Josh’s 1972 AMC Javelin has got it goin’ on - Hagerty Media

This 1972 AMC Javelin SST was a fixture of Josh Gold’s childhood. His best friend’s mom took great pleasure in driving her kids around in the rolling monument to 1970s American excess that the AMC represented. Josh thus spent countless hours in the backseat shuttling to baseball games, movie theaters, and between houses as the 401-cubic-inch V-8 rumbled up front. Even then, the Javelin was the coolest thing he’d ever seen.

When his friend’s mom retired and relocated to Florida, Josh had the opportunity to buy the Javelin. He didn’t hesitate, even though the it had been sitting idle in the family garage for years. With some hard work and another year’s worth of TLC, Josh breathed new life into the car.

The SST is now Josh’s daily driver around Los Angeles, where it never fails to grab attention and comments in the company parking lot. He also enjoys driving the Javelin on his early morning forays to his favorite surf spots in Malibu.

Yes, Josh admits, the Javelin is big, loud, hot, and at times temperamental—hardly a list of traits one would ask of a daily driver in a city as notoriously congested as L.A. For Josh, however, the car’s personality not only demands his focus on the moment, it also bonds him to his past.

Besides, he says, if you have to drive everyday and everywhere, you might as well be in the car you always dreamed of owning.