Well I didn't expect so many ideas from my hare-brained project thunking... but I think when all is said and done, that if I do decide to make a rod it will be conventional front engine, rear drive, for the simple reason it is a no-brainer to assemble with standard parts, and I can keep it all AMC, and that I have a lot of the hard parts right now in my pile. I guess I've decided that I want to build the Navarro test mule motor into a hot rod; that I can make a Z exhaust pipe to get it literally out of my face; that more usual hot rod chassis stuff will be OK (I might afford to actually build and complete it). I don't think the Navarro Rambler parts I have amounts to anything historically preservable as-is; it's not a complete motor, it's a pile of different motor parts, so building a hot rod motor from it seems fine to me. But with all the cogitations it appears that building a reverse-rotation AMC six is pretty straightforward -- pending directional oil seal issues etc I think it was Nick pointed out. to wit: * Replace timing chain with gear drive -- cam goes backwards. * put chevy 6 gear on distrib -- now distributor forwards. (but cam helical *lifts* distrib gear, not pulls it down into the block) oil pump runs right direction. (note1) * serpentine water pump with V belt or vice-versa, water goes right direction. * rewire starter for bass-ackwards rotation note1: that's with a stock cam! In stock form, the distributor shaft is pulled down via tooth face friction onto the thrust washer in the distributor; with stock cam run backwards/chevy dist gear, it would lift; shimming the shaft to limit lift under the dist gear should fix that, and oil would still walk up the shaft normally. If the distributor gear direction does matter, then a custom cam with "chevy" gear cut on it, and stock AMC distrib gear, will accomplish the same thing. _______________________________________________ AMC-List mailing list AMC-List@xxxxxxxxxxxx http://www.amc-list.com/mailman/listinfo/amc-list or go to http://www.amc-list.com