With only days left till the first car show of the season, the West Bend High School Automotive class is pushed to have Project Next Generation in show condition for the Milwaukee World of Wheels car show (February 24-26). With the clock ticking the students needed to install the rear differential and suspension, and assemble the entire front end of the AMX, the students had their work cut out for them.

The class started by reassembling the original AMC 20 rear axle which already had new bearings and gears installed. They loaded in new one piece axles and finished off the assembly with some beautiful yet functional Wilwood disk brakes and rotors. The process took the students longer than expected but it was a great learning opportunity for them. When it was time to look for custom rear leaf springs we looked no further than the pros at Eaton Detroit Spring Inc.  They were able to make us some custom drop leaf springs that will give the AMX a fierce stance with uncompromised ride quality. With new leaf springs installed, and the rear axle fully built, the students were able to line up the rear end to the car and settle the differential into its final resting place. A handful of bolts and about an hour later, Project Next Generation now has its rear end installed!

Now for the crown jewel of the suspension system, the front Tubular IFS system from Control Freaks. With the vehicle owner “Mark” being a suspension engineer you can tell this is an area he truly dove deep into.  When it comes to complete suspension kits for an AMC you are rather limited in comparison to the countless options we had for Teacher’s Pet Camaro. After much research we came across Control freak suspension. They truly make a fantastic bolt in kit with upgraded tubular K-member along with upper and lower control arms. They also ditched  the sluggish and complex 1969 steering system for a powered rack and pinion.  The students were very impressed with the care Control Freak took to label each packet of parts and hardware to inform the installer exactly how and where they needed to be installed. This was truly a simple install the students could do without much help from the instructor.

When it came to choosing shock absorbers and springs for the front and rear of the vehicle we had to go with the best. So, we contacted our partners at QA1 suspension. In order to optimize the handling of the AMX on and off the track we choose the double adjustable shock absorbers for the front and rear of the vehicle. We topped off the front end install with a matching set of Wilwood four piston disc brakes with drilled and slotted rotors. Not only will the front of this car look good, but it is also going to lose some weight over the stock parts which is a double bonus! Honestly, I can’t wait to show the students and the customer what their hard work and parts will do to make this AMC handle and stop.

I am very impressed with the hard work and commitment these students have dedicated to this vehicle. Some of the students are still coming in after school and on the weekends to make this push to get the car ready.

West Bend High School Automotive and its students would like to thank their sponsors West Bend Dyno Tuning, Wegner Motorsports, QA1 Suspension, Wilwood, and Control Freak Suspensions, just to name a few.

If you would like to meet the students and check out their work on Project Next Generation, visit them February 24^th-26^th at O’Reilly’s World Of Wheels at the Wisconsin fair grounds in the Expo Center.

Stay tuned for what’s next to come on project next generation. I am going to give you a hint… It will make the car go and it is built by none other that our partners at Wegner Motorsports.