The welterweight champ

 Sometimes lost or overlooked by people in their frenzy for big-block Camaros and Chevelles, 400 or 455 GTOs and Firebirds, and big-block Challengers and Chargers, is a very cool and great handling car. The 1968-74 AMC Javelin / AMX. The Javelin was AMC's entry in the then-wildly popular Trans-Am racing series. The displacement limit for Trans-Am racing was 305 cubic inches. Early on Plymouth Barracudas used Chrysler's trusty 273 V8, and Ford Mustangs did nicely with the 289. Then Chevy got into the act by putting a 283 crank in a 327 block creating the legendary 302 Z/28. Ford responded with the Boss 302. AMC started with a 290 inch V8 in the Javelins, and then upped it to 304. On the street however, cubes, were king. The optional 343 and 390 AMC V8's really couldn't compete with the big dogs from GM, Ford and Chrysler. The top AMX 390 only put out 315 hp. The base 383 in a Road Runner was rated at 335, and the 440 was rated at 375. The base Pontiac GTO was rated at 350 hp, the RAIII and RAIV grossly under-rated at 366 and 370. A 428 Mustang was grossly underrated at 335 hp. Ditto for the 396 Camaros and Chevelles that were rated at 325 and 375. Any of these cars would run off and leave a Javelin in a drag race. However the Javelins handled exceptionally well and were a well-balanced all-around package. When Mark Donohue and Roger Penske switched from Chevrolet to AMC, and the Javelin was made more aerodynamic, they won the Trans-Am  Championship in 1971 which greatly increased sales. And the new 401 V8 was now rated at 330 hp. However, GM had lifted the 400 cu. in. limit on A-bodys in 1970, so Chevelles, GTOs and 442s were now running around with 454 and 455 inches. You could get a 455 in a Firebird Formula or Trans-Am. The 440 and 426 Hemi was available in the Mopar E-bodies. The new Mustang had the 429 as the top engine option. The Javelins were still outgunned in that respect. But then as now, they made really nice drivers and can be made to perform well. Edelbrock even makes High-Performance aluminum heads for AMC V8s if you want to "Restify" one. Plus, like Pontiacs the engines are all externally identical, so if you wanted to swap a 304 for a 360 or 401 it would be a bolt-in swap. And like I said in an earlier post, the 360 was used in Grand Wagoneers up until the early '90's, so you can probably find a running or at least rebuildable engine in a junkyard if you needed to. 1968-70 Two-seat AMX models have kind of a "Cult" following, and may be a little pricey, but "Regular" Javelins-i.e.- ones with a back seat are relatively cheap. 1971-74 models have swoopier styling and more luxurious interiors. 4-speeds are Borg-Warner and the automatics are Torqueflites, so you won't have any transmission problems. And they were excellent handlers. Except for the Corvette or a Firebird Trans-Am, you won't find a better handling '70s car. Stock or modified, your not going to throw fear into the hearts of any LS6 Chevelle or Six-Pack Road Runner owners, but you will have a good-performing, good handling, good-looking car that you don't see every day.  That's why I call them the "Welterweight" champ. Mastermind