what modifications would it take to put a 360 amc motor in my 61 rambler american? Would i have to change the original front suspesion?
I would, your going to have to put a little width in the engine bay. Might as well put a crossmember in it to get upgraded brakes, eliminate the trundle, etc. Nothing gonna be easy...
I've got a soft spot for those. They are so ugly that they are just dam cool. Here is one I had last year that was factory pink with a factory SILVER interior. I didn't have the heart to modify it. I put a set of magnum 500's on it and it just looked wrong. So I went back to stock. Sold it to a guy that lived in Canada just north of Seatle Washington. Havy any pics of yours??
Another thought, check the length of the engines, the bay may not be long enough as well without some mods to firewall or rad support...
Front end parts are costly..I went MII because it was cheaper than getting trunions and finding all the nos front end parts. A 2.3 Ford 4 cyl. out of a 80's t-bird works. I have seen v-6's. V8 cars Ive seen require cutting back firewall. Trans tunnel will have to be cut open. Ramblers are the coolest little cars that absolutely suck to convert. Unless you already have the 360 AMC I would look into something else. I wouldnt worry about being traditional..how can you be traditional when your doing a Rambler right? I'd look more into how much fab you will have to do in order to get whatever you choose in that engine compartment. I wouldnt listen to me though I stuck a rotary in mine. An oddball car deserves a oddball engine right Good luck!
63 was the end of that body style, 64/65 new body style, engine bay grew some. 66 up, the engine compartment grew again and is plenty large enough for the V8 mill, in fact the 290+ were available for the American, which is the same block as the 360...
i put a 4.3 V6 in my 68 easy a V8 is going to be a lot of power for that lil car you will have to build sub connectors my worn out V6 is a lot lol.
in 1962 or 1963 one of our customers went down & bought a new 426 mopar and a new lark the same day - took them home & swapped the engines & trannys - he gave the sport fury to his mother for a driver & had a great sleeper for himself - true story - tom
The 61 american engine bay and front suspension is not the same as the later Americans...Later cars are "easier" to drop a v8 in.
Oldtimer, there are a couple threads on here about the 58-63 Americans. Under the hood they are all the same -- the 61-63 is a total reskin of the 58-60, glass remained mostly the same, firewall and dash board changed, rest of floor pan and unit body remained the same along with mechanical parts. The front suspension isn't hard or costly to rebuild. The upper trunnions on those are expensive if they need to be replaced, but for the most part they can be rebuilt. If the cross pin in the upper trunnion is frozen (common) then you may have to take it to a machine shop to be removed. It's a hardened steel pin and you need a carbide bit to drill it out, but is in standard 5/8" coarse threads. I use a standard 5" or so stud to replace it and drill the trunnion for a grease fitting. Like a lot of cars you just need to know someone who knows the little tricks! The lower trunnions are under $40 each and easy to replace. The front end will hold a small block easily -- the old L-head six is only 50 pounds lighter. Pop me an e-mail with questions -- farnaATatt.net
Im on the same note as you trying to do the same with my 61 american going to a premanufactured mustang 11 front end
These guys claim to have a kit for 50-63 Nash Ramblers and Rambler Americans (they say 64, but that body's last year was 63). Personally, I'd use an early Chevy II front frame kit -- the bolt on kind. Then cut the Rambler off and weld in mounting points for the bolt-on front frame, or weld it in (I like the bolt-on approach better). http://www.supremehotrods.com/compo...rsal-crossmember-for-trucks-cars-a-jeeps.html
I second the early nova clip.and I believe Your gonna have to recess the firewall for the bellhousing.
Contact Fatman or Supreme Rods. They may have some pics, or can surely answer questions. What I CAN tell you is that a section of the stock spring tower just above the "frame" rail has to be cut out so the top spring/a-arm mount of the MII suspension can be welded in. It's not a bolt-in. That said, again I have to reiterate that the original suspension is superior in geometry with one exception -- you can only get about 3 degrees total caster. That was fine for bias ply tires, radial like 5-6 degrees. The car will track a lot steadier with 5-6 degrees. Mine feels a little "touchy" on the steering with only 3 degrees, but other wise drives and handles great. A small block can be installed with the stock suspension and a little metal work above the upper arm mounts. Stock suspension is lighter and stronger than an MII. Brakes aren't a problem -- Scarebird and Aerospace make kits that will fit (Javelin kits bolt right on). That old flat-head six is small, but weighs only 40 pounds less than a typical small block. I suggest getting stiffer front springs to improve handling anyway -- under $250 for specially made ones from www.coilsprings.com.
Hi - I need help ... I want to put vintage American-style spoke mags on my 1961 Rambler American conv., but I do not know what the bolt pattern might be or what size to look for. I've done lots of searches, but it doesn't seem to be a mainstream question. Anyone out there know the anser to my Hokey Ass question Thanks a bunch ... and I think my Rambler is the cutest thing that ever rolled down the road ... it does need a bit of work though...Kathy
If you're doing this 'cause you want to make a runner out of it, it sounds like you've got a lot of work ahead of you. If you're more interested in making a dependable driver out of it I'd look at something like a 2.5 Iron Duke or maybe a 60 degree V6 like a GM 3.1 or 3.4. Either way it seems like you'd have easily half again as much motor in it than what you started with.
Bolt pattern is the same as Ford, 5 x 4.5". The center hole in Ford wheels might be slightly small for the Rambler hubs in front. Just a little tight -- a few hits with a grinder or large round file should do the trick. Most aftermarket wheels fit. Note that you MUST use 15" wheels because the outer tie rod end is between the drum and wheel. No way to move it, steering would be all out of whack! I ran kind of thick old "slot" mags on mine years ago. Had to be careful where the stick-on weights were placed or the tie rod would knock them off! I had a high school girl interested in buying mine when I sold it around 98. She said it was "so ugly it was cute". That about sum it up? Dad knew it would be a maintenance problem for him and wouldn't go there though. Heck, I told him it would need more maintenance than a modern car, but not too bad. Speaking of which, is your a flat-head or OHV six? If it's an OHV and running STOP RUNNING IT!! Pull the valve cover an re-troque all the head bolts. You need to do that every other year or 12-14K miles. whichever comes first. If you don't you'll eventually blow a head gasket and likely crack the 50 year old head, which is hard to find now. You don't have to worry about tightening order, just loosen each bolt and tighten back to 60-65 ft/lbs one at a time. If you loosen all before tightening any you will have to go by the tightening order. Easy enough, start in the middle then work in a circular pattern -- middle two, then tow to front, then two to back, and keep going that way.
Swapping another motor in requires a good deal of work. The engine bay is narrow, and Irin Duke won't fit, and the accessories on the small V-6 stick out to the sides to far. You'd need "hot rod" type mounts, and those can get expensive. One engine that WILL just fit is a Ford Ranger 2.3 or 2.5 EFI engine, the kind with the intake that wraps back over the valve cover. A Ford 200 or 250 six cylinder will also just fit, but anything else is too long or too wide. Well, an Olds Quad Four fits, but you need a $300 bell housing to fit a Chevy trans to make it work. You will need the trans with whatever engine is swapped in. There should be a couple threads where we've discussed this, search for Rambler Engine Swap. Anything for a 1950-55 Nash Rambler or 1958-63 Rambler American will work -- those all use the same unit body, just different outer sheet metal.
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