Jan 2012 Southwest Scorcher

VOLUME XV
ISSUE I
JANUARY, 2012
Monthly Newsletter of Cactus Cruisers AMC, Phoenix, AZ
Ramblings By The President
Special points of interest:
By Kirk Fletcher
Well the new year has arrived and some
changes are taking place as I write this
newsletter.
A big thank you to John Elle and Eric Hasselbring for submitting their articles for this
months issue.
We have about 60 families that are members of our club at this time and I am sure
that each AMC that you own or have
owned has a story to tell. I would ask that
each of you take the time to sit down this
month and look at some of your old pictures. See what story comes to your mind
that you could share with the rest of us.
•
Club Meeting Saturday, February 11th 5:00 pm Denny’s at
35th Ave & Bethany Home Road
This will be the last newsletter that I put
together since Gary Zinman is starting
back up with the publishing of the February newsletter.
•
Lowered Club Dues
•
Check out all the Cool things on
the Web
I took it over in May of 2010 to give the
newsletter a fresh look in preparation to
our club hosting the 2011 AMO International Convention. The main reason was
computer and software. I had a newer
computer and Office 2003 with publisher so I was able to change the look of
the Southwest Scorcher format.
•
AMX & Gremlin For Sale
•
Tech Article on Caster angle
•
To checkout what is happening
in the Valley of the Sun, visit
www.desertcruisers.com
Inside this issue:
Ramblings by the President Kirk Fletcher
1
From the Editor’s Desk
Gary Zinman
1-2
Pictures from the Holiday
Party at Dan & Debbie’s
3-4
Ode to my Father, Story of 5-8
a Javelin & a boy
Build a Model like you
would build your real car
9-10
Barrett-Jackson Road Rally 10-11
in Scottsdale
Calendar of Events
15
With the addition of a new Dell Laptop
with Microsoft Office 2010 as a club
assets, Gary Zinman will be responsible
for its use and care. This will allow Gary
to continue The Southwest Scorcher in its
current format.
From the Editor’s Desk
How better can we share our passion of
this AMC hobby?
I know it can be difficult to put thought to
words on paper. I have been doing it each
and every month for the last year and a
half. It requires some time and mental energy. But you know what they say? Use it
or lose it!
This applies to our minds just as well as our
bodies. See at the February 11th meeting.
By Gary Zinman
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year holiday season. As
you know every year we have our annual holiday party and this year it was
fantastic. Dan and Debbie Curtis were
very gracious hosts at their lovely home
in Paradise Valley. We all had a great
time with lots of excellent food and beverages. This year we used this event to
launch the “Packin’ the Wagon” program
where participants bring at least one
canned or packaged food item for charity. The program was a very big success
and we thank all of you for your gener-
Continued on Page 2
ous participation. The food was donated
to the North Hills Church (same place we
hold our April car show) for their distribution for those in need. Thank you to Tom
Buckley for making that delivery. We will
probably have this program as a feature
at a few events each year.
Member Pat Hoisington informs us that he
has purchased a 401 V8 from a J-series
Jeep. Pat plans to build the motor in a
street-strip mode and replace the 360 in
his award-winning Matador coupe. We’re
all looking forward to seeing that big
block perform in his car.
VOLUME XV
ISSUE I
Page 2
JANUARY, 2012
From the Editor’s Desk
By Gary Zinman
This year there are not any Javelins or
AMX’s that I could spot at the BarrettJackson Auction, I did however see a gorgeous 1955 Nash Metropolitan convertible
go across the block for a whopping
$46,000. This was clearly the nicest stock
restoration of a Metro that I have ever
Cool Stuff
Kirk Fletcher:
Continued from Page 1
seen. And it was clearly reflected in the
price. The Metro is rapidly becoming one
of the most collectable of all AMC cars!
Start getting your cars ready now for our
April show. The show is April 21st and the
events start on Friday April 20th.
Official 2011 AMO National
Convention T-Shirt in Rust
$22 & $25
By Kirk Fletcher
http://phoenix.craigslist.org/cph/pts/2766562646.html
http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl_remus_reid.htm
http://www.conceptcarz.com/vehicle/z11139/Oldsmobile-F-88-Concept.aspx
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hcl4rs8gSHg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyH471mtuDQ&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPKaBAGFKiE&feature=endscreen&NR=1
We have a new club member, Scott Dregne, who lives in Glendale. He owns the
AAMCO Transmission shop at 6033 W. Bell Rd. Glendale, AZ 85308, 602-843-2443
He has three AMC’s, 70 Gremlin, 304 auto, 71 Javelin AMX 401 auto, & a 73 Gremlin
401 auto. I saw two of the cars at his shop. I had his shop rebuild my T-35 for my 66
290 Rogue. They were very fast and the price was great. If you need an Automatic rebuild for one of your cars give Scott a call. Tell him you are a member of the Cactus
Cruisers AMC Car Club. The manager says he has a great builder working there.
Cactus Cruisers AMC Club Dues
We have lowered our club dues back to our
Pre-AMO International Convention price of
$12 per year. We had only raised the dues to
help generate the start-up funds needed to
host the AMO Show.
By Kirk Fletcher
and I will pro-rate these fees into the future
unless a refund is requested. For all other
members who are not current for 2011—2012
year please send in your payment.
We will continue to have our membership dues
run from July 1st to June 30th with a pro-rated
amount of $1 per month for members who join
anytime after August 1st.
Since we have lots of Car related activities in
the next few months you can pay in person or
mail a check to our new Treasurer: Dan Curtis,
7025 N 47th St., Paradise Valley, AZ 85253
Cell# 602-317-2018 d_curtis@q.com
Some people had paid their dues in advance
Thanks,
New Monthly Club Meeting Location
We are going to try a new Denny’s location
for our monthly club meetings. Not everyone
has been satisfied with the level of service or
the quality of the food at the Denny’s that we
have been using for the last several months.
The new Denny’s that we are going to start
meeting at has a dedicated meeting room that
Official 2011 AMO National
Convention Cactus Cruisers
AMC Coin & Key Chains
$10 & $11
Official 2011 AMO Posters,
Mouse Pads and Greeting
Cards $10 or less
By Kirk Fletcher
is much larger. They also have a much larger
service staff since they have a busy location.
They have a very large parking lot with easy
access and are located much closer to a major
freeway. Only 1 mile west of I-17. Denny’s
3456 W. Bethany Home Rd., Phoenix, AZ
85017 602-973-7716
See you there at 5:00 pm 2/11/12
http://www.lov2xlr8.no/
broch1.html
VOLUME XV
ISSUE I
Page 3
JANUARY, 2012
Cactus Cruisers AMC Holiday Party
By Kirk Fletcher
Continued on Page 4
Well our annual Cactus Cruisers AMC Holiday Party was
a big success as always. Dan & Debbie Curtis graciously
opened their home for our clubs biggest meeting as they
have done the past few years.
do the job for one more year. Next January I will be
stepping down so someone else will need to step up to
the challenge and volunteer for the position. I have been
acting as the Membership chairmen since Richard Anderson’s computer crashed and Jim Jensen will be taking
over this position again. Gary Zinman is the official
Newsletter Editor even though I have been doing it lately
and he will be taking the job back over.
It was a pot-luck affair with the club providing the Ham
& Turkey roasts. Thank you Tom Buckley for suggesting
and picking up the roasts on your way over to the Holiday Party.
We had a short meeting after spending at lest an hour
visiting with each other. We rushed the meeting so we
could get started on all of the wonderful food. The main
focus on the meeting was election of new club officers for
the coming year. Terry Fletcher has been the Treasurer
of our club for the last several years and she will be
turning her duties over to Dan Curtis. Thank you to both.
I have been doing the work of several positions the last
year and a half and I announced that I wish to step
down from being the President of the club as well as
pass on some of my other current responsibilities. No one
at the meeting wished to take over for me so I agreed to
As a club we voted to purchase a laptop computer to use
for club business. We also voted to purchase some software to install on this computer. The computer will be
going to Gary Zinman to use for creating and publishing
the club newsletter. At times it will be loaned to other
club members to use to write articles for inclusion into the
newsletter. Most people already have their own computers so this one will be used only for people that do not
already have Word or Publisher software on their own
VOLUME XV
ISSUE I
Page 4
JANUARY, 2012
Cactus Cruisers AMC Holiday Party
By Kirk Fletcher
Continued from Page 3
computers so these articles can be created. We will also
use this computer for registration at our yearly Cactus
Classic AMC Car Shows that we host yearly in April.
See you all at the Cactus Classic XI AMC Car Show.
After the meeting we all dug in for some great food. I
do not know who brought which dishes but all I can tell
you is that everything was great. I had seconds and
thirds and I very rarely ever have seconds at meals.
After everyone ate their fill of all the great dishes and
deserts we visited some more until it was time to hold our
Cheryl Fletcher took these pictures of this great event.
White Elephant gift exchange. Everyone had a great
time and no one person got picked on like last year
when Dan Curtis had several gifts stolen from him. Larry
Kislack may have been the one that had the most gifts
stolen but that just allowed him to open more gifts.
There were a lot of club members that were not in attendance and all we can say is that we missed you.
VOLUME XV
ISSUE I
Page 5
JANUARY, 2012
Ode to my Father
By Eric Hasselbring
Continued on Page 6
It was about mid August 1980, I was 15 and a High
School Sophomore. I was aloof checking out my
Daily School Schedule. One of my classes was Auto
Shop and I heard the teacher was very cool so I decided to stop in and see what it was all about.
When I walked into the shop I saw a car parked in
the “Cage” (it’s a protected area within the shop
designed to keep all students out except the owner).
I couldn’t see much of it with exception to the grey
primer and some of the striping peaking through.
There were no badges to signify what kind of car it
was at all. The lines were very appealing and the
car beckoned me to take a closer look. While I didn’t know what kind of car it was I was an AMC fan
for life at that moment. I had to have this car no
matter the cost.
er he was . I really didn’t care, just the fact that I
had a car and it looked very cool in my eyes was
all that mattered.
I spoke to the teacher and spent a few days tracking the owner down and after much deliberation he
decided to sell the car to me for 50 bucks. I understood why once I got the cage unlocked. The engine
was nestled within the trunk, there was a mess under
the dash for wiring, the interior was virtually nonexistent and in order to sit within the car I had to borrow a milk crate so I wasn’t on the floor boards. I
spent the greater part of 4 months driving around
trying to gather up the interior. There were lots of
miles and lots of gas spent between me and my
friends driving from place to place. The interior was
just as cool as the lines on the rest of the car. It was
designed by some guy named Pierre Cardin whoev-
I spent my sophomore school year putting it back
together in the most logical fashion I knew how for
my age. Summer vacation was coming, I had to
break the news to my dad somehow (that’s right he
didn’t know anything about it). May 25 1981…..DDAY…..I mentioned it to my dad, needless to say he
wasn’t a happy camper and stated very sternly
“You will have to figure a plan to get it home, if I
have to go get it, it will go straight to the wrecking
yard”. Ugh, what plans?……I know, I’ll ask my
brother to help me out I thought. Very reluctantly he
did and we pushed the car for 4 blocks to get it
home. The car sat for a few years while I worked on
it here and there to get it road worthy. My father
Finally I had everything to start putting it back together. The car as originally purchased by me:
1972 Javelin SST, 304 w/Torqueflite 904, Interior
although not original was the Pierre Cardin interior,
Standard SST Dash, no carpet, Automatic shift on
the floor placed back several inches from the original hole utilized for the Shifter on the T-10. The
pedals were now automatic, much like the rest of the
drive train, in addition to having a twin grip rear
end with 3.15 gear ratio I believe (I’m not sure here
as the rear end was later dumped for a Ford 9 inch
with a spool). I’m not sure of the original color as it
was in primer and aftermarket paint throughout,
besides, I was 15, I didn’t care enough to look, it
was getting new paint anyways.
VOLUME XV
ISSUE I
Page 6
JANUARY, 2012
Ode to my Father
By Eric Hasselbring
and I visited many local wrecking yards in order to
pull parts, one in particular I can recall, we went in
looking for a wiring harness and new dash.
The Attendant stated he recalled seeing one out
back “on the stack” we got back there and “the
stack” was 6 cars high with the Javelin at the top.
We scaled the stack and low and behold there was
a tick tock dash, while my father pulled the wiring on
the outside I pulled the dash on the inside. I can recall when the breeze blew we could both feel the
cars sway, that was the scariest parts pull we ever
did. We eventually got the car running and I spent
many a Friday and Saturday night on the local BLVD
street racing with my friend Johnny Law and a few
unnamed Mopars and GM products. This resulted in
many citations and much time standing in front of the
Continued on Page 7
Judge along with my father.
I’m 17 by now heading into the military. This became the first opportunity for my father to paint the
car. Upgrades to this point included the larger 360
heads on the 304 block and an Edelbrock Intake,
Sig Ericson Cam along with a Carter 525 CFM carb,
new carpet, Rebuilt Automatic, new (old) Engine wiring and a multitude of many parts that as a kid I just
had to have.
My father spent countless hours prepping the car
and getting it ready for paint, on the first go
around it spent almost 8 months in the paint shop. I
came home from boot camp and drove it up to my
first station in Olympia and had a blast up there
with it for 3 years. One day I was driving into Tacoma with it, and traffic came to a screeching halt,
well, it did and I didn’t, needless to say I needed a
few things for the front end now. With the car
parked I was out searching for new parts and one
day I rounded the corner and WOW, low and behold there was the car I needed. The front clip was
in great shape and it even had a fiberglass cowl
induction hood. Upon further inspection it also had a
T-10 in it with all the necessary linkages, pedals
and a rear deck spoiler to boot……holy crap, I
spent the money and bought what I needed Johnny
on the spot. While I had the car apart I didn’t even
have to bat an eye in order to upgrade the engine.
I went down to the local machine shop and purchased a .60 over 360 long block and mated it to
the transmission (of course new clutch and stuff). The
new clip was placed, the engine/tranny combo was
VOLUME XV
ISSUE I
Page 7
JANUARY, 2012
Ode to my Father
By Eric Hasselbring
placed and I was ready to go on my way back to
Utah as my tour of duty was up.
I moved from Utah to Arizona only to get into another accident with it again involving heavy front end
damage. I crushed the cowl hood, mashed the
bumper up and busted the AMX grill out of it that I
had previously replaced. I damaged the rear taillight assembly, valance, mounting panel, it was totaled. Ugh, I searched frantically and ended up with
a 73 and proceeded to strip the 72 down to bare
bones. After completing the changeover of parts I
ordered an intake direct from Offenhauser along
with an Isky Cam, Milodon timing gears, 2 Edelbrock
650 Performer Carbs and the Ford 9 inch rear end.
I installed these along with an OEM electronic ignition (the current HEI came later). After having this
installed for about 6 months I spoke to my dad and
we coordinated a trip back to Utah so he could repaint it. While it was laid up I figured I would rebuild the 72’s original T-10 to be installed again at
a later date.
The car spent almost 7 years in Utah getting various
things done to the body along with the paint. It was
a labor of love for my father as he put many things
aside in order to get it just right. While I can’t fathom the amount of time spent prepping, primping
and painting I know it was many more hours than
what I asked him to do. I went and picked up the
car and brought it back to Arizona. I worked for
CSK AUTO at the time and they were soliciting muscle cars for a new “Let’s Work Together” Campaign.
It was selected and placed in several of their com-
Continued on Page 8
mercials. There was quite a following and outcry to
get the car to return in more of their commercials.
After that occurred the car pretty much languished
in various places and garages where I lived around
the valley for the past 20 years. I didn’t have a lot
of time to spend on it along with the fact I was no
longer an Auto Tech and I didn’t have a place to
work on it. Within the past 5 years I finally have a
place to call home along with a place I built to work
on my cars. I now have the opportunity to enjoy the
car as it was meant and as I enjoyed it when I first
got it. Recently my father passed away and I realized how much of a disservice I did to him by not
getting the car out sooner into the public so others
could enjoy his work. I vowed at that point to get it
back into service and start taking it to as many
places as I can. I have started to put it back together as my father and I originally intended back when
I was 17, as a show car with mods that make it
“me”….with things that “I” would like on it. I wish it
to be as individual as I am.
Current Mods: Current 360 with Offenhauser 2x4
Dual Quad intake, Milodon Timing Gears, Isky Cam
with 498-527 lift and 308 Duration, Headers,
Torqueflite 904 Trans, OEM limited slip differential,
AMC 14x7-inch "Turbo cast II" aluminum wheels, 77
VOLUME XV
ISSUE I
Page 8
JANUARY, 2012
Ode to my Father
By Eric Hasselbring
Hornet fender flares, Pierre Cardin interior, tick tock
dash, Air, PS, PB, OEM FT disc, rear drum, Thrush Outsider side pipes and a rear window louver. OEM AMC
AM/FM stereo cassette player with group 19 speakers in
the door and a modified 6x9 in the lifted rear deck
along with the rear window defogger. Currently painted
Continued From Page 7
82 AMC Deep Maroon along with a Cadillac Dark Cherry for the stripes. Traction bars and helper leaf springs
to keep the rear end solid while lighting the tires. The
specially modified air cleaner is from a 1965 Buick
Wildcat 425 cu in (7.0 L) Nailhead modified to fit the
dual quad carburetor setup.
Future Mods: Bring back the T-10, find another Twin
Grip with a 3.08 Gear ratio, aluminum radiator, electric
fans, touch up engine compartment, touch up body and
paint, add additional gauges to the dash along with getting the tic tock dash working properly, refinish the dash,
new carpet, refinish the interior, new valve covers along
with touchup polish on the intake and more updates to
the already modified air cleaner. While there is a lot
more to this car in stories and memories, it’s a 31 year
love affair with my first car and even though this isn’t a
“numbers matching” car it has a lot of history, with me,
my family, my kids and soon to be grandkids. So regardless of how anyone looks at it, I know each item is
where it is for one reason or another and that is this cars
“Patina”. My wish is that other folks get the same enjoyment out of this hobby and my car as I do.
VOLUME XV
ISSUE I
Page 9
JANUARY, 2012
We grew up to be Old Kids
By John Elle
A LOT OF US GREW UP TO BE OLD KIDS!
Over the years many of us built our cars the way we
wanted them, or better said, the way we could afford to
at the time taking into consideration our budgets, skills
and tools! Or the lack of any or all of them. So instead
we built Models.
Why? Only with a model could we put together the car
that we envisioned we would like to have because our
reality was, we couldn’t have the real thing. And we
grew up! Eventually, we found we could enjoy and some
times just want to build a model and we could do that
too.
Last year I found my health and budgets were both in
bad shape and was not able to work on my cars so I
looked at the collection in my closet of models and realized I would like to build a model, not of what I might
like in my fanciful dream world, but what I would have
liked to really own when I was younger. And I found a
model of the Rambler hardtop known as the Pro Street
Rambler by Jo-Han.
Continued on Page 10
out it was pretty much a break with the I6 traditions left
over from the 1930 school of automotive engine design.
Syncro-mesh was available in all 3 gears on a standard.
Although my 1970 Gremlin was still non-syncro in 1st.
And also I6 engines can be hot-rodded just like a V8 can
and at times are deceptively fast. At least for me as it
seems. Detroit never seemed to get the concept of quick
I6 engines down right. Kaiser had the supercharged, Lycoming I6 in the Darrin, Corvette had the blue flame I6
with power glide in the 1st Corvette. Pontiac had two
versions of overhead cam I6’s in the Firebird but were
not big sellers. Even Jeep had an overhead cam I6 but
they had to take it to Brazil before it earned the reputation it deserved, in a Rambler hard top made by Renault.
Both Ford and GMC made big I6 engines approaching
300 cu in that were killer fast in some stock car circles
and Hudson?
Hudson was winning while racing in NASCAR with an out
dated 300 cu in flat head I6 in the middle 50’s before it
got out horse powered by the Chrysler Hemi’s.
I’m a fan of 6 in a row. I had a fast Leaning Tower of
Power in the middle 60’s based on Mopar’s direct connection applications of the 225 slant six. So I got my
Rambler kit out and started on it. To build as it would be
if I were building it for real.
First requirement, Candy Apple Red, and Naugahyde
Well that is what I would have owned. I like a hard top. I
liked the Rambler at the time. I would have rather had
one of those then some of the cars I actually owned. But I
lived in the rust belt, and finding anything over 3 years
old with fenders and quarter panels was iffy at best.
Not fenders and quarter panes with holes, fenders and
quarter panels that were missing.
Owning anything at that time was a race with a junkyard
as to whether you were going to get it paid for before
you junked it or not. And once or twice I actually lost the
race.
I also know that over time I have become an I-6 fan.
AMC made some good I6 engines. When the 232 came
interior. None of the grey mouse fur for me.
As to the drive train? The short stroke 232 would be nice.
The kit comes with the plastic version of the AMC
304/360/390 V8, but real cars have an I6 in them so!
It took awhile, but I managed to come up with an appropriate in line engine. Remember, AMC sales statistics
were pretty regular. They sold on the average far more
I6 powered cars than they did V8’s
Now a proper I6 need proper induction. A 4bbl, fuel
VOLUME XV
ISSUE I
Page 10
JANUARY, 2012
We grew up to be Big Kids
By John Elle
injection, or triple side drafts, they are a nice touch. But it
is always nice to have dual exhaust.
To my way of thinking I could have gone down to Lord
Bros and purchased a Rambler Hard top and with little
effort had one like this.
Barrett-Jackson Road Rally
Continued from Page 9
If I would have had the money at the time or knew how
to do it my self. But I didn’t and yesterdays are gone but
it lives with in my wudda cudda shudda memory along
side a number of things that never happened.
Like the V12 Matador I am going to build next.
By Kirk Fletcher
Continued on Page 11
This past Saturday several of us Cactus Cruisers AMC
Club members participated in the 3rd Annual BarrettJackson Road Rally.
We all met at the Sky Song parking lot were an informal
car show was held for a couple of hours. The BarrettJackson crew diligently checked everyone to make sure
we were all on their list. They were strictly limiting the
number of cars to 75 even though their e-mails said that
they were excepting 80 cars total for this event. The first
ten car clubs that responded were allowed to have eight
cars each represent their club.
After checking out all the cars for a couple of hours we
received a safety speech from one of the Scottsdale Motorcycle Policemen.
I didn’t count how many Policemen were escorting us but
we were told that they would write us citations if we did
anything stupid. So no burnouts or powerslides were performed by any of the participants.
The Police escorted the group all the way to the Scottsdale Pavilions. It was almost like being in a parade or a
VOLUME XV
ISSUE I
Page 11
JANUARY, 2012
Barrett-Jackson Road Rally
By Kirk Fletcher
funeral as we drove single file up Scottsdale road to
Indian bend. I was surprised how many people were tak-
Continued from Page 10
ing pictures of the cars as we all traveled north and then
east to the Pavilions.
Once there Barrett-Jackson had some saved parking
spots for us. The area was so crowded with people that
it seemed to take forever to reach the few stops that
were remaining. Our AMC group seemed to get the last
few spots and many of us had to double park for a time
until other spots opened up.
Later in the evening as the crowd started to thin out and
some of the old farts started to leave with their cars several of us moved our cars from the eastside of the
McDonalds to the main parking lot on the Westside.
Several other club members were spotted in the crowd
even though they didn’t have their cars with them. A few
of the main Die-Hard AMC’ers had their cars parked by
7:00 am. Just part of the game during Barrett-Jackson.
VOLUME XV
ISSUE I
Caster
Page 12
JANUARY, 2012
By John Elle
Caster is the inclination of the kingpin or the line between the
ball joints as viewed from the side. Positive Caster is
achieved by having the ball joint pivot point slightly behind
the lower ball joint pivot point. Or stated differently when
looking at the car from the drivers side and drawing a line
between the upper and lower ball joint the line will be more
towards the 1:00 position for positive Caster rather than the
11:00 position for negative Caster. This is not done by
mounting the upper and lower control arm in an assembly
parallel to each other than tipping the whole assembly but
by mounting the lower control arm parallel to the ground at
ride height and then mounting the upper control arm slight
behind the lower control arm but also raked down at the
rear for anti-dive control when the brakes are applied. This
picture gives an indication of what caster is and in this case,
reflects Positive Caster.
grees positive caster (the line between the upper and lower
ball joints points more towards 1:00) now.
Most of the AMC cars that we own were manufactured between 1966 and about 1980 or so. The front suspension
components consisted of a couple of different types of trunnion, a lower control arm with a single pivot point triangulated with a strut rod that went from the outer end of the lower
control arm towards the rear to a point on the chassis of the
car near the front passenger compartment foot well. All
alignment adjustments are made by making adjustments to
the lower control arm.
Caster is adjusted by relocating the nuts on the threaded
end of the strut rod where it goes through a flexible bushing
pressed into a hole on a mounting bracket bolted to the
body.
The dynamics influenced by positive and negative caster is a
little hard to imagine but negative caster uses the weight of
the car to help turn the wheels when under motion. As car
designed moved into the ‘50s and more and more weight
was carried by the front tires making them hard to turn. Thus
a fair amount of negative caster (the line through the ball
joints towards 11:00) helped the wheels to turn making
steering effort easier but negative caster decreased self
centering of the steering wheel and it generally caused the
driver to make constant corrections to the direction of the car
at speed. The car wandered. The advent and acceptance by
the buying public of power steering allowed the suspension
designers to dial in positive caster which uses the weight of
the car to straighten out the front wheels. This makes the car
more stable in a straight line and at higher speeds.
Modern cars are generally in the area of about 1 ½ de-
My personal experience on this one happened after my last
alignment on my 1980 AMC Spirit that wears P195 60 R 14
tires on the front, a far cry from the 75 series radials the car
came with, started to wander quite irritatingly. Eventually I
looked at the alignment specs that were printed out, it was
set to a negative 1 ½ degrees. I also checked the specifications allowed and they were between 1 ½ negative to 1 ½
positive. The short wheelbase of this car coupled with the
negative caster, it is due to go back to the alignment rack
and have positive caster dialed in. There is room for about 3
degrees of positive caster.
This of course brings up a point. When you have your car
aligned, be specific about requesting a positive caster as an
end result. You will be amazed at the improvement in drivability.
VOLUME XV
ISSUE I
Page 13
JANUARY, 2012
One Sold, One Kept, For Sale
By Kirk Fletcher & Contributors
Sold : I have a 1973 Gremlin Levis' X that I need to sell because we are moving to Colorado. It is in OK shape, needs
some body work, paint, interior. It runs and I have collected
some parts for it as I wanted to restore it, but other priorities
came up. Not sure if anyone in your group would want to take
on the car, but I really want to see it restored well and on the
road again. I looked in the collector guide and it should be
worth $2,500.00 right now, I want to be close to that, but also
know I probably won't get that for it. Please let me know if
anyone in your group would like to purchase it. Gary Kennedy,
gkennedy@cox.net, 602-677-5444 Sold
For Sale : To whom it may concern.
Kept : I have an original 69 AMX 343 4-speed sitting in my
garage. Been in the family since '74. Has 106,000 original
miles on it. Original paint. Never restored. Since it is all original an individual interested in restoration will know the true
history of this car. I have the seats covered to protect them as
they are original. Exterior is Hunter green with charcoal interior. I did have the carpeting replaced about 15 years ago. The
driver seat is just developing some separation in one of the
seams due to the dry desert air. I don't believe I have put more
than 1,000 miles on the car in the last 20 years or so. It has
been garaged the whole time. It drives fine. I noticed one of
the front freeze plugs is starting to leak. It is very low geared,
a real rubber burner.
They built 843 in this configuration in 1969 with the 343, 4
barrel and a 4-speed. The serial number on the plate over the
radio is 15308. The car was first sold new in SFO and the second owner was an airline pilot and used in to drive back and
forth from Palo Alto to SFO International. My Dad bought it
from him in 1974 when it had 40,000 miles on it. In 1980 it
went into storage . I hate to let it go, but it deserves someone
who will really enjoy it. I just don't have the time to restore this
vehicle, or the energy anymore. If anyone in your network is
interested email me. Here are a few shots, pardoned the dust.
Asking $17,000 Chris Haas, azhaas@aol.com, 480-440-5800
Kept and now having the engine & trans freshened up.
I have some unique parts available at reasonable prices IF
they can be used. They are take offs from a 2 year old Shelby Mustang drop top that has been upgraded by Shelby
American to Super Snake configuration. The Shelby drop top
they were removed from is an extremely low mileage car so
these parts are as close to new as they can be with out being
new. Among them, full suspension, sway bars, watts linkage,
cooling system parts, mufflers, trim pieces, rocker panels,
wheels and tires. I also have the stock Shelby hood and the
supercharger.
The tires are P265x35xr19’s which are about 6% bigger
around then P195x75xr14’s. More or less the same diameter
as P205x70xr14’s. The wheels have the standard AMC bolt
pattern. However, they need 3 3/8’s inches minimum back
spacing compared to AMC’s standard wheels and tires. Your
current back spacing is going to depend on the size of wheels
you have on your car at the present. On my Hornet Sportabout
in the back there is 2 inches available between the back of the
tire and the rear spring. That of course is 1 3/8” too short.
Based on the same tire, on the rear, I have 2 3/8” clearance
on the front of the tire to the edge of the fender. There is a 1
½ inch wheel spacer available for about $120.00 a pair
which would give me 1/8 inch clearance on the back assuming
no sway on the springs and still fit under the rear fenders. A
bit sporty I would think. However that is measured on a Hornet
Sportabout, a station wagon. Each Model will be different
including those with trunnion front suspension. These tires are
almost new, the wheels are undamaged except for one where
it has a bit of curb rash. The point being, the price might be
right if you are looking for something like this or any of these
pieces. Please call me for prices and additional info John Elle
623-487-8285 For Sale
If you want your For Sale item listed here, send me the info.
VOLUME XV
ISSUE I
Page 14
JANUARY, 2012
AMO Treasury Sales
By Richard Estermyer
#1
AMC Antenna flag
$8.00
$1.00
#97
AMX 25th Anniversary Poster
$10.00
$3.85
#2
AMO Grill Badge
$20.00
$2.00
#119
Rambler 100th Anniversary Poster
$10.00
$3.85
#3
AMO Window Decal
$2.00
$ .50
#4
AMX Certified Milestone Decal
$1.00
$ .50
#98
AMO License Plate
$8.00
$3.85
#8
AMO Patch
$3.00
$ .50
#108
AMO Parking Only Sign
$18.00
$3.85
#30
Grey AMO Logo Tee Shirt, Sizes: M, L, XL, L
$10.00
$3.85
#109
AMX Racing Team patch (round)
$4.00
$ .50
#31
White AMO Logo Tee Shirt, Size: XXL
$10.00
$3.85
#110
Javelin Racing Team Patch (round)
$4.00
$ .50
#31
White AMO Logo Tee Shirt, Sizes: S, L, XL
$9.00
$3.85
#111
American Motors Corporation Patch (round)
$3.00
$ .50
#32
Grey AMO Logo Sweatshirt, Size: XXL
$17.00
$3.85
#112
AMX Patch (oval/blue on white)
$3.00
$ .50
#32
Grey AMO Logo Sweatshirt, Size: XXXL
$18.00
$3.85
#113
Javelin Patch (oblong/black on white)
$3.00
$ .50
#32
Grey AMO Logo Sweatshirts, Sizes: L, XL
$16.00
$3.85
#114
Javelin Patch (oblong/new style)
$3.00
$ .50
#33
White AMO Logo Golf Shirts, Size: XXL
$19.00
$3.85
#115
Javelin Patch (oval with Javelin on new logo)
$3.00
$ .50
#33
White AMO Logo Golf Shirts, Sizes: S, M, L, XL
$17.00
$3.85
#116
AMX Patch (red, white & blue letters on rectangle)
$3.00
$ .50
#34
AMO Logo Baseball Cap (royal blue)
$8.00
$3.85
#118
Complete Concourse Rules
$1.50
$ .50
#35
Rambler (Block Letters) Pin
$4.00
$ 1.00
#36
Round (Old Style) A.M. Pin
$4.00
$ 1.00
#120
AMC Oil Filter Sticker
#37
AMX (Red, White, Blue) round pin
$4.00
$ 1.00
#121
1968/1969 AMX, Javelin Oil Filter Sticker
$3.00
$ 1.00
#38
Javelin (Red, White, Blue) round pin
$4.00
$ 1.00
#122
60's AM/Rambler Oil Filter Sticker Style "A"
$3.00
$ 1.00
#40
AMO Lapel Pin (quality silver plate)
$4.00
$ 1.00
#123
60's AM /Rambler Oil Filter Sticker Style "B"
$3.00
$ 1.00
#41
AMC Pin (block letters)
$4.00
$ 1.00
#42
AMX Pin (block letters)
$4.00
$ 1.00
#124
AMX, JAVELIN, GREMLIN / AMO Challenge Coin
$10.00
$ 1.50
#43
Javelin Pin (script)
$4.00
$ 1.00
#44
Javelin Racing Team Pin (round checkered)
$4.00
$ 1.00
#45
AM Logo Pin (old style)
$4.00
$ 1.00
#46
AM Logo Pin (new style)
$4.00
$ 1.00
#48
AMX/3 Pin (red)
$4.00
$ 1.00
#49
Year Pins (1968-1974)
$4.00
$ 1.00
#55
AMX Racing Team Pin (round checkered)
$4.00
$ 1.00
#47
Personal Message Fan
$6.00
$3.00
#70
National Meet Dash Plaques (state Year)
$2.00
$ .50
#80
AMO Key Fob (choice of white, or blue)
$2.00
$ 1.00
#117
AMC Chrome Key Chain (old logo & new AMC logo)
$5.00
$ 1.00
$3.00
$ 1.00
ORDER FORM __________________________________________________________
ITEM # QTY
DESCRIPTION
SIZE
PRICE (ea)
SHIPPING
ITEM TOTAL
________|___|________________________________________|___________|___________________|_______________|______________
________|___|________________________________________|___________|___________________|_______________|______________
________|___|________________________________________|___________|___________________|_______________|______________
________|___|________________________________________|___________|___________________|_______________|______________
Name ______________________________________________ Please make checks payable to: GRAND
Address ____________________________________________ AMO Treasury Sales
TOTAL _______________________
City ________________________________________________ Mail to: Richard Estermyer
State, Zip ___________________________________________ 6228 Mapleview Lane, Ypsilanti, MI 48197
Phone ______________________________________________ javelinman74@hotmail.com phone: (734) 417-9456
AMO Member Number _________________________________
VOLUME XV
ISSUE I
Page 15
JANUARY, 2012
Calendar of Club Events
By Kirk Fletcher
February 11th, Saturday 5:00 pm to 7:30 pm,
Cactus Cruisers AMC Club Meeting, Denny’s
at 35th Ave and Bethany Home Rd, 3456 W.
Bethany Home Rd, Phoenix, AZ 85017, 602973-7716 Northeast corner, in front of WalMart, West of the I-17 freeway.
March 10th, Saturday 5:00 pm to 7:30 pm,
Cactus Cruisers AMC Club Meeting, Denny’s
at 35th Ave and Bethany Home Rd, 3456 W.
Bethany Home Rd, Phoenix, AZ 85017, 602973-7716 Northeast corner, in front of WalMart, West of the I-17 freeway.
April 14th, Saturday 5:00 pm to 7:30 pm,
Cactus Cruisers AMC Club Meeting, Denny’s
at 35th Ave and Bethany Home Rd, 3456 W.
Bethany Home Rd, Phoenix, AZ 85017, 602973-7716 Northeast corner, in front of WalMart, West of the I-17 freeway.
April 20th, Friday 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm. Caravan over to the Penske Racing Museum. Meet
at the Embassy Suites North, host hotel, I-17 &
Greenway Pkwy, travel to 7125 E. Chauncey
Ln, Phoenix, AZ
May 19th, Saturday 9:00 am to 3:00 pm, The 6th
Annual SoCalAMX Car Show also known as the
"West Coast All AMC Car Show" has moved to
Pearson Park in Anaheim, CA. This park allows the
cars in the show to park on the grass and there are
plenty of trees for shade if it's a warm day.
June 9th, Saturday 5:00 pm to 7:30 pm, Cactus Cruisers AMC Club Meeting, Denny’s at
35th Ave and Bethany Home Rd, 3456 W.
Bethany Home Rd, Phoenix, AZ 85017, 602973-7716 Northeast corner, in front of WalMart, West of the I-17 freeway.
June 21st—24th, Thursday to Sunday, 2012
AMCRC National Convention, Nugget Casino Resort, Victorian Square, Sparks NV. Tour
to Virginia City on Thursday, National Automobile Museum on Friday, Car Show and
Banquet on Saturday.
April 20th, Friday 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm, Cactus
Cruisers AMC BBQ at Kirk & Terry Fletcher’s
Home, 12115 N. 73rd. Ave., Peoria, AZ
85345 cell# 602-689-9222
April 21th, Saturday 8:00 am to 3:00 pm,
Cactus Classic X AMC Car Show, North Hills
Church of God parking lot, 15025 North 19th
Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85023
July 20th—22, Friday to Sunday, 2012 Rendezvous AMCRC Car Show, Oregon City, OR.
Hosted by Rose City Chapter AMCRC
April 21th, Saturday 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm,
Saturday Night Cruise at Mesa Riverside
hosted by Matta’s, 1501 N. Dobson, Mesa AZ
85201, Loop 202 & Dobson Rd, Southeast
Corner
July 27th –29th, Friday to Sunday, So-Cal
AMC Annual AMC Car Show, El Segundo,
CA Automotive Driving Museum, 610 Lairport
St., El Segundo, CA 90245 310-909-9050,
George Markos 818-693-0092
amxhotrod@yahoo.com www.socalamc.com
May 12th, Saturday 5:00 pm to 7:30 pm, Cactus Cruisers AMC Club Meeting, Denny’s at
35th Ave and Bethany Home Rd, 3456 W.
Bethany Home Rd, Phoenix, AZ 85017, 602973-7716 Northeast corner, in front of WalMart, West of the I-17 freeway.
This had to be after one
of the April shows but I am
not sure. The others are
from 1/14/12
July 11th—15th, Wednesday to Sunday, 2012
AMO International Convention, Boston,
Hosted by Connecticut AMO (CAMO),
www.ctamo.com
July 14th, Saturday 5:00 pm to 7:30 pm, Cactus Cruisers AMC Club Meeting, Denny’s at
35th Ave and Bethany Home Rd, 3456 W.
Bethany Home Rd, Phoenix, AZ 85017, 602973-7716 Northeast corner, in front of WalMart, West of the I-17 freeway.
April 22nd, Sunday 8:00 am to 10:00 am,
Cactus cruisers AMC no-host Breakfast, Embassy Suites Phoenix North, 2577 W. Greenway rd., Phoenix, AZ 85023 602-375-1777
Pictures from Dwight
Scottsdale Pavilions
October 6th, Saturday, Full Moon Saloon
Annual Car Show, Sedona, AZ
August 11th, Saturday 5:00 pm to 7:30 pm,
Cactus Cruisers AMC Club Meeting, Denny’s
at 35th Ave and Bethany Home Rd, 3456 W.
Bethany Home Rd, Phoenix, AZ 85017, 602973-7716 Northeast corner, in front of WalMart, West of the I-17 freeway.
November 2nd to 4th, Friday to Sunday,
Southern Nevada AMCRC Regional car show,
Boulder City, NV Railroad Pass Casino
At Sky Song in Scottsdale