September 26, 2005: The car is home!...and by that, I don’t mean I’m being forced to live in it (yet). I returned this afternoon from a 5-day jaunt to deliver one car, then drove on to pick up this car.

I had initially arranged to have the Javelin transported professionally, but the $1000 price (thanks to recent gas prices and the non-running nature of the car) was eating away at me. I had also sold Bobby’s Eagle to a guy in Georgia who was about to spend $600 on that car’s transport. Then it hit me…if I throw the Eagle on my trailer and take it south, I’ll be less than 3 hours from where the Javelin is and can haul it back myself. The Eagle buyer’s $600 pays for most of my trip and I save the other $1000. Barring any mechanical issues, I win all the way around.

Well, the truck needed new tires…but was somehow paid for by $400 found elsewhere in the earlier plan. In the end, they too were ‘gravy’.

            Another issue was that, when loaded, the trailer caused my truck’s ride height to plummet at the rear. I considered load-leveling or air shocks, but my brother happened to have a spare ‘weight distributing hitch’ setup he offered to give me. I had to buy a new ball and a pair of A-frame brackets, but they were only $120. Once installed, everything sat level.

The ‘Crazy Yankee’ route we took to avoid the Appalachian Mountains as much as possible.

My truck, pulling another vehicle, doesn’t like hills at all.

Thursday the 22^nd I left Morristown, NJ with my mother and my neighbor, Bobby, in my ’95 F150 pickup (yea, the ‘free’ one!) towing Bob’s ’87 Eagle wagon on my 16’ trailer and ended the day in Poquoson, Virginia (near Norfolk) where we all stayed at my sister’s home for the night.

Friday at 5am, Bob and I left my mom in Poquoson and headed to Carrollton, Georgia where we delivered the Eagle to its new owner just before dark, then got a hotel room for the night. The girl at the desk was very sweet, and before we finished bothering her, she said to call if there was anything we needed and that she’d be there ‘til 11, then another person would take over ‘til morning. Operating ‘on the cheap’, this was no ‘top-of-the-line’ place- just a little Choice Hotels joint…but props to them for that ridiculously comfy bed and bedding. I slept like a well-fed baby. But before that, I tried to get Bobby to call the front desk and ask the cutie there if the ‘masseuse girl’ was ‘still available this late’. He thought I was crazy, but I tried to explain that when she inevitably tells him that they have no such service, he should then ask if she’s busy after she gets off at 11PM. That was way too much for Bobby- he was having no part of it. Well, me doing it would have been way too ‘dirty old man’, so the plan was tossed and we just crashed for the night. Oh, well….it woulda been pretty darn funny.

Saturday we left Carrollton, GA, again at 5am, and headed out for Holt, just outside of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. This was a ‘short’ two and a half hour run across the northern half of Alabama along I20. This took us right through Birmingham. Let me tell you- I20 is one sorry piece of pavement between the Georgia border and Birmingham. The heavy interstate trucking has rippled that road surface like a Ruffles potato chip! I don’t know why it isn’t maintained better than it is, but if it’s a money issue, slap a toll both on it and get some new pavement put down! It absolutely tortured my truck and trailer...and my kidneys. The local folks that use that roadway daily deserve better.

About halfway to Birmingham, we passed a State Trooper’s Crown Victoria, sitting on the shoulder. I thought it would be really interesting getting stopped by him while on my way to buy a retired patrol car. But he didn’t budge as we passed.

We arrived in Holt about 7:30AM and met this Javelin’s owner to inspect the car.

Thankfully, it is exactly as described: rot-free, very straight, near-complete and with the exception of the carb, exhaust, radio and paint, just about nothing has been altered. It has all four of its Machine wheels and trim rings and two of the center caps (the other two retainers for the missing caps are on-hand, too).

The grille is wrong, the interior a shambles, and the drivetrain will need a lot of freshening up. If you know of a source for this specific seat upholstery, let me know by clicking HERE!

Despite the many issues, the most obvious surprise is that, despite spending what may have been 15 years sitting in high weeds…the car has NO rust issues at all outside of a few surface spots near ‘edges’ that were sanded and prepped improperly before the custom paint was applied. The floors and frame rails are 100% solid…nothing needs to be done except to bead-blast, prime and paint the underside and inside floor and rocker areas! And the outer body, though it has a few dings and dents, is also rot-free… and no filler anywhere! Those are the original, un-repaired quarters on there!

And, of course, I crawled all over to assure the 401 is present, and that all the tell-tale markings for an original Alabama DPS patrol car are present, including the proper codes, the beacon, siren and radio mounting holes, traces of the original ‘Quick-Silver’ paint in all the right nooks and crannies… and so on.

While ‘in the neighborhood’, the seller took us to a pal’s home where he said there was another ADPS car! We arrived to find a car I knew existed but had thought was in North Carolina. It’s a ’72 SST model, recently repainted its original color, still running a 401 (a ‘73 replacement) and not too much the worse for wear.

We then returned to the seller’s property and winched the car onto my trailer, gathered up a bunch of spare pieces that were part of the deal, paid the seller and headed home.

We first stopped for cold drinks at a gas station where another motorist inquired ‘what engine is in that?’ I told him of the 401 and he seemed quite confused, but didn’t seem to want to reveal that fact, so he just nodded a bit and drove off. As we snaked back toward I20, we stopped at a traffic light where we spotted four State Trooper patrol cars in a parking lot. The troopers were standing in a group, having a discussion, but I noticed they looked over, one after the other, at the Javelin. I suspect they were all too young to recognize it as the type of car their predecessors had used way back when, as they returned to their talk with barely a second look. I was tempted to head over to them and inform them of the car’s history…but our tight schedule didn’t permit the ‘visit’.

At another food and fuel stop in western Georgia, a motorist asked ‘What is that?’ I told him it was a ’71 AMC Javelin and he explained he’d thought it might be a Duster. I informed him of a bit of the car’s background and he was taken aback that it might have been a police car. Yea…purple kinda wipes out all chances of such assumptions!

Later, we were cruising along I-20 when a black Honda Civic, all ‘Fast-and-Furious’ looking, rolled up along side my door. I looked over and he was grinning ear-to-ear and giving a thumbs-up. I smiled and nodded as Bobby said ‘That’s right, Rice-Boy…bow and pay your respects!’ I later wondered if that guy had been impressed by the car knowing it was a Javelin, or if he assumed it was a heavily-modified car and was acknowledging the custom effort since his car was heavily fiberglassed and lowered. Or maybe he just liked the purple.

Anyway, we hauled-butt over to Augusta, Georgia by 7PM and again stayed the night at a hotel…a Days Inn with a very cool guy at the counter who, amazingly, was from Edison, New Jersey! The beds weren’t quite as nice as the prior night…but they were good enough.

Sunday we departed again at 5am to return to Poquoson, Virginia to stay the night once more.

At another fuel stop, a real big guy shouted ‘Nice car- you don’t see many of those anymore!’ He has no idea how correct that statement is.

We arrived at my sister’s place at 3:15pm and hosed off the car, then liberally applied some Armor-All to anything we thought might appreciate it. We rummaged through the interior and trunk, taking everything out that wasn’t attached to the car, sorting the good parts from the trash. The parts were neatly sorted and stacked in the trunk, the trash was bagged and put at the curb. I took a few more photos, then killed the afternoon doing not much but sitting around, staring at the car…we couldn’t help it. As we drooled, so did many, many local motorists. My sister’s place is on a ‘main drag’ but 30mph roadway and sits on the inside of a sweeping curve. On the outside of the curve is a watery marsh. Nearly every other car that passed between 3:30PM and dark had its driver hanging out the window, fascinated by the Javelin…and several nearly drove right off into the marsh. Tires squealed all afternoon as they corrected themselves! We nearly hurt ourselves laughing so long and so hard.

Then today, Monday, Mom, Bobby and I returned to Jersey, dropped the car off at my mother-in-law’s place, then each headed to our respective homes.

It’s amazing what a job this thing does. Everything rode perfectly level and it eliminated nearly all the bouncing and jouncing…even helping control sway. On Day One of the trip, we stuck to about 60mph to feel things out. Days Two and Three saw 65mph loaded, 70mph unloaded. Days Four and Five saw a nominal speed of 75mph most of the way with the Javelin on board. I was shocked how controlled and nearly effortless my little 302-powered F150 was able to haul with this thing. I’ll never tow without one again. What a joy!

Again, to study up on exactly what these cars were, see The AMC Javelin ADPS 401 Special webpage.

September 10, 2005:

First, some historical perspective…

In the mid-1990s, I had been a rabid fan of the 1971-74 Javelin variations for 15 years- ever since buying a brown ’73 base model with a 304 back in 1982. Many Javelins- about 25 of them- passed through my hands during the 1980s and 1990s. The best of them had been my black ’74 base model with a built 401. Sadly, that car was sold in 1999 to aid the purchase of a new home.

Meanwhile, during these same car-crazy decades, I also developed a fascination with ‘emergency’ vehicles- ambulances, fire trucks and more than those- police cars…especially the ones that don’t fit the usual four-door boxy-sedan criteria like CHP Mustangs. Certainly, the LAPD Matadors also caught my attention.

In 1996, I started the Javelin Home Pages website, here at www.JavelinAMX.com and it grew due to the many, many AMC fans that encouraged my efforts and willingly contributed whatever they could. And early on, I learned of a very special, low-production Javelin that I’d never known existed. In an effort to find out more about this uniquely rare and special AMC, I started a section of the website devoted to those special cars, which I dubbed ‘The AMC Javelin ADPS 401 Special’, based on its history serving just one police organization- the Alabama Department of Public Safety’s State Troopers. Little by little, info began to pour in, as did photos. I started a registry of the known surviving cars, their conditions and their locations. All the while, I wished that I could own one… combining my affection for both the later-Javelin styling and official police cars.

Over nine years later, this site remains a popular online locale, even if it isn’t updated very regularly anymore. And every now and again, somebody drops me a line indicating they’ve seen one the former police Javelins someplace, or once saw them when in service, or even served as an ADPS trooper himself, and has stories to tell about ‘my Javelin’ that he drove back in the 1970s.

On August 13, 2005, I was contacted by a visitor to the site, who asked-

“I have come across a 1971 Javelin that is supposed to be a former ADPS car.

Everything looks correct including the grey paint inside the trunk and doors.

The VIN is: A1C795Z309538.

Can you confirm this car?”

He provided the pictures below to help determine if the car was ‘for real’.

The front bumper and ’71 grille are missing, and a ’73 grille is in their place.

The ‘Machine’ wheel center caps are said to be ‘somewhere in the car’.

The custom purple and black paint was finished just before the owner learned of the car’s true history.

Even he would like to see it returned to its proper ADPS appearance.

Note the silver on the underside of the trunk lid.

The rear spoiler wears the correct ‘401’ emblem where a normal AMX model would wear an ‘AMX’ emblem.

Non-AMX Javelins could not be ordered with such a spoiler…only the ADPS got Javelins that way.

The interior is the proper blue vinyl, with ‘base model’ door and dash trim.

(1972 versions were SST models, and got woodgrain door and dash trim)

Under the hood, the original 401 is painted the wrong color and wears a Holley carb, headers and yellow wires.

In minutes, I was able to confirm it was indeed a former ADPS patrol car. After several more Email exchanges, the guy admitted he was currently in no financial position to buy the car, so he was going to ask a few friends if they might be interested in it. I feared it might end up in the hands of a hot-rodder that might make big changes without regard for its unique history…or worse, would wreck it or part it out. I offered to buy it, but he wished for it to remain in Alabama. But when his friends all passed on it, he wrote me again, providing the owner’s contact information.

I called the owner and he stated he had been looking to sell the car months earlier when his finances were suffering, but was now in better shape and wasn’t sure he wanted to sell anymore. He was surprised to learn that I had gotten photos of the car, since he’s provided none and has not shown the car to anyone… so whoever took them had been deep onto his property without permission. After taking nearly a week to ‘think about it’, he called me back, explaining that he had been ‘defensive’ with me because he was unnerved that someone had trespassed to get the pictures, and that reminded him of an incident just a few months earlier, when he arrived home to find a tow truck backing up to the car, attempting to take it away. As he got out of his truck, the wrecker sped off. Luckily, he had avoided the theft by lucky timing. Anyway, realizing he just wasn’t going to ever get around to working on the car, on September 3, 2005, he gave me a price I could live with and a deal was made.

So, what’s the plan, Stan?

The car will be transported to my mommy-in-law’s home in Morristown, New Jersey where I’ll begin a detailed inspection of the car to decide the best course of action for getting the car ‘restored’ the best I can within my own meager finances.

My plan is to return the car to its original appearance, during the first few months of service with the ADPS. While most Alabama natives will recall the silver and blue paint scheme seen on the car beginning in early 1972, this car will be all-silver, as shown in the vintage photo at the top of this page, taken in late 1971. All the police markings and the roof light will be magnetically mounted, for removal when the car is being driven on public roads. One of the advantages of this plan is that the car will look like a normal, silver Javelin when on the highway. A silver-and-blue scheme, minus the police markings, would look like a car wearing replacement parts in need of a paint job. A disadvantage of this plan is that I’ll spend a lot of time trying to educate folks that refuse to believe the cars were ever ‘all-silver’.

I’ve located a gentleman that collects, restores and sells the correct roof beacon and underhood siren that this car had when in service. I have yet to locate the correct two-way radio and roof antenna, but I’m confident they will turn up quickly.

I am using the vintage photo above (taken at the steps of the State Capital) as my ‘plan’ for the car’s final appearance…right down to a rather ‘infamous’ feature that some folks would prefer I not include. The front license plate was (and will be) a Confederate Flag. When I show the car publicly, this plate will be present- except at functions that include the participation of the ADPS in any official capacity (out of respect for their concerns for modern sensibilities regarding the flag and its history and the public’s perceptions of it). I’ll include it as a simple ‘historically accurate detail’ based on the photo, and do not promote any opinion, pro or con, as to its ‘meaning’. It will be there because it was there.

While half of me is diehard to see the car returned to exactly as it was when new, my other half thinks a few details being upgraded wouldn’t be so bad. I certainly don’t have the finances to do a concourse-correct, NOS-loaded restoration…so date coded hoses and other such ‘exactness’ simply won’t happen. So if I’m going to allow a NAPA logo on a hose, I think other ‘tweaks’ can be a good thing, too. Here’s a list of changes I think would be workable (though nothing is set in stone, and finances and availability will help drive decisions, piece by piece):

·        Vintage Edelbrock R4B aluminum intake (painted to look like a factory iron intake) (performance) [Have on hand]

·        Modern Edelbrock 750cfm carb (under stock air cleaner) (performance)

·        Mild-upgrade Cam & Lifters kit (performance)

·        Oil system mod kit (improves flow to right/rear area) (reliability)

·        Gas-charged shock absorbers (handling)

·        Polyurethane suspension bushings (handling)

·        Addco front & rear anti-sway bars (handling)

·        ‘H’ exhaust pipe (performance)

·        Sonic ‘Turbo’ mufflers (performance and sound)

·        3-spoke Sport steering wheel (maybe….cuz it looks cool)

·        Tilt steering column (maybe… for comfort)

·        Factory AM/FM Radio

Top:  A 1971 AMC Javelin ADPS 401 taken in the summer of 1971.

Factory Equipment (see ‘Current Condition’, below, for current equipment):

‘B3 Quick Silver Metallic’ paint, ‘163J’ Blue ‘Tampico’ Vinyl Interior

 401cid 4-barrel V8 engine

Twin-Grip rear differential, 2.87:1 ratio

M12 Shift-Command (Borg-Warner) automatic transmission

Dual Exhaust

Power Disc Brakes

Power Steering

15” ‘Machine’ 5-slot Steel Wheels

E60-15 Good Year PolyGlas RWL tires [yea…the impossible to find size…lucky me!]

Handling Package

·        Heavy Duty Springs

·        Heavy Duty Shock Absorbers

Heavy Duty Engine Cooling Package, adds:

·        Heavy Duty Radiator

·        Power-flex Fan

·        Fan shroud

Air Conditioning

Rally-Pac Gauges, adds:

·        Ammeter

·        Oil Pressure Gauge

·        Tachometer/Clock combination (Tick-Tach)

·        140mph Speedometer

AM Radio push-button radio with one dash speaker [Some believe these cars had no dash radio, but the vintage photo above shows a factory cowl-mounted antenna which would only be on a car with a radio. My car has just such a factory-installed antenna.]

NOTE: While these cars had almost every component of the ‘Go’ package, it should be noted that ONLY the AMX version of Javelin could be ordered with the ‘AMX Go package’. No ‘Go package’ existed for 1971-1974 Javelin nor Javelin SST. However, as you see, most of the ‘Go’ items could simply be ordered as separate options. Only cowl-induction, hood T stripe and tail panel black-out were not available to non-AMXs. When a non-AMX 1971-1974 Javelin owner claims his car has the ‘Go’ package, he is incorrect.