Just a little nit on the GM dist. You HAVE to change the dist drive gear to an AMC one from a points or Prestolite dist. Jim Blair, Lynnwood, WA '87 Comanche, '83 Jeep J10, '84 Jeep J10 From: adh@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Sandwich Maker) To: amc-list@xxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: Re: [AMC-list] American wagons... Message-ID: <201008211114.o7LBEHe08374@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> " From: tom jennings <tomj@xxxxxxx> " " I think a 65 (earlyish) American is the way to go. There's far " [] " There's only one hardtop, 67? Unlikely to find one. Wouldn't rule it out " though if I did! sc/ramblers were hardtops. rogues were. iirc they made them all along. 2dr sedan is the strongest/lightest body style. 4dr is next, then ht, then convert. " I doubt I'd do more than bolt-on changes (wheels, tires, " Pertronix, etc). hei from a late-'70s 250 is a bolt-on too. " It's gotta be a six, and I strongly prefer no power steering nor power " brakes. Prefer manual, but auto would not be a deal killer on the right car. " I honestly think the 199 or 232 would be better; mileage matters more than " power for daily use. that would be '66 on; '65 232, auto only. and '65 has a unique water pump, -i-think- also used '65-74? on jeeps. " I don't know the details in the 64 - 69 models (I like the earlier body " styles better), I know some years (69?) there's a good selection of front " suspension and such aftermarket. Not sure about the early stuff, but " trunnions are not one of my worries. '64-9 suspension is all the same, though they went to a bigger balljoint mid/late '66. i've got hd springs [nos front, espo rear] and 14x6 hornet wheels with 185/75s on my '68. the fronts need a thin spacer - ~1/8" - to clear. i also have kyb gas-a-justs, which i can't really recommend; my car rides harder than my friend's 4x4 3/4t diesel suburban. i also have 16:1 amx manual steering, which i really like. it's a little tough in parking lots and you learn to roll the car to turn the wheels, but i can one-hand it at road speed and i can take just about any corner without shifting my hands. btw the 199/232 appears to be within 20lb of the 196 flathead. listed curb weight of my '66: 2625 lbs. my '65: 2640. both 2dr 220 3sp. safety evo brought my '68 closer to 2800. " I probably wouldn't even do a disc swap; I'd do what I did to my little " American. The fully ventilated brakes are GREAT. you could do 10" drums pretty easily, with v8 fronts and spirit amx / concord wagon rears. possibly this setup wouldn't need front spacers for 14x6" rims. ________________________________________________________________________ Andrew Hay the genius nature _______________________________________________ AMC-list mailing list AMC-list@xxxxxxxxxxxx http://list.amc-list.com/listinfo.cgi/amc-list-amc-list.com