Vehicle sighting - 1968 AMC Javelin

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AMCs of any sort are rare around here. The owner, a very pleasant young fellow, was happy to show off his Javelin, and popped the hood for me. I'm amazed how quickly AMC's stylists got into the modern era. To me, this Javelin holds its own with the Mustang, Cougar, Barracuda, Camaro, and Firebird of the day. The engine is a 290, which I'd never heard of. I was interested in the distributor - mounted up front like a Ford, but with the little pop-up window for points adjustment a la GM. The PSF reservoir can be seen perched on top of the PS pump - interesting design!

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Mark Donahue drive a Javelin to a winning season and won over Ford and Chevy. I saw them run at Elkhart Lake WI. Great vehicles. The popular engine was a 390 CI. Ed
 
Originally Posted by ragtoplvr
I believe you heard wrong, it is probably a 390. They did make a 290, but I think those went on



No he is right 290 or 343
 
Great pony car. Yeah, they used the GM points distributor. Simple motor, easy to work on.
With a set of radial tires (fairly new to America in the late 60's) that car handled very well.

Thanks for posting.
 
Delco disributor. They also used Prestolite in some AMC models of that era. The 290 was common like the 283 Chev.
 
I knew a guy back in high school that had an AMX with a 401 that he drag raced frequently. He never could get it to the point of besting the GM/Ford/Dodges of the same class, but it was definitely a great looking car and sounded awesome.
 
Originally Posted by ragtoplvr
I believe you heard wrong, it is probably a 390. They did make a 290, but I think those went on
I thought the same - I asked if the engine was a 304 or a 390. The owner said it was a 290. I'd never heard of it, but there were chrome decals on the rear quarter panels saying "290". I wish I'd taken a closeup of it - it just pixelates when I zoom in. So then I had to read the Wiki article about AMC V8s -

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMC_V8_engine
 
Great cars, my parents had one when I was in High School early 70's. We went on vacation towing a trailer camping. Tight in the back seat with 3 kids.
 
Back in the day I owned a 1968 with a 343 V8 4bbl, Borg Warner T10 4-speed, and Go Package. It was the same color as the car pictured. In 1968 you could get a 232 I6, 290 V8 2bbl & 4bbl, 343 V8 2bbl & 4bbl, and 390 V8 4bbl in a Javelin. In 1971 the V8 engines were enlarged to 304, 360, and 401. All of AMC's V8 engines used the same block which was a similar design to Ford's Windsor. You couldn't tell from an external inspection which engine you were looking at.
At the time, AMC was purchasing components from many different sources... the distributor was Delco (GM), the power steering was Saginaw (GM), the stater was Ford, the alternator was Motorola, the carburetors were Autolite, and the transmissions were Borg Warner. AMC manufactured their own differentials.
 
That distributor cap is in a convenience spot for removal for either replacement or inspection.

My old '87 Mercedes 300E has the distributor cap mounted on the front of the engine close to the fan. Makes it tricky to remove the screw on the bottom of the distributor cap for removal.
 
Originally Posted by JeffKeryk
I THINK the brake master was sourced from Ford?
Nope. The entire braking system was GM.
The automatic transmissions were Borg Warner prior to 1971 and Chrysler Torqueflites from 1971 on, but Jeeps used GM Turbo Hydramatics.
 
Originally Posted by Al
I thought it was a Chevy engine. I must be wrong.
Chevy V8s never had the distributor in the front.
 
Originally Posted by wag123
Originally Posted by JeffKeryk
I THINK the brake master was sourced from Ford?
Nope. The entire braking system was GM.
The automatic transmissions were Borg Warner prior to 1971 and Chrysler Torqueflites from 1971 on, but Jeeps used GM Turbo Hydramatics.

OK. On some pics (not here) I thought the master looked like a Ford of that era. Not sure.
All good.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by hemitom
Originally Posted by ragtoplvr
I believe you heard wrong, it is probably a 390. They did make a 290, but I think those went on



No he is right 290 or 343


In 68, the chose for V8's was 290, 343, and 390 ci.
 
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