Road Race AMC HORNET

From what I know about copyright law, I wouldn't scan anything and post it. The US and Canada work pretty well together about that sort of thing.

If you approach the magazine, maybe they would allow it to be used here. They possibly would see it as a way to promote the magazine. It's hard to say. It is my favorite car magazine and has been for a long time.

I'm hoping Hal might shot some photos of the Hornet up on a rack someday in the future. His AMX has a Panhard too.

I don't know if Larry Mitchell is still involved in the AMX club he operated in Arvada, CO. Someone here may know more.

Steeno,

 

That's a nice looking suspension. It seems like AMC interest is actually on the rise.  There was a long drought after AMC left the IMSA RS series. Out here in So. Cal I felt like the Lone Ranger out on the track. All my pals ran Fords.

 

Basically I came from the “Flat Earth era” compared to what we know now.

 

It would be a good idea to weight the car (and the f/r weight bias) before and after putting all those parts on. Or, at least weigh all the parts separately on a bathroom scale. Maybe post your results for the next guy to use.

 

Replacing the cross-member with a tubular one could really free up some space.

 

Are you going to go with rack & pinion steering? I prefer manual steering but that may be out of the question using a rack.

 

I think I got 5 or 6 degrees of castor out of my front end. I can’t remember if I had to do anything special to get that. I do remember that the strut-rod length had something that needed to be done. Do they have a replacement strut rod or is the stock one OK?

 

I ran as little toe-in as I could. If everything is not new and stiff, the car can go into toe-out, when you get on the brakes real hard at high speed, if you don’t keep a little toe-in to start with. Then the car will be unstable and dart around. So all that fancy Control Freak stuff looks like a way to have a solid setup.

 

Are you going to change the rear to a link suspension? I couldn’t do that in STA and keep to the rulebook.

 

Chas.

 

Well I can say that 6 degrees on a street car with the factory parts might have some issues going over speedbumps and driveways from roads with a severe crown. That's stuff a track car won't have to contend with.

I could be off a degree or so since I used all home made tools to measure everything. Caster was the hardest to DIY. But I can say that it was a lot better than someone in a tire shop -LOL. After making changes I would drive it up and down the block and jump on the brakes a few times and then measure it all over again.

I decided to do it myself once some clown put over a half inch of toe-in on my car. You could see it just sitting on the driveway. I asked for 1/8-inch.

AMC had lower control arms with some added gussets welded in. I think for Police Matadors. That's a good trick to copy too. That's the weak spot. It used to be that you could study junker AMCs at Pick-a-Part and see what was worn or bent for better insight. All that dried up years ago.

Hal Lynch has owned the car for a few years now.