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Post by spud on Sept 12, 2023 5:28:58 GMT -8
I spent the weekend welding and grinding. The javelins rear shock mounts to the body were trashed from wheelhop. The drivers side staggered mount was ripped right out and was patched up with some screwed in scrap steel straps and odd junk. I unscrewed about five pounds of scrap steel and started straightening out cracked and torn sheetmetal. I was kind of surprised how thin the trunkpan is. And totally surprised the shock mount “ crossmember” was the same thin metal. Theres just nothing substantial there. The stiffener plate with the studs, that the top shock mount bracket bolts too was torn free. So basically i repaired what was left of the trunk pan in the area. It was thin and i had my mig welder set on spotweld for about a second, and spent hours making a zillion little spotwelds. When i was done i ground them down to a less ugly condition. Then i pecked on the pan for a good while with a pick hammer straightening up the pan some. The lack of available structure to mount a shock was well … shocking😂. The only significant structure in the area is the stamped crossmember that supports the trunkpan, that the fuel tank bolts engage in. I welded a heavier piece of steel sheet, i think it was around .063 sheet , to the top of the heavy crossmember. It goes up on the bottom of the trunkpan , to the point where the stiffener with studs is, overlapping the two parts an inch or so( you cant see the plate i added from inside the trunk, because it is in the axle tunnel) then i sandwiched it all together with two 5/16 bolts. That secured the back of the studded stiffener plate solidly. ( and invisibly from inside the trunk) The front of the plate bolts in on the rear edge of the shock mounting crossmember. And that lip was ripped off the crossmember. I couldnt fix it due to upside down welding in this area was next to impossible. So i ended up welding a big ear on the shockmount bracket, that covers the shockmount in the crossmember and bolts to it for support( this is the extra shockmount hole that is used on six cylinder javelins without staggered shocks, and amx’s use this hole also) so in the end i have a much more structurally solid top shockmount in the staggered position. I’m not surprised the original mount was torn free. The passengers side top shockmount was harder. I had to remove the destroyed heavy gauge “ washer” remains from inside the light gauge stamped crossmember and gingerly weld in a replacement i fabricated from 1/8 inch thick steel. I welded it on the bottom to try and save my sanity but that was a poor strategy as i had to spotweld it in from the bottom in an upside down position. Which gave me hell and a few burns but it got done. I also made two ears to spread out the load over the thin crossmember, one bolts to the threaded factory exhaust hanger holes, i added a bolt and washer there, and the other goes to the passenger framerail, where i welded it in. So again a lot better than it was. I could imaging ( someday maybe) spending many hours drilling out the spotwelds on the factory thin stamped shockmount crossmember and throwing it away. Whats left of it. And welding in a nice solid tubular member. But not at this point anyway. Its good enough for roadkill and for now. After all the bullshit i scrubbed the scars down and hit the bare metal with vht chassis black and installed some new kyb’s and went for some burnouts. Much better than the creaking popping junk that i had before! And curiously the little 4.0 will turn the tires enough for a burnout😁 of course i was burning old hard and slick bfg’s😉the rotor rephase purged some pretty foul demons i would say. It is slowly becoming something.
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Post by spud on Sept 12, 2023 7:09:14 GMT -8
I wished unka baloney would have posted some times for his slant six valiant. I think it has unka baloney covered pretty strong
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Post by 69Rebel on Sept 12, 2023 7:15:45 GMT -8
I don't think the leaning tower of (no) power can possibly have anything on the AMC 4.0.
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Post by spud on Sept 12, 2023 7:29:59 GMT -8
I forget what he called that project. He cut about half that car away and hot rodded that six up and by all rights it shoulda been a pretty quick rig. It was a turd and has hasnt fixed it.
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Post by spud on Sept 12, 2023 16:03:21 GMT -8
I found a you tube channel, “ 68_AMX_LS” , a guy in bozeman montana, who has some pretty fun junk/ salvage level amc’s. Chevy motored. He has a good time. He drug about half a shitty 69 javelin out of a boneyard and is putting it together with junk and swapped parts. Kind of entertaining channel. Thought it might be relevant to mention him here. His 454 powered junkyard javelin is not fast but its fun. Nice roadkill stuff.
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Post by spud on Sept 25, 2023 12:26:10 GMT -8
I bought patch panels for my rotted quarter panels and wheel openings. Maybe i have taken this pile of shit too seriously. I have become invested in all consuming time eater.
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Post by 69Rebel on Sept 27, 2023 9:12:19 GMT -8
Don't Bart it! You don't have to make it perfect, just make it go.
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Post by spud on Sept 27, 2023 12:04:53 GMT -8
Its going. I started screwing it up last weekend when i cut off the rusted out quarter panel sections behind the rear wheelwells. I have a 69 parts car that i figured i could use the panels from. I cut those off and they were pretty rusty on the inside. So i dropped them in some phosporic acid. Now they are swiss cheese. So i figured i would get some repair panels from kennedy american while i still can. I kind of enjoy cutting out rusted sheetmetal and welding in repair panels. But anyway the car runs and drives pretty well now. I am starting to get stupid by beginning a body and paint job i will never finish so i think i need a reality check. Maybe as long as i focus on one area at a time it won’t snowball into something overwhelming and unmanageable. If you want some pictures i can send some. Its kind of interesting . The car is empty and light and it is fun to waste the rotting bfg’s off in the warehouse district at night. 😁
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Post by sc397 on Sept 27, 2023 12:37:00 GMT -8
I use front fenders as patch panels for the rear quarters on Javelins. If you use the left front on the right rear and vise versa the shape is pretty close. The wheel opening is bigger on the front but you can cut pieces and make it work.
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Post by spud on Sept 27, 2023 14:42:25 GMT -8
By jiminy i never thought of that! The wheel opening is huge on the front compared to the rear, and it is pretty much the same in terms of shape and styling…. So you use the front fender, reversed, and the area in front of the front wheel becomes the area behind the rear wheel. I’m sure it takes a lot of work to make the small diameter rear inner wheelwell fit the larger front fender wheel opening… but man thats a clever way to get more tire clearance for bigger rear tires. I do have a couple of pretty trashy front fenders i could butcher. You wouldnt happen to have any pictures of the process or results? Thats a devastatingly elegant idea! And my trunk drop offs and wheelwell lips are pretty trashed anyways, and will likely need a bunch of work before i can put anything on the outside…so… i guess it could work. Given a bunch of time and cut and welding… i think i will get a tapemeasure and compare.
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Post by sc397 on Sept 27, 2023 18:04:13 GMT -8
I remember a picture but can't find it yet. I will keep looking.
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Post by spud on Nov 8, 2023 6:27:19 GMT -8
Ok so the roadkill is roadable. Now exactly roadworthy but it will never be that. I think for what it is its pretty good. It will blaze both tires. Well in low. It might even be fairly quick… considering its powered by an i dunno how many mile overheated 4.0 roach motel i stole for free from gary the tire guy. I think its ready for some baseline runs. I know its not exactly the time of year for racing but we will see if they have a test n tune soon. What? You knew i was gonna race it right? Now for the powerfull roadkill moment… what kind of numbers do you think it will turn?
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Post by 69Rebel on Nov 8, 2023 9:00:23 GMT -8
16 flat.
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Post by spud on Nov 8, 2023 9:58:53 GMT -8
Oh i forgot its gonna be eighth mile.
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Post by amxdreamer on Nov 8, 2023 10:23:12 GMT -8
16 flat still.....lol
This way you will exceed my expectations!
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