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Features Nash Rambler Whos Hot Rodding Them

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by dons t, May 1, 2007.

  1. gilles d
    Joined: Nov 20, 2011
    Posts: 238

    gilles d
    Member
    from winnipeg

    Almost done took it out of the garage for its first drive image.jpg image.jpg image.jpg
     
    Jet96 and Gremlinguy like this.
  2. Rusty O'Toole
    Joined: Sep 17, 2006
    Posts: 9,657

    Rusty O'Toole
    Member

    We used to run into this on VW beetles. Small cars with small carb jets are apt to get the idle jets plugged up. A spec of dirt no bigger than a gnat's head will do it.

    Quick cure, unscrew the idle mixture needle and blow compressed air in the hole.

    CAUTION you have to screw the needle all the way in first until it Gently seats, counting the turns. Then take it out. When you put it back, screw it all the way in and back off the exact same number of turns. This keeps your idle adjustment.

    Second go easy with the air. 2 or 3 quick puffs will do it. Do not blast it, you could damage the float.

    How long since you changed your fuel filter?
     
  3. Rusty O'Toole
    Joined: Sep 17, 2006
    Posts: 9,657

    Rusty O'Toole
    Member

    In its day your car was considered rather peppy with a fairly large engine for its size, especially compared to European cars of the time.

    Check your compression and your oil pressure. It could be you are due for a ring and valve job or even a rebuild. If compression and oil pressure are ok try a tuneup. Also check that the throttle is opening all the way, sometimes on old cars they don't, due to wear in the linkage.
     
  4. farna
    Joined: Jul 8, 2005
    Posts: 1,282

    farna
    Member

    The 52 has the little 172.6 engine, 58-63 Americans have the 195.6. If the engine is weak and needs rebuilding I'd look for a 196 (195.6 is often called a 196) -- at least a crank and rods. Bore on all three of the Nash/AMC flat-head sixes is the same 3-1/8", and pistons are the same. Stroke is the only difference. 23 inches will help a bit! The 52 model was 82 hp with 7.25:1 compression, 58-63 is 90 hp with 8.0:1 compression. Don't have torques specs in front of me, but there was a bigger torque difference than hp difference.

    There's not a lot you can do with the old engine. There is a twin carb and a 2 barrel carb head, bit both are hard to find and a bit costly for 5-10 hp. Can't boost the compression much on the later one -- about 9:1 is it for a flat-head. Some racing Ford flattie V-8s run up to 10:1, but a lot of work is involved. Shaving the head about 0.040" to get another 0.5 compression might be noticeable, something to consider if rebuilding. That head is a bear to get off!!
     
  5. R W Ohio
    Joined: Dec 24, 2011
    Posts: 489

    R W Ohio
    Member
    from Ohio

  6. Bigcheese327
    Joined: Sep 16, 2001
    Posts: 6,694

    Bigcheese327
    Member

    I appreciate the advice, although I sold the car months ago. As it turned out, the old automatic choke had given up the ghost and was just staying closed all the time, so if you let off the throttle it wasn't getting any air and was probably flooding out.

    I will never voluntarily run a Carter RBS on anything again. lol
     
  7. R W Ohio
    Joined: Dec 24, 2011
    Posts: 489

    R W Ohio
    Member
    from Ohio

  8. Compression is good will check oilpressure. Got a brandnew carb on a swap in august. Got the car to run better just by swapin them. Think it needs a update on sparkplugs and cables and stuff.
     
  9. Got offered a free engine with trans from a working daily driver javelin 69. Its a straight 6 with a 3 speed on the floor. Anyone know if there is an adapter for using old transmission to that engine? Or should i just cut a hole in the floor instead??
     
  10. Bigcheese327
    Joined: Sep 16, 2001
    Posts: 6,694

    Bigcheese327
    Member

    It's likely still a side-shift transmission, so I would expect you can attach the column-shift linkage to the shift arms with some careful study. In fact, I'll bet it's the same trans that came with a column shifter if you ordered the straight six and three-speed in a '69 Rambler.
     
  11. Rusty O'Toole
    Joined: Sep 17, 2006
    Posts: 9,657

    Rusty O'Toole
    Member

    The Javelin engine is much too big to fit your car. I suggest you have the original engine checked by a mechanic. If it has good compression, is tuned correctly, and running correctly, try driving it and see how you like it.

    Drive it for a week, if you find the car too slow, sell it and buy something more to your taste. Due to the design of the car, changing engines is very difficult.
     
  12. Greasyman
    Joined: Oct 23, 2010
    Posts: 174

    Greasyman
    Member

    Old thread, but it's the only one I could find that was all about Ramblers. Does anyone remember an old Hot Rod magazine article, probably from the seventies, about a guy who bracket raced a '59 or so Rambler. The car was very scruffy on the outside, white in color iirc, but it had a pair of turbos mated to a sbc, and the car ran something like low elevens. I think the owner was from rural Oregon and a fireman.
    Back then, show cars, street cars, drag cars, were all about being clean and shiny, with chrome and deep paint and so on. I don't think I'd ever seen such a beat up looking car in Hot Rod before. The homemade twin turbo set-up was also quite out of the ordinary, this was right at the dawn of turbos being commonly used on cars, and I thought it was the coolest thing that this old boy had put all this together in his ramshackle garage out back behind the house.
    I have no real need for any of this info, but I saw something about an old Rambler and it made me think of this car so I thought I'd see if anyone knew anything about it. Thanks.
     
    Last edited: Jul 15, 2019
  13. Jalopy Joker
    Joined: Sep 3, 2006
    Posts: 31,177

    Jalopy Joker
    Member

    been a couple of modified Ramblers here in Nor-Cal on craigslist in the past week or so
     
  14. farna
    Joined: Jul 8, 2005
    Posts: 1,282

    farna
    Member

    I'd like to see that article! Never heard of it. I do know a guy in Georgia with a turbo 64 Rambler. He was in high school and getting the thing running, found me when I was stationed at Warner-Robins AFB in Georgia, and I stopped by and answered a lot of questions. At the time he was contemplating a future engine swap from the old Rambler 287 it had, talked about a possible Ford 351. Ended up doing an SBC swap. Kept it, and when in college (I think for engineering) he made it into a turbo'd street/strip car! Took it to the Hot Rod Magazine Pump Gas Drags and placed well, getting the magazine's attention for sure! It was featured in Hot Rod in the mid 2000s. Here's an article:
    https://www.hotrod.com/articles/hrdp-0709-1964-amc-rambler-classic/
    And he was the 2007 Dynomax Power to the Wheels dyno challenge winner with 1642 hp (427 small block w/twin turbos).


    Haven't heard anything about it for the last 10-12 years though.
     

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