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So it's been awhile since my last post, haven't been able to work on the car much due to life issues and poo poo winter weather, but now it's back to work     So one of many issues is the car wouldn't idle. After 30 years of sitting I was sure the carburetor was gummed up. The Carter YF is a simple carburetor so I went ahead and rebuilt it. On an off topic, on Monday some nice person in a F350 with a brush guard rear ended my wife's car. At least he had insurance but all the body shops are booked until mid April so unhappy wife = unhappy me.  
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Feb 27, 2022 03:41
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I wanted to drop the fuel tank this weekend, but that requires accessing the trunk to remove the filler neck. I didn't get any keys when I picked up the car so I had to drill the lock cylinder out. So let's see what treasures are hidden within!  The three missing factory wheels and hubcaps!  Factory gas cap!  And an ancient tire pump!  Tank looks good on the outside. But on the inside...   It's not so good. A lot of varnish and rust. I'm going to try to clean this one out and run a clear (and easily changed!) fuel filter on the suction side of the fuel pump and see how it acts. If anyone here has experience with cleaning out rusty gas tanks I'd appreciate any advice you could give.    Not much more than surface rust under the car, I'm going to hit it with a needle scaler and wire wheel, then put some rust converter on it.
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Mar 7, 2022 16:10
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jesus christ why is it so rusty underneath, thats insane that gas cap rules i kinda like the volcano style center caps from whatever years that did that, but the fullsize hubcap looks pretty cool. you gonna keep it original? you coulda taken out the back seat and popped the trunk from the inside to avoid having to wreck stuff with a drill, if you wanted. i had to do that once and it wasnt too bad, though i dont know the details of that car's trunk latch
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Mar 8, 2022 07:07
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Raluek posted:jesus christ why is it so rusty underneath, thats insane The rust isn't bad at all, it's all surface rust and easily dealt with. I am going to keep the hubcaps but I'm using a bigger set of wheels that I'll paint body color like the originals. And there was no way to get into the trunk from the back seat with the three tires in the trunk and the bulkhead in the way.
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Mar 8, 2022 14:23
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I’m also interested in ways to de-crudify a gas tank on the inside as I’ll be doing it on my Dart. Luckily I’ve got access from the top if there are any bolts there. From what I’ve seen on YouTube people are using bolts / nuts inside and shaking it (maybe attach to a cement mixer and let it run for a while?) with rust eater / converter and perhaps some sort of sealer? Fingers crossed my tank isn’t hosed, because I dread the shipping costs if I need one. Needle scalers are nice, but make sure you have a compressor that can run it for a while because otherwise it gets annoying in the long run.
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Mar 8, 2022 15:28
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I've cleaned a rusty gas tank with muriatic acid before. Just put some in, covered and sloshed around. Let sit 20 min and repeat. Came out pretty nice. Careful for the fumes and your eyes.
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Mar 10, 2022 02:36
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It's been awhile, and I've been busy and haven't gotten as much done on the car as I would like. But progress is being made, albeit slowly.     This is the rear brake setup. The hold down springs are the biggest pain in the rear end I have ever dealt with. Other than that it's just your standard Bendix drum brake. And they're tiny at 9" x 2".        I also started on the front disc brake conversion. I'm using caliper brackets from Scarebird Classic Brakes. With this setup you use the rotors from a Previa, the calipers from a Celebrity w/ HD brakes, and brake hoses from an Eldorado. You so have to machine the OD of the front hubs to fit the rotors which I did on the lathe at my job. I replaced the tiny wheel bearings while I was there. I also figured out I needed longer wheel studs to make up for the thickness of the rotor, so by doing some measuring I found the studs from an Astro van w/ AWD fit perfectly. The jobs not complete yet, I was able to get the old backing plates off and install the caliper brackets, and then I ran out of time.
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May 2, 2022 19:37
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So when I last left off I had a car with no brakes and running off of a gas can that I would sit on the hood.    I ran new brake and fuel lines, and installed a new gas tank. No one makes a gas tank for this car, and the old one was too far gone for me to use. So what I did was use a tank for a Concord, desolder the filler neck from my old tank, and weld it into my new tank. The new tank is 22 gallons while the old one was 16, so I had to tweak the tube on the fuel sender to reach the bottom. I also had to repair the fuel lever potentiometer as it has corroded off the sender. But now that's all done, and I now have brakes and don't have to use the gas can anymore, and I was able to drive it a couple miles.   I also painted the rims and mounted a set of tires. After my test drive I made the decision to convert to power steering. Six turns lock to lock on the manual steering just sucks, going to a power box drops that down to four turns, which is more manageable. All the parts are available new except the power steering pump mounting brackets, which are unobtanium for a pre 75 AMC six cylinder, so I'm going to have to fabricate my own.
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Jun 28, 2022 14:22
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I love your car and this thread so much! Good use on the Concord tank.
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Jun 28, 2022 14:40
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Swiller of Beer posted:Six turns lock to lock on the manual steering just sucks Yeah, that's terrible. Just any time you want to go not-straight, welcome to suffering. On the other hand, you'd end up looking like the rock after a year of driving it.
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Jun 29, 2022 19:52
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      So I installed power steering on this thing, and it is glorious. I made the pump brackets out of 1/4 x 1 inch aluminum flat bar and it seems very sturdy. The pump does sit higher than the factory location but everything clears so I'm happy. I was able to drive it up town to get it inspected and registered so now I'm officially legal. However, it's an old car that has sat for a long time, and I may have ignored some of the warnings it was giving me.  This was the water pump I replaced, the impeller is very corroded and parts of it are gone. Which after driving it home and seeing drips on the ground led me to this.  Hello there rusted out expansion plug! I could just replace the bad one and pressure test the system but I'm going to pull the engine out and replace them all, it'll give me a chance to look everything over and clean the engine bay up.
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Jul 13, 2022 19:43
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 The cause of my current issues.  And the current state of things. So, after a little thought I decided to go ahead and pull the engine. I don't trust the core plug I can't see and everything in the engine bay could use a lot of cleaning and some surface rust repairs. I'll probably do this in a few weeks when I get some free time. Speaking of cleaning, the interior was very dirty and had mildew in spots from its long sleep in a barn, so I've been working on that as well.      I've been pulling the interior out and cleaning parts as I go, I just have a few more things to remove and I can get in there and scrub all the remaining surfaces.
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Aug 14, 2022 00:47
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This is looking great. Good idea on the Concord tank. I'm assuming the red car's tank was in similar condition? I forget, are you going to run it as-is as a survivor, or do some level of restoration?
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Aug 14, 2022 07:22
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STR posted:This is looking great. Good idea on the Concord tank. I'm assuming the red car's tank was in similar condition? The red car tank is worse, it has a bunch of pinholes in it. I'm going to run it for the moment as a quasi survivor. I'm going to fix the worst parts of the surface rust and then let the rest go for now.
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Aug 15, 2022 13:42
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Just a minor update, I haven't gotten much done lately on the car due to several projects I needed to complete around the house. But I did get a couple parts in to stuff into storage! I was able to pull some parts off of a 73 Hornet Sportabout that was heading to the crusher. A pair of small car V8 exhaust manifolds. The bottom manifold is common to AMCs and Jeeps and is easy to get, the log manifold on top is super rare to find these days.  And I was also able to get a sway bar as well, these are available new for about $235 or so, but I'm an AMC guy so I'm cheap. Swiller of Beer fucked around with this message at 02:00 on Oct 6, 2022 |
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Oct 6, 2022 01:40
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you want the free-flows anyway. do you have a matching one for the passenger side? did they really have one side freeflow one side log on the hornet? weird.
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Oct 6, 2022 07:04
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Were these zink bath dipped (or whatever they did for rust proofing) like the Eagles? Good score with the manifolds. I managed to have the engine / car combo that needs a super hard to find manifold design in my car.
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Oct 6, 2022 11:38
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Raluek posted:you want the free-flows anyway. do you have a matching one for the passenger side? The free flow manifold doesn't fit the passenger side on the small cars. Some guys say you can cut the flange off of a free flow,, rotate it 90° and weld it back on to make it fit. I didn't want to go through all that.
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Oct 6, 2022 22:23
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MrOnBicycle posted:Were these zink bath dipped (or whatever they did for rust proofing) like the Eagles? My car has the factory undercoat (which is really tough stuff and haphazardly applied) but no zinc dip. I don't think that AMC started dipping their cars until the mid 70s or so.
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Oct 6, 2022 22:28
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Just a small update, haven't had much time to work on the car lately. Just going to dump a few pictures.     I pulled the heater box to replace the bad heater core, and to clean it out, paint and reseal it. The heater core like many AMC parts is obsolete so I used the heater core out of a 79 Bronco which was dimensionally similar.  I also acquired this, it's a reproduction but I'm a sucker for stuff like this.
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Nov 27, 2022 17:35
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nice work. i was going to ask where you got the heater core because ive had a hell of a time finding one for my javelin, but it looks like the answer is that you didn't find one eitherSwiller of Beer posted:
this fucks
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Nov 27, 2022 21:04
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Raluek posted:nice work. i was going to ask where you got the heater core because ive had a hell of a time finding one for my javelin, but it looks like the answer is that you didn't find one either Nope. But this core is close enough and you can make up the difference with some foam. Plus it cost $26. It may work for your car as well. Rockauto does have the core for the later model Javelins in stock at the moment if you need the style that has the bracket on it for $85.
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Nov 27, 2022 22:48
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Swiller of Beer posted:Nope. But this core is close enough and you can make up the difference with some foam. Plus it cost $26. It may work for your car as well. Rockauto does have the core for the later model Javelins in stock at the moment if you need the style that has the bracket on it for $85. oh nice, last time i looked nobody had those in stock either yeah the only difference between early (mine) and late is that bracket, which some have had luck with removing. i figure ill try that boy, it sure would be nice to have working heat
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Nov 28, 2022 02:08
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Raluek posted:oh nice, last time i looked nobody had those in stock either I didn't want to pay that much to cut one up to make it work in my car either, plus I'm cheap.
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Nov 28, 2022 03:07
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In non AMC news, I purchased a slightly newer car that I can actually buy parts for! 
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Dec 6, 2022 20:49
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Well, there is an AMC link, Brampton Assembly was originally built by AMC to build the Eagle Premier. (Old Brampton Assembly was in a different part of the city, that one actually built Hornets).
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Dec 6, 2022 21:18
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Fornax Disaster posted:Well, there is an AMC link, Brampton Assembly was originally built by AMC to build the Eagle Premier. (Old Brampton Assembly was in a different part of the city, that one actually built Hornets). Yup, my blue 71 Hornet was built at the old Brampton plant and the red 70 Hornet was built in Kenosha.
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Dec 6, 2022 23:52
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Back from the dead!           https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upgObAq-Ubc When I last left off I had blown a freeze plug and then disassembled the interior for cleaning. I'm still working on the interior but have been focusing on getting the car running, reliable and with a little bit more power. I replaced the freeze plugs, swapped the cam to a mild grind (Isky 256 Super cam) converted to a late model aluminum AMC/Jeep two barrel intake with a Motorcraft 2150 carb swap and matching exhaust manifold. Upcoming repairs are converting to an internally regulated alternator to replace the dead Motorola externally regulated unit and a new radiator to replace the leaking one.
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Feb 26, 2023 19:28
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If those are like the 4.0 there is a core plug on the back of the block as well. It's right up at the top behind the flexplate, so ideally you can get at it when you put a T5 in. Interesting power steering brackets. I wonder if you could use 258 intake manifold and brackets to put a factory CJ or J series pump on the driver side, if you ever wanted to.
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Feb 26, 2023 20:17
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kastein posted:If those are like the 4.0 there is a core plug on the back of the block as well. It's right up at the top behind the flexplate, so ideally you can get at it when you put a T5 in. The power steering brackets are hack jobs, I need to make something stronger. Aluminum was easy to form and tweak. To change it to late model mounts I would need to move the alt to the other side. I'm not sure but I think I have to change the timing cover as well for mounting holes.
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Feb 26, 2023 22:32
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 Got my radiator in and installed this weekend. It's an eBay special but works great. I was finally able to drive it a few miles and everything held together so I'll consider it a success. Just for kicks I made a short walk around video if anyone's interested. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxQptimT3nQ
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Mar 6, 2023 01:25
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Swiller of Beer posted:Just for kicks I made a short walk around video if anyone's interested. hell yeah, im interested in any amc content this continues to be a sweet car, and i like how you're slowly correcting for the decades of neglect instead of just slamming something together.
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Mar 6, 2023 03:22
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Fantastic job getting it driving! Watching that video made me remember the smell of my old Hornet. Very nostalgic.
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Mar 6, 2023 06:29
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Great thread! All the little details keep bringing back childhood memories for me. Like fighting with my brothers on long car trips sitting on that cloth rear bench seat. And the back of my mom's hand coming over the front bench... I also always loved the hornet logos on everything. I've spent the past few years restoring my '84 CJ and all the AMC commonality is striking. (I wasn't really good at taking pictures over time so never did a thread. I'll put together something when I get my poo poo together). Currently rebuilding the heater box and not enjoying it. Looking forward to more updates! Itchy_Grundle fucked around with this message at 21:59 on Mar 11, 2023 |
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Mar 11, 2023 15:18
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Small update. Working on reassembling the dash. Replaced all the bulbs in the cluster and used some cheap LED bulbs for the interior lights. If anything the lack of heat will keep the plastics from deteriorating.       And for some really old technology, here's the wiper switch/washer pump. When you rotate the knob it makes the wipers faster/slower by varying the vacuum port on the wiper motor. When you push the knob it squirts a little bit of washer fluid on the windshield. 
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Apr 26, 2023 19:54
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Coming soon... V8 and T5 swap! I have all the parts and will just need to get the driveshaft shortened and fab up a transmission mount. The freeze plug behind the flywheel finally let go and I really hate the unsynchronized first gear of this transmission so it's gotta go. I'll fix the engine that's coming out and put it in the red Hornet as its a direct replacement for the bad 199 in it right now.
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Jun 18, 2023 21:38
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Yay an update!      The drivetrain is out, and as I figured the freeze plug behind the flywheel was leaking. I could fix it and put this car back together but the clutch is pretty worn and I hate the transmission so no. I cleaned up some surface rust from the crossmember and the bottom of the spring towers and painted them. I still have to move the battery tray and some of the electrical over to the passenger side to accommodate the 304 but thankfully AMC was nice enough to have the holes punched there for it. I'm going to do a little more surface rust removal and then I'll be ready to begin installing everything.
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Jul 15, 2023 16:43
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Looks pretty clean in there - not much to paint before putting a motor into.
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Jul 16, 2023 18:40
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Not much of an update, was finally able to get some free time to put some work in. I forgot to take pictures so there is only a couple of them. 304 AMC V8 with a T5 transmission out of a 93 Mustang. Had to use an AMC multifit bellhousing, a Jeep clutch and a Jeep input shaft bearing retainer to make it all work.  And now it's in, I was able to cheat the engine and transmission in as an assembly. There's a lot more that needs to be done but the hardest part is out of the way.
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Sep 24, 2023 16:52
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Now it just needs Jeep badges, since it has Jeep parts on it.
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Sep 25, 2023 01:44
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