Turn The Volume Up For The AMC Javelin's New Set Of Side Pipes

(Tommy)>> You're watching Powernation.

(Tommy)>> Today on Detroit Muscle we hit the road in our '73 Javelin and spin the rollers on the dyno, but before we can get to all of that. Oh shinny! [ engines revving ] ♪ ♪

(Tommy)>> The great red, white, and blue is known for many wonderful things. American muscle for example, and then there's this, a product of the American Motors Company. For better or worse well that will have to be your decision. Whenever we kicked off this project we were looking to build something unique and fun. Whenever it comes to working on anything AMC what'll be different isn't hard at all.

(Daniel)>> Boy you got that right buddy. As for the good time part of this project we are finishing it. All we have to do is wrap up the exhaust, shine up that paint, practice rotating the Earth on the dyno, and then cruising it back out on the street.

(Tommy)>> Now do you want to do exhaust or do you want to do some sanding and polishing on it.

(Daniel)>> You don't want me sanding and polishing. So I guess I'll do exhaust.

(Tommy)>> Alrighty! Our goal for today is to take our paint job from pretty good to perfection, and what that's gonna involve is some cutting and buffing. That's where you wet sand your surface and then polish it back out. Now whenever we started down the path of painting this car we knew that we were gonna end up with a subject just like this. We began with a couple of coats of sealer, followed by some base, followed by some graphics, followed by some candy, and then several coats of clear. None of this is unusual in this situation. With a normal paint job you have about a third of those coats. With every layer that you apply potentially that's more opportunity to get debris into your paint job. Also you can accumulate more and more texture. So before we even pulled the trigger on the paint gun the first time we knew that we were gonna have to buff it to take our paint job to the next level. ♪ ♪ To do something like this you need to plan on spending a lot of time. It doesn't take a lot of tools. Just some sanding blocks, paper, and a bucket of water. ♪ ♪ Whenever I'm wet sanding I like to use a sponge or a squeegee to clean the surface. What that does is remove the material that's in the water and it makes sanding a whole lot more efficient cause all that debris keeps the paper from touching the surface. When color sanding you want to be consistent with every stroke. Working in smaller sections helps to ensure your accuracy. And a tip for you, the more water the faster the cut with sanding, and a couple people even say a few drops of dish soap in your bucket helps as well. We've completely sanded our hood with 1,000 grit and I've stepped up to 1,500, and then I'll follow that with 2,000. Then we'll finally be ready to apply some polish and get the luster back to this hood. Now I'm really excited what this hood's gonna look like when we're done but I've even more excited how that AMC's gonna sound with that exhaust Daniel's got.

(Daniel)>> Now what we have here is a side pipe kit that we get from Summit Racing. It's gonna help give our old AMC Javelin that mean street machine look we've been going for. This is a 60 inch chrome side exhaust kit made by Patriot. It's got large inlet and outlet pipes that make it a low back pressure system, and six sided louvred core mufflers giving us that tough muscle car sound. It comes with these chrome heat shields that just scream '70's, and that's perfect because it's exactly what we're going for. Also in the kit are all the clamps, brackets, and hardware that you'll need to perform the installation, and once we get these things sitting pretty under the car it will complete our retro styling package on our Javelin.

(Tommy)>> This kit is pretty much straight forward. It only takes a few minutes to assemble, a couple of U-bolts, and a nut or two and we're off to the races. Now placement is in the eye of the pipe holder. For ours we wanted to make sure we could still see those shiny slapper bars. After marking center we used a step drill for our pilot hole, and finalize the diameter with the proper size drill bit that matches our threaded insert.

(Daniel)>> Alright guys what we've done is we've drilled our thread-sert holes into the rocker panel. Now by doing this we've exposed some bare metal. So what I like to do is I like to put a little strip caulking or some sealant on these thread-serts so we don't cause any rust or any problems in the future.

(Tommy)>> Using inserts like this makes it convenient to mount numerous things. And trust me, with a handy tool like this will make you question how you did things without it. To feed the exhaust Daniel fashioned a quick 90 to mount to the header and then simply clamped it to our rocker panel tubas. [ drill humming ]

(Daniel)>> Man them some fancy looking twice pipes right there if I do say so myself. Now I've got one more to finish up on the other side but in the mean time Tommy's gonna show you what a man running a buffer looks like.

(Tommy)>> Well we got our hood all finished sanded at 2,000 grit and we're pretty much ready to start adding back on all that shine, and to do that we're gonna be using a product from Sonax. It's their Perfect Finish. What's really nice about this setup is it's only one step. It isn't two or three different pads, two or three different products. We're gonna be using a green medium density foam pad with our buffer here, and it's gonna look like a million bucks when we're done.

Well we're gonna have kind of a buffing 101 here. You guys just saw me slap this thing on there. Well there's actually a procedure you want to do. You don't want it all crooked cause you know it's gonna spin around all crazy. Also another question that people often times ask is how much compound do you apply? Well it kinda all depends on the pad. This one is brand new and doesn't have any material on it. So we're gonna have to up the amount to load it properly, and then we'll dial it back to the rule of thumb, three or four dobs about a dime size. ♪ ♪ With Perfect Finish you want to start out slow at about 800 r-p-m. That prevents the compound from slinging off the pad and helps keep you much cleaner. Then we'll crank it up to 1,200 r-p-m, and you always want to keep the buffer moving. I'll polish this in small section like I did when sanding. Cutting and buffing is a tedious process but seeing a transition like this going from a cloudy sanded surface to a shiny luscious reflection with just a couple of passes makes it all worthwhile. As a conclusion, well that sanding was a little bit labor intensive. Polishing not so much. Our results, they're tremendous. We started with dirt nibs and an orange peel texture and finished it off with a reflection that looks so deep you could reach your arm into it. Coming up, our serenading sound through side pipes and our power number.

(Daniel)>> Hey guys welcome back. We're done here in Engine Power with Pat and Frankie and we've got our AMC on the dyno. Now this is the first time you guys have seen this car completely assembled. We've got the hood on, the paint's all shined up, and our exhaust are correctly installed thanks to yours truly. Now what do you guys think's fixing happen?

(Pat)>> To start off this thing is gorgeous right. The paint's beautiful. Obviously we like the engine because we had a little bit to do with that one, and it rolled in it was very rumbly, sounded great. So I'm excited to see this thing turn the rollers.

(Frankie)>> I love the side pipes. I mean the chrome, just the way they go down side the whole length. I think it really goes with the paint job which I also love, but side pipes very nice.

(Pat)>> I have a serious '70's flashback. When I was a kid growing up there was a lot of these running around, these type of cars, and if you had a car with Cragers on it with big tires sitting in the yard you were cool.

(Daniel)>> Yeah this car looks like it's running 200 miles an hour while it's sitting still.

(Pat)>> It just may run 200 mile an hour on the roller. What rear gear is in this thing?

(Daniel)>> I believe it's 3.08.

(Pat)>> That's super steep. So I think we're gonna have to dyno in second gear. Otherwise we'll have a wheel speed literally in excess of 170. We're not gonna do that with those balloons on the back.

(Daniel)>> That was Tommy's choice. So we'll just blame him for that.

(Pat)>> Just throw him right under the bus. Now as far as how much power it's gonna make this thing made 337 on the engine dyno. What transmission's in this?

(Daniel)>> It's got a 904 three speed in it.

(Pat)>> What did this thing make before?

(Frankie)>>> It made about 130 the last time we had it on the chassis dyno and I guarantee you we're gonna break that. I think it's definitely gonna be above 200.

(Pat)>> The number's gonna start with a 2. This isn't a race car, this is a street car. This is something that's supposed to be reliable with the injection. This is something that cold starts well, drives around well, doesn't give you any problems, and if you want to take it to the drag strip you can and it'll do everything you want. You can drive it there, have some fun, drive it back.

(Daniel)>> So if we have 100 more than we started with basically then we've had a pretty successful day.

(Frankie)>> I think we can get there.

(Pat)>> Let's get some heat in it and see what happens. ♪ ♪ [ engine starting ]

(Frankie)>> Go for it! [ engine revving ]

(Pat)>> That's not bad starting out. That's 223.

(Frankie)>> And 233 for torque, pretty good. Nice and smooth too.

(Pat)>> Maybe get a little bit more heat in the transmission. Maybe make a couple more bangs on her, but the air/fuels look okay?

(Daniel)>> Fuels look fine, everything's good. We're good on temperature, and speed, and everything else.

(Pat)>> We already made over 200.

(Daniel)>> That's what we want.

(Frankie)>> Good thing we picked second cause you're going about 110 at the top.

(Daniel)>> That's faster than those tires need to go.

(Pat)>> How many cars you know can do 110 in second gear. [ engine revving ]

(Pat)>> Alright got a little heat in her right there, 242.

(Daniel)>> Yeah buddy, it's over 100!

(Frankie)>> Yeah 242 and 236. You're finally burning the smoke out of the side pipes too.

(Pat)>> Those pipes are gonna smoke forever.

(Daniel)>> That's part of the effect!

(Pat)>> Where we've already eclipsed the 100 over on the tire.

(Daniel)>> I can't wait to tell Tommy. He'll never believe this.

(Pat)>> I'm officially impressed.

(Frankie)>>> This thing is sweet.

(Pat)>> That is nice modern fuel injection. The nice part about this car is that's the original engine. This is 311 inches.

(Frankie)>> No leaks, not hot!

(Daniel)>> 110 more than where we started I think we can't do any better than that.

(Pat)>> That's very, very good. Someone's gonna have a lot of fun in this. Hopefully whoever ends up with this. Maybe I'll buy it. This will look good in the old yard right here.

(Daniel)>> You can go cruising on a Friday night and try not to get yourself in a street race.

(Pat)>> This one will attract some attention cause someone sees those big ole fat tires they're gonna want to run you.

(Daniel)>> Them side pipes, don't ever forget about them.

(Pat)>> Man congratulations. This thing's nice.

(Daniel)>> I appreciate you guys help.

(Frankie)>> We'll get her off so you can start driving her and enjoying here.

(Daniel)>>> Let's get it unstrapped.

(Tommy)>> Up next we take our retro piece of muscle out for a spin. Next, on Detroit Muscle.

(Tommy)>> The time is finally here. The Javelin's ready to get back out on the highway after its retro makeover.

(Daniel)>> So we're gonna go grab a bite to eat and enjoy the fruits of our labor.

(Tommy)>> Toss me that rag. You know it didn't take whole lot to get this AMC from stagnant to stunning.

(Daniel)>> That's right. When we picked this old Javelin we knew that we had a jewel. We didn't want to start with a pile. Well a pile of rust that is. So after doing some digging we finally found us a candidate. It rode nice, it drove well, and if a person just wanted a cruiser it would do that too. And with that being said it made a perfect choice for what we had up our sleeve.

(Tommy)>> The stock 304 didn't run all that bad. As for power, well it really didn't have all that much, and the dyno told the story.

(Daniel)>> We stopped by and hung out with the fellas down in Engine Power and strapped this thing down to the rollers just to see what it would do. After a few pulls we ended up with a whopping 133 horsepower, which isn't too far from the power numbers it had rolling out of the factory.

(Tommy)>> We wanted more performance and really wanted to turn our small cubic power plant into a power house. So we dove right in, stripped it down, and sent it down to Pat and Frankie.

(Daniel)>>> After a bit of machining, a good bit of go fast parts, and some tuning they had this thing singing one heck of a sweet song. With a grand total of 329 horsepower was a vast improvement, and out of an engine that is just over 300 cubic inches isn't too bad.

(Tommy)>> While those boys was doing their thing it was time for us to do our thing, starting with the paint. We wanted this Javelin to look aggressive and tasteful at the same time. With AMC's of this era it's easy to say that they are a bit voluptuous. So if we complimented the lines and the curvature of this body in the end we would have us something special. With a couple of stripes, a splash of a few killer colors from Summit racing, followed by some sweet candy that did the trick. ♪ ♪ [ engine idling ]

(Daniel)>> Dude I'm starving. With our snazzy new paint we just needed a few groovy accessories to complete this street machine makeover.

(Tommy)>> Yeah that paint and several throw back components are what transformed our AMC into this altered muscled up creation. Air shocks and slapper bars were a must. Any dignified muscle car from back in the day was hyped up on the back side and showing off that glistening chrome on the bottom. Our ride had to be the same. The best part about both of these upgrades is that you get a lot of bang for your buck.

(Daniel)>> While we're on the subject of shiny stuff I've got one word for you, Cragers. Young or old if you call yourself a car guy you know what these are. I'd wager that this wheel would have to be the most recognized custom wheel hands down, and with our combo of big and littles you see why.

(Tommy)>> Brother I'm feeling me some onion rings.

(Daniel)>> That sounds good. Now this piece of Detroit just needed one more thing to finish it off. It looked nice but it just needed something.

(Tommy)>> You think you gonna get the jumbo one here?

(Daniel)>> Yeah.

(Tommy)>> What he's talking about, well some vehicles come from the factory with these. You know the cool stuff like Corvettes, long nose Peterbilts, oh yeah, those are real nice. It hitting the spot?

(Daniel)>> Oh yeah.

(Tommy)>> Now I'm definitely proud of the way this thing turned out.

(Daniel)>> Yeah it's got trick paint, a lot of chrome, plenty of performance, and all of the attitude. [ engine revving ]

(Tommy)>> After finishing up our grub we were heading back to the shop. You know there's something that just feels right whenever you're grabbing some fresh air and sitting behind the wheel of some vintage muscle. ♪ ♪ If you're looking to store your ride one thing's for sure is you don't want to put it in harm's way. A custom form fit car cover from CoverCraft can help protect your ride.

(Daniel)>> The fabric is engineered to protect against minor garage dents and dings that often times seem to mysteriously happen when no one is around.

(Tommy)>> The material is also highly breathable to prevent vapors and heat from building up under the cover. It's also super soft and won't harm glass, chrome, or your paint.

(Daniel)>> So if you want to preserve, protect, and shelter your baby you might want to check out CoverCraft. ♪ ♪

(Tommy)>> Coming up, have you lost your edge in the shop? Well we'll show you how to sharpen your bits.

[ drill buzzing ]

(Daniel)>> Well that ain't gonna cut it. There's nothing worse than having a dull drill bit and needing to drill one size hole and you've only got one bit that's the right size in the whole shop. Well luckily today I'm gonna show you guys how to sharpen them the old fashioned way using nothing but a bench grinder. Now when you've got a dull drill bit there's a couple of things you need to look for. Is the tip discolored? Is it chipped, or is it just worn out? In this case ours is just worn out. Everything else looks pretty good. Now this is a high speed steel drill bit that's pretty common. It's got a 118 degree tip and it's jobber length. With a standard bench grinder I'm gonna teach you guys how to straighten this thing back out and make it cut like brand new. ♪ ♪ There are a couple of things you want to watch out for when you're sharpening any drill. First you don't want to overheat the tip. If you overheat the tip it won't maintain its strength. Also when you're sharpening let's say a drill bit with a chip in it you want to make sure that you grind all the way to the bottom of the chip. If you don't do this you'll end up with an inconsistent cutting edge. As I'm sharpening this bit you'll notice a few things. I'm grinding only a little at a time. This goes a long way. Little by little I'm removing material on the heel just behind the cutting edge. As I'm doing this I'm moving from one face to the other giving the bit time to cool off between hits on the grinder. Now by checking my work after each grind slowly but surely our cutting edge is being redefined by removing material from our heel. Well that's about what we need. We've got a 118 degree tip, our point is directly in the middle, we've got good relief angles on both sides, and our cutting edges are parallel. Now we're gonna put it back in our drill and get back to work. [ drill humming ]

(Tommy)>> If you're a little intimidated to sharpen those bits the old school way with sparks flying Matco offers the drill doctor 750-x, which will get you the same results but calm your nerves. This sharpener is quick to setup. Allows you to sharpen masonry, carbide, high speed, and cobalt bits just to name a few, and it works with drills from three-thirty-seconds to three quarters of an inch. I'll bet the first thing you take this thing out on a test drive and see how easy it is you end up resharpening all those old bits in the drawer. Now that's all we got for today, and guys don't forget to go check out our project pages and see the current status of all our builds. A lot of your questions will be answered with before and after picks, list of the parts used, and links to all the shows so that you can get caught up on the projects. Remember check out Powernation TV dot com.