287 In the Rambler, or 327?

Heres my dilema, Im having a hard time finding a 327, they just arent out there for a reasonable price.

My rambler has a 287 already in it.

So should i stick with the 287, or go for the 327 engine?

BTW, Its a 64 Rambler for those who want to know.

A friend of mine has a 351 Cleveland i COULD buy, but it would be a pain to get in.

 

That would be 64 Rambler Classic since it has a 287. Ambassadors got the 327, Americans didn't get a V-8 until 66.

Actually, the 351 wouldn't be a bad fit. The pain would be in replacing the rear axle and building a locating device (ladder bars, four link, or "truck arms") for it. If you can weld and do a little fabbing it's not that difficult. Of course you have to use the Ford tranny too.

But I'd keep the 287. So it's not the biggest engine around, who cares? It can still make decent power. I'd look for a 4V intake (about half the 327s made had a 4V) or make adapters to fit a late model AMC 4V to it. You just need two pieces of 1/2" thick aluminum between the heads and intake. Okay, it's a bit more complicated than that, but not much. Then stick a 500 or so carb on top of it. A 600 would be a bit on the big side, but not too big. Send the cam in to be reground just a little hotter too, that would better suit the 600 cfm carb. The stock 327 4V is only around 450 cfm, which wouldn't be too bad on the 287, the 327 needs a 600.

 

Just an FYI search craigslist in the boat section for the 'Fireball V-8' or 'Grey Marine 327' or just 'AMC'.
You will probly find a boat motor eaiser than a car motor in your neck of the woods.

And after you find one send me the dual side draft intake and carbs for my project !!!!

Jeff

 

Like this:
http://craiglook.com/boats.html?q=327

And I vote for AMC power.

Jeff

 

Don't forget get to consider Jeep Wagoneers as possible source for a 327. I have had several and thought they were plenty powerful at the time.

 

One of my high school friends' first cars was a '63 Classic hardtop with a 287. We strapped a 4V setup from a 327 on it, along with duals (with glasspacks, of course) and it really didn't run bad, at least not by high school standards. You do know that changing to a different brand engine will entail changing the transmission and rear end too due to the torque tube, right?

 

Run what ya brung- keep the 287.

 

Farna STRIKES AGAIN!

Kinda creepy him stalking me however.

No one is parting out any wagoneers though, Its a shame.

 

I second that.

 

I would run the 287. I have one in my 66 Classic. But I do have a 71 AMC 360 sitting in the shop!

 

Does anyone know if the 287 has enough meat to take a bore out to the 327 piston?

 

No. There have been rumors that some of the very early 1963 287 blocks may take that much bore, but it's highly unlikely. 64-66 blocks definitely will not. There's 1/4" difference in the bores -- there are no engines that will safely take a 1/4" (0.25") overbore! They CAN be bored up to 1/8" (0.125"), even the 327. That would require custom bore pistons though. 327 has a 4" bore, easy enough to match bigger pistons with, but the 287 has a 3-3/4" (3.75") bore which isn't common to any other engines I know of. The AMC/Jeep 4.0L six uses a 3-7/8" piston (3.875") standard, but I'm not sure how close the piston pin height or diameter is. Diameter is easy to take care of, pin height might have to be changed or require a different length rod. Still, that's an interesting combination that might work! Would yield 20 more cubic inches (307).

 

Maybe you should make an offer to someone with a 327 and wait, I can't believe there are guys tripping over themselves at a dead run to buy one of those... a few months down the road when the crickets are still chirping, your offer may look much better.

I mean I've had chances to pick up 327 Ramblers and could find no one looking or who even cared about them, so I bought other things -

 

me too... if you don't go 287 or 327 then go 360, 390, or 401... but go AMC.

 

Yeah, Rambler V-8s aren't exactly on everyone's "must have" list! Some who find them think "it's rare, must be worth a lot to someone who needs one" and price accordingly -- out of the market. Shouldn't be hard to find a REBUILDER, but don't expect to find a good running engine. Rebuilding them isn't cheap, but parts are available (try www.kanter.com for master rebuild kits).

Where are you located? I can put the word out on the AMC List that you're looking for one. I know a guy in VA who has an extra he'd sell at a reasonable price, but needs rebuilding.

 

Back in the day my Dad bought my Mom a '59? Ambassador wagon. I was so embarrassed to drive it. It had a 327 though, with a 4 barrel,a posi unit, and a push button automatic. The engine was ok, I actually thought the valve covers looked kinda good. The rear end was the weak point. I once was trying to burn rubber in front of my friends and I revved it up a bit and punched it into gear, this started to chew out the splines in the hub, that eventually failed on a family trip, whereupon I got my splines chewed out real good! We had that old car quite a while, cuz it hauled our boat, and I had rigged up a carrier to work with the half luggage rack to put my 10' log of a surf board on top. Put some surf stickers on it, that helped the cool factor a little. What was really wild however was the way the seats folded down, great on a date. Keep trying to find a 327, in hindsight it was pretty cool.

 

Can you find a 343" AMC engine??

Dam good motor if you can and want to make it fit!!

I don't know what the difference is between the earlier older heavy AMC V-8's are and the newer, more lighter weight as cast V-8's, sorry....

pdq67

 

LOTS of difference, almost nothing in common. They share the same bore centers so that AMC didn't have to re-tool the factory for boring, and they also share the same V angle (90 degrees, I think). That's about it!! Bell bolt pattern is even different, though I don't know for the life of me why AMC did that.

The secret to keeping the two piece hub/axle assembly together is to retorque the big nut every 5-10 years (5 is driving it hard, 10 for a typical driver/cruiser). Stuck tight doesn't mean properly torqued! Might take 500-600 ft/lbs to break loose a nut that's been in the same position for 30+ years. Needs to be torqued to 250-300 ft/lbs, similar to some front wheel drive car hubs. If it's been recently torqued it should be fine up to 400 hp at least, more in a lighter car. Too many people pop the hub to replace bearings or seals then tighten it "as much as they can" and call it good. Needs to be torqued! Over tightening will cause the axle to stretch and in extreme cases can cause the end of the axle to break. In the mid 80s some goof on the AMC assembly line torqued the axles to 500-600 ft/lbs. Took 40-50K and/or 2-3 years of driving before the axles started breaking off inside the hub!

 

There was a rebuilt 327 for sale here in the classifieds - guy was in AZ somewhere . . .

Ah, here it is:

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=409842

Steve

 

Im not driving to arizona for an engine........

Hence why my siggy says "in the pacific northwest"

 

$300 for a fresh rebuild, well worth the couple hundred to have it shipped.

 

Its not that, its that its a couple hundred i dont have.

 

Whatever you do stay AMC. I have a 65 Rambler American that I am swapping in a Mopar 318 that I got for next to nothing. I wish I had the budget to build and swap in a AMC 360 or somthing along those lines.

 

Again,

Can you hustle up an AMC 343" engine?

Good engine.

pdq67

 

Too much work for such little power, if i go next gen amc, i may as well go 360.

 

If it's a 250, 287, or 327 AMC/Rambler block the intake will fit. Grey Marine used some other engines too, but the only V-8s I know of are the 56-66 AMC engines. Some of the intakes, like the low profile dual sidedraft one, would be real restrictive for a car. Would work okay, but you wouldn't get any additional power! A boat needs good low speed torque more than high speed power (unless it's a jet boat), so the low seemingly restrictive sidedrafts don't hurt it as much.

 

Can i get a mod to close this thread?

 

Why? As long as it's on topic may as well let someone else just add to the thread. If you are no longer interested click on "Thread Tools" and unsubscribe from the thread so you no longer get notices of posts. I do that all the time!

 

Because everything is in another thread! Such as the 327 i happened to find.

 

If you need help with your engine after you find one, let me know as I have some engine parts, both 287 and 327.

FYI--if you have never sonic checked a 287 block you would be surprised how thick they are. Opinions are nice but until your actually check a block, blanket statements about not boring them should not be made IMO.