Time for a new project - '73 Javelin 360

The rust behind the rear wheels turns out to be from water getting into the trunk and running down to the gullies behind the wheel wells at each side of the trunk.  There was actually a bit of standing water in one of them today, and I'm surprised that it hasn't rusted out worse than it has.  I'm thinking the seller washed the car before my visit, which accounts for the water being in there now.  Thank goodness the car was stored out of the rain.  So, I dried that all out with compressed air today and left the trunk open today to dry out.  The rust hasn't gone all the way through the metal yet, but I won't really know how bad it is until I start sanding that area down.  I suppose some rust neutralizer needs to go down in those gullies pretty soon to at least keep it from getting worse.

I also took the 18" front wheels and tires off and temporarily replaced them with 14" 70 series tires I had left over from my '69 AMX.  The front tires were rubbing severely in turns, owing to the sagging front springs and the 1.5" spacers a P.O. had used to convert the 5x5 wheels to 5x4.5.  AT least now I can drive the car until I get new tires and wheels.  The tires on the car were 21 years old (rear tires still are) so I won't be going very far or very fast until I have new rubber all around. 

The seller told me that the car looks better in photos than it does in person, and that's absolutely true.  Under the hood is a mess, but it's all there (except the smog pump) and the car seems to run ok.  Everything works except the a/c and most of the dash lights.  Had a power steering leak that I've already fixed, and the car was overheating the first couple times I ran it, but that seems to have fixed itself.  I think the thermostat was just sticking from disuse. 

The good news is that the interior is almost as good as it looked in the photos, though there are a couple cracked pieces in the dash that are going to need to be replaced.  Hopefully I can find the pieces I need at the Kenosha swap meet this summer.

I did end up buying the NOS taillights off E-Bay that forum member kirkwood mentioned earlier (thanks Ian!) and I'm now looking for a decent rear bumper if anyone has one they want to part with.

Yes, repop bumpers are $595 from the AMC vendors.  I think my last one cost me $400 to rechrome, and it was straight to start with, while this one is bent, so it just might be about the same to buy a repop.  I'll probably wait until Kenosha to see if I can find a nice used one at the swap meet. 

Thanks for the info on the drain, George.  I see what you're talking about.  Why do you think they filled it with caulk?  I'm guessing they didn't want water getting in when driving in rain, but by removing the caulk you could drain the drop off area if you ever needed to. That only works if you know about it, lol. In any case, mine is dry now but I'll keep that in mind if it ever happens again.

When I came out this morning, my towels were soaked, but the passenger side trough was still completely full of water, so I got out my drill and drilled out the factory caulking.  The water came pouring out!  I didn't manage to catch a picture of the waterfall, but here's the location of the factory drain (arrow) in case anyone is wondering.  Notice also the back widow spider egg sacs at the top of the wheel well lip!

So, mystery solved.  Now I just need to go about fixing the rust and repairing damage to the lower quarters.

I replaced the thermostat yesterday, but the temp gauge still reads high.  It's not all the way high, like it would be if the wire was shorted to ground, but almost to the "H" on the gauge.  I measured the temperature with an infrared thermometer at the thermostat housing and it was right at 180 degrees, so I think either the sensor or the gauge itself are bad.  O'Reilly's has a new sensor waiting for me (only $5) so I'll pick that up this morning.

I put about five miles on the car up a local country road that I use as my test track, and it ran fine.  In hunting down my overheating issue I did discover that the heat riser valve was frozen shut.  Fixing that didn't stop my temp gauge from reading high, but the car has noticeably more power now.  I was wondering why this 360 was slower than my 304 Javelin!  

This is only a 2-bbl car with single exhaust.  I like the reliable Autolite 2100 carburetor-- it's the same as what's on my '72-- but I plan to change that out for a 4-bbl and fit dual exhaust eventually.

The brakes are going to need some work as the rears lock up well before the front discs, but at least it stops in a straight line.

I was pleased that there were no noticeable noises or vibrations when up to highway speed, though I do have exhaust leaks at the flanges where the exhaust manifolds connect to the header pipe.  Tried to tackle that yesterday, but it's going to take lots of heat, penetrating oil and patience before the nuts will budge.