67 Ambassador Convertible
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Category: The Lounge Area
Forum Name: Member Projects
Forum Description: Are you doing a restoration or in the middle of a major AMC project? Show and tell us about it (*AMC projects* only Please. Others may be moved)
URL: https://theamcforum.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=61344
Printed Date: Apr/18/2024 at 7:02am
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Topic: 67 Ambassador Convertible
Posted By: fhpdave
Subject: 67 Ambassador Convertible
Date Posted: Jun/21/2014 at 10:11am
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So I find myself at age 56 with 2 kids in college and one in high school (late start on the marriage/kid thing) looking for a serious mid life crisis ride. I have had a long history with AMC cars starting with a 72 Hornet 4door that was my car that I bought as a freshman in college for 200 bucks that I fixed up and put well over 100 thousand miles on it and years latter sold for 600. I have also had several Sportabouts, a couple of AMXs and a Javelin. When I built my current home in 1996 I sold my 70 AMX (big mistake) and acquired a 67 Ambassador convertible that the whole family could fit in. It was a heavily optioned car and was rust free, but the previous owner had done a lot of hack work to it and at the time I did not have the resources to restore it so I sold it (another mistake) and acquired another one that I thought was better. (Never send your father in law to inspect a car that you are considering buying). So what I wound up with is another 67 Ambassador convertible that was recently painted and looked great from 50 feet away, but alas also needed a lot of work to be the really nice car that I was looking for. I drove it on and off for 3 years and fixed some of the more pressing issues (brakes, some suspension issues ect) but for the past 7 years it has sat in storage while I attended to raising a family. Which brings me to the present day. After seriously considering several late model 2 seat convertibles (gotta have a drop top), I decided that the old Ambassador had a lot more style, will be cheaper in the long run, and I will be less likely to get a bunch of speeding tickets or wrap it around a utility pole, so the saga begins. It is green (paint code 59A), 343 4 barrel, column shift automatic, power steering and brakes with factory cruise and tilt. It also has an honest to goodness hump mounted AMC 8 track tape player and turbo cast wheel covers. So far I have pulled the engine and transmission for rebuilding, redone the entire front suspension including the steering gear, removed the entire interior and all of the front end sheet metal. I have encountered rust in the fender troughs, cowl and lower quarter panels so the next step is sending the body off to have the rust addressed. I am glad that in my search for parts that I stumbled across this forum as I have already been helped with advice and some parts as I resurrect this car. When I hit the magic 30 posts number I will post some pictures, and will be looking for advice as the process continues. What started out as a mild fix-up has now tuned into a major project (had to break the news to my wife in small doses), but I hope to have it complete and ready to enjoy next summer. ------------- Old enough to know better - young enough not to care |
Replies:
Posted By: pit crew
Date Posted: Jun/21/2014 at 10:14am
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Sounds like a nice project Dave. Can't wait to see your progress.
-------------  73 Hornet - 401EFI - THM400 - Twin Grip 20 |
Posted By: fhpdave
Date Posted: Jun/21/2014 at 10:26am
| As I have dug into the car, there have been several times that I thought that this is a mistake, then I remember my other cars that I have sold and now regret, so its on we go. The tranny is done and the engine is ready to put back together. I have a new top and carpet, all new weatherstrip, an NOS fender as well as a bunch of other parts so there is no turning back now. My goal is to be at the national meet in Cleveland next year. |
Posted By: 72 SST
Date Posted: Jun/21/2014 at 10:32am
| Funny how that happens. |
Posted By: pit crew
Date Posted: Jun/21/2014 at 10:33am
------------- 73 Hornet - 401EFI - THM400 - Twin Grip 20 |
fhpdave wrote:Posted By: hitman33dp
Date Posted: Jun/21/2014 at 12:18pm
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Dave, most of us probably know the angst of planning something small to do with our cars, then leading into an all out restoration. Good luck with you project and I can't wait to see it. ------------- 74 "NOT A REAL AMX" Javelin / 2 x 74 Javelins / 71 Javelin SST |
Posted By: 1966ambassador
Date Posted: Jun/21/2014 at 3:41pm
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Love the 67' Ambo. Sounds like a good project. Good luck. Jordan ------------- 1966 Ambassador 990 Sedan w/ 4 barrel 327 5.3L http://s31.photobucket.com/user/JordanPerry98/library/1966%20Ambassador?sort=3&page=1 |
Posted By: FuzzFace2
Date Posted: Jun/21/2014 at 9:22pm
Oh yes I know the snow ball effect all too well 
Yes get the magic 30 posts we want to see pictures
Dave ---- ------------- TSM = Technical Service Manual 75 Gremlin X v8 for sale 70 Javelin 360/auto drag car 70 Javelin 360/T5 Street car |
Posted By: amxdreamer
Date Posted: Jun/21/2014 at 11:30pm
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Open a photobucket account and you can forgo the 30 posts! Then you can post pictures on any of the other AMC forums also! ------------- Tony Vancouver, BC 1970 AMX 1972 Badassador AMO#10333 |
Posted By: george w
Date Posted: Jul/01/2014 at 7:24pm
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Good luck with the convertible project. These are truly rare cars in every sense. I have a 67 DPL hardtop that I bought new and have sold and bought back several times over the years. I also had a very nice black 67 convertible for about 20 years that I sold about 5 years ago. The last time I saw it it was posted for sale on Future Classics' web site, a specialty car dealer in Lakewood NJ. I have a strong knowledge base on these cars and the 67's in particular. if you run across something that you can't figure out I'd be glad to help you. ------------- Long time AMC fan. Ambassador 343, AMX 390, Hornet 360, Spirit 304 and Javelin 390. All but javelin bought new. |
Posted By: fhpdave
Date Posted: Jul/10/2014 at 8:45am
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Thanks, I will be taking you up on the offer of expert input as I run into tricky situations. The car is disassembled and ready to get some automotive chemotherapy for the cancer. Dave
------------- Old enough to know better - young enough not to care |
Posted By: fhpdave
Date Posted: Jul/22/2014 at 3:03pm
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Added a link to some photos. There are a couple of before pictures, a few of some hidden rust, and a few of it ready to go to the frame shop. http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/dhaugh1fhpdave/slideshow/Mobile%20Uploads/1967%20Ambassador%20project ------------- Old enough to know better - young enough not to care |
Posted By: fhpdave
Date Posted: Jul/23/2014 at 8:13pm
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Photos posted of before I started and as its going to the body/frame shop. http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/dhaugh1fhpdave/library/Mobile%20Uploads/1967%20Ambassador%20project ------------- Old enough to know better - young enough not to care |
Posted By: george w
Date Posted: Jul/24/2014 at 5:53am
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It looks like you're making good progress. The engine compartment looks particularly clean and the rust issues appear minor and should be easily addressable. I'll have to check but I believe your paint color was a mid year addition, I have one question regarding the tail pipe. If your car was built mid model year I believe that the exhaust pipe(s) should exit at the rear under the bumper. Early 67's had what was called in the parts manual as a Type 1 tailpipe and later it was changed to Type 2, the rear exiting style, which was carried through to the end of the "big" car production. You may want to check into this when the time comes to replace any of the exhaust system. Good luck on your restoration, it's a great looking car. It has the proper stance and the TurboCast wheel covers look great ( even though they wreak havoc with wheel balance !) ------------- Long time AMC fan. Ambassador 343, AMX 390, Hornet 360, Spirit 304 and Javelin 390. All but javelin bought new. |
Posted By: fhpdave
Date Posted: Aug/02/2014 at 8:51pm
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Well the car is at the frame shop getting all its underlying rust issues fixed to the tune of 3k. the tranny is rebuilt and I just picked up the block from the machine shop. Now i just need to find a decent passenger fender and some suitable material to repair the quarters after all the bondo is removed. Here is a link to some pics. http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/dhaugh1fhpdave/library/Mobile%20Uploads/1967%20Ambassador%20project ------------- Old enough to know better - young enough not to care |
Posted By: fhpdave
Date Posted: Aug/05/2014 at 2:17pm
Progress in the rust repair department ------------- Old enough to know better - young enough not to care |
Posted By: fhpdave
Date Posted: Sep/04/2014 at 8:04pm
Engine all put back together - just trying to decide between chrome or painted valve covers
------------- Old enough to know better - young enough not to care |
Posted By: george w
Date Posted: Sep/04/2014 at 8:34pm
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I take it you're going for a custom look with the engine paint scheme you've selected. If you are, then the chrome covers have more bling. I'm curious though. It looks like the engine is a 343, 4 BBL for which the correct color in 67 is copper. Gold was used on 290 cars. If you are going for a stock look then the oil fill pipe, vibration damper and alternator bracket should be engine color.The power steering pump bracket, natural aluminum. Are you keeping the body the original color ? Within months of me taking delivery of my brand new 67 DPL hardtop 343, the copper paint began flaking off of the valve covers. Even back then, the copper engine paint was not available in spray cans. I elected to paint the valve covers in black wrinkle much like some of the Mopars of the day. I was always pleased with the look. Now that I have the car back, the engine, once it's refreshed, will get painted 69 Alamosa aqua,the most common color readily available in spray cans. It will be easy to touch it up later and I never really liked the copper color anyway. It looks too much like rust to me. When I refreshed the engine on my black 67 convertible (done in 1984) I painted the engine 68 Caravelle blue. After 67, for the most part, all AMC V8's irrespective of displacement were the same color within the same model year, though the colors were changed over the years. I believe that in the 70's California bound cars and possibly those Georgia bound, had red engines. I'm sure there's posts here on the forum with the correct particulars. I trust that the rest of the car will come out as nice as the engine. ------------- Long time AMC fan. Ambassador 343, AMX 390, Hornet 360, Spirit 304 and Javelin 390. All but javelin bought new. |
Posted By: fhpdave
Date Posted: Sep/04/2014 at 8:54pm
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I looked for copper engine paint, but could not find it, so I went with gold which is what it was painted by the previous owner when he had it. All the things that I painted black had already been painted black, so I just repainted them for a cleaner look. I guess I am going for nice and clean and not necessarily stock at this point. I am keeping the car the original color, but have a lot of repair to do in the quarters before its gets a fresh coat of paint. ------------- Old enough to know better - young enough not to care |
Posted By: fhpdave
Date Posted: Sep/04/2014 at 9:03pm
There are 6 poorly done patches under a bunch of bondo in the quarter panel. On the positive side I just got this lift which my back is already appreciating!
------------- Old enough to know better - young enough not to care |
Posted By: george w
Date Posted: Sep/04/2014 at 9:23pm
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Did you put the aftermarket chrome valve covers on or were they already on the car ? I've seen the Edelbrock stamped and cast covers but I've never seen these plain ones. Do you know who made them ? How about that, all these years later and no one still doesn't make that 343 copper in a spray can. Seymour makes engine Gold and the Alamosa Aqua (EN-66) used from 69 to 72. They used to make EN-75, the non metallic aqua used from 73 until ?/ Not sure if they still do. BTW, is that a 95 or 96 BMW E46 3 series sitting next to the convertible ? ------------- Long time AMC fan. Ambassador 343, AMX 390, Hornet 360, Spirit 304 and Javelin 390. All but javelin bought new. |
Posted By: fhpdave
Date Posted: Sep/05/2014 at 10:37am
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Actually its a 2011 Fusion Hybrid which is a really nice car. Gotta love 40 miles to the gallon
------------- Old enough to know better - young enough not to care |
Posted By: 67RogueX-Code
Date Posted: Sep/05/2014 at 12:49pm
When Rick Jones (SC397) did my engine, he used "VHT-SP402 Burnt Copper". It comes out flat, so he just used VHT's clear-gloss over it... it's almost exactly the right color.
 ------------- Bob Wilcox 67RogueX-Code |
Posted By: fhpdave
Date Posted: Sep/05/2014 at 1:39pm
Jegs actually had a can of burnt copper, but I did not buy it. I may revisit the issue before I install the engine - unfortunately it seems that I will have ample time to do so . Making the nationals in Cleveland next year is not looking to good right now. I primed the engine before I painted it and might be worried that if i changed the color, then applied clear that I could get some peeling/flaking which would not look good at all.
------------- Old enough to know better - young enough not to care |
Posted By: george w
Date Posted: Sep/06/2014 at 3:52pm
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The copper color looks right on as far as I can remember. But I have two questions. The first, is the thermostat housing supposed to be painted engine color or just be natural aluminum ? My second is about the oil fill tube. I see a ring around the circumference near the top. I've never seen that before. I've never had one of these tubes out of the manifold so i don't know what one is supposed to look like on both ends. Could this be an aftermarket fill tube or is a an OEM fill tube variation or perhaps installed upside down ? ------------- Long time AMC fan. Ambassador 343, AMX 390, Hornet 360, Spirit 304 and Javelin 390. All but javelin bought new. |
Posted By: vpugly
Date Posted: Sep/23/2014 at 10:28pm
| Good luck. Sounds like a interesting project. |
Posted By: 70 Donohue 390
Date Posted: Sep/24/2014 at 6:01pm
I remember on one my engines, way back when, that the fill tube was in REALLY tight and the only way to get it out was to put a ballpean hammer handle in the filler tube and bend it in several places. The result looked just like the tube on the copper engine. I just turned the tube over and the filler cap covers the groves. ------------- 67 Rogue 290 Convert 70 BBO 390 5 Speed Javelin-under construction |
Posted By: fhpdave
Date Posted: Oct/04/2014 at 3:40pm
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------------- Old enough to know better - young enough not to care |
Posted By: fhpdave
Date Posted: Oct/04/2014 at 3:42pm
 Dont know why the picture did not post, but here it is.
------------- Old enough to know better - young enough not to care |
Posted By: RebelRay
Date Posted: Oct/05/2014 at 2:01pm
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Dave, it looks good! I would have painted the floor too. Its one of those "I know it's there" kinda deals. You do good work! Ray -------------  http://theamcforum.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=62739" rel="nofollow - Click here to check out my 65 Classic Wagon build thread!
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Posted By: fhpdave
Date Posted: Oct/15/2014 at 4:14pm
Just got my dash overlay back from Chrome Tech and am very pleased with the results. It was from a Marlin, and they redid it to match the Ambassador. The only problem is with the detail painting - it does not look factory.....no overspray or light spots
------------- Old enough to know better - young enough not to care |
Posted By: RebelRay
Date Posted: Oct/15/2014 at 4:32pm
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Nothing a can of rustoleum and some sand paper won't fix! Looks great. ------------- http://theamcforum.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=62739" rel="nofollow - Click here to check out my 65 Classic Wagon build thread!
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Posted By: pacerman
Date Posted: Oct/15/2014 at 5:13pm
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Yeah Bob at Chrometech offered to do the detail painting on my Hornet Bezel but I cheaped out and said it would do it myself. Little did I know how difficult that masking would be. Mine now looks "factory" with its share of overspray. The chrome looked stunning though before I screwed it up some. Joe ------------- Happiness is making something out of nothing. |
Posted By: hoosieramc
Date Posted: Oct/15/2014 at 5:22pm
You need to add a radio like I did in the Rebel..... ------------- 
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Posted By: george w
Date Posted: Oct/17/2014 at 6:52pm
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The bezel looks absolutely perfect. If you don't mine me asking, how much was it to have it redone ? My 67 DPL will need the same service once I get the bigger issues out of the way first ! I'll also need to have some of the windsheild pillar and C pillar trim pieces rechromed as well. One thing leads to another.... ------------- Long time AMC fan. Ambassador 343, AMX 390, Hornet 360, Spirit 304 and Javelin 390. All but javelin bought new. |
Posted By: fhpdave
Date Posted: Oct/18/2014 at 8:06am
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I had the dash overlay, the piece that goes under it that houses the ignition lights and wiper switch and the part that goes under the steering column all re-chromed and detail painted. He also did the 2 side windshield pillars and the 2 side seat bottom covers. (the seat back pieces are cracked so I did not have them done) The cost to do them including shipping was about a thousand bucks. ------------- Old enough to know better - young enough not to care |
Posted By: george w
Date Posted: Oct/18/2014 at 8:39am
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OK, that gives me a good idea of what kind of costs to expect. I would imagine that a decent percentage of that amount may have gone into the time needed to mask and detail paint the main instrument cluster bezel. The lower two pieces that surround the steering column are not difficult to detail paint. The pieces that I'll need the most would be the two windshield pillar trims and the two,larger rear C pillar trims on my hardtop. Fortunately these require no detail painting at all. When the time comes to tackle the interior refresh ( I'm not there yet ) maybe I should budget about half that mount for the 4 pillar pieces. If your bezel is an indication of the quality of his work then I can see that the cost is justified in today's dollars. And to think that I paid $3579 in June of 67( before tax and tags )to take delivery of my special order my car brand new ! ------------- Long time AMC fan. Ambassador 343, AMX 390, Hornet 360, Spirit 304 and Javelin 390. All but javelin bought new. |
Posted By: fhpdave
Date Posted: Oct/18/2014 at 10:26am
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I don't know what is more amazing......that you paid under 4 grand for a nice new car, or that you still have it. I will dig out the invoice and see if it has an itemized charge for each piece. The only part of the entire process that I was unhappy with is that I sent in the parts with a 300 dollar deposit, and all of the work was done without a quote and a go ahead from me. I had a little bit of sticker shock when I was told the final price, but it seems that everything that I am doing on the car cost about a thousand bucks. Its a labor of love, not an investment. ------------- Old enough to know better - young enough not to care |
Posted By: george w
Date Posted: Oct/18/2014 at 6:49pm
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I know exactly what you mean about sticker shock! Even though I special ordered the car new ( I was 20 ) I'be bought and sold it several times. I'm the first, third, fifth and now the eighth owner. When i got it back the last time it had been sitting in a garage since 1983. When I tried to start it the timing chain skipped and bent the exhaust valves and their push rods.Ross Peterson is tearing the engine down and is finding all kinds of stuff that needs to be corrected. While the car cosmetically is still very good (for it's age)apparently the engine wasn't cared for by at least one of the previous owners. The engine will need a complete ring, valve and bearing job plus all the other usual stuff. Several shots of $1000 increments for sure. then comes the trans, the chassis and the brakes. Once that's out of the way then teh body will be addressed and finally the interior which needs the least work. As with yours it's a labor of love and certainly not an investment. In spite of all the various owners, the manuals, my original sales paperwork, owner's card and dealer service receipts were still in the glove compartment! Even the tacky throw pillows were still in the back seat. ( Pictures several pages back in the pictures section ) Good luck with your convertible and I'll sure be following along with you on the forum. ------------- Long time AMC fan. Ambassador 343, AMX 390, Hornet 360, Spirit 304 and Javelin 390. All but javelin bought new. |
Posted By: fhpdave
Date Posted: Oct/28/2014 at 6:56am
I took an extended lunch break yesterday to take advantage of what looks like the last nice day this year and painted the engine compartment. Just did it in single stage PPG Shop line, enamel and it didn't turn out too bad. Next up is more body work - so far I have found 2 NOS doors, an NOS drivers fender, and a nice drivers quarter panel from a 68 2 door hardtop that should show up in a couple of days. All I need is a decent passenger fender and quarter panel and I will be good to go. Time to fire up the kerosene heater and the MIG welder! ------------- Old enough to know better - young enough not to care |
Posted By: fhpdave
Date Posted: Jan/30/2015 at 10:19am
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Oops, posted a blank page. See my next post for details and pictures.
------------- Old enough to know better - young enough not to care |
Posted By: fhpdave
Date Posted: Jan/30/2015 at 10:36am
Haven't posted in a while, but progress on my car goes on, it's just being slowed down by the cold weather. I have to give a shout out to forum member Myther who went above and beyond in the shipping department so that I now have some nice metal for the driver quarter panel. While the Beach Boys sang about California girls, I have to say I love California sheet metal. I also welded in the repair piece on the inner wheel well, and waiting on a warmer day to tackle the actual outer skin I also picked up some new wheel bling that I polished in the warm basement.  ------------- Old enough to know better - young enough not to care |
Posted By: Bruce Clarkson
Date Posted: Jan/30/2015 at 6:22pm
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Enjoyed looking at the progress of your Ambassador. My '67 Ambassador is used as a driver. We put a bunch of miles on it last Summer--- something like 15K--- and loved it. Once you get it on the road, you should find it a great car on a trip. Bruce Clarkson ------------- Bruce Clarkson |
Posted By: amcenthusiast
Date Posted: Jan/31/2015 at 7:29am
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'Tacky throw pillows'? This car has them? -I knew they came with '66 Rebels but didn't know Ambos got them too... came with stock upgrade interior option? I think that since it came with the pillows, it must retain the rear seat base mounting design which allowed the dealer accessory braces to 'lay down the seats'? -the braces are apparently not commonly discussed even among AMC insiders? I deliberately posted pics of my Marlin's braces, having them 'slipped into position' & show how the seats lay down on my old Marlin pages amcramblermarlin.1colony.com -the braces kinda look like bent tuning forks AMC instructions told how to slip in the braces (remove the headrests) and gently lift up the rear seat slightly to let the fully reclined front seat backs to drop into position... the pillows help make the seats 'smooth out' when they are laid down = this is another AMC PRIDE thing
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Posted By: amcenthusiast
Date Posted: Jan/31/2015 at 7:38am
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'69 AMC Ambassador was first US made car to have standard air conditioning! Ambassadors have AMC's most highly evolved air conditioning system with relay and circuit breaker on blower fan for high volume air blast? and great Rambler style fresh air ventilation (nice cooling for 'executive type' person's fingertips on steering wheel! -how many new cars have that?) This car should have a very plush, highly engineered ride quality -on par with same vintage Cadillac -no doubt- AMC PRIDE!
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Posted By: george w
Date Posted: Jan/31/2015 at 8:32am
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Only the Ambassador DPL and Rebel top of the line SST 2 door hardtops in 66 and 67 with the Custom Interior option had the throw pillows. While the seats do fully recline they do not fall quite flat. At least on the 67 models the rear seats did not have the detachable brackets to support the backrest in full recline. ------------- Long time AMC fan. Ambassador 343, AMX 390, Hornet 360, Spirit 304 and Javelin 390. All but javelin bought new. |
Posted By: fhpdave
Date Posted: Jan/31/2015 at 11:00am
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One of my many "quests" for this car is to add factory AC while it is all apart. I have all the under dash stuff, a complete thermostat with wiring harness and a mint right side dash pad in black. I have a line on a 68 parts car that I am hoping to get the drivers side quarter panel/inner wheel-well from. It has AC, so I am hoping to make a deal on the control panel as well as the under hood stuff that I need. Unfortunatly the drivers side dash pad is not good, so the search goes on. ------------- Old enough to know better - young enough not to care |
Posted By: 70 Donohue 390
Date Posted: Jan/31/2015 at 8:03pm
I thought it was the 1968's ( and maybe even some 67 built Ambos?) I asked Wiki thru google and got this" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automobile_air_conditioning#cite_note-15" rel="nofollow - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Motors" rel="nofollow - American Motors made air conditioning standard equipment on all http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMC_Ambassador" rel="nofollow - AMC Ambassadors starting with the 1968 model year, a first http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automobile_air_conditioning#cite_note-16" rel="nofollow - in the mass market with a base price starting at $2,671. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automobile_air_conditioning#cite_note-17" rel="nofollow - By 1969, 54% of the domestic automobiles were equipped with air conditioning, with the feature needed not only for passenger comfort, but also to increase the car's resale value. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automobile_air_conditioning#cite_note-great-18" rel="nofollow - Sorry Dave, I sold the seat recliner handles last year on Ebay. No one wanted them here. My window cranks have the knob ends buggered up. ------------- 67 Rogue 290 Convert 70 BBO 390 5 Speed Javelin-under construction |
Posted By: Concours dude
Date Posted: Jan/31/2015 at 8:05pm
Wheel cover looks nice!  All four with those spinners will really pop that convert. ------------- Past owned: 62 Classic 400 1976 Hornet 65 440 H 61 Amb 59 Classic wagon 55 Ambassador Sedan 54 Ambassador Country Club AMCRC #1929 AMO #10029 |
Posted By: 70 Donohue 390
Date Posted: Jan/31/2015 at 8:12pm
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I just remembered seeing, in the last week or so, a NOS under dash evaporator unit on Craigslist, maybe WI? for $100. It's not an AMX or Javelin unit or I would have picked it up.
------------- 67 Rogue 290 Convert 70 BBO 390 5 Speed Javelin-under construction |
Posted By: fhpdave
Date Posted: Feb/09/2015 at 6:16pm
Took advantage of the warm weekend and practiced some metal forming and welding Also have been busy in the basement rebuilding various components such as the heater valve which was painted black, was leaking and corroded and did not move or work at all. Required complete disassembly, lots of cleaning and PB blaster, and all new new rubber components. It's not perfect, but it works and should not leak. Also totally rebuilt the convertible top header including rebuilding deteriorated areas with PC-7 epoxy, drilling out and retapping all the corroded fasteners and replacing with stainless steel, drilling out the top latches and installing bronze bushings, and fabricating a new stainless steel weatherstrip retainer.  ------------- Old enough to know better - young enough not to care |
Posted By: george w
Date Posted: Feb/09/2015 at 8:14pm
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At least it's the perfect time to work on a convertible. Good to see you're making progress. ------------- Long time AMC fan. Ambassador 343, AMX 390, Hornet 360, Spirit 304 and Javelin 390. All but javelin bought new. |
Posted By: fhpdave
Date Posted: Mar/23/2015 at 7:52am
With the warmer weather I have got out of the basement and back out in the garage. I buttoned up all the repairs to the inner wheel well and other inner areas on the drivers side and got everything sealed and primed. Next I got the car off the lift and sitting on jack stands at the suspension points so that I could hang and adjust the new drivers door.  Yesterday I put some props under the front core support and rear frame cross member, got the grinder out and with much fear and trepidation removed most of the existing quarter panel - lets just say that now I am committed!  I plan on taking my time fitting the replacement panel and welding it on to minimize the amount of body work and filler. I will post another update when things are picture worthy. ------------- Old enough to know better - young enough not to care |
Posted By: fhpdave
Date Posted: Mar/25/2015 at 3:37pm
Just received my steering wheel back and thought that I would post some before and after pictures of the work that was done to it. Before and after.  Before  After  Before  Before  After  The captions might have gotten mixed up, but the work that was done is top notch and I am very pleased with the results. ------------- Old enough to know better - young enough not to care |
Posted By: george w
Date Posted: Mar/26/2015 at 5:02am
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Dave, Your wheel looks outstanding especially with the darker wood color rim . Speaking of the darker wood color, my wheel was refinished by Pauls in Carlisle PA and, they too, redid the my wood rim somewhat darker than the original medium walnut color that it was when it was new. This seems to be common when these wheels are "restored". AMC kind of mismatched the wood tone shades on the 67 Ambassadors. The fake metal wood grain dash trim was the lightest shade, the wood wheel was in the middle and the horn button center insert and the door panels had the darkest walnut shade. Going back to when my 67 was new, I took delivery in June of 67, ( I was 19)and I was immediately bugged at how light the fake walnut trim on the dash was compared to the door trim and to the steering wheel. It was rather glossy and the graining looked somewhat fake. Especially compared to the door trim and the wood on the sterring whell which looked pretty authentic for plastic. Having that applied walnut grain decal on that metal insert just looked out of place. Within a couple of weeks of buying the car I removed the trim and bought dark walnut "Contact" brand vinyl peel and stick film that was sold at just about every hardware store at the time. I popped off the chrome edge trims and the wood grained aluminum appliques came right off. I then applied the Contact to the trim pieces and it was a perfect match to the grain and color of the walnut vinyl trim on the door panels. This change tied the whole interior of the car together. Fast forward to 2015 and that Contact vinyl is still in the car and it looks just a good today as it did when I applied it in 1967. Interestingly, there was a 67 Marlin (prototype picture?) that had engine turned aluminum trim on the dash in place of the walnut. That looked really nice and was a sporty looking touch. Never saw this trim on a production 67 Marlin though I believe that the 65 and/or the 66's were trimmed this way. ------------- Long time AMC fan. Ambassador 343, AMX 390, Hornet 360, Spirit 304 and Javelin 390. All but javelin bought new. |
Posted By: fhpdave
Date Posted: Apr/24/2015 at 2:06pm
Been a busy time with graduations, being slammed at work, and making sure my wife does not feel neglected. Still got some work done on the Ambassador though. Prepped my donor quarter panel by fabricating the missing bottom piece (with added drain holes), welded up the drilled-out spot welds and unneeded trim and emblem holes. Trimmed everything to fit, and made sure everything is lined up  As I primed the areas that would be covered up, I discovered rust between the quarter panel and inner brace at the bottom, so today I cut it out, treated it with rust converter, and hopefully I will have some time tonight to weld in a patch and re-prime the area. If that happens, then I will have some welding to do this weekend!  ------------- Old enough to know better - young enough not to care |
Posted By: Bruce Clarkson
Date Posted: Apr/24/2015 at 8:01pm
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The steering wheel looks great. I have a similar need. Who did the work? Thanks, Bruce Clarkson ------------- Bruce Clarkson |
Posted By: fhpdave
Date Posted: Apr/25/2015 at 7:57pm
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It was done by Doug Lepeck. His website is stwheelz.com and you can search "The Steering Wheel Guy" on facebook and see all 71 pictures that he posted showing the restoration my steering wheel. I like his process because he wrapped the wheel in random weave carbon fiber so it should never crack again. It wasn't cheap, but it is cheaper than an NOS wheel if you could find one. ------------- Old enough to know better - young enough not to care |
Posted By: 67 Marlin
Date Posted: Apr/28/2015 at 4:33pm
| Great car that's going to be when you're done with it. I'll be keeping an eyeball on the progress, too. The posts on the throw pillows have me thinking; I might have enough upholstery left over to cover some pillows with and join the club! |
Posted By: fhpdave
Date Posted: Apr/28/2015 at 8:35pm
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I would like some pillows too, but something tells me that vinyl pillows would not be very comfortable. I have been checking out your car - be thankful that its not rusty. While it has been somewhat fun learning how to fabricate metal and also how to weld, I would take a rust free car any day. ------------- Old enough to know better - young enough not to care |
Posted By: george w
Date Posted: Apr/29/2015 at 1:47am
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The throw pillows were strictly with the Custom Interior option that was offered only on the Ambassador DPL and SST Rebel 2 door hardtops in 66 and 67. ------------- Long time AMC fan. Ambassador 343, AMX 390, Hornet 360, Spirit 304 and Javelin 390. All but javelin bought new. |
Posted By: fhpdave
Date Posted: May/28/2015 at 3:15pm
Now that the the driver quarter is all welded up and done It is time to turn my attention to the passenger side quarter panel rust issues. The rocker area substructure that is in front of the wheels was in much better shape than the drivers side, but the trunk drop and the area of the trunk floor where it is attached was in much worse shape, so I cut out the bad  Fabricated a new edge for the trunk floor  Welded it in,  Welded in a salvaged truck drop and inner fender lip.  Also received some parts back from the plating shop.  And the radio is all freshened up and ready to go back in the dash some day.  Unfortunately my donor quarter panel is from a 4 door, so my plan is to only use the lower portion in the back and wheel lip. I have bent up a patch panel for the area in front of the wheels that I hope will work for that area. More pictures to come as I find time to work on it. ------------- Old enough to know better - young enough not to care |
Posted By: fhpdave
Date Posted: Jun/10/2015 at 8:39pm
I almost feel like I am probably boring people with my updates as of late, all I seem to be doing is fabricating and welding. Now that the weather is nice, I get antsy when I see all the nice convertibles out and about and realize that mine isn't going to be on the road this summer. I will be lucky to have it ready to be painted before it gets cold again - defiantly not going to be driving it to Cleveland for the nationals, but I hope to be there to take some pictures and maybe score some parts. That being said, here are some more fabrication pictures. That's 4 packs of Harbor freight clamps along with an assortment of locking pliers holding the salvaged/straightened metal from the 4 door donor quarter panel.  Here is the patch panel that I had to fabricate for the area between the wheel well and the door.  Did some hammering and forming where it meets the rocker, and where there was rot in the lower corner of the door opening. Still needs some some tweaking around the door, and a new lower portion of the inner fender brace fabricated before I can weld it all together. ------------- Old enough to know better - young enough not to care |
Posted By: RebelRay
Date Posted: Jun/10/2015 at 11:50pm
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Believe me, you're not boring anyone! We're just trying to get our collective jaws off the floor so we can say something! You do excellent work. I look forward to your updates. I know how you feel. I'm the same way with my wagon. While mines not body work (although it needs some!), the waggy needs 4 of everything done to it just to get it to move under it's own power. I thought I would have it drivable this summer, but the $$$ just haven't been there. Good luck with your build! Take your time and you'll enjoy it that much more when the big day finally comes! Ray ------------- http://theamcforum.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=62739" rel="nofollow - Click here to check out my 65 Classic Wagon build thread!
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Posted By: george w
Date Posted: Jun/11/2015 at 4:40am
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I certainly enjoy watching your progress. My 67 DPL coupe in undergoing a complete engine and engine compartment refresh by Ross P. Once this is all done then, I too, will be working on the body. As far as I can tell I have just a little rust to deal with. We'll see for sure when I get to that part. ------------- Long time AMC fan. Ambassador 343, AMX 390, Hornet 360, Spirit 304 and Javelin 390. All but javelin bought new. |
Posted By: pit crew
Date Posted: Jun/11/2015 at 7:47am
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Nice work. Keep the updates coming.
------------- 73 Hornet - 401EFI - THM400 - Twin Grip 20 |
Posted By: Amos Moses
Date Posted: Jun/12/2015 at 3:15am
| My 67 dpl coupe sat for 2 years due to a wreck while I sourced parts and saved cash. Finally got it over to the garage the other day and started pulling the damaged panels. Luckily it was only the front. Seeing your project makes me want to go deeper into mine to make a really nice car. Keep up the hard work and the updates. Thanks. |
Posted By: fhpdave
Date Posted: Jun/14/2015 at 8:34pm
Ok, because you encouraged me, I am posting some more pictures of the latest round of fabrication and welding. First is a picture of the lower portion of the inner quarter panel brace or more accurately what was left of it. In this picture I have already cut off what was left of the bottom of the brace, but reattached it with locking pliers so you can see what I had to work with. Here is a new piece that I bent up using metal that was salvaged from the donor quarter panel, and have roughly fitted it to where it needs to be.  Here it is welded on to the patch panel that will get welded in soon. I also added two 3/8 drain holes to help drain water and hopefully keep future rust to a minimum. After the panel is welded to the car, the new brace will be welded to the existing brace in the car.  Lastly I did the roller bearing upgrade to the door hinges - it's a great upgrade that I wholeheartedly recommend to anybody that has an opportunity to do this.  Updates may be on hold for a few weeks as my daughter will be leaving for a 27 month mission trip to Chile in a few weeks, so I will be spending my extra time with my family instead of the Ambassador. ------------- Old enough to know better - young enough not to care |
Posted By: RebelRay
Date Posted: Jun/15/2015 at 6:33pm
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I really like seeing fab work like this. It makes me almost think I could do it. Almost. lol. Excellent work! What's the roller bearing upgrade? ------------- http://theamcforum.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=62739" rel="nofollow - Click here to check out my 65 Classic Wagon build thread!
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Posted By: fhpdave
Date Posted: Jun/15/2015 at 9:23pm
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It was posted in the body and interior section a while back. I think I made it clickable........I am much better with cars and things made out of wood than I am with computers. http://theamcforum.com/forum/roller-bearing-door-hinge-upgrade_topic68971.html" rel="nofollow - http://theamcforum.com/forum/roller-bearing-door-hinge-upgrade_topic68971.html ------------- Old enough to know better - young enough not to care |
Posted By: fhpdave
Date Posted: Jul/05/2015 at 7:09pm
So I have my daughter sent off to South America for 27 months, and I now have some time to work on my project. I welded my two patch panels together, got them all back primed and welded on the car. Also was glad to see that the inner fender brace lined up (reasonably close anyway), and welded it to the existing brace after I put some guckyschmuck (adhesive) between the existing brace and the patch panel.  Also dug the newish fender out of storage and gave it a test fit.  Wow its starting to look like a car again! I was surprised to see that it had both an AMC tag and a Motorcraft tag attached to it - wonder where it has been all its' life. I'm sure it has traveled a lot and had some rough rides because there is a tear in the metal in the back edge by the door and the headlight opening was bent up and out of square by almost an inch. After a lot of persuading with multiple bar clamps, large channel locks and a hammer or two it went on and fit amazingly well. The curious thing is that the upper two crease line up between the new door and fender, but the lower on is off by about a quarter inch. All the gaps are good and the door fits flush to both the fender and the quarter panel so all in all I am happy with the results so far. Next up - fixing the tear in the fender, clean up the surface rust, coat the back with whatever one coats the back of fenders with, install the new splash rubbers and repeat the process on the drivers side. (and maybe put some primer on all the bare metal) ------------- Old enough to know better - young enough not to care |
Posted By: george w
Date Posted: Jul/05/2015 at 7:59pm
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It's good to see you're coming along. Looks like you're doing a good job with the sheet metal work. ------------- Long time AMC fan. Ambassador 343, AMX 390, Hornet 360, Spirit 304 and Javelin 390. All but javelin bought new. |
Posted By: fhpdave
Date Posted: Aug/11/2015 at 5:45pm
I made it up to Cleveland on Saturday and had a great time checking out all the nice cars and hiking through the vendor area. All I can say is that there are a lot of people with a lot of parts that showed up at the meet. While i was there I did my best to lighten several peoples load for the drive back home. I managed to find a bunch of NOS parts for my car. A grill with both end caps, three front turn signal housings and 2 lenses, a pair of rear bumper guards, a vented gas cap, a set of rear suspension bushings as well as an assortment of fasteners that I needed.  I am continuing to work on my car whenever I can, and one of my most recent projects involved adding some auxiliary drains for the water that enters at the bottom of the convertible top. In this picture you can see the trough that collects the water and sends it down the well...  Where it drains through the round hole to the cavity in front of the rear wheels, where most likely the drain was plugged which is why the quarter panels and rockers rusted out. What you don't see in this picture is the large mass of factory applied gunk that in theory directed the water to the round drain hole, but was all dried up which let the water flow down into the passenger compartment which helped cause that really nice moldy/musty smell and rusty floor boards that are common to old cars especially convertibles.  My solution was to take some 1/2 inch aluminum tube, and flare one end.  and feed it down the opening  through the top of the rocker area (note the rubber bushing so there is no steel to aluminum contact) and out the bottom of the rocker panel and on to the ground. The top portion of the pipe has a section of rubber hose around it to keep it centered in the space and I also foamed it in place with expanding foam which should also provide a water seal. In another day or so I will finish sealing the top with metal roof sealant which in theory will keep the water out of the passenger compartment. I have left the factory drain hole open to act as an overflow should the tube become blocked in the future. Truthfully, I am not sure how much this will help - but it can't hurt, and was a more productive use on my spare time than watching summer television. ------------- Old enough to know better - young enough not to care |
Posted By: fhpdave
Date Posted: Aug/20/2015 at 3:42pm
Finished up the auxiliary top drains by sealing up the top with metal roof sealant - not real pretty but functional and will not be seen once the car is put back together. And this how it exits on the bottom of the rocker.  After the sealant set up I poured about a gallon of water in the rear top trough, and it all drained nicely out the tubes and none wound up in the car so I guess that would qualify as success! I also have all the new trough/splash shield rubber installed, and while doing so confirmed my suspicion that my car was hit in the right front corner at some point in it's life. The radiator support was pushed in about 3/8 of an inch, and the side inner fender sheet metal that is behind the battery was bent and rippled. So out came the bottle jack, some 2 by 4s and the hammer and dolly and now everything is within a 1/16 of where it should be and the margins between the upper radiator support and the grill are fairly even. The bummer is that I screwed up part of the engine compartment that I painted last fall - that's what I get for getting ahead of myself. I have also started removing the remaining paint and primer on the sheet metal getting it ready for some epoxy primer so that I can get it back together and off to the body shop. The worst part of this is removing the factory applied sound deadener that was sort of sprayed/globed inside the doors. It was hardened and large chucks would occasionally flake off and rattle in the bottoms of the door. It is now all removed and the insides of the doors painted with Por-15. ------------- Old enough to know better - young enough not to care |
Posted By: fhpdave
Date Posted: Sep/11/2015 at 10:42am
So labor day does not always mean that you get a day off from work, especially when you have a automotive project in the works. That means that last Monday I worked a bunch - just didn't get paid, but since it was on my car it was fine by me. I started off stripping the rest of the paint from all the drivers side sheet metal, doing the final hammer and dolly work on the welds and larger dents in the NOS door and fender, and removing same for priming. Next I built a stand for the fender. And one for the door,  Then applied 2 coats of self etching primer followed by 2 coats of 2K primer to all of the bare sheet metal. After all that was done, I bolted all for the freshly primed parts back on the car and now it looks like this.  I have since flipped the car around and the plan is to start the process on the passenger side this weekend/next week. Another bit of progress is that I received the seat material from SMS so I sent the seats to the upholstery shop where they removed the existing seat covers and gave me back the seat frames which need de-rusted/cleaned/painted. In the while I'm at it department I also plan to clean/rebuild the seat recliner mechanisms and repair a broken weld on the driver seat back. The fun never ends! ------------- Old enough to know better - young enough not to care |
Posted By: fhpdave
Date Posted: Sep/18/2015 at 11:21am
During the past week or so I finished stripping the paint off of all the passenger side sheet metal and shot a couple of coats of self etching primer. I also worked out the last of the ripples/kinks in the passenger side engine compartment sheet metal that was a result of an accident at some point,and welded up some metal that was torn on the radiator support. I decided before I sprayed on the 2 k primer that I should round up the trim and get all the holes drilled and clips positioned and see how well it fit on all the new/repaired sheet metal.  Luckily everything fit fairly well with a little tweaking. It was very nice to be able to securely fasten all the pieces to real sheet metal as opposed to body filler and rust which was the case before.  One disappointing thing that I forgot is that sometime in its' checkered past someone drilled holes for screws in the front and back of the rocker molding to help secure it to the car. I am conflicted as to what to do. I no longer need to have screws to fasten the molding to the car, and I really do not want to put any extra holes in my new sheet metal, but on the other hand the holes with no screws really stand out. I know that these moldings are super rare, so I will have to make a decision on which way to go after the car is painted. I have also cleaned, de-rusted, welded and painted all the seat frames and hope to drop them off at the upholstery shop this afternoon. ------------- Old enough to know better - young enough not to care |
Posted By: pacerman
Date Posted: Sep/18/2015 at 12:05pm
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Regarding the holes in the rocker moldings: you could use the screws again or you could install rivets to cover up the holes. Joe ------------- Happiness is making something out of nothing. |
Posted By: kirkwood
Date Posted: Sep/18/2015 at 1:03pm
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wow, just saw this thread (not sure how i missed it before), but great work! I enjoyed looking through the thread and seeing your work! keep it up! ------------- AMO Newsletter Editor |
Posted By: FuzzFace2
Date Posted: Sep/19/2015 at 8:34am
This way the holes are filled, looks like they go into the body but they don't so no holes need be drilled in the sheet metal. My project has factory holes in the rockers for the rocker moldings. Clips are hard to come by, would need to drill other holes in fenders & qtr that I don't want to do. So do I fill the other holes and not run rocker moldings or drill holes and find the clips? I also been thinking of some other type of "decal" type molding so would not need to drill holes or find clips. BTW nice job on the car that is a lot of work, kind of doing the same thing on mine, in a home garage. Dave ---- ------------- TSM = Technical Service Manual 75 Gremlin X v8 for sale 70 Javelin 360/auto drag car 70 Javelin 360/T5 Street car |
Posted By: george w
Date Posted: Sep/20/2015 at 5:03pm
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You could have a place that specializes in stainless steel welding, have the holes filled in with ss weld then it can be ground down and metal finished. Then the rocker molding can be polished. A shop that specializes in commercial kitchens comes to mind. ------------- Long time AMC fan. Ambassador 343, AMX 390, Hornet 360, Spirit 304 and Javelin 390. All but javelin bought new. |
Posted By: fhpdave
Date Posted: Sep/28/2015 at 10:04pm
This past week I decided to mix up the little bit of single stage enamel paint that was left over from painting the engine compartment last October, and repaint the areas that I straightened out in the right front by the battery that had been damaged at some point in the cars life. I figured it out as I found that the fender was originally painted dark blue, and the hood was once red. Anyway I masked off the areas that I did not want to paint and after I was done it now looks like this.  I had some paint left over so I edged the front fenders, and the front valance, and since I still had paint left I just painted the entire front valance and it didn't turn out too bad. Last Saturday I cleaned out the fender troughs (now I have to find a new place to set tools, stray fasteners and such) for the final time and bolted on the fenders and front valance. I also fit all drivers side stainless trim and drilled the holes for the clips and emblems and such. Now it is on to stripping and priming the hood and trunk lid and getting them straightened out and back on the car.  ------------- Old enough to know better - young enough not to care |
Posted By: CamJam
Date Posted: Sep/28/2015 at 10:19pm
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That's going to be a nice (and rare) ride when you're done. My first car was a '66 Classic 660 convertible. I wish I still had it! ------------- '73 Javelin 360 (current project) '72 Baja Bronze Javelin SST '69 Big Bad Orange AMX (2018 Teague Heritage Award) SOLD  |
Posted By: pacerman
Date Posted: Sep/28/2015 at 10:43pm
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Very nice. And I have found that nothing keeps the juices flowing like seeing part of the car in the final color. Joe ------------- Happiness is making something out of nothing. |
Posted By: kcsamc
Date Posted: Sep/29/2015 at 8:16am
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You are moving along at lightening speed in comparison to me - Great work being done, and to comment on earlier posts - I think everyone loves the fabrication details. It shows where all the hard work hard to go to get the car back to life again - and definitely sets the deep interest in the story and the journey for the readers! Great job! ------------- Kevin Shope 1964 Classic 660 https://theamcforum.com/forum/rare-ragtop-rogue-refurb_topic112071.html" rel="nofollow - 67 Rogue 290-4V 4spd Conv A-Scheme SC/Rambler (69 SC JOURNEY) |
Posted By: george w
Date Posted: Sep/30/2015 at 6:36am
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Looks like you'll be ready for the road by next Spring for sure. ------------- Long time AMC fan. Ambassador 343, AMX 390, Hornet 360, Spirit 304 and Javelin 390. All but javelin bought new. |
Posted By: fhpdave
Date Posted: Nov/19/2015 at 2:58pm
Haven't posted in a while, but that does not mean that stuff has not been happening, quite the contrary. After reading all the posts about the state of our hobby and AMC cars in general, it occurred to me that I am also part of the current state of affairs (or problem if that is the way you want to look at it). You see I used to be a member of AMO and CACI as well as Ohio American Motors Classics, but family and other obligations took over my life and the whole car thing was relegated to the back burner until a few years ago when I started on this project. While I have joined this forum, I have not rejoined any other organizations, and pretty much have worked on my car by myself in my spare time. Also, my project has suffered serious mission creep, and will hopefully turn out much nicer than I originally planned. On the surface that is a good thing, but my fear is that it will be too nice, and I will have so much money wrapped up in it that it will sit in the garage instead of being driven and enjoyed where people can see it and tell me "nice Lemans, or Fairlane or what ever. So what does all this mean? It means that I decided that if I can finish drywall and have it turn out nice, then I can also apply body filler and hopefully achieve the same result. So instead of paying a body shop a bunch of money to do the body work I decided that since I learned welding and metal fabrication I might as well try "finish" body work too. I started on the passenger quarter panel which needed the most work since it was pieced together to see if I had what it takes. While it looks like a bunch of filler, none of it is thicker than an eighth of an inch, and most of it is much less than that. After that was done, I turned my attention to the passenger door and fender which also required a fair amount of hammer/dolly work as well as some metal shrinking. While I am glad that I was able to find NOS parts to replace the rusty panels, I think when you are dealing with almost 50 year old large metal parts that have been handled a lot, NOS could also stand for nasty old stuff!   Since I will be working on the body through-out the winter in Ohio, I also needed to do something about where I would be working. A search of Craigslist yielded this beauty.  It was never installed and I got it for 200 bucks! Another 100 or so in gas pipe and B vent and now my garage is nice and toasty. The only down side is that I told my wife that I needed to heat the garage if she wanted me to replace the rocker panels on the Buick Century, that was her parents car and is now our spare/kids car, before next summer. So now I will have to pause my efforts on the Ambassador and get busy replacing the rockers on the Buick. The upside is that I really can't mess it up (anything will be an improvement), and if it turns out nice maybe just maybe I will tackle the painting of the Ambassador when the time comes. Also now that I put it out there I will also rejoin AMO, and if it is done in time, drive my car from Columbus Ohio to Rockford next year! ------------- Old enough to know better - young enough not to care |
Posted By: Mr. Ed
Date Posted: Nov/19/2015 at 3:03pm
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I have the ADP version of that heater. If you have living space above it, you will hear and feel the vibration every time the fan comes on. If so, you might want to put some rubber vibration isolators in there some how. Later! Mr. Ed ------------- 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo "Gwendolyn." 1978 Concord Sport coupe "Mr. Black". 1982 Concord wagon. The Admiral. FOR SALE! 1976 Sportabout X, 304, auto, air. The Bronze Goddess |
Posted By: fhpdave
Date Posted: Nov/23/2015 at 4:21pm
Well I primed all of the passenger side sheet metal that I worked on and bolted them back on the car. Overall I am pleased with the result. I feel that I am about 95 percent there on this side of the car. I have found a few small dings/dents that I missed, the lower body crease in the quarter panel is too crisp/sharp in relation to the one on the door, and two of the transitions from the lower body crease to the wheel arches could use a little more work. I also have been concerned with a small amount of rust perforation on the gusset that runs along side the inner rocker panel on convertibles. While the car seems solid and the doors all close fine and there is no visible sag, I have decided to bend up a stiffener that will fit along side of the current damaged member and weld it in.  I hope to get all the welding done tonight, because I have to keep my wife happy and move the Ambassador out of it's work-space so that I can replace the rocker panels on the Buick. I am thinking that if I move the Ambassador one spot over, the drivers side will be right next to where I will be working on the other car....hmmm, I might just be able to work on both cars at once as long as I don't play favorites. ------------- Old enough to know better - young enough not to care |
Posted By: fhpdave
Date Posted: Dec/05/2015 at 10:16pm
OK say we are going off the AMC reservation for a bit, but before anybody gets too excited and calls foul, read on because there is an AMC twist to the story. Like I mentioned in an earlier post, I told my wife that I needed a heater in the garage if I was to replace the rocker panels on the Buick Century that is the best vehicle in the kids car fleet, so I took the Ambo of the rack and started in on the Buick. On these cars the rockers are integral with side panel, and have over 100 spot welds securing them to the substructure of the car. So after much dis-assembly this is what I had I also had to cut out some of the substructure that was rotted and needed to be patched......but where could I come up with something to patch it with?  It was then that I remembered that I had a piece of the quarter panel off the Ambassador that would fit the bill rather nicely!  A little bending, some weld through primer and some seam sealer and I now have FrankenBuick.  100 or so plug welds, some body filler and I will be ready to prime tomorrow. The replacement panels are made in Taiwan and fit remarkable well.  After I ground the welds on the seams I almost didn't need any body filler, but I did mix some up and managed to apply some to the drivers quarter of the Ambassador too, sooooooooooo work continues on the important project too. ------------- Old enough to know better - young enough not to care |
Posted By: fhpdave
Date Posted: Dec/11/2015 at 3:37pm
I promise no more Buick pictures, although I have the drivers side all done - have to give myself a B- on my first go around on base coat clear coat. I will have to see if I can improve my grade on the other side. On another note I picked up my seats today and they turned out very nicely. I wish that AMC had a little more flair in 1967, but I guess a black interior is a black interior. I will have to say that the shop did wonders with the foam and such as they are quite a bit firmer than they used to be. I sure hope that I get a chance to install them soon. 
------------- Old enough to know better - young enough not to care |
Posted By: rebel-misfit
Date Posted: Dec/11/2015 at 3:42pm
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Wow.. your an artist. Great work.
------------- Three 1970 Javelins 1970 AMX 1970 Rebel 1975 Gremlin 1976 Gremlin 1972 Javelin 1974 Javelin 1977 AMX Hornet 1974 4 Door Matador |
Posted By: fhpdave
Date Posted: Jan/14/2016 at 11:00am
Some time a couple of Octobers ago (2014), I sent my door panels to SMS to be redone. They told me to expect 8 months or so to redo them. Well guess what showed up yesterday. All in all they did a nice job on them  Now I just need to finish up the body work and get some paint on it so I can install all these nice parts that are stored all over my house and in various places at my place of emplyment. Also have a line on a 67 parts car that has all the rest of the AC stuff that I need as well as a nice rust free hood and trunk. If I can get that car it means that my car will have almost no original sheetmetal. ------------- Old enough to know better - young enough not to care |
Posted By: 67 Marlin
Date Posted: Jan/14/2016 at 11:06am
| Looking good! Are you going to be cutting the holes for the window cranks, etc., or bringing them to an upholstery shop? |
Posted By: fhpdave
Date Posted: Jan/14/2016 at 11:30am
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The plan is to cut them myself. If I somehow manage to get all the windows reinstalled and lined up with the windshield and each other as well the convertible top mechanism which is totally disassembled and also needs reinstalled, then cutting the door panels should (I hope) be a piece of cake. The only thing that I am up in the air about is the convertible top itself. Not sure if I want to make a 600 dollar mistake.
------------- Old enough to know better - young enough not to care |
Posted By: tom67
Date Posted: Jan/14/2016 at 11:33am
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I am liking that lift who makes it and how much if you dont mind? ------------- Tom 1967 Ambassador DPL AMO #10582 |
Posted By: Rogerschro
Date Posted: Jan/14/2016 at 2:58pm
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The hardest part of doing a convertible top is the frame alignment. The actual top material is not too bad. Toughest part is at the back where the belt line goes around, particularly the corners, getting the wrinkles out. I have only done one so far, Twice! Didn't hurt the material, just had to correct the corner material to take out a bit more wrinkles I didn't get out the first time. The rest was actually pretty easy, if not somewhat intimidating. I decided I was going to do as much as i could without farming out the labor so the top had to be done by myself too. I decided the worst would be to ruin the top and I'd have to start over, but By this point, I have ruined enough stuff and survived to figure it was worth it. Read a lot, looked over the TSM and went at it. I'd do it again, and better I'm sure, but the top looks and works just fine, most people ask me where I had it done so I guess it passes muster. (unless they wanted to avoid that place! LOL!) ------------- https://picasaweb.google.com/115861616693447627524/1974Gremlins |
Posted By: george w
Date Posted: Jan/14/2016 at 4:17pm
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The door panels look really good. Did you take any "before" shots. The chrome trim came out very well as did the suede like texture of the upper panel vinyl. These are the best re-done big car AMC panels I've ever seen. Cost and arm and a leg ?? ------------- Long time AMC fan. Ambassador 343, AMX 390, Hornet 360, Spirit 304 and Javelin 390. All but javelin bought new. |
Posted By: fhpdave
Date Posted: Jan/16/2016 at 11:25am
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Time to answer a few questions. 1. I bought the lift locally on Craigslist. Off the top of my head, I can't remember the brand name, but it was made by a company in Texas that makes commercial lifts for the auto repair industry. It is made from very heavy gauge steel and weighs about 1200 pounds. When I bought it I checked out their website, and they no longer make this style of lift, probably because of all the knock off Asian imports that are out there. I was actually looking at buying one of those at the time that I found this one which I bought for about the price that I could have purchased a new one, but this was local and is a beast so I bought it. If I had not run across the one I bought I would have purchased one from Greg Smith Equipment that has warehouses all over the US that you can pick-up from and save on shipping, and they seem to stand by what they sell. 1500 bucks will buy you a nice lift that doesn't take up a lot of room and will save your back. Other than my MIG welder, this has been the most useful purchase that I made to not only further the restoration of my Ambassador, but makes working on my other cars easier too. 2. The refurbished door panels did cost an arm and a leg, and part of a shoulder too. But considering that they are not off the shelf and 100 percent hand/custom made the price was not too bad. With shipping they were 900 bucks. Like I said before it seems that anything that I do on this car seems to cost about a thousand bucks.....I really do not want to total up the receipts and know what I have spent. In the end, if I am ever forced to, I will total everything up and divide it by the number of years (or months) that I have owned the car to get a "reasonable" amount of money that I can justify as a hobby expense. ------------- Old enough to know better - young enough not to care |
Posted By: fhpdave
Date Posted: Feb/20/2016 at 1:54pm
Well the AMC gods sure are a fickle bunch that have a great sense of irony. After spending gobs of both time and money chasing down nice fenders and quarter panels as well as a correct air cleaner and such, my quest for parts to add factory AC to my car led me to this car which has a very nice drivers dash pad, which is the only part that I still needed.  I was almost resigned to having Just Dashes redo the core that I have, but I was able to buy this car and have it shipped for about the same money. It is a 343 4 barrel car that is in amazing shape rust wise, but the interior needs some attention. The guy I bought it off of did some brake work, replaced some belts and hoses, and was working on the gas tank when Uncle Sam (the Marines) decided to ship him to Hawaii. He never received the title from the guy he bought it from, so most likely I am going to take the AC parts that I need as well as some other stuff, and the remainder will be offered up on the forum to help others with their projects.  One oddity is the oil breather that is on the air cleaner. I was wondering if this was a late addition, or ir a previous owner was concerned about the enviroment before being "green" was fashionable. ------------- Old enough to know better - young enough not to care |
Posted By: george w
Date Posted: Feb/20/2016 at 7:00pm
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Dave, This must be a California emissions car. That explains the oil fill cap vented to the air cleaner housing denoting a closed PCV system. Not a bad thing to put on your convertible as any crankcase pressure/ blow-by will be diverted into the air cleaner housing rather than venting over the engine through the open cap. All the 68 models went to the closed system and added the heat stove feeding the air filter snorkle I put this system on my black 67 convertible even though it did not have it originally. If you're not interested in using it I wouldn't mind buying it from you to use on my 67 DPL coupe ------------- Long time AMC fan. Ambassador 343, AMX 390, Hornet 360, Spirit 304 and Javelin 390. All but javelin bought new. |