Beretta.net

Just brought the last of the old cars home from storage (aside from the Pontiac that I won't be keeping, be that good or bad), been sitting for over a decade, and was back-burnered for probably ten years before that. Poor car. Man, this thing is going to need a lot of work. The roof of the storage shed built for the car (not by me) apparently collapsed some time ago, and weather and rodents have gotten into it. Fortunately, the larger and more destructive pests weren't able to get farther than the engine-bay, and only ate the radiator hoses and heater-hoses. The old Mercury parked next to mine was utterly destroyed by raccoons that had forced their way in through rusted-out trunk-floor extensions, all the seats in that car are gone, chewed down to the frames. I'll be helping with the inspection on that one later, hopefully the dash and wiring are still intact, but I will only be holding my breath against the smell of raccoon crap -that car is a likely candidate now for a resto-mod project, like mine will be, but possibly on an even tighter budget due to the owner's restrictions. There is just NOTHING out there available for either of these cars -not that I have found a least, so a true 'restoration' from the point where they are both at is off the table. I'll try to get some more pics up as I get time on it. Maybe we can play a game of 'what the heck WAS that car??'

Looks like an AMC, yes?

AMC yes. But most people get the model wrong. Look carefully at the quarter-windows.

You got me... haha

Ask me about subtle differences in 67-81 Camaros and I'm on top of it. I have lots of mostly useless knowledge of Silverados too! AMCs not so much...

Right there with you on Cameros -wing windows or no wing windows!

These AMCs are usually mistaken for the more popular "AMX" cars, and in fact are all but the same thing. The Javelin (mine is an "SST" model) is several inches longer in the quarter-panel section -easiest way to tell is the quarter-windows (AMX quarters are tiny little triangles). They also have a functional back seat, unlike the AMX.

Basic stats on this are:
-343 V-8, 235-280 HP depending on carburetion,
-Auto transmission (unfortunately, but it is the heavy-duty iron-case Borg Warner model, which isn't that bad and has some interesting attributes).
-A/C, P/S.
-Power DRUM brakes (power-assist isn't really necessary on drums -my 'old' Plymouth is four-wheel drum without power assist, and stops very nicely), biased, that will throw you through the windshield, but barely slow the car down in reverse.
-Bucket seats -SST package upgrades them to folding/reclining.

The 8-track radio wasn't present in the car, so I still keep an eye open for one.
But I did get the original one-owner title from 1968 with it.
The interior was BAKED. Severe UV sun-damage turned all the plastics to crumbly dust, the front seat in functional but rough shape, the rear seat was fine IIRC. The plan all along was to redo it, completely custom. Wood paneling with stainless-steel trim throughout is the intent. Aside from seat-belts, I hope to have NOTHING visible inside that is made of plastic or synthetics.

67 vs 68...vent window vs no vent window.

I was thinking AMX but I know they're pretty rare, so I figured not.

woody90gtz wrote:67 vs 68...vent window vs no vent window.

Exactly. I worked at a restoration-parts shop for a while -we both made parts for dealers like Classic and OPG, and distributed locally for them -the only dealer in the region at the time. I helped catalog, code, and created the format for the newly-generated P/N i.d. groups for parts for stock, special orders, and inventory when we upgraded the O.S. back then -it was kind of a fun time. I personally know of no other way to quickly identify a '67 vs '68 GM F-Body. I think there was some front-trim difference on the Firebirds, but never got into the details on the Pontiacs. '69s are easy of course, basically the same chassis but widened and re-sculpted. I get a bit blurry after the first few years of the Second-Gen Camaros (like yours), but could have taught a class in how to bore people to sleep on the Third-Gen cars... I own (currently) more Third-Gen F-Bodies than I do Berettas... But I don't like their owners' group sites.

woody90gtz wrote:I was thinking AMX but I know they're pretty rare, so I figured not.

Yep, the little-brother AMX was much rarer then, not sure if that has finally changed as the AMXs were prized more as "collector's cars" from the beginning and may have seen a much higher number preserved, but there were just not many to begin with and by now, 54 years later, neither model is common to find. I had thought very hard about giving the car up, instead of hauling it half-way across the country when I moved some years back, but I'm glad I kept it at this point. Though I am not envying myself the work she will need from me. If circumstance hadn't forced me to make the decision to keep it or send it on to someone else, I can't say in two or three years I would have decided to keep it, and if my hand had been forced even a few years ago, I think I would have sold it then.