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1969 AMX Fuel Sending Unit |
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Nardo 
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Joined: Dec/21/2010 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 7 |
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 Topic: 1969 AMX Fuel Sending UnitPosted: Feb/28/2011 at 5:37pm |
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Has anyone ever tried substituting a sending unit from another car? Mine is shot and I hate spending $100 for a $20 part. Guess maybe that's the price we pay for loving an odd ball.
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mramc
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Joined: Jul/12/2007 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 1286 |
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Posted: Feb/28/2011 at 6:32pm |
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And gas used to cost less then a dollar too! It's the original part , made by the original company , only 40 years later. Nothing like 500% inflation to change prices in the last 40 years. I suppose you might fab up an after market gauge setup, for less, but the dollar you save will be off set by the fab work and grief to get the thing working right, not that the stock ones don't take some work some times too. I like life simple , even if it is some times more costly. LRDaum
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LRDaum
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poormansMACHINE
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Posted: Feb/28/2011 at 6:42pm |
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Switching over tooling for a short run also runs up cost a manufacturer isn't going to eat.
There's no volume associated with it and mfr's are not going to run a bunch just to have inventory (money) sitting on a shelf collecting dust. |
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citrusz
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Joined: Feb/20/2011 Location: long island Status: Offline Points: 61 |
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Posted: Feb/28/2011 at 6:44pm |
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Is fixing it out of the question? If so, you don't have much choice. The good news is you don't have to drop the tank to change it. I took mine out, repair it. Lasted a year, then I went for the new one. It all comes down to money and time. Only you know which you have more of.
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KermitDRambler
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Joined: Jul/06/2007 Location: Cincinnati, OH Status: Offline Points: 2270 |
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Posted: Mar/01/2011 at 7:31am |
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To answer your question about swapping in something from another car, I would be very surprised if you could find a direct swap. Electrically, I think Ford is the same or similar but the donor would need to also have the exact same size and shape tank.
FWIW, $100 isn't much for a sending unit. I have a 78 El Camino that needs one and last time I looked (about 5 years ago), it was close to $250.
They can be fixed (they are very simple devices) but unless you can do it yourself, it will likely cost a lot more than $100. The sending unit is just a tube with a rheostat and a float attached. It may turn out to be a simple problem like a bad float or dirty rheostat but if the thing is a big rusty mess, it may not be in good enough physical condition to fix.
However you end up fixing it, you need to replace the in-tank filter, o-ring (goes between the sending unit and tank), and replace the short section of fuel hose by the tank.
Matt
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1967 American wagon
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billd
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Posted: Mar/01/2011 at 7:46am |
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$100 is too high? $20 part?
Maybe you are correct since you can buy them for $80 on eBay now and then. (but buy from a vendor - support the AMC vendors and they'll guarantee the stuff) Have you bought any for OTHER classic cars lately? Not exactly cheap. LOL - like pmm says, you wanna make only a couple hundred of them with your own money and hope 200 folks need them? citrusz is right, but since it takes only minutes to drop a tank, I just drop the dam thing and be done with it, rather than fighting a new tight o-ring and retainer up under the car. I can then check the tank, clean it if needed, etc. I can drop a gas tank without jacking the car up, and it takes maybe 10-15 minutes. Spray down the nuts/strap bolts and let them soak. Enjoy a beer or two. Crawl under car, unplug sender, unbolt ground from chassis, loosen two nuts, drop tank to chest/stomach, slide out from under car, set tank aside. (maybe those snap-on fuel tank nut sockets are what makes it so easy??) |
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Nardo
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Joined: Dec/21/2010 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 7 |
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Posted: Mar/01/2011 at 11:25am |
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A new sending unit for a vintage Mustang can easily be had for $20. I know there are a lot more mustangs than AMX/Javelins, but $20 verses $100 seems like a big difference. The Mustang unit looks similar to the AMX unit but I agree that it might be more trouble than its worth to try and adapt one to the other. I just wanted to check to see if anyone had tried. I adapted an aftermarket sending unit on my 59 Jeep, but admittedly its a pretty simple tank and unit.
My unit is a replacement by a PO. The mount that holds the rheostat wire broke although the wire is still intact. I thought about trying to repair it, but I'm not sure how and I'm not sure it would be a long term fix. I guess I'll bite the bullet and pay the price for owning an oddball.
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amx39068
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Posted: Mar/01/2011 at 11:28am |
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what car do you need it for? I have quite a few NOS ones for hornets and gremmies. |
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Dan Curtis, AZ AMC collector quality Restorations, Parts & Engines - amcmusclecars.com
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70 Donohue 390
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Posted: Mar/01/2011 at 11:56am |
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Ron Akerman
http://www.roguevalleyrumblers.com/ The "X" coming soon 67 290 Rogue Convert 78 304 Concord Touring Wagon |
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AMX09652
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Posted: Mar/01/2011 at 1:18pm |
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I replaced the sending unit in my 69 AMX without dropping the tank. It wasn't easy, but I did it.
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1969 BBO AMX 390 4 speed "Deep in the heart of Texas" |
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citrusz wrote: