Mark Donahue Edition? 1970 AMC Javelin
To help promote their signing famed racers Roger Penske and Mark Donahue to their Trans-Am program in 1970, AMC built 2,501 versions of a street Javelin as a special edition. The car could come in any color and usually with a 360 cubic-inch V8 with Ram-Air induction. It was called the Mark Donahue Edition and the seller says this ’70 Javelin is one of those cars. But they are hard to document, and the seller only has verbal history on the automobile to back it up. Beautifully restored, this Javelin is finished in Big Bad Orange and is available here on eBay. The current bid in Waterloo, Illinois stands at $25,200 without the reserve being met.
American Motors joined the pony car fracas in 1968 with the Javelin. It would run for seven years across two generations before AMC would move on (as Chrysler also did in 1974). Sales-wise, the Javelin would trail just about everyone, but that was common with most AMC products. In 1970, the company built 19,714 of the cars, with one in eight designated as the Mark Donahue edition. Unless you have a build sheet or window sticker, there isn’t any way to identify these cars sans Mark’s signature on the dashboard (which we can’t tell on the seller’s car).
We’re told to think of this Javelin as an excellent clone. While he’s been told this in a Mark Donahue, it was a roller when he bought it as the engine and transmission were already missing along with the seats. That was four years ago, and the car has recently completed a rotisserie restoration, with a rebuilt 360 cubic inch V8, automatic transmission, and rear end with twin-grip differential. The motor was retrieved from a 1974 AMX and was tweaked before going into this Javelin. The SST was well equipped when new, including air conditioning.
The car has traveled less than 500 miles since being restored, so everything is still in break-in mode. Other than a small crack in a grille pod, everything inside and out looks nearly perfect. It appears the seller left no stone unturned, replacing the original Ram Air unit and rear spoiler due to imperfections. The reason the seller indicates for selling the car is that his wife prefers Corvettes over AMC products and he just purchased one of those for her. That makes this beautiful Javelin the odd man out (some car enthusiasts would have kept the Javelin and unloaded the wife!). The only thing needing work to make this a turn-key car is tighten the emergency brake cable.
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Comments
Looks like ’69 w/ a ’70 rear spoiler.
No, the dash, taillights and emblems are 1970 as well
Oops!,guess I was wrong.I didn’t think that the Donahue
edition came out until ’71.
It is a 1970 model. They did not make them in the 1971 model.
Donahue was a helluva driver. Flew around-the-track. 😎 🏁
Mark Donohue? Not a Mark Donohue? Who CARES!! This is one sweet Javelin! Period.
Um, not PERIOD, ( like you on your computer would like to think) I care. You could call it “A” Mark Donahue, as that was the designation for the car, it wasn’t just a “Javelin”, it was “A Mark Donahue” edition. Penske/Donahue did more for Javelin than any catchy commercial. Race success sold cars, and these guys were our heroes.They showed the world, a funky little car company like Rambler, could indeed have a winning car. I thought of it as, “IN YOUR FACE, Ford and GM”. It was short lived, but was our “moment in the sun”, and you shan’t pee on our parade,,
Wow…I guess I hit a nerve. Howard, I am a long-time AMC owner/fan( 68,69,AMXs and Javelins), who hates to see everyone getting caught up in the MD, or not . This car is beautiful, and should be out there, sticking it to Ford,GM, etc. If the owner is an AMC’er (probably will be), they will have a lot of fun trying to determine if its a MD. From what I know, I would say this one is a definite candidate.
Hi Joe, well, kind of. AMC followers had to be a devout group. I suppose like the folks of South Bend might feel about Studebaker. Not many cities could boast their own car company, much less one that could rub elbows with the biggies. To be fair, no matter what Penske raced, he probably would have done well, and still does. I believe AMC stuck a ton of money in support, after all, and I’m no expert, but AMC was doing well then, and the Javelin was our “swan song”. We were mighty proud of AMC then, and always great to hear of a fan of a car made in my home town. If you look at this photo, 2 cars left Wisconsin by the train load, Gremlins and Javelins with maybe a Matador mixed in. This was taken in Kenosha after final assembly.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/308989224418691593/
Yup, I really never understood the “matching numbers” stuff. I think it’s amazing any engine matches. The things we did to these used cars (or so they were back then) it’s hard to believe any car has original paint.
I owned s white one 1968, when they first came out. Was a cool looking car.
Mark Donohue’s came with a 390 CI, ram air
Try again.
He married the wrong woman.
What he ⬆️ said.
Beautiful car. I have a Trans Am Cuda and these small block cars built for the Trans am series from all the manufacturers are awesome and don’t get the love they deserve.
Beautiful looking car. I’ve always loved the 1970 Javelin. IMHO, it’s way better looking than later Javelins or AMXs. I’m not sure I’d be willing to pay the asking price of $25,200, even given which edition it is. The most I’d be willing to pay for the car would be $10,000. The reason is that I saw a cosmetic flaw that would make it not worth the entire asking price. If you look at the grille surround, I saw a break. If you’re not careful how you handle it, it may come apart. As long as everything else on the car works like they should, it shouldn’t cost too much to replace or repair.
I bought a 1970 Mark Donohue Javelin in the Big bad Blue version. Added sidewinders with glass packs for the wild intimidating sounds. Very fast.
Ended – Item No Longer Available.
All it needed were a set of the Trend Setter side pipes!
Beautiful car !! Where was the “Ram-Air” ???
“Original ram air unit was busted and to brittle to use.” According to the seller…
Another great looking car from the past.
The more I see the past…the more I want to get transported back.
Women were better looking too !
Calling Dr. Who….can I borrow your machine.
Don’t care for the automatic but it’s just my preference I had one and had transmission trouble with it had two with the 4 speed and loved those cars wish I had been smart enough to have kept one of them. Maybe some day I’ll be able to afford one again
The prevailing lore is that the 360 Donohue Javelins had a different block than all other 360 motors. That is to say the block was similar to a 390 or 401 block with respect to internal re-inforcements. someday, perhaps some one can show this to be true….or not. Either way, what is not to like: BBO, A/C & automatic make this a very nice driver.
The same is true of the Chrysler T/A cars. The 340 block was much different than all of the other 340s.
That would be a Service Replacement Block.
Nice car. To replace all the ram air parts would cost you 2 grand. Then the correct rim blow steering wheel is another 1500. I have owned 2 of them both from the original owners.
Service replacement blocks would be the sturdier block. what those blocks did not have was the displacement number cast into the block. i observed one of those blocks: it had a small x stamped into the “ear” on the front end of the block.
They were 390/401 blocks with the displacement casting removed, nothing more.