I’ve already reported on the Canton, South Dakota Car Show, but I felt the need to place a spotlight on this very original 1974 AMC Javelin. Since it was the last year for the Javelin, perhaps someone felt the need to save it for posterity. This initial view shows the car includes factory correct body color, stripes, and wheel covers.
The interior also appears to be factory original. Any owner who did not value a bone stock appearance would have replaced that ugly steering wheel the day after purchase!
But here’s the absolute proof of originality- A single barrel, push-rod actuated, 258 cubic inch, straight six. Look closely- Even the oil filter is branded “AMC.” Thanks to this pedestrian motor residing in a hot pony car body, this Javelin merits the title, “Curbside Classic.”
To match the overt and brawny supersonic styling on this gen Javelin, a wide track, and fat tires, seem a must. The track on the subject AMC is too narrow, to really compliment, and strengthen, the Javelin’s looks. Whitewalls, don’t belong on a quasi-muscle car. Larger tires in the rear, make a significant difference as well.
Ultra fast Photoshop, very simply shows the intent. Chintzy looking wheels/wheel covers, really should go. Original look is weak, for the bold styling of this car. But I guess if it is powered by a 258 Six, it looks just fine… lol
They remind me of “Hornet”, wheel covers.
I agree. Not flattering to this Javelin.
Sorry, but this gen of the Javelin was a low point in domestic styling, especially compared to its handsome predecessor. At least the Aztek, another low point, was a pretty practical car. The Javelin doesn’t even have that going for it. And the color, whitewalls, wheel covers do this Javelin no favors. But, it is a piece of history and thanks for posting it anyway!
A 6 cylinder Javelin, from the “oil embargo” years was indeed a pretty practical car…a real back seat (compared to other pony cars), and a modest sized trunk, plus a bulletproof engine and tranny; no insurance surcharge…doesn’t get much more practical than that!
Love these stripper pony cars, everything about this one is perfect. Much rather see one of these, or a gen 1 or 2 Camaro, ’64 to ’70 Mustang, in basic bare bones “secretary’s car” form than the usual over-steroidal “muscle” car.
My wife’s best friend bought a new ’70 Camaro in Summer of 1970 with the only options of R & H, PS, and 307 2bbl/auto. Plain Jane car in Citrus Lime metallic and basic black basket-weave vinyl interior. Loved that car but her pushy new husband 2 years later stupidly made her sell it for a baby-crap brown pos 1973 Capri V6 that rusted out in 3 years. Never did like that guy…dumb!!
During the late 70’s a brother of my high school buddy Paul used to pick us up in his Wild Plum Poly 71. The Ramones were always blasting out of the 6×9’s. With white stripes and matching interior, it was unique. I think it was a V8 and likely a graduation gift bought new at Richard’s Motors in Union NJ.
I think this looks nice in this color and stripes .
-Nate
This one is a “looker”! By “74”, one can see that even the “lil,6 banger” occupies a lot a space under that hood.
Cars like this need to be preserved for no other reason than to prove that they were built and people bought them and enjoyed them. It wasn’t all about 0-60.
Yeah, but it wasn’t like these last, seventies’ six-banger ponycars were still setting the sales charts on fire like they once had been in the mid-sixties.
This gen Javelin might hold the record for distance between front bumper and the engine. The ’69 Grand Prix would give it the most competition.
Would be easier to gauge with a shorter V8.
Plus, the 1970 Monte Carlo might hold the record for the longest fan shroud ever used.
Monte Carlo and Grand Prix share the same platform. Javelin V8’s had a similar fan shroud, I guess they achieve laminar flow in that thing
Toronto neighbours had one…a bright orange color. Pretty much a Mom car ,low optioned, his was a Deville.. I always liked them, particularly in AMX with the 401.
I had a’73 Gremlin X that came with a 5 liter 304 V8 under the hood. I think it was good for about 135 hp. Pretty gutless. I got brave one weekend and dropped a 401 in it. It came from a Javelin. My point is this Javelin being spoken about in this article is a beautiful piece of history. But I’ve got to say that if it were mine I’d at least have to drop in a 343 under the hood. That’s just me though.
I applaud the owner for keeping it original. I’m sure it generates a lot of interest at shows. The six provides adequate power for everyday use, as long as trips to the dragstrip are not on the schedule. I know that there are people that actually take their machines to the strip, but most don’t. They just want an affordable car that they like, to use for transportation. By this time, emission controls had taken the snap out of most sixes and small V8s. My 250 cid ’70 Mustang had plenty of performance, but that engine really suffered as the decade went on. My only real complaint was that the fuel economy was very poor compared to my ’07 V6 Mustang, or even my ’96 GT.
I know that I sound like an old man, and I am, but a lot of horsepower stuff is just for bragging rights. The buyer is just paying for un-needed excess capability. Luckily for us, modern smaller displacement engines provide plenty of performance with impressive mileage numbers.
These Javelins are not the best looking of the breed. When I was in H.S. (73) one of my classmates got a new Javelin like this one, it might have had a small V8. I thought that it was cool because it was new, but there were slightly older Camaros, Mustangs, and Mopars on campus that looked a lot better in my opinion.
I don’t remember what year it was, but my cousin bought an awful brown colored Javelin with the 258 six. What a disapointment that car was. I drove it once and laughed at him for buying it with that engine. He complained from day one about it being slow. It was just annoyingly slow, and with 3 or 4 people in it, it was a joke. It got hit and he decided to trade it in, and what did he pick? A ’73 base Camaro, bronze, with a white vinyl top, with the straight six in it. And he complained about how slow it was. I don’t remember how much whatever the cheapest V8 was, but it wasn’t much. And as he always does to this day, he buys nothing but the base stereos in every car, because he, and this is just weird, hates bass. When his son was little, I ran into him getting a stereo put into his Volvo wagon, and he bought the cheapest, crappiest sounding speakers the store had. A few years back, I was talking to his nearly 40 year old son, and asked him, “Do you hate bass like your dad?”. I was happy to hear he had just had a subwoofer installed in his Silverado. The insanity stopped with my cousin.
You guys can pick that javelin apart all you want. I have my 72 with a 360, mag rims, wide tires, bronze with the gold fish hook stripe. 88000 miles and it went 7 miles to school and back everyday. It is all original with virtually no rust. All the Chevys at the car shows have a 30 plus thousand dollar redo job. Many wish they owned it!!