February '09 Car of the Month

I have decided that the best way to force myself to write about something fun is to schedule it--then make that schedule public. So here goes. Every month I will choose a "Car" (or truck) and "Bike"(motorcycle) of the month. This way I get to do one of my favorite things in the world: research car or bike information. Then I will try to tell you something that you may have never known about that vehicle. These vehicles may be old or new, as long as they have that certain combination of power, style and uniqueness. Although I grew up primarily loving classic Mopars (Dodge, Plymouth, Chrysler), I will not let my bias show through here. I hope you will enjoy this process halfway as much as me.

Car of the Month, February 2009: 1969 AMC Javelin

I grew up loving a car that I never met. My Dad would regale my brother and me with tales of his youth, and the car related adventures he had. The stories that always captivated me the most involved a certain blue and silver AMC Javelin, with a 343 V8 and 4-speed. It had been modified by a previous owner with a mystery combination of parts, and made a "bit" more power than stock. Sometimes my Dad would tell the story and get a "far-off" look in his eye, perhaps recalling the screaming engine, the road trips with friends, beating a Corvette in a race, or watching it drive off into the distance for the last time. No matter what he thought about the car, I was left with an indelible impression of the car as a complete freak of nature and a lot of fun to drive. 'Nuf said. Now to the details.

AMC (American Motors Corporation) was a company with multiple personalities. Formed in 1954 by way of a merger between the Hudson and Nash car companies, American Motors was a company that specialized in change. The merger may have happened for purely financial reasons (Nash and Hudson execs knew that merging would cut costs and provide a unified front against the competition of the "Big 3:" Ford, Chrysler and GM). The irony is that, although their plan succeeded, by the mid 1960s the company was over-spending again. Cars like Javelin, AMX and Rebel Machine--their best cars-- were produced as a desperate attempt to gain some market share in the rapidly expanding "pony" and "muscle" car markets.

No matter what people may have thought about the image and future of American Motors, there was no denying that these new cars were nothing to sneeze at. The Javelin, introduced in 1968 as a somewhat tardy entrant to the "pony-car" market, was a success. With an in-line six cylinder as the base engine and four optional V8s, the Javelin was appealing to a wide range of speed needs. Unlike some of its contemporaries, the Javelin and its 2-seat brother, the AMX (released later in the 1968 model year) were fun to drive with any of the available V8s. This is part of what made the pony cars (early Barracudas, Mustangs and Camaros included) special. They were small and light enough that a small V8 such as the base 290 2-barrel in the Javelin (200hp, 285 lb-ft of torque) could motivate them to adrenaline-releasing authority. This led to many a surprised muscle car driver at the stoplights in local towns. You can imagine the embarrassment of the guy who spent big bucks on a Corvette, big-block Chevelle or Hemi Charger eating the dust of a "lowly" Javelin. The 290 (which also came in a high-output four barrel version: 225hp, 300tq), was by no means the dream engine in these cars either. A screaming 343 was available in 235hp, 345tq and 280hp, 365tq variants. The pavement-shredding top-of-the-line was the 390 (315hp, 425tq). With all of these combinations available, as well as suspension, transmission and paint options, the Javelin could be made into a unique automotive statement. In 1969, AMC decided not to mess with a good thing, and they only slightly modified the grill and other cosmetic aspects. For the AMX, they also offered what they called the "Big Bad" colors (eye-searing hues of green, orange and blue, pictured above) which were all too appropriate in the late 60s.

And this is where it all comes down to personal preference. If I was a twenty-something in 1968, with a wad of cash and an AMC dealership nearby, I would be driving home something similar to the car pictured below. A 1969 Javelin 390 4-barrel, "Go-Pack:" 4-speed, "twin-grip" rear end, 8000 rpm tach, heavy-duty cooling and disc brakes. The allure of these performance options is easy to understand, but as is often the case, it is the intangibles that make a car special.

To me, there is something purposeful about the spartan interior of a Javelin. Greeting the driver are a few gauges in a simple dash that matches the color of the entire rest of the upholstery. A big chrome Hurst shifter with cue ball shift knob rises from a black rubber boot, secured right on the carpeted center hump by a chrome metal ring. No center console, no cup holders and no form without function. The minimal sound-deadening material is a blessing from God in this car, because the drivetrain makes all of the right noises. The signature whine of the 4-speed transmission rises and falls with rpms and is a reminder, even at low speed, that this is not your grandfather's Buick. The high compression 390 starts from a low mellow burble and rises to drown out the transmission whine (and anything else) with a scream that fills the cabin. The "twin-grip" rear end transforms any intersection into an opportunity for the driver to leave his or her mark on the world--two strips of rubber at a time.

So why choose the Javelin and not the shorter, sportier AMX? For one thing, the AMX is a 2-seater, which is great most of the time, but those extra two seats in the Javelin are perfect for scaring the driver's friends into a concern for their eternal destination. On a more relevant note, the Javelin was the car that AMC decided to enter in the SCCA Trans Am racing series in 1968. The race-prepped Javelins were awesome, and they proved reliable as well. AMC went on to win in the early seventies, with such notable racing personalities as Roger Penske and Mark Donohue involved. The AMX, although successful in many drag racing arenas, was never a road-racing champ, and therefore ranks lower in its allure to me. If I were to restore a Javelin right now, you can bet that it would more closely resemble the actual race-prepped Mark Donohue Javelin (see pic below), than its showroom cousin, the "Mark Donohue Edition" Javelin (2500 were built in order to "homologate," or make the Javelin admissible in the 1970 season with certain engine equipment).

The Javelin and AMX are still cars that confuse people that are used to seeing late model Mustangs and Camaros all their lives, which is part of the fun. It's especially fun if they are driving one of those cookie cutters when you leave them in the dust at a stoplight.

These were cars that, within a year of being on the market gave the best offerings from the "Big 3" a run for their money--on the streets and on the track. That is impressive, to say the least.