Re: [Amc-list] t14 to t96 overdrive

[Jim Blair <carnuck@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

A: Another thought is the 4 cyl AMC 2.5L with EFI for more snap and with the $4 a gallon gas on the horizon, economic as well~!


From: Frank Swygert <farna@xxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: [Amc-list] t14 to t96 overdrive
To: amc-list@xxxxxxxxxxxx,  redamc1963@xxxxxxxxxxx
Message-ID: <473D08AC.7020303@xxxxxxx>
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Before you cut the firewall up on that convertible consider using a Ford 200 or 250 six (NOT the 240 or 300 -- they won't fit!) and mating transmission. They are similar to the 196 -- short tall block with a small bore and long stroke. It will fit WITHOUT cutting the firewall or fenderwell panels. It has the intake cast into the head like the 196, so the carb is close to the valve cover also. 
 
If you cut the firewall you also lose your heating system. You need about four more inches to put a 232/258 in, and will have to custom make mounts for everything. This is one case Id rather see the Ford engine used simply because you won't have to cut anything. That way it can be returned to original condition in the future instead of just becoming a parts car or hot rod fodder. It's your car, do what you want, I'm just presenting an alternative that would be less work in the long run and make the car just as enjoyable, especially if you use a late model (80s) 250. The 250 has a taller deck than the 200, but both are capable of more power than the 196. See www.fordsix.com. The 200 stock is about the same as the 196, by the way, but parts are easier to get and then there are some speed parts for it also. 
 
The column shifter can be fixed! There is an adjustment for the bottom that most people don't know about. AMC used a big nylon/plastic piece on the bottom that holds the lower steering shaft bearing and the column shift levers slide against. It eventually wears to the point that there is no more adjustment. To adjust it tighter you loosen two small screws on the sides at the base of the column and rotate the end piece, then tighten the screws. If it won't adjust any tighter (there's only about 1/8" of adjustment there), you have to pull the column. At that point you can make a new lower piece or try to find a 1/16" thick washer that will go over the shaft and fit inside the column to use as a spacer. The plastic usually cracks or the screws strip out though, so making a new one just a bit taller is a better idea. 
 
Not as hard as it sounds! If you have a drill and hole saw you can make one. Get a piece of hardwood (oak, birch, etc. -- pine will work though, and may last as long as the plastic did) and a hole saw about the same size on the inside as the inner diameter of the column. I think a 1.5" hole saw will work -- might be a 2". Cut the disk with the hole saw first. It needs to be about an inch thick. If you need to make more than one disc and glue together (laminate them). Leave the small inner hole for now. Get a 3" or so 1/4" bolt and put it through the pilot hole, then run a nut and washer down tight. Chuck it in a drill and staple a piece of sandpaper to a board. Sand it down until it fits the end of the column. Then take the bolt out and bore the center hole out for the shaft. You need to bore/router a recess for the bearing too, if memory serves. Then you can slip the new piece in and put the two screws at the bottom of the adjustment slots so it can be tightened up later. Pu
 t a good coating of grease on the surface that goes against the shift lever, and grease it once a year or every other year, depending on how much the car is driven. 
 
The good thing about wood is it's easy to work, just as durable as the plastic, and if you strip the screw holes out it can be rotated. The plastic is old and brittle after 40 or so years and doesn't take well to new screws, but I have managed to rotate a couple, drill a small hole, and put screws in without breaking. One split in two! I have meant to make a bunch of these and offer them for sale, but lost my spare (pattern!). 
 
The Hollander manual is misleading. AMC did indeed reuse many parts from year to year. In the 70s there were lots of new parts, but those were the years the government was big on mandatory smog and safety changes, not always for the best. Hollanders goes by the factory parts books. AMC did change numbers sometimes from year to year for the SAME part. Hollanders uses factory part numbers as one of their interchange guides. AMC was king of parts interchangeability for a long time, mainly in the early to mid 60s, then again in the 70s (Hornet/Gremlin). The two exceptions are the Matador Coupe (to a small extent -- mostly body parts were unique but most mechanical parts interchanged with others) and the Pacer (nearly everything but the drivetrain was totally unique to it!). 
 
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