EXCLUSIVE: 1969 AMC Javelin SST
As some of you likely know, I am helping to clear out a large collection of project and parts vehicles from a private owner. You can read more about the collection here. As we move ahead with the process, I’ll be listing some of the more interesting cars individually, which will also help readers see more info about specific vehicles they may be interested in. Be sure to read the original post about the collection. This listing is for a 1969 AMC Javelin SST 343 car with its original motor disassembled and removed and included with the sale.
What Makes It Special? This Javelin remains in extremely original condition. It has not been hot-rodded or significantly altered in any way. The original motor is disassembled and will be included with the sale. It can be restored mechanically with some very modest rust repair and the cosmetics otherwise preserved. It is a genuine SST car with a matching 343 V8 and the remnants of its original Regatta Blue Metallic paint and white side stripes still visible. Just under 5,000 SSTs were optioned with the 343 in 1969.
Body Condition: The body itself is in very sound condition with no rot in the fenders. The original chrome trim strips are included and in the trunk. The rear driver floor has some rot-through and will need to be patched. There is also some minor rust at the edge of the driver’s side door bottom. The floor and body are otherwise sound; the trunk floor is also intact. The rear moulding above the driver-side taillight is cracked but can be glued back together. It is included in the gallery photos below.
Mechanical Condition: The original 343 V8 has been disassembled and the engine bay is currently empty. The motor will be included with the sale. The AMC rolls and steers and the brakes still function. The car has had good tires and wheels mounted for easy transport and loading. There is also a genuine 1972 AMX on the property that can be included as part of a package deal if desired.
The interior features air conditioning and bucket seats. This is the correct, factory color for the cabin, which includes a back seat in excellent condition (see gallery photos below). One issue to note is that the windows need new hardware to keep them upright; they currently do not stay in place. This is the cause for the rot-through on the rear driver floor as noted in the gallery pictures below. The driver and passenger front floors and passenger rear floor are all solid without rot-through.
Overall, this Javelin remains in very original condition with no major damage and a heavy dose of patina that you will either love or hate. It has not been painted or modified from stock. Original details like the washer fluid bag still under the hood are hard to replicate, so the next owner can either choose to preserve its current cosmetics and restore it mechanically, or take it all the way back to showroom condition, which had to have been stunning with that deep blue metallic paint and white stripes down the side. Please feel free to use the form below to contact me directly about viewing the Javelin.
- Price: $3,000
- Location: Blue Ridge, Georgia
- Mileage: TMU
- Title Status: Bill of sale only
Do you have a low mileage survivor parked in your garage, shed or barn? Does it need a new home? Please consider listing it here on Barn Finds!
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Comments
My Dad had one of these for a short period of time. I believe it was a base model with the 232 if I remember correctly. Automatic. It was the same shade of blue with dog dish hubcaps. All I remember about it was it was definitely a beater & he hit a mailbox with it lol. It didn’t last long, but back then none of his cars did. This was the late 1970’s or early 1980’s, the height of his drinking & drug days.
I always liked the look of these. Too bad Dad didn’t keep his longer.
Had a ‘69 SST with a 390 and 4 spd in high school. Mildly massaged and I regularly toasted Vettes and Camaros on Saturday nights. Good times!!
The person who makes an attempt to buy this will have to be a knowledgeable AMC person who has resources. No way around it. No 1-800 build a car catalogs for this. Guys who had the hindsight in the 70’s and 80’s to hoard up parts know what they have and there were only a few. Expect to pay for genuine American Motors parts. Some parts are reproduced but very few. It is better then it was.
Besides the obvious paint body and exterior many parts are NOT reproduced. Haven’t been nor is it likely be. The market for Javelin specific restorations are just too small. Interior there is some relief seat covers are reproduced as is the ill fitting carpet you will have to make fit.
Thinking of repairing the broken grille? Good luck. Finding NOS today may set you back $1500 if only you are lucky. The 343 costs the same as a 401. The original trans forget it. Get a 360 V8 crank for the 343 and find an AMC 904/727 trans.
Bottom line is it will cost the same to restore a roached AMX. Only then do you take a chance at recouping some of your hard earned investment. If you need a 68-70 Javelin to drive now that is presentable I have seen them in the $4500-$9500 range. 1970 more.
Hopefully the seller is realistic on the value the effort it will take someone a few states away to drag this out of the woods. At $4000. Not in the ball park. Sorry Jeff.
It’s a good way to get into the hobby if you don’t mind trial by fire. That being said if you don’t mind doing a lot of work yourself it is doable.
The market is growing for reproduced parts and there are many fixes and work-arounds.
Many AMC restorers glue these grilles back together. The 71 tub grille is the most intricate and people do it fairly often.
I wouldn’t toss out the original transmission unless you wanted to add h.p. and stomp on it. The original Borg Warner transmission is fine behind a stock motor. It’s based on a Ford FMX transmission and parts are available. I had mine rebuilt for my 71 by a regular transmission shop.
The price is definitely high considering where and what it is. Even with the minimal rot, it’s not worth as much as other pony cars in this shape. If it ran well then that would be more realistic, but given the amount of cars to move I would say $2000 firm.
Brian, Several points. Grilles can be repaired yes but is a short lived adventure. Believe me I have tried since the 1970’s. The plastic is 50 years old now. This particular one has been in the elements. It becomes brittle and disfigured with age. I have seen them patched and painted which after several trips with bug splatter the paint chips off the black plastic. I wouldn’t throw an old grille away though but they will never be made new once in broken condition only semi presentable.
The market has grown some for reproduction parts but no where near that to a Mustang or Camaro. The AMC production numbers, survivors and hobby is too small to support someone putting up money for tooling then having the Chinese make 10,000 of something. I believe Jeff Kennedy @ Kennedy American explains the issue very well on his restoration site. One of the few who has made much progress.
The B/W trans was an inferior unit in the 6 and small eights and lukewarm in the 390’s and 401’s. Thus the reason AMC went to the Chrysler sourced transmissions in 1972. Parts are hard to find and harder to find someone who remembers them. For around $500 you can have a fresh 904 and done.
We do agree the price is too high. The car isn’t rust free there is plenty to do. Keep in mind it has been sitting out on a hillside for as many years as it was ever on the road. When the junk yard owner purchased it he paid no more then $40-$50. It is a moot point regardless but I think $1000. is more then fair for what it is and more then fair for the owner who has done nothing to preserve it other then buy it and drag it on a hill. I believe this collection exists because the mentality of this is what I want or I will let it sit. I don’t need the money! So to save this or any other vehicle on that hill someone will have to pay what a running driving model will cost. Simply put.
Hopefully this helps someone looking for a project . Do your due diligence. Find the best running driving AMC or any you can the first time. Restorations are NOT what you see on TV.
I hear this a lot that, for some reason, a seller needs to take a potential buyer’s transportation costs into consideration.
Not true. Anything I’ve wanted has been my sole responsibility to figure out transportation and pay for the service.
And why does it matter what the seller paid? This is America, last time I checked, and it’s your God-given right (duty?) to squeeze as many bucks out of anything you can, as often as you can. A very subjective statement, yours.
Finally, can you point out where in those pictures it’s *in* the woods? I’m unclear; it appears to be sitting on a concrete slab, the very slab I walked across this weekend. It’s 1.25 hours from Atlanta or Chattanooga. Not a hard place to find, but thanks anyway for the baseless assumptions.
I think it will take more than one rattle can of spray paint to make this right.( included in sale) What is that, mold?
It’s for the mold haha. Good eye Howard
If this is a factory v8 car why do I see only one exhaust pipe in the engine bay?
It’s a V8 car, just the left bank exhaust is missing. One pipe out the back may mean a 343, 2 barrel.
Sigh, I ordered a Matador Red 1969 Javelin 343 SST with Black C stripe from the dealer. Had a lot of fun in that car and then marriage came along and the car was gone. This brings back a lot of good memories.
Wow look what the cat drug out…all original with 99 cent rattle can in seat.
I think this Javelin has been thrown one to many times ..
Can we release this catch and get another one from the rusty bone yard …..
I would love to see pictures of the 72 AMX!!!
I would give no more than a grand for this car. I don’t see any shots of the rear lower 1/4 panels and the one they show is not close enough. All of these cars rusted there and the bottom is not shown either. That steering wheel may cost you a grand to restore alone.
Needs a full inspection, BUYER BEWARE
Um, who said you have to perform a ground-up restore on this car? Fix the rust and address the mechanical bits. Not that hard that way.
And as someone who owns two vehicles not sold in the U.S., one they made 1,957 of, and a third that comes from a company that shuttered U.S. operations 10 years ago, I find it laughable that you think finding AMC parts is a challenge.
Perhaps not as easy as a Mustang, but the next time you have to wait three months for a crate to show up via ocean liner from Australia with parts for your project, give me a call.
Sorry, but this is not *that* hard of a car to restore.
I’m not even going to mention what I’ve said at least 20 times about my asking prices on these posts. If you don’t have the stomach to call me up and negotiate, I cannot help you.
Jeff, I think you are absolutely correct. I am restoring my 1972 Javelin SST “Z” code car myself. In the process I have found every replacement part that I needed or had one made that I could not find. No it may not be as simple as picking up a parts book with lots of repo parts, but then again I don’t want something that everyone else has. 470 “Z” code Javelins made in 1972, compare those numbers to the camaros and mustang for rarity ……..also, compare the SCCA Trams Am wins back in the day, not funded by the big dollars of Chev, Ford….etc. AMC does not get the respect it deserves!
As far as the asking price, it is worth whatever the seller and buyer agree on…..period. Opinions are ok but they usually are coming from people who aren’t even in the game for that particular transaction, as you stated, call up and negotiate. Back in the day I owned a 66 Nova SS, a 69 GTO Judge, 57 Chevy….etc And I give them their due, I just don’t get where even “AMC” guys discount their own….??
72SST A 1972 Javelin is NOT a 1969 Javelin. The only thing close are the wind shield and doors. When you were into your GM vehicles back in the day there were those who actually had AMC’s while one could go to the dealer and buy one. Seems like AMC’s are the only affordable vintage car now eh? No more GTO’s SS Novas and or Camaros for $1000? A Javelin is the best deal on wheels!
Back in the late 70’s early 1980’s there was much interest in the 68/69 AMX. People then realized there was something about them that would never be replicated. To that end many many 68/69 Javelins were parted out for AMX’s. It is what one did. Now very few complete Javelin examples exist. What nos parts there were were bought up before the buyout in 1987.
A 1971-1974 Javelin had a 4 year production run. Parts are much easier to find. In fact I have 5 parts cars on my back 40.What do you need? Cardin interior, ram air hood? The 401 Z code was an option that was available on all Javelins. Looks exactly the same as a 304 powered car. I have a 71 SST 401 and a yes it is an M code one of 500 or so sometimes doesn’t equate to more value. Bragging rights something else but too few at cars and coffee actually know what they are even looking at. At the end of the day it matters very little.
If I were going to advise someone on a restoration on a Javelin specific it would be a 71/74. This comes from someone who didn’t just purchase one and learned everything on the subject from muscle car rags or internet articles. I have had several hundred AMC vehicles and still own them.
A bad ill advised experience with buying something and getting in over your head hurts the AMC hobby more then it helps it. All the while the car NEVER gets back on the road. There are many drivers out there that need saved just as well. Eddies 1971 example is proof. Buyer beware.
Neat car. Did any of you see the running, driving 71 Javelin I just sold for $3300? Lots of bargains out there. Google ’68 AMX Mecum Houston’ 68 390 two seater sold $7800. Same auction search ’70 AMX Mecum Houston’ beautiful 70 big bad green, shadow mask. $18k. Only 74 Big bad green 70 AMXs made maybe 12-15 BBG/Shadow. Don’t let scarcity of some AMC parts scare you. I have been AMC Vendor 35 years, also have big facebook group for AMX & Javelins and huge VENDORS list on my site to help you. Hope this body finds a home. Eddie Stakes Planet Houston AMX
Thanks Eddie, you da’ man. BTW, any luck finding the lost Javelin commercial, “The Generation Gap”?
Re: AMC parts. When at the reunion in Kenosha a few years back, there were all kinds of vendors with AMC parts. One guy had all the stuff to make a SC/Rambler clone. I have a friend that had an impossible time finding a rear strut for an early 80’s Nissan ( I think)
Thank you Eddie….my point exactly. How did I miss the 71? What a bargain. Something presentable (drive it while you restore) you can drive now for under $4000? Who would have thunk?
By the time you rescue the above from the concrete pad ( the previous chrome reverse wheels make it look like it has been on the dirt…pretty rusty) and do the work to make it presentable and a driver at least you would be in it at least $10,000.or more.
Every car has it’s own challenges. I pointed out the obvious factors to someone on the outside looking in. AMC is a unique brand and is what I have done for 40 years. I do not consider myself an expert however do know more then someone reading a Wiki article about American Motors on the web.
Also transportation is a factor to the BUYER. Most don’t figure travel cost or hiring a broker to find someone who will want to pick up a non op. Don’t matter how much money you throw at them. Again for those looking at it through rose colored glasses. Regardless it adds to the cost.
BTW Jeff I have several JDM cars myself. Not new to that. One I have had to buy parts for in Austria took three weeks though.
Chrome reverse wheels and baby moon hubcaps rusted as soon as you bought them from Pep Boys. More so if you left the car out in the Georgia weather! LOL
Jeff Lavery– as a regular contributor I’m surprised by the tone you are taking with comments made by guys with AMC in their onscreen handle. Can’t we all agree that anything from >>gulp<< an orphan manufacturer decades old will be a challenge? I'm with you 100% on transport not the seller's problem. And I'm with you when it comes to nobody using the phone to contact you to negotiate the price. Just curious — how are the sales from this massive collection going? Have some more success stories to share?
A guy named Todd in Cincinnati has a hoard of parts for this car. he is on all of the Facebook AMC forums.