im not trying to offend anyone here i know this has nothing to do wit car craft but do you know if i can force a 426  hemi into a 1974 matador x  

Anything can be done. I think there is plenty room in a Coupe for a 426. You can easily order stiffer springs for the front end (you'll need them!) from somewhere like www.coilspings.com. You'll need to tell them the weight differene between the AMC GEN-3 V-8 and a hemi. The AMC V-8 weighs roughly 600 pounds, the 426 is around 150 pounds more, I think. At least the Mat Coupe has a 727 IF it was a 360 V-8 model (304 V-8 had a 998), so you won't have to change tranny mounts. The AMC trans won't work though, bell housing bolt pattern is different.

The old 426 is so heavy that I wouldn't consider it. If you want a hemi, get the new model and transplant the EFI as well. There's a guy doing that in a Javelin over on the AMC Forums (www.amcfourms.com). It's a really neat project, and that's not all he's doing! He has some pics up at http://groups.msn.com/amcsforever2.msnw. Look for the album titled "Hemi Javelin" or something like that. Has photos of the engine mounts and such, as well as the great body work going into the project.

I'm starting to build a 1968 Rambler American and need your advice on a few items/issues. To convert the drum brakes to disc who builds a good setup and /or what other vehicle can I use as a uni-fit. I understand I can use the ford bolt pattern for the wheels but haven't figured out the brakes. Also, without a mini-tub, heve you guys figured out how wide we can go with the rear tire/rim. Next question for you, who has the gas caps for the Rambler? I'm finding it very hard to find...  Help! Guages... are you guys using the original set up of or you doing something custom in the project car? I want to go custom but haven't figured out who I want to use.

Any advice or help will be appreciated.

Dean

I'm starting to do a 66 american 440 2 dr hdtp. Want to put a 05 dodge hemi and 5 speed auto. Need some answers on front suspension ect.

Help!! Thanks much!!

               67c!!

CC covered their custom dash panel creation for the Project CC/Rambler with Autometer gauges sometime this year.  Search the back issues to see.  It turned out a very nice and functional panel which you could duplicate with 2 1/16" gauges.  Your '68 dash is the same as the '67 except the silver/black color scheme was reversed.

The Feb. issue had an article titled "Build a $3500 Street Machine" that mildly covered installing disc brakes on their '67.  Seems that AMC made it easy in that disc brakes from any year AMC vehicle will fit any other year.  There is a little difference in the spindles between disc and drum cars, but I have seen successful swaps using drum spindles.  FYI you can use aftermarket kits for early Mustangs and make your own caliper brackets (very easy with AMC since the spindle unbolts from the suspension upright) since AMC and Ford used the same bearings, seal inside diameter and bearing offset.  Early GM small cars (F-body, A-body, etc.) also used the same bearing set in the front, but I don't know about any of the other dimensions.  Lastly, you can separate the brake drum from the hub on the front of your drum brake AMC, use a rotor from a late Mustang (10 1/2") or Cobra (11") and it will slide right onto the front hub.  Select a caliper of choice, make a bracket to mount it and you are in business.  I also believe a rotor from a Chrysler product mini-van ('97-up) is a glove fit over the drum brake hub.

Here is a good link to read about the swapping the AMC discs:

http://www.amcforums.com/cgi/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1152742910/9#9

Best to contact me via e-mail if you need more help (farna@att.net). The suspension is plenty strong, I'd just get poly trunnion bushings or rebuilt trunnions and new factory V-8 springs. I don't think the new hemi weighs any more than the AMC V-8. There is a Javelin with a new hemi in it being built now. You'll have pretty much the same problems he did, which really weren't many. He's using a rack and pinion steering (not easy!) which interfered with an engine mount. Go to http://groups.msn.com/amcsforever2/197257hemijavelinproject.msnw.
I've talked with him several times about the car and given some advice, though admittedly not much -- he's pretty experienced with AMCs and didn't need it!  

Get the complete front disc brake setup, spindles and all, from any 79-83 AMC Concord or Spirit. Thatwill be a direct bolt on with no problems at all. Anything else will take a bit of fabrication work. A Mustang II hub will fit the AMC spindle (drum or disc), but the offset is different -- the MII has the wheel mount flange about 1/2" further out than the AMC hub. That means the wheels are at least an inch further apart, which is no big deal. The base flange where the spindle bolts to the upright is a little thinner on the disc spindle than the drum spindle. This is because there is a 3/8" thick caliper mounting bracket between the disc spindle and the upright. The thinner flange makes up for some of that thickness, though I haven't actually measured the flanges to see how much. It's somewhere between 1/8" and 1/4" difference.

If you make your own 1/4" cold rolled plate steel caliper brackets you'll have to shim the calipers out to match the rotor. If using a four piston Baer or similar caliper it's no big deal. I don't know how far in the MII rotors are compared to the AMCs though. 1/4" thick cold rolled should be fine, that's what most aftermarket brackets are made of, but 3/8" won't hurt. The thinner material will match the drum spindles better.

You can drive the lugs out of an AMC drum hub then separate the drum from the hub. The drum is a tight press fit on the center of the hub after the lugs are out. Then you can use a Jeep 4x4 or any Ford/Chrysler (and some Toyota, or aftermarket hat type) front drive rotor with a 5x4.5" bolt pattern and enough offset to clear the wheels. 4x4 rotors might be to deep, you'll have to check.

My e-mail is farna@att.net if I can help any more.

You can drive the lugs out of an AMC drum hub then separate the drum from the hub. The drum is a tight press fit on the center of the hub after the lugs are out. Then you can use a Jeep 4x4 or any Ford/Chrysler (and some Toyota, or aftermarket hat type) front drive rotor with a 5x4.5" bolt pattern and enough offset to clear the wheels. 4x4 rotors might be to deep, you'll have to check.

    Well they don't call 'em AMC's (All Motors Combined..**LOL**) for nothin'! That's true car crafting when you find other parts to get the job done! Kinda makes me sad thinking about the 2 v-8 Gremlins I got rid of for a song years ago.. both 72's.. one auto the other stick.... If I only had sense then...

Man these cars cars cool.  Now I've just gotta find one just like it out there.  I've looked around the net, but I'm coming up empty.  Anyone know a good resource for these cars? The magazine car is exactly what I'm looking for.  

There's a link to the AMC section of e-pages from www.amxfiles.com. Your best bet might be to write one of the amc clubs -- www.amonational.com, www.amcrc.com, or http://www.hemmings.com/clubs/detail.html?hmn_club_id=1478823.

Then there is always e-bay, but be careful! One of the AMC people at www.amcforums.com or www.amxfiles.com/archive are usually willing to go out and look at a car for someone. No one has bought anything out from under someone yet, so should be safe. You have to join either list to post a message, but there's a lot of AMC knowledge on both you can read without posting, and you'll want to ask questions later.

I'll tell you now that if you're intending to put in something other than AMC power don't mention it until after you get the car though. AMC people are a bit touchy about that, mainly because AMCs get an undeserved bad rap. It's an "underdog" manufacturer, has been since the late 50s when all the other independents (meaning not part of GM, Ford, or Chrysler) went under (but Studebaker-Packard, which lasted through 66). Most AMCs ended up as cheap transportation for someone a few years after they were built because of low resale value. Popularity drives resale value the same as it drives collector car values now, and AMCs weren't real popular in most parts of the country. Cheap transportation doesn't get taken very good care of, so they were usually beat on, then the 3rd-6th owner would have the nerve to complain about things breaking down and berate the cars even more. Yeah, that's my pet peeve! Beat and abuse ANYTHING and it will be a POS before it finally dies!!

One more thing -- if you're swapping drive trains don't worry so much about a V-8 crossmember. You're modifying the car -- if you or a buddy can weld and think things through, it's easy to modify the I-6 crossmember for a V-8. Classic hot rodding stuff! V-8 crossmembers are hard to find.

overgoat:
<p>Hey,</p><p>Just a thought, I don't know what your plans are for the 360 that's going in the Rambler project car, but in 1969 or '70 AMC made a 390 that was rated at 340 horsepower. Real world horsepower was well over 400. I think the engines wound up in the Rebel machine and some Hurst AMX/Javelins. Since all of the AMC V8 engines (290, 304,343,360, 390, and 401) use the exact same block with different bores, why not build get the specs from that particular 390 and duplicate them just for kicks. I have a 1968 Rebel SST convertible with a 290 in it that could probably use the same treatment.<br />Thanks for finally doing an AMC performance project.</p><p>Cheers,<br />Matt</p><p></p>

"Since all of the AMC V8 engines (290, 304,343,360, 390, and 401) use the exact same block with different bores, why not build get the specs from that particular 390 and duplicate them just for kicks?"

i am not that familar with the AMC engines and was wondering if the above statement means AMC v8s can be bored to accomadate any of their available displacements since they use the same block? does this mean a 360 could be bored to a 401? i know thats not the case with chevys or fords or any other engines so this sounds strange to me or am i misunderstanding?  

where's the bird? i need more inspiration to get my head/cam swap done in my 89!