Friday, December 20, 2013

Blue Rambler/AMC Exhaust Pipes

I have always wondered about those blue exhaust pipes that some AMCs came with.  For a while I never thought I'd see one, and one day at a show there was one on the ground by a vendor's table.  It was quite a sight! 

Last week I found myself surrounded by blue porcelain exhaust pipes. 

But I still don't know the history of them.  Were these also used on Ramblers?  Maybe ONLY Ramblers?  Why did they think porcelain covered pipes would be a good idea?  How long did they last?  When did they stop making them?

Questions questions questions...

Monday, September 16, 2013

UPDATE: Operation Javelin Shuffle



No posts for a while, because things have been depressing.  Firstly, I lost my storage.  An elderly woman across the street from me allowed me to park in her garage for free.  We would clear snow and stuff for her in return.  She passed away recently, and the house is soon to be put on the market.

To add insult to injury,  Maxi needs a timing chain, and that means it is off the road, because I can’t afford the work right now.  The current engine is Todd’s 360, and I don’t want to put money into it instead of my 401.

So, on September 14th we initiated Operation Javelin Shuffle.  The goal was to get my car into storage, and bring one of my boyfriend Todd’s cars to a shop for some restoration work.  Here’s a breakdown of how things went:

STEP ONE: Drive about 40 miles to pick up car trailer and one Jeep restorer by the name of Eric.  Put empty trailer onto F350.

STEP TWO:  Drive a few miles to gas station, fill truck, then purchase coffee and snacks at Dunkin Donuts next door.

STEP THREE:  Drive 40 miles back to Todd’s house, put my Javelin on trailer.

STEP FOUR:  Drive approx 70 miles to storage garage.  Unload my Javelin.  Pump tires up on Todd’s maroon ’73 AMX.  Use jacks, chains, etc to get AMX out of garage and on to trailer.

STEP FIVE:  Drive about 90 miles to Eric’s garage bay, drop trailer, leave AMX on it.

That is everything in a nutshell.  We left the house at about 10:20AM and got home at about 9:30PM. 

There were a few incidents worth mentioning, such as the wood planks the trailer owner had to use as ramps.  One look at them, and I knew they would break.  I tried to mention it, but no one listened.  Sure enough, as Todd drove my car up onto them, SNAP!  What followed was a bunch of scrap wood and jacks and other interesting items being used to prop up the cracked planks.  Thankfully, once we got out to the storage garage, there were piles of old, but far better and stronger planks to choose from. 

Another interesting note is that Todd’s ultra tiny portable air pump blew a fuse in his heavy duty pickup!  I mentioned that such a vehicle should have at least one more power point.  Again, no one listened… until he found one more power point… The small pump managed to get some air into the maroon AMX’s ancient tires.

At one point, while the boys were trying to come-along the AMX onto the trailer, I noticed some turkey vultures circling above us... I thought it was rather ominus, and snapped a photo with the birds above.

Lastly, while on the highway, a middle age man on a motorcycle passed us and gave us a thumbs up!

SNAP!  I knew this would happen...

Flying high!  Back of Maxi jacked up, off of broken plank

Broken planks being shored up with various stuff

Ready to begin Step 4

Maxi in it's new parking spot.  Poor thing...

Todd's AMX being prepared for a little drag

Mid-drag...

... really dragged!

New planks and lots of elbow grease about to begin

Turkey vulture circling above... a sign?

AMX on board, ready for Step 5

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Coming Soon: MPC 1/25 Scale 1978 AMC Pacer X Model Kit


1978 AMC Pacer X
Item No: MPC802
Release Date: September 2013
Once called the glass coffin," AMC's Pacer X was a unique design in automotive history. The 1978 model year depicted in MPC's Retro Deluxe kit re-introduction features stock and custom options including roof rack, driving lights, roof mounted spoiler and off-road tires.
  • Scale: 1/25
  • Glue assembly, paint required
  • Molded in white
    • Build stock or street machine
    • Optional roof spoiler and front air dam
    • Driving lights, window louvers and roof rack
    • Fully detailed motor, suspension and interior
    • Off-road tires
    • Full color decals
    • Vintage packaging

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Spring Wake Up!

After putting some gas into Maxi, I prepared to start it up for the first time this year.  The engine cranked, which was a bonus, as it meant the battery had juice left over from the fall.  But it wasn't catching, so I got out to pop the hood and make sure the carb was getting gas.  Well... as I reached for the little wire pull the previous owner set up to get the hood popped, I couldn't find it!

Long story short, after managing to get the car pushed back just enough to get in front of it in the garage, I found what was left of the wire pull, got the hood open, closed the "flapper" on the carb, and the car started right up!  The next step was getting some more gas, then a trip up and down the highway.

The photo here shows the car on it's first real ride of the season.  I took it out to Boxborough MA for a stamp show.  Not something you'd expect to see in a hotel parking lot during a non-car show!  Before I left town, though, I stopped to check the transmission fluid level.  Good thing I did... it was just about empty!