“You can’t always get what you want.” At least that’s what the Rolling Stones once said. While it may be true in most cases, no one has ever told the owner/seller of this ’71 Javelin AMX that. When he couldn’t buy the vintage Trans Am racer of his dreams, he took it upon himself to build a duplicate just like it. He’s now selling it on eBay.

Starting with a legit AMX package Javelin, the seller completely reconstructed the car into a clone of the 1971 Penske Javelin that was driven by Mark Donahue during the ’71 season. The Javelin started life as a factory Go-Pack equipped example with a 401 under its hood, verified by the “X” in its VIN number. Wanting a clean, solid foundation to start with, the owner sourced a car from the Las Vegas area to avoid as many rust issues as possible.

Utilizing all of the vintage photos, film footage, and just about anything else he could get his hands on, he built the car you see here. He claims that this is the only perfect example of a recreation of the Javelin in question, but as the seller, he would say that.

He goes on to describe the modifications performed on the old school AMC, citing that the resto-mod process took four years, and not a penny was spared. Its 401 has been rebuilt, being balanced and blueprinted to the tune of 450HP, and it’s shifted through a Richmond/Nash 4+1 gearbox supposedly formulated for the rest of the drivetrain.

The rest of the details of the car are reportedly exactly as they were on the real one, and the paint job mimics the original race car exactly. The only fault we could find with the whole car that strays from the original (and the seller points it out), is the addition of a  “buddy seat,” which the original car never had. Since the car is claimed to be completely streetable (despite it aggressive cam specs), you can take this Javelin out to the local cruise-in.

At press time, the current bid is holding steady at $45,100, a fraction of what the $847,000 the real thing sold for at an auction just a few years ago.