Re: [AMC-list] 232 in an early American

[Frank Swygert <farna@xxxxxxx>]

I disagree on the motor mounts, or rather easier to put the 232 in than a Q4 or 2300 Ford, but not going to argue the point. What I'd do with a 232 is make an engine plate for the front and mount it to the tops of the side rails. For the 2300 or Q4 you can get a tubular universal hot rod engine mount that welds or bolts in the side. Most use a flat flange one the ends of the tube, but there used to be one made with inverted L brackets on the ends with the short leg resting on top of the rail. A little bending/welding would fix that. The motor mounts have to be altered, but the tubular mount will fit anywhere along the existing "frame" rails. 

The 4.0L pump should fit, but the bolt sizes were changed around 74 due to different accessory mounts. As far as I recall the holes are in the same locations, but different sizes. It's something you will need to check. You'd have to use a 4.0L balancer and a spacer to push it back the same as using a 258 crank in a 4.0L block. The 258 serpentine belt setup has the belt 1/4" further forward than the 4.0L (outer ring is flipped!). 

------------
Date: Sat, 30 Jan 2010 12:01:38 -0800
From: tom jennings <tomj@xxxxxxx>

> Not 100% sure. But the serpentine water pump on the 4.0L is the shortest
> pump out there. Other thought. What about a remote water pump?

Would the 4.0 water pump fit on a pre-72 six? To be true Rambler Mentality,
the engine would have to bolt to the existing T-96 bell in it's current
factory location, hence the requirement of an old six. They're cheap too.

An electric water pump... yup, that'd do it! Engine would be much prettier
too, with only one belt to the alternator!

Then there's the motor mounts. It's not a very convenient problem to solve
up there, but it will be far harder to puzzle out the solution than to
implement it.

[[[Just spent 15 minutes out there with tape measure...]]]

The 232 motor mounts are just forward of the American's suspension. You
could drop mounts down vertically from that suspension system. It's sheet
metal with reinforcements for the bolt-in A-arm mounts, exactly the place
you'd want the motor mass to be tied.

The 195.6 front mounts are 12" or more forward of the suspension, on rather
thin "frame rails" (but of course strongly skinned into the nose cage).


This would totally work. Putting a 232 in that hole would be far less work
than the little Ford or the Quad4 since all the other crap matches up.

There is likely interference with the back of the head and the heater box,
maybe 1" of overlap. But it's just a fiberglas box, you could saw off the
protruding box (the heater core is right behind it) and narrow it up, or
seal off the bottom half of the box with a half-sized core. You'd need a
remote oil filter kit too.

I'm not doing this on the Twin Stick hardtop. 2010 will be the year of road
trips in my Classic wagon (art project in the Mojave late March with
coconspirators), rallying the American, renovating the camper for Burning
Man. The EFI project is put off some more (I will collect parts though).

But unless someone takes the '61, I might think of doing this craziness in
it.

--
Frank Swygert
Publisher, "American Motors Cars" 
Magazine (AMC)
For all AMC enthusiasts
http://farna.home.att.net/AMC.html
(free download available!)

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