school me on rambler 327 ..

have a chance to by a rambler 327 its cool and complete .

read about it on the net ..there is some parts avl .

but has any one had one ? are they turds should i wast my time on it ?

id like to run it in my 29 rpu .

thanks dice.

 

That I know of there are NO performance parts for them. But I don't think they're a bad motor, plenty of people drove Ramblers and they lasted as long as any other car of that era did. In something light like an A RPU it should give you plenty of get up and go.

The transmission may be an issue though. The early AMC V8 through '68 ran torque tube drive. Now in 58-62 anyhow, per my Motor's Manual, Rambler used a Borg-Warner 3-speed auto that's the same trans used in late Studebakers and in 1957-58 Ford. So by combining parts you may be able to convert a Rambler trans to open drive. The Rambler was a pushbutton, I'd want to keep that I think.

You could go manual, but I don't know if they offered a manual trans in the V8 powered cars, certainly they did in the six-cylinder cars, the question would be if the bell used the same bolt pattern and what flywheel would work.

 

the motor is in a 65 ambassador it has a auto trans coulum shift open drive shaft im not sure about that .car is in the dirt ..

for 150 bucks i think im going to snag it up ..

 

Years ago I had a couple of them. Ran o.k. I also had a dual Carter side draft set up from a marine application. It looked killer! Sadly I no longer have the induction. I believe the marine engine was 280 horse.

 

My Son is looking for one now,
They seem to be a stout engine, capable of considerable overbore, and stroke,
one guy raced one at 410 cubes.
But, speed parts never existed, still, a good cam grinder should be able to make a decent cam, and a little porting should wake the heads up a little.
300+ horses shouldn't be that hard.
Also the intake is completely separate from the distributor and the water crossover...so...a tricky fabricated intake would be alot easier to build than on the "superior" SBC (thats sarcasm by the way)
It would be awesome if was out in open, in something really light,..T bucket?

 

I had a 64 Ambassador wagon ,327 3spd std w/od. ran great.

 

Can't even get much more than a light buzz for 150 bux. Go for it!

 

Friend of mine had a rambler wagon with a 327 3spd and overdrive, it was a tire smoker. Lippy

 

Well, a manual bell would probably cure your closed drive issue, but I'm not sure where to research what trans they used to know what else will fit. Even I'm learning things from this thread -

 

i wonder if there is a adapter avl to take the closed shaft out and run a open one im going to look at some jeep sights ..

 

Pretty sure a '65 was a Flash-O-Matic, aka B-W 3-sp? Not the greatest trans, bet you can hook up something better.

 

I can't offer a whole lot of firsthand experience, just some personal opinions and stuff I've read.
My '65 Ambassador wagon (project) has the the smaller 287. I've read the first generation AMC V8s were all pretty stout engines. The Rambler corporate line at the time disavowed any "performance" image, but a couple dealers and individuals worked with the engines a bit with good results.

If nothing else, they're pretty cool lookin' with those beveled valve covers, and damn sure different!
IMHO that alone is worth the price of admission!

 

My 65 Rambler has the 287 with Flash-O-Matic and it does have a torque tube. 327s did come with 4 barrel carbs thats about it for speed parts. Good, heavy, overbuilt engines.

 

A friend is big into Rambler Marlins. He had Isky regrind 2 cams for a nice lumpy idle. Hes also using a later AMC Edelbrock Torker with adapter plates for intake. On one of the AMC web sites there are pics of homemade headers for a 327. They looked cool, with 3 tubes each side. My favorite intake for that engine was a four deuce setup on a Rambler gasser.
Rambler did back those engines up with T-10 4 speed manual tranny, you'll be lucky to find one with the torque tube for cheap.

 

The smallest version (250 cubic inch) of the Rambler V8 had solid lifters and adjustable rocker arms; something to look for if you put a reground cam in your 327.

 

This is cool...............

Four carburetors set atop a specially-fabricated intake manifold, while the custom headers are just barely visible from above. Engine changes include a transistorized ingnition and Isky 505-A cam.​

Not long ago the Rambler Dealers Association donated an Ambassador engine for testing by a leading automotive publication. After exhaustive research, the magazine's final verdict towards the 327's hop up potential was an enthusiastic "the sleeper of the industry!" A follow-up report featured Kraft's '63 Super Stock, a consistent winner at the old San Gabriel Dragway. Letters from Rambler enthusiasts across the nation began pouring into Bill's office, many asking questions about swapping Ambassador engines into Americans. Bill's engineers figured the big mill would fit into the American, but the factory wouldn't acknowledge the fact. He flew back to Detroit for conferences, the factory re-established its "No it Won't Fit" answer. "Well, I'm glad you told we that," bellowed Bill, "because we've already got one in, and it's running 112 at Fontana!"

 

The '57 Rambler Rebel with the 327" engine was supposed to have been the second fastest production car of that year. Right behind the Fuelie Corvette.

 

1st car I owned was a 65 Marlin, got it in 1982 (I was 12). Had a 327 and it moved pretty damn good. My 2nd car (at 16) was a shortned down 66 Ford truck w/a 429 that would scare you, and even w/owning that truck I thought the Marlin was still pretty peppy.

I drove that marlin a lot for about 10 years and the engine was just as sound as ever when I traded it.

 

thanks guys this stuff is cool .

with all the reading ive been doing i think i need to find the 2 inch wide adapter they used on jeeps to bolt up the nailhead 400 trans to it

then i should be good to go with a driveshaft .

is the nailhead 400 trans the same bolt pattern as a b.o.p trans? like the 350 s

 

Everyone has pretty much covered the basics, but some notes from the resident "Rambler guy":

1. ALL 56-66 Ramblers "big" Ramblers, which is everything but the 58-66 American, had a torque-tube, six or eight.

2. The torque-tube transmission isn't a problem. The V-8 models take a standard T-10 yoke. The trans will have a big square flange on the end doing nothing, but there's no problem with using an open driveshaft with it.

3. Only "performance" part is the factory iron 4V intake. Get a cam re-ground, replace the 450 cfm carb with a 600 cfm Holley (standard Holley pattern on the intake, one good thing!) and you've made a big improvement! You can also get a late model AMC V-8 intake and modify it to fit. Cut the water crossover and rear area off and keep the original water crossover. Then you need a pair of 1/2" aluminum plates to fit between the heads and intake. Ports don't match perfect, but you have 1/2" of aluminum to blend them in with, and of course you can "bite" into the head and intake a bit too.

4. The engines are very smooth and durable. Crank and rods are forged, just like everything else before around 1964 when casting techniques improved to the point that a crank could be cast. AMC never made a cast crank until the next generation of V-8s came out, so all AMC 250/287/327 V-8 have forged cranks.

5. The main bottle neck is the heads. A little port work will help, but because of the valve arrangement you can't really put much larger valves in without shrouding. Throw a low boost turbo on it and forget about head work, nothing 5-6 psi won't take care of!

6. www.kanter.com has rebuild kits. So does www.ramblerparts.com, I think.

7. The Nailhead trans has its own bolt pattern. The bell is also shallower than other TH-400s because the Nailhead has a deep skirt that covers the flywheel in the back of the block. GM sold the Nailhead 400 as a "universal" model because the shallower bell allowed plenty room for an adapter. If you get the Jeep adapter you also need the flexplate and I think there is a spacer on the crank too. Might just be a pilot to fit the converter, I'm not sure. Check some Jeep sites for that info. If the trans with it is good and it's just going in a mild rod I'd just keep the cast iron Borg-Warner auto. It's very similar to the Ford trans of the same year -- BW and Ford jointly developed it, but the Ford uses a different case and valve body. Nearly all other parts interchange.

8. Can't think of anything else right now...

 

I bought a 1965 marlin in 1972 and still drive it to car shows every summer!! 196,233 miles later and still runs perfect!! The 327 is a great engine as long as you change the oil on a regular basis, 1500 to 2000 miles. Oil passes through a bolt holding the rocker shaft to the head, if this passage clogs up no oil will get to the rockers! Get the engine , you wont be disapointed!!

 

Farna's the man.

 

-----------------------------
How about a Rambler 327 bored and stroked to 418 inches, fitted with an Isky cam and 4-2bbls on a homemade intake??!!

http://wps.com/AMC/Rambler-327/418-cid v8.htm

"[FONT=verdana, arial, helvetica]Guy's latest effort reaches skyward
to up and over the 400 mark, 418
cubic inches of AMC motor! A
3/4-inch stroker kit nets the Rambler
a four-inch "arm." Pistons are special
order 12-to-1 Ansen items, .060 over.
Ed Iskendarian supplies a wild 505-A
cam, the four carb manifold is
home-built, and the heads show
diligent preparation[/FONT]"
-----------
Also see the related ""New Rambler V8"
tech articles on the on site too.

Mart3406
======================

 

The 'home-made' manifold is the trick.

Great looking engine, like an early Cadillac.

 

Here is a good site for the AMC motors. http://theamcforum.com/

The early AMC motors through the 327 were Packard's design. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMC_V8_engine

In 1957 the EFI 327 was rated at 288 hp (215 kW), and the production 4V carbureted model at 255 hp, 270 hp by 1965. All the EFI cars were reportedly converted to 4V carb before being sold; none are known to have existed outside the engineering department at AMC. The main problem was that vacuum tube and early transistor electronics just could not keep up with the demands of "on the fly" engine controls. Ironically, Bendix licensed patents based on the 1957 the design (patent dated 1960) to Bosch, who perfected it as the basis for their D-Jetronic injections system, first used in 1967. From this one could derive that the 1957 Rebel (and EFI in general) was ten years ahead of its time.

 

Question here....
"2. The torque-tube transmission isn't a problem. The V-8 models take a standard T-10 yoke. The trans will have a big square flange on the end doing nothing, but there's no problem with using an open driveshaft with it."[/I] Are you saying the stock tranny can be used with an open shaft, rather than a torque tube? I sure hope so, please clarify would you... thanks.

 

Had a friend out here in Vegas when I first moved her that had a 65 Marlin Turqoise and black that had a 327 4 bll. and T10. I tell you what the thing would flat ass move at any speed. This was in 1987 and he bought the car new in Colorado. I didn't see the car for a bout a year and he said he sold it. I'm not a big AMC fan but I sure as Hell would of bought that one.

Michael

 

I had two 327 "Fireball" V8's in 36' Trojan cabin cruiser. The engines ran great and were very smooth! Whenever I would hit an autoparts store for parts, the pimple-faced kids behind the counter would inform me that a 327 is a Chevy engine, not AMC! I would tell them to look up "Rambler Ambassador" and would eventually get what I needed.

There have been several mentions of the "Rambler Marlin" (the forgotten pony-car!). I thought these were great looking cars, but I read somewhere that they never produced a "convertible". A few years ago I saw one at a car show, and it definately looked "factory"!

 

I answered Lono in a PM, but will restate here: YES, you can use the torque-tube transmissions (auto or manual) with an open driveshaft. You just need the correct yoke. T-10 or any 67-71 AMC big V-8 (343 or larger) car yoke. The 290 and 304 used a M-4x auto trans and smaller yoke. The bigger engines used a cast iron case. Factory 290/4Vs had the cast iron main case trans also (no factory 304/4V). If it's an auto with a cast iron main case, the yoke should fit. T-10 manual yoke is supposed to fit also.

 

-----------------
If you can find one, some mid-60's Jeep
Pick-ups and Wagoneers with the 327
AMC V8 came with a GM TH400 tranny.
They had an adapter bolted to the back
of the block and TH400 they used had
the same case pattern as a TH400 for a
Buick Nailhead. The Jeeps were all 4WD,
but if you just got the adapter, you could
bolt a regular 2WD Buick Nailhead style
TH400 to your engine.

Mart3406
======================