It took more than three long years for American Motors to unveil its true Mustang fighter, and by that point, the field was so crowded that Kenosha couldn’t really reap the rewards. That, however, doesn’t make the 1968 Javelin any less attractive, and this fine example has been owned by the same person since 1974. Powered by a 290/four-speed combination, it’s up for sale on Hagerty Marketplace in Coupeville, Washington.
The Javelin’s long-term owner has posted the car’s VIN tag, and it breaks down like this:
- A: AMC (no kidding)
- 8: 1968
- M: Four-speed manual transmission
- 7: Javelin
- 9: Two-door hardtop
- 7: Rogue, SST, or AMX trim
- N: 290 four-barrel engine
- 343015: Production sequence number
The Scarab Gold Javelin (verified by the data tag) was treated to a new paint job about ten years ago, and the seller has posted these pictures of the immaculate floor pans. At the time, the body was stripped to bare metal, the trim was replated, any rust that needed attention was repaired, and the interior was reupholstered.
The Javelin’s smallest V8 option was the 290, available in 200-horsepower two-barrel and 225-horsepower four-barrel states of tune. This one has the four-barrel and it appears that it’s gotten some “day-two” upgrades as you might have seen in 1968 (albeit a little more modern). The carburetor has been replaced with an aftermarket Holley, the distributor is an aftermarket HEI unit, and the radiator has been replaced with a new aluminum piece. You may also notice that the Javelin was ordered without power steering or power brakes, so your ownership experience will be true to 1968. The stock brakes on V8 cars were four ten-inch drums, and based on the master cylinder, it appears that this car has them. Front power discs were, however, an option on V8 cars.
A note about engine identification: The AMC V8 is one of three engine families I can think of that has a distributor angled toward the driver side on the front of the engine, the other two being small- and big-block Buicks (not Nailheads) and the Cadillac V8 (1963 onward).
This Javelin is an SST, which means that it has reclining bucket seats upholstered in “cool ventilated vinyl,” according to the sales brochure. The SST buyer also enjoyed a “sports car steering wheel, inside door panels that look like walnut (which has gone missing on this car), [and] racy mag-style wheel discs.” Of course, the owner has continued the “Day Two” theme by switching to a set of Torq-Thrust-style “mags,” a tried-and-true look, even if it’s a bit overdone these days.
The interior looks nice, but I’d probably swap the digital gauges beneath the dashboard for something a little more analog. (Or I’d simply rely on the warning lights.)
Although the Javelin was just about the raciest AMC one could imagine, the aforementioned competition from most corners of the industry meant that sales would always be a little underwhelming. Indeed, AMC sold 55,124 Javelins in 1968, which paled when compared to the 317,404 Mustangs sold by Ford but exceeded the number of Barracudas sold by Plymouth (45,412). Regardless, if you like AMCs, this is one of the faces of the company, and this example is a nicely redone car that has a lovely muted color, a little kick under the hood, and a third pedal for fun.
Related Reading
Vintage Car Life Road Test: 1968 AMC Javelin SST – Praising A “Dramatic And Successful Design Turnabout” (by Aaron Severson)
Vintage Review: Car and Driver Compares The Hot 1968 Pony Cars – Which Is The Hottest Of Them All? (by GN)
In this generation of Javelin, I like the SST more than the AMX for the practicality of a back seat. While not always that useful in a pony car (ask me how I know), in this case, it was probably adequate, as these were a little bigger like a Challenger.
Nice find!
AMC ran marketing campaigns drawing “unfair comparisons” to the Mustang, explicitly pointing out the Javelin’s practical advantages. Particularly that the Javelin had the most rear seat leg room of any of the pony cars. It had a 109″ wheelbase that was longer than the competition and a trunk that was bigger than the ’68 Camaro or Mustang, but apparently not quite as big as the ’68 Barracuda.
The ultimate AMC luxury option: Electric wipers!
lololol So true. those damn, vacuum, ones should a been outlawed by then.
AMC for the win on pony car looks for 68. Very clean and uncluttered outside, but the huge black acreage above the radio has to go. The forward facing radio speaker is a boon to the listener though.
over the radio?
pre-designed for a touch screen !
…the huge black acreage above the radio has to go…
That would make a great home for a set of analog guages, if the vehicle isn’t destined for museum display. If done right, I’d say that doing so would be a forgivable resto-mod
That’s not the speaker?
Only at the very top. The guages pictured below Johnster’s post don’t look good to me. Methinks, they should line up with each other and have black bezels instead.
Perhaps replacing Speedometer, guage pod containing a phantom clock unless ordered and substituting them with VDO speedometer and tachometer? Smiths and Jaeger guages also rock. Both fuel and temperature guages could get moved to where that overly-small tachometer’s mounted. Three remaining VDO or other aesthetic guages of choice could occupy the middle console.
I’ve recently mounted a set of VDO Fullviews onto an unneccesary air vent on my Daihatsu:
Here’s a glareless close-up:
The space above the radio was where the optional Rally Pac instruments went. The pictures from from oldcarbrochures.com are pretty blurry so I can’t tell exactly what went where, but I think that the oil pressure gauge and the ammeter were positioned above the radio. There was also an optional tachometer and an electric clock. There’s a radio speaker at the top of the space above the radio and above where the gauges would go, but it is pretty blurry in the picture here.
This is how they arranged things. The ugly guages are, of course, aftermarket:
Here’s a picture of the instrument panel from a 1968 AMC Accessories sales brochure from Oldcarbrochures.com.
Here’s a picture of the instrument panel with the optional air-conditioning.
Finally, here’s a picture with the optional 8-track tape player.
The blank area was also where the large round outlets were placed for factory air conditioning. If you had air you could not get the rally pac gauges.
Loved these ever since I rode in my college roommate Dad’s new dark blue one in Fall of 1969. Missed the boat though, should have bought one when they were still very affordable, up to about 10-12 yers ago… no longer possible to get a deal for a good one, but this one is the kind to get! Thanks for showing it!
I could do without the aluminum radiator and that HEI distributor. They both ruin the look of the engine compartment not to mention the routing of the spark plug wires. Yeah, I am picky, yet a whole lot of people appreciate that in my other field.
I agree about the HEI unit. A Mallory Uni-Lite has a normal cap and looks much nicer.
A Mallory Uni-Lite has about 1/10 the service life before the module fries. Mallory is happy to sell you a “Circuit Guard 29371” that costs at least as much as the module and protects that fragile module; but that should have been designed-into the module itself.
An actual Genuine GM HEI is “THE” most-reliable distributor-based electronic ignition system on the planet. The aftermarket versions can come close, though, if selected carefully, and if the cheap-junk Chinese modules are discarded and the upper bushing gets some lube.
I might buy a black cap, an OEM coil, coil-cover, and wire-holder, though. The red IS a bit obnoxious.
I also agree about the HEI distributor. They make those for most 60s V8s now, but I don’t see the appeal – you can get all you’d need from a Pertronix points conversion, coil, and plug wire upgrade. At least the HEI in front doesn’t get as hot as at the back (probably the biggest downside to HEI in most original GM applications), but then you have that huge lump looking right at you. They look particularly stupid on the small-block Ford, which is a relatively tiny motor, making a big honking distributor stand out that much more – doesn’t stop as many people as it should, in my opinion.
Definitely a dubious upgrade to this car, considering there’s no shortage of options that’ll keep the look more original for little more money, if not the same.
Pertronix is definitely the easier way to go and all looks stock. One could even make an HEI ignition, I have in my Dodge, that looks completely stock.
Way cool car, I’d take it in a heartbeat. A nice combination of “survivor” car and resto. I also like the fact it has the 290. Though I’m a fan of original factory mag-type wheels, I do think the torque thrust wheels are the best looking of the aftermarket wheels. I don’t know why the author feels the look is overdone though, as I very seldom see them now.
Really? I see Torq-Thrusts (both original and polished) on a lot of cars at events in Michigan, and quite a few on the internet.
Really, it’s not that I _never_ see them, but seldom enough to the point where it’s refreshing to see a simple but classic wheel.
In NC it seems…as far as aftermarket wheels go on classic cars…I see these:
– Modern remakes of original factory mags, altered somewhat, and made to work with 17 inch tires. I can see the practicality.
– A smattering of classic ones like Cragar SS, Keystones, Slotted aluminum ( or cheap looking slotted chromed stamped steel ) wheels, and yes, American Racing Torque thrusts.
– Far too many clownishly large ( 22 inch-ish ) wheels: quite gaudy.
– The ongoing pestilence of black wheels.
The impression I’ve gotten is that I love the Javelin – both this and the later model – but that AMCs were built even worse than the Big 3, especially the interiors. On the bright side, they’re still fairly cheap, and it’s not like any of these cars were that nice on the inside. I feel like the new Challengers – even the early ones like mine (2010 R/T – last Hemi Orange 6-speed sold new, in March 2011) give you all the amusing bits of old muscle cars, but with none of the drawbacks. Mine has close to 100k miles (I’ve been working remote since COVID) and at 15+ years old it’s really not had any reliability issues.
I considered trading on a new one not long before they went out of production, but a Procharger centrifugal blower is CARB legal and Hellcat brakes fit, so for $15k or so, I can make it go and stop fast enough.
But if I went old school, since matching numbers is nothing to me, I’d do an Olds Cutlass or Buick… whatever their base A body was, and swap in one of the classic big motors with fuel injection and a Tremec 6-speed. But then I’d basically just have a crummier version of the car I already have.
I had a friend in high school that was gifted a Javelin for graduating high school. He was very disappointed that it was not the Mustang he had asked for. A Mustang signaled that you were a hot stallion. A Javelin suggested that you’d ask your date to go Dutch.
This car is very nice although I would prefer another color.
A friend of mine had a ’68 SST in that very same gold, 343 and an automatic. Great car.
It was 1970, I was at college in Miami, and Dad had borrowed my 1963 T-Bird and wrecked it. Dad gave me his 1966 T-Bird and wrecked that when I was home for a holiday. I had two days to buy a new car and return to college in Miami.
I was attracted to the Javelin, not so attracted to the interior. But Dad gave me a blank check and sent me to his friend at a Chevy dealership. Don’t go crazy, meaning no Camaro. So off the lot I bought a fully loaded 1970 Nova 396, loaded with options, just to piss off Dad for wreaking my T-Birds. I loved my Nova, but still attracted to the first generation of Javelin’s.
What color was the “Nova”?
The Javelin might have been way late to the ponycar party, but it was a solid, attractive effort by the last independent. In fact, one of my favorite tidbits is that, for all the years it was in production (except 1970), the Javelin actually outsold the Plymouth Barracuda. Of course, if sales of ‘both’ Chrysler’s E-bodies are included, it’s a bit of a different story.
The Javelin was a handsome and clean design that looked quite distinctive from its competition. Well done!
Always thought the 1st gen Javelin was the most modern looking pony car at that time. Surprised cash strapped AMC didn’t keep that design (and the AMX) around a bit longer!
I love the Javelin, and I love *this* Javelin – torque-thrusts and everything. I will probably always flip-flop between which generation like better.
It is a tough call, Joe, but I usually side with the second generation as that’s what my friend had back in the day.
Ironically, he preferred the first generation Javelins, so go figure. LOL