Kaktus Kammster

[Route 66 Rambler]

Well, some of the older members from the old Nest might remember my Kammback project and what a struggle that was to put on the road. The car never did pass emissions and so it has been sitting since 2010. It gets started about twice a month and every now and then I sneak out for a run down the river trail by my house. I have all the flares and trim for it these days, and I even have the rear filler piece (made from unobtanum) that goes between the rear bumper and body. That particular piece is like handling a piece of parchment, but I know a local restoration shop with a superb metalsmith, so likely I will have a replica for that part made from sheetmetal.

I'm hoping to have the car painted and new carpet within the next twelve months, at which point the car will have been done from a fully-stripped shell, to a full rebuild on both axles, transfer case, transmission and engine. For awhile I had three side-draft Webers and two-piece headers on the car, loved the heck out of that setup, and three two-barrels didn't fail emissions any worse than one two-barrel did. We ran into serious financial problems when my wife and I both lost our incomes for over two years, so those performance pieces are gone now, and the car is back to bone stock except for the cam and head.

Just thought I would let people who remember the car know where the project is at right now. I'll use this thread to post pictures and commentary as I find them and remember them, things like the mysterious transfer case leak that I had, the drivetrain pull and install, the rubber components, shifter swap, distributor rebuild and those other things that I remember people commenting a lot about. As things progress at my new job and I can get some funding set aside, I'll cover the paint and interior prep here and get some pictures up for everyone to follow.

I love the new Den and I'm stoked that the greatest AMC site on Earth is back in the mix again.
-mike

My first look at the Kammster, during a parts scout:

[Prafeston]

Good luck with your project! I hope you can get it to pass inspection so you can really enjoy that thing!

[ISOAR]

If you ever get your metal guy to make you a rear bumper filler, and wouldn't mind making a couple extras, I would be in the market for two of them for my Kaambacks. I'm also looking for bumper ends for all corners on both cars. If you have any leads, I'm all ears. I'm not going to try to  nickle and dime anybody, but I am looking for quality. I've searched for two years w/o any luck.

Thanks, George.

[lonestar1947]

I had to chime in too!  If your metal guy makes a good reproduction for the rear bumper filler piece, I could use 2 of them!  Let's give him some business!

[Route 66 Rambler]

I have approached the metal guy about it, and he is interested, but of course first he needs to see the part. I just got my '86 F150 through emissions yesterday, and the work and study I did on that pickup gave me some fresh ideas on how to get the Kammster through the gauntlet. And having a pickup available now means that I have a good way to transport the rear filler piece over for him to have a look at. This is, seriously, the only one I have ever seen. There might have been one on a car in a picture somewhere, but these things basically don't exist. Once I put a few paychecks under my belt from the new job, I'll be running that puppy down to him to get a look-see. I have already explained it would be more of a prestige project for him than a way to make any real money, with such a small market out there. He says he likes the idea of a challenge of that type. I have an extra set of the skeletal metal pieces that clip behind the bumper for him to work with, too.

My suggestion for the rear bumper ends is to use sedan ones, and to just trim the ends shorter to fit under the flares. I have checked a set of two-door ones that I have, and I'm sure it will work in such a way that nobody will be able to tell. On the fronts, I do happen to live in rust-free Sonoran desert country, so I still see Eagles being driven to work in traffic. I'll keep my eyes open for a set of front bumper ends. We still have survivors in this part of the world. I actually know a guy that drives a Model T to work. There are 40s, 50s and 60s cars in traffic every day all over Arizona.

[captspillane]

On my Kammback I used Station Wagon rear bumper ends cut down to fit. The profile is different, so the rear flare around the tire also needed to be exchanged from the Kammback one to a Station Wagon version. Along with the change in profile the flare had to sit a little higher than the old one, so none of the existing trim holes lined up. They were covered by the flare, so it was just a matter of drilling new ones just a little higher than the old ones. It came out looking nice and stock but wasn't as easy as it appeared at first.

[vangremlin]

And having a pickup available now means that I have a good way to transport the rear filler piece over for him to have a look at. This is, seriously, the only one I have ever seen. There might have been one on a car in a picture somewhere, but these things basically don't exist.

I must have the only other one in existence!  If you are able to get some made, I would probably be interested, just to have a back up in case mine disintegrates.  Captspillane has inquired about borrowing one of my end caps to digitize so he can reproduce them, and that will happen one of these days.