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'83 Spirit GT |
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83GT 
AMC Addicted 
Joined: Aug/03/2014 Location: Galveston TX Status: Offline Points: 507 |
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 Posted: May/22/2017 at 8:45pm |
Hi Lane, To be honest, its completely custom. A Javelin ram-air scoop mated to a Spirit hood. I think its the only one in existence. Oh yea, and its Big Bad Orange (not red). TL 83GT
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2014 Star Stryker - Only Ride
1992 Bayliner Trophy Walk-Around |
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Mr. Ed
Supporter of TheAMCForum 
Joined: Nov/12/2010 Location: Sewell, NJ Status: Offline Points: 4916 |
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Posted: May/24/2017 at 11:15am |
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And the Javelin hood is as rare as hens teeth.
Later! Mr. Ed |
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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 |
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83GT
AMC Addicted
Joined: Aug/03/2014 Location: Galveston TX Status: Offline Points: 507 |
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Posted: Jun/06/2017 at 8:02am |
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May/June 2017 Update - Dash Lights/Gauges
Making more progress on the long-standing issues with the GT. The tach , fuel and temp gauges weren't working when I bought the GT so replacing them has been on the list for a long time now. I had previously pulled the dash several times to get the gauges (and the heater core) and had a good idea of what I wanted to do there once I finally got around to replacing everything. Of course, seeing Logan's BBO Spirit helped a bunch as he has a good setup in his. I relocated the fuel & temp gauges to the center console rally pack gauges, and moved the vacuum gauge to the dash area below the radio/heater controls (and deleted the AMP gauge). That left the tach and speedo to replace. I had previously replaced the tachometer with a unit from Summit Racing, and that worked well for the time being, but really needed to have matching gauges for the final solution. I grew up during the "55" maelstrom, and never liked the OEM GT speedo that went up by 5's, so I had swapped it out for a unit from the '79 GT I had scrapped which still measured by 10's (and went up to 90!). While that worked well, it didn't look good at all, having the OEM style speedo popping through the hole in the aluminum dash plate next to a new style tach. I ordered matching Autometer tach/speedo units from Summit and began taking everything apart. After a few modifications, I was able to get everything back together and working. I also took this opportunity while the dash was a apart to change all the dash light bulbs over to LED's. I ordered a bunch of replacement LED's for the 194 bulb (superbrightleds.com), and even got some green ones for the turn signals. Additionally, I replaced the burned out bulb in my license plate light and swapped it out for the other unit I had installed (which worked but didn't fit well). I had to cut the Truck-Lite housing to get at the bulb, but the LED went in place easily. Here is how the dash did look, you can see the OEM speedo sticking through the aluminum plate  Now, I have everything pulled from the dash and all laid out on the workbench, the parts in the background are the '83 dash parts, I used the '79 dash parts for the mods  Here are the mods I made, (1) cut a hole in this backing plate and cut off the light housing to make room for the speedo bowl , (2) pulled this light housing, and the blue strip from below it, replaced the lights with green for turn signals and blue for dash lighting , (3) kept the circuit board connected but have it pushed further back into the dash away from everything else and taped over the flat connections  Here is the finished product, I have the flashers on so I could get a pic with both turn signals lit  Edited by 83GT - Jun/06/2017 at 10:17am |
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2014 Star Stryker - Only Ride
1992 Bayliner Trophy Walk-Around |
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SeanHatfield
AMC Nut
Joined: Oct/15/2015 Location: Plymouth, IN Status: Offline Points: 459 |
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Posted: Jun/06/2017 at 8:31am |
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Looking good! You're more brave than I am in messing with taking the dash apart. Myself and wiring do not go well together... Keep up the good work!
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BBO SPIRIT
AMC Apprentice 
Joined: Nov/22/2012 Location: Southeast Iowa Status: Offline Points: 81 |
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Posted: Jun/08/2017 at 8:54pm |
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Looking good TL!!!
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83GT
AMC Addicted
Joined: Aug/03/2014 Location: Galveston TX Status: Offline Points: 507 |
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Posted: Jul/28/2017 at 7:25am |
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July 2017 Update - Engine
I was driving the GT to work a couple of weeks ago, and suddenly had some engine issues. The oil pressure dropped to nothing, a bunch of blue smoke and a serious miss like I dropped a cylinder. I limped the GT back to the garage and took the bike to work. I went ahead and started making plans to have the engine swapped out or rebuilt. Figuring it has over 140K miles on it, and a lot of those miles were rough, it was probably time. I have another 258 in storage, so between the two of them, I should be in good shape in case something serious is wrong with the original motor. I dug into it a bit, started by checking the oil level. it was down a bit, but not at the bottom of the dipstick, so I wasn't 'out' of oil. Pulled the spark plugs, 5 of them looked ok, used but not bad by any means. The plug from cylinder number 5 though, it had an issue. The ground electrode was bent down and over to the side of the center post. Not being sure, but assuming this means I have a more serious issue with the engine than just a bad spark plug. I went ahead and put a good plug in that spot and fired up the engine, still has a serious miss so it wasn't just a bad plug. So I reached out to local AMC club members and a couple of local car guys for recommendations on a decent engine rebuild shop. After making a bunch of calls, I've finally settled on a shop and now need to pull the sick 258 from the GT. I'll be starting that work in a few days and will post some pics of my progress there. I plan to take this opportunity while the motor is out to do some detailing to the GT engine bay, and I have some poly motor mounts that I want to use once I get the motor reinstalled.
 Edited by 83GT - Jul/28/2017 at 9:38pm |
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2014 Star Stryker - Only Ride
1992 Bayliner Trophy Walk-Around |
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Shannock
AMC Nut
Joined: May/23/2016 Location: Rhode Island Status: Offline Points: 412 |
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Posted: Jul/28/2017 at 2:50pm |
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Bummer about the engine, TL, but it sounds like you have it under control.
By the way, the rims look great on that car. |
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wantajav
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Joined: Sep/04/2009 Location: PA Status: Offline Points: 1150 |
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Posted: Jul/28/2017 at 6:57pm |
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Maybe it is 4.0 time.....or 4.6 stroker! You have the crank core already....
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amcfool1
AMC Addicted
Joined: Jun/18/2011 Location: roanoke va Status: Offline Points: 1075 |
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Posted: Jul/28/2017 at 11:27pm |
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Hi, I have put poly motor mounts on both my Eagles, the old 82, and the new 84. They will last forever, but, you will have some vibration, especially at idle, once moving, not so much. both my cars were/are auto trans, may be different with your manual. They are just one small step away from solid mounts.
great car! I also have a 79 Spirit, bone stock 232/1bbl/904. good luck, gz
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george z
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83GT
AMC Addicted
Joined: Aug/03/2014 Location: Galveston TX Status: Offline Points: 507 |
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Posted: Aug/03/2017 at 8:56pm |
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August 2017 Update - Engine
Started the operation to pull the engine, got the accessories, ignition and manifolds disconnected. The only bolts left are the motor mounts and bell housing. I'm hoping it will be easy enough to pull the engine forward from the trans as I didn't really want to pull the trans again (after recently installing the new clutch). Here's where I am for now:  I'm wondering, to mount the chain on the manifold side, obviously I'll use the bolt holes where the manifold connects, but what about the ignition side? The only bolts I see are the engine ground, alt bracket and coil bracket. I'm wondering if these will be enough, or do I need to find/use additional mounts for the chain?   |
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2014 Star Stryker - Only Ride
1992 Bayliner Trophy Walk-Around |
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chickenfarmer3 wrote: