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Just picked up a '71 J4000. It currently has no brakes, a cracked windshield, a carburetor that pours gas onto the top of the motor and no hope at present of passing inspection. Thought I'd post a few pics of what I've got to work with. Once it's roadworthy, this is going to be my "rescue" vehicle when my XJ is in pieces in the garage.
Massive AMC power!
Dana 44 up front. There's some surface rust on the underside from spending part of its life in Kansas, but I've been all up under there and found nothing serious.
Dana 60 in the rear.
I had an adventure getting it home. It cranks and drives, but with no brakes and a fire hazard from the carb, it had to be towed. I rented an F250 and a car carrier from a local company. Before I had even left town to go get it, the car carrier jumped right off the ball and tried to skid down the road in traffic on its own. Luckily the safety chains held. It slid up under the truck when I stopped. Luckily this was also before I had picked up the J4000, or the front end of the J4000 would have kissed the tailgate of that F250. The locking lever on the car carrier was defective.
I was driving 3.5 hours up to north Texas, so I ended up reserving a car carrier from a local Uhaul dealer up there. When I got there to pick it up, the turn signals wouldn't work. The lady wouldn't rent it to me without 100% functioning lights. I spent more than an hour trying to troubleshoot that crap, and for a brief period I thought the entire trip was going to be a bust. Turned out to be a blown fuse in the PDC of that F250, which I couldn't even find until the rental company's mechanic told me where to look.
The truck is so long that the rear wheels made it on with maybe two inches to spare. I had to deflate the front tires to give the straps enough slack to lock into the cranks. Finally got it home and couldn't get it off the trailer because the rear safety chain had somehow tightened during the trip. I ended up having to deflate one of the rear tires to get enough slack to get it loose.
For the trouble with their equipment, the rental company gave me all my mileage for free, knocking about $45 off the bill. So that worked out okay. It was just a very long day.
You know, Shaky the more I look at this thing, the more impressed I am with it.
Although the finish doesn't appear to be original (but does look like single-stage paint), it does look like it could clean up very well.
If you'd like, when you've gotten to the point to where you'd like to get that paint to "pop", I'd be willing to come down your way with my equipment and products and give it the old 5-step process. Gratis.
PM me when you're ready and I'll PM you some of my portfolio so you can see some of my work and judge for yourself.
We would just have to arrange it when it's convenient for both of us and the temp is > 70*. Maybe even next spring.
Although the finish doesn't appear to be original (but does look like single-stage paint), it does look like it could clean up very well.
If you'd like, when you've gotten to the point to where you'd like to get that paint to "pop", I'd be willing to come down your way with my equipment and products and give it the old 5-step process. Gratis.
I appreciate the offer and may just take you up on it. The paint is definitely not original, but it's not a terrible job. It's that tough old hard paint from before the EPA ruined it.
Tonight it occurred to me to see what was in the glove box. I discovered years of registrations and insurance cards, including the original temporary vehicle ID showing a delivery date of June 10, 1971. I have pretty much the entire history of the thing from its first owner down to me. It appears to have started out in California, then moved to Oregon, Kansas and finally Texas.
Tucked against the side of the glove box where I almost missed it was a tiny little booklet recording all the maintenance from 1971 to 1998. It's mostly oil and filter changes, plugs, points and distributor caps and battery replacements. However, one entry caught my attention: "new engine" noted at 84,461 miles in 1981. It doesn't say where that work was done, but since AMC dealers were still around then, I'm wondering if I have a regular 360 or a 360 built from one of those heavier service replacement blocks based on the 401 casting that the dealerships stocked for engine swaps. Now I have to do more research to figure out how to tell what manner of beast I actually have under the hood.
The glove box also contained a number of red spoons and some colorful napkins. Apparently someone liked the local ice cream shop. A lot.
I appreciate the offer and may just take you up on it. The paint is definitely not original, but it's not a terrible job. It's that tough old hard paint from before the EPA ruined it.
Tonight it occurred to me to see what was in the glove box. I discovered years of registrations and insurance cards, including the original temporary vehicle ID showing a delivery date of June 10, 1971. I have pretty much the entire history of the thing from its first owner down to me. It appears to have started out in California, then moved to Oregon, Kansas and finally Texas.
Tucked against the side of the glove box where I almost missed it was a tiny little booklet recording all the maintenance from 1971 to 1998. It's mostly oil and filter changes, plugs, points and distributor caps and battery replacements. However, one entry caught my attention: "new engine" noted at 84,461 miles in 1981. It doesn't say where that work was done, but since AMC dealers were still around then, I'm wondering if I have a regular 360 or a 360 built from one of those heavier service replacement blocks based on the 401 casting that the dealerships stocked for engine swaps. Now I have to do more research to figure out how to tell what manner of beast I actually have under the hood.
The glove box also contained a number of red spoons and some colorful napkins. Apparently someone liked the local ice cream shop. A lot.
Love the old AMC engineering! Back in the day I had a hornet six and an ambassador with that low flying 360 eight. It's a good motor. Good luck with the build!
New addition to the fleet
