UPDATE: Hello Mr. Gasket...

Took Maxi for a ride today, and whenever the car was stopped, whisps of smoke floated out from under the hood.  It appears the valve cover gaskets have finally given out.  Oil is seeping out and onto hot surfaces.  I just placed an order for a set of gaskets.  I have to examine my installation technique, as I have never had to take a valve cover off of an engine that was actually IN a car!  I think the driver side will be harder... Watch this space for updates...

S/C Rambler Featured in Rock Auto Newsletter

(via the October Rock Auto Newsletter)

I purchased this 1969 Rambler Scrambler new from Randall Rambler in Mesa Arizona. As a young kid I terrorized the streets of Phoenix and an occasional trip to the local dragstrip. After years of use the car became impractical for a young family man and it sat for about 25 years. The Arizona sun took its toll on the paint and interior. I was finally at the point in my life to resurrect the Scrambler and recently completed a total restoration.

I am now enjoying the car attending many shows and cruise nights. Many parts were purchased from RockAuto for the restoration including most of the suspension parts.

Regards,
John in Arizona

UPDATE: Grillin'...

Wellp, I finally decided to go ahead and paint my kinda-restored 1974 Javelin grille.  A while ago I bought a group of damaged grilles, and from them I used a plastic repair kit and remake some of the missing parts.  I sold two so far (both '72 Javelin grilles), and have been teying to decide if I will keep the '74 one for myself or not.  So, last week I sprayed the semi gloss black areas, and I just masked everything and applied some flat silver.  Now I need to figure out how to get that slightly darker and rougher silver finish that no one seems to ever replicate when they repaint their grilles.  It is something you can see in person when looking at an NOS example, but very hard to figure out in photos.

In primer since 2009!

Detail of an NOS grille showing third shade of paint

1976 AMC Gremlin X Model Kit Coming December 2011!

Round 2/AMT will be releasing a cleaned up version of their old 1/25 scale Gremlin X kit in December 2011!  According to a Round-2 Newsletter, the kit has been put back to an accurate 1976 version of the car, but still with optional drag racing parts.  So you can build a stock Gremlin, or a drag one, depending on your taste!  The kit will come with a 11"x17" print.

CLICK HERE to see the kit on the Round 2 website

UPDATE: Open Doors...

The other day I decided to try and paint the lower door panels on Maxi.  I had a fresh can of custom mixed interior paint, and plenty of time. 

Removing the three panels was simpler than I thought.  Putting them BACK was a bit of a headache.  One thing I did while the doors were open to the elements was to flip over the two little "fuzzy moustache" things that bolt to the door and rub against the window glass.  The driver side glass is far less "sloppy" now, but the passenger side is still very wobbly.  I also measured the door speakers, and they are about 4" across.  Something to remember in the future, as all the speakers sound blown!  The last owner of the car mixed and matched the screws holding the panels on, and some were outright missing.  Need to find out the correct size/style and pick up a bunch...

One can of paint just about covered two lower panels and two radio grilles.  While not perfect, they look FAR nicer now!

Door Guts...

Lower door panel before... very faded...

Door panel after... a LOT nicer.  Will have to test on the soft parts in the future...