Even though 1974 marked the final year of production for the AMC Javelin, it was a model that managed to go out with a bit of a bang. In spite of the fact that the muscle car era was dying, and the competition was making the move to smaller cars such as the Mustang II, AMC still managed to sell in excess of 27,000 Javelins in that year. Barn Finder AMXBrian referred this 1974 model to us, so thank you so much for that. It is located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and is listed for sale here on Craigslist. The owner is asking $15,000 for the AMC classic.
Photos and information on the Javelin are a bit limited, but it generally presents quite nicely in its Medium Blue Metallic paint. I believe that the car may have has at least a partial repaint at some point in the past, because, as you can see in this photo, there appears to be a mismatch in color between the quarter panel and the rest of the car. The Javelin also wears a luggage rack on the trunk, and I’m not sold on that addition. Otherwise, the car presents quite nicely and doesn’t appear to have any rust issues.
There are no engine photos provided by the owner, but we do know that the car is fitted with its original 401ci V8 engine and 4-speed manual transmission. By this point in time, the 401 was producing 235hp but still offered reasonably respectable performance. We also don’t receive any interior shots, but what we can see through the windows looks to be quite promising. The seats offer a combination of black vinyl, along with cloth inserts that look like they could be either grey or light blue in color. Probably the most encouraging aspect of the owner’s very limited (21-word) description is the fact that he refers to the car as “ready for the show.” This suggests that the interior probably presents quite well.
Generally speaking, this 1974 Javelin is a tidy looking car, and it does offer a lot of promise. Values have remained pretty consistent on these in recent times, but the fact that it features a combination of the 401 V8 and 4-speed transmission probably makes it slightly more desirable. I would like to give the car a personal inspection to ascertain whether it has had any repainting work or previous accident damage. However, if it all checks out, then it could be an enjoyable classic that is ready to be driven immediately.
My fave javelin with 401 four speed..
On bucket list …
Drooling 🤤 on this AMC bad boy..
Need interior pixs And more all around but it looks nice 👍
One of the Holy Grails for AMC fans, and one of the last gasps of the muscle car era. The lack of detailed photos is a concern. Looks nice up top but there could be horrors lurking underneath. Also I don’t know if it’s just the lighting but that passenger side quarter panel doesn’t quite match color with the door and fender. Caveat emptor!
Great color combo and drivetrain. The AMC 290/304/343/360/390/401 were the same basic block and heads, so that ‘74 401 would be easy to wake up without major modifications.
I always thought that this body style would have been a knockout as a convertible.
I really think it’s just the way the sun is shining on the paint. Nice car but I’d have to lose the luggage rack.
Nice car and not too far from where I lived a long time ago. The luggage rack comes in handy if you ever plan to take a trip in a small car. It’s a bear without one and some are made of unobtainium, no longer available so it’s best to have one than not IMO.
Odd that camaro, cuda & challenger no longer offered big inch motors in ’73 & ’74.
I guess ram air was optional on all javelins – to the end.
One of my favourite cars as a kid, and with only 27000 built and scattered throughout the US and Canada they are region by region quite rare. In my opinion these are the best of AMC.
A gem if it’s solid underneath!!!
I guess the only competition for this big cube Javelin in ’74 would have been the Pontiac Trans Am and Formula. Nice sporty looking car.
The high performance car market was already well over by ’74, with ridiculous insurance premiums, the EPA’s choke hold maneuvers, then the first fuel crisis,,,,and catalytic converters requiring unleaded gas in the following year…plus I always considered the serious muscle to be more of a sixties thing, maybe some folks just wanted something different.
I like the first model but this is gold 401 and 4 spd we had these here in very limited numbers about 250 assembled here RHD 360 autos
I think that both this and first generation Javelins are terrific looking cars, certainly distinctive at the very least. Both are testament to the creativity of the AMC design staff.
It is remarkable that the Javelin soldiered to it’s end with bumpers that were designed for it and not with protruding girder-like afterthoughts.
A high school classmate in the very late ’70’s owned a beautiful orange ’73 or ’74 Javelin. He called the car Mariah because it went “like the wind”. Unfortunately, I don’t know what was under the hood.
There’s something about a seller that misspells the name of the car, uses all CAPS, uses one run-on sentence, and 4 crappy photos that instantly sends up red flags for me.