes. It just wouldn’t be possible with the Big 3 fielding models in the same size categories.
I mean, to this day, I’m still confused at which market the mid-sixties’ Ramblers were targeting, relative to the competition. The only one worse at bungling market definition at the time was Chrysler with their downsized 1962 cars. It took them until 1966 to finally get it back on track with the GM and Ford clear-cut markets of compact, intermediate, and full-size cars.
With AMC, it wasn’t until 1967 that they finally got their line-up right across the board with the American/Rogue/Hornet, Rebel/Matador, and Ambassador, and then the sour seventies’ economy just around the corner (along with precious resources being spent on failures like the Pacer and Matador coupe) pretty much put an end to any thought of the Big 3 ever becoming the Big 4.
I was arguing about this with someone a week or so ago and the point I made at the time was that even during the Romney era, AMC was not all-compacts-all-the-time — the mainstream Rambler really kind of presaged the sixties intermediate. (The pre-1963 Rambler/Rambler Classic was a little smaller than the GM Senior Compacts or the midsize Fairlane, but I think it occupied a similar role.) They did have a compact in the American, but that was sort of a second-line product.
The point where things started going south for AMC was when the GM A-bodies came out. Suddenly, the Classic was going head to head with the Chevelle, Tempest, and F-85, which were a little bigger (but still in the same ballpark), had massively more powerful dealer networks, and had more appealing images. That yanked the bottom out from under AMC’s core market and nothing Abernethy or Chapin did was ever able to give AMC much traction in the intermediate market (with the arguable exception of the ’74 Matador coupe, which was a one-year wonder at best).
The Javelin was a good idea and probably overdue from an image standpoint, but spending money on that and trying to differentiate the Ambassador really didn’t do much for AMC’s basic problem, which was that they either needed to reinvigorate their bread-and-butter line or come up with something that could take its place. I guess you could say the Pacer tried to be that, but the conceptual flaws with that idea are pretty obvious.
The bottom line is that if you’re small, it’s really, really hard to do mainstream. I think that was Kaiser-Frazer’s mistake and it ended up being AMC’s too (although in AMC’s case it wasn’t like they didn’t keep trying to find a fresh niche). The thing they had in common — and the niche AMC did end up finding and tapping fairly effectively — was Jeep, which has now outlived them both (and may very well outlive Chrysler, if history is any kind of guide).
This is my favorite car of all time, bar none.
I’ve ALWAYS thought that the bulges made this one of the most MUSCULAR looking muscle cars ever produced!! There was one in this color at our last Coffee & Chrome show, but it had a 401 AND the wild striped Pierre Cardin interior! 🙂
I’ll readily admit that I’ve been as excited happening upon some CC’s, to the chagrin of my wife at times. I don’t know whether I like the first or second gen Javelin more. This is a nice clean, original looking car. I think I like the dark blue “street machine” with the Cragars, chin spoiler and blacked out hood more myself.
Very nice find, Joseph.
Any time you feel like being immersed in AMC nirvana, make the 60 mile trip up I-94 to Kenosha on a Tuesday evening. The Wendy’s near my house has a weekly cruise-in and you are likely to see a dozen Javelins and AMXs on any given Tuesday.
I have posted this before, but what the heck? This was my ’74, circa 1991.
Still have it?
I sold it in ’92. I was one car over my practical storage limit, and the Jav drew the short straw over the ’86 Audi Coupe GT. It was the right decision at the time, but it would probably go the other way today.
What a fantastic looking car. I would have been 16 in ’91 and would have had to circle your car in the parking lot every time I walked past it.
My wife, the dog and I walked through that parking lot yesterday.
Across the street from the Eagles Club (now Spaghetti Junction) at Southport Marina.
Cool car!
Cool venue!
I only really liked the AMX of the first generation Javelin/AMXs, the Javelin itself always had kind of awkward proportions, and I think the 71s actually wore them better(albiet with the same problem of the rear wheel being too far back) than the 68-70. I always thought the AMX hood stripe was one of the coolest treatments of any muscle car.
I found the same thing with AMC people, I chatted with an owner on a Concord AMX at the local cruise night and we talked AMC for probably a half hour. I think part of it is none of those cars, even the vaunted first generation 2 seater AMX, has hit that high dollar collector car status every other ponycar contemporary hit, and they’re still affordable to the people who actually are American Motors enthusiasts, not just status seekers with an investment portfolio of cars.
OF COURSE the owner warmed up to you. He is obviously a car guy, too…and now, perhaps a CC reader.
Joseph: I geeked out in the same way when a Trabant owner at meet in Van Nuys’ Woodley Park gave me a short ride across the show field in it. And I was a well seasoned adult at the time.
While the 68-69 is my favorite Javelin/AMX the article is outstanding.
Back in ’73 i was a senior in high school and one of my classmates received one of these from his parents. lucky guy. i didn’t think that this was as good looking as the original, still pretty cool though. My folks would never have bought me a new car, but I had my Kawasaki 500 mach One and my Dad ( who was a cooler guy than I gave him credit for at the time), would leave me his ’63 Lincoln to drive to school once in a while. So no complaints.
Great find of a very rare car and a fine example to boot, but I was never a fan of the second gen Javelin. Liked the first series just fine, but the fender bulges on these cars never did anything for me.
I think it would have looked much better like this without them in a fuselage MoPaR kind of way.
Great find! I understand the “geek-out” thing completely. I did it when I saw the Pierre Cardin 72 Javelin.
I have already gone into how much I like these, and this is a nice one. I am still blown away by the low production numbers of the AMX models.
Very nice article. I too am a big fan of Javelins, though I prefer the somewhat tamer styling of the earlier models. But being around in 71 when these came out, they clearly stood out from the more conventional Big 3 pony cars.
My aunt had a 72, with the 304 – it had adequate power, and surprising for something out of Kenosha, I can’t remember anything falling off………
Wish I could find a similar one now.
I am impressed with how fast the 73s still were. Those early 70s net horsepower numbers sounded so low compared the late sixties numbers that one might think all the 73s slugs. A 7 second 0-60 time would be tire shreddingly fast, on the tires of the day. The Javelin was fairly successful near the end with sales up in 74 despite the new Matador and newish Hornet hatch. They might have had a few qualms about canning it, as they let production continue till the end of calender year 74.
I am glad you had another chance to bond with a car from childhood fantasy. It is also fantastic that the owner was so cool about it. An AMC enthusiast like anyone else might still be in a hurry or in a bad mood after travelling. Still he gave you the tour.
I prefer the first gen Javelin. To my eye the second gen is overwrought, like the early 70s Mustang, Challenger and ‘Cuda.
Found some pix on line earlier this summer of a concept AMC did. I asked Vince Geraci about it at the local AMC meet, but he was head of interiors at the time and didn’t know anything about it. Vince suggested I ask Pat Foster, but Pat didn’t have any specific information about it.
It’s obviously a parts bin effort, with a Hornet front clip and Javelin taillights and back panel, but the way they bulged the rear fenders to make the wider rear panel fit gives it a very muscular look. Can’t help but wonder how this would have been accepted as a third gen Javelin, against the too small Mustang II and the old school Camaro. Ford did not get the Mustang back to looking like this until the 79 Fox body version.
And the front view. They called it the “Gremlin GII”
The rear end styling of that, to me, is the very definition of overwrought. That concept looks like it has a big muscular lower body with a weak malnourished upper body.
The Spirit that was seemingly derived off of that was much tidier and better proportioned. It is kind of a shame the Spirit did come so late (and was called something as anonymous and faux patriotic as “Spirit”), I always felt that bodystyle evoked the two seater AMX, and indeed I actually would have felt the 79 AMX was worthy IF it was the sole user of that body(and left off the decals).
That concept looks like it has a big muscular lower body with a weak malnourished upper body.
A lot of cars in that era were rather pear shaped in cross section, Probably the most constantly pear shaped were the fuselage Mopars tho the mid 70s Malibu/Cutlass and their sisters had that look going on too. With the skinny tires of the era, cars that did not have that pear cross section could look rather spindly.
Yes, the Spirit’s greenhouse looks like a direct lift from the GII. The one interior pic I have seen of the GII showed a stock Hornet/Gremlin instrument panel, vs the much nicer one the Spirit had.
… IF it was the sole user of that body(and left off the decals).
AMC probably didn’t have the money to make the Spirit hatchback an AMX only body style. The late 70s models featured a lot of bizzare decals and stripes. Decals were cheaper that sheetmetal changes and that was the period when Chrysler nearly went bankrupt, and apparently Ford was close to the edge as well, so cheapness was a priority. I remember reading an account from one AMC styling guy who had the job of constantly coming up with new tape and decal treatments for the Gremlin as they didn’t have money to do anything with the sheetmetal.
Remember this tape treatment on the LTD II?
I think that’s really cool-looking. The rear three-quarter view almost shows a Celica Liftback flavor to it. How awesome that you are in contact with some of the AMC guys!
Oh my. Back in ’72 before going in to the service I was with my Dad when he was shopping for a new car. I drug him into an AMC dealer and they had an AMX on the showroom floor. He was smitten and ordered one. Loaded, stardust silver, blue T-stripe on the hood, blue vinyl panels on the roof, 360, auto, and all-weather-eye.
When it arrived there was a small mistake (as there often was back then) it had the 401 and the go-pack (cowl induction, 3.91 posi, you name it). He took it, splitting the difference in price with the dealer) and it was by far his favorite car ever. I never got to drive it much (he wasn’t stupid) but can attest to the fact that it was fast. Marred only by the crude emission controls of the era, when it came time for inspection it had to be tuned to pass then afterwards re-tuned to run.
A favorite story around the house was the time they were driving back to Portland from the Grand Canyon. Somewhere north of Las Vegas my Mom noticed that the AC had a position marked “desert only” which she later learned was just AMC’s verbiage for Max. They were in the desert so she set it to that. The condenser promptly froze up and they had to spend the night in Tonopah. Something that got laughed about later.
Sure wouldn’t mind having one of these to remind me of him.
What a fantastic production mistake!
Very nice car. I knew a guy who had an AMX, about ten years ago. That car was something to study with its proportions in comparison with the Jav.
Whenever car shows start popping up again here, a Javelin would be a car I would look for, in all its rarity.
I like the bulges, but with the long, faired front end, they make the car look a bit underhung and top heavy, like a Mustang II. The chin spoiler in one photo helps a little.
The AMC Javelin is one of those cars that I just. love. with no qualifications or apologies. I came within a few steps of spitting distance of a 1972 Javelin SST for my first car, but it came up when I was just a bit too young for the logistics to work out. It was painted a red-orange color with a dark green interior (not sure if that was available stock, with a 401 and an automatic. Gauge package and A/C. Really sucked that I didn’t get it, though I’m sure I woulda had a hard time feeding that 401 with the amount of driving I did when I finally got my license.
For me, a 1972 Pierre Cardin Javelin in Wild Plum would be tops! I’d probably go for a four speed and maybe even the “little” 360. Fun, fun, fun… forget the T-bird!
Well, here you go!
No 5 MPH bumpers because it was built before 1-1-73?