RE:Cobra engined AMX

[Tom Jennings <tomj@xxxxxxx>]

I totally favor 100% AMC, but there are plenty of times I think
its OK to hack up a car. For every survivor, specialty car,
zero-miles, SC/Rambler, there's a thousand ordinary putt-putts
awaiting attention.

Like the car Frank featured in AIM, it's good PR for non-AMC
people to consider AMCs an acceptable platform for projects. They
won't be hacking up rare models simply because they'll cost too
much.

Another Rambler on the road is a Good Thing, regardless of engine
under the hood.

There's plenty of people who do quality work on non-AMC cars, and
some portion of the non-AMC car nuts will discover that the AMC '8
is a great motor. There's certainly butchered all-AMC cars too, it
all depends on the quality of the result.

If Rambler Americans (for example) become a popular platform with
350 Chevy's in 'em then fine, especially if it led to repro
chassis and rubber parts! Weirder things have happened -- Willys
coupes etc popular all out of proportion to the interest in the
car as a whole.

If I wasn't the idiot that I am, it would have been FAR MORE
SENSIBLE to stick a non-AMC drivetrain in my project 70 Hornet.  I
have a very particular look I want to acheive with this car.  It's
not worth any money, it's nothing special. It came as a (barely)
rolling chassis with junk stuffed into it.  It's been 6 months
chasing down engines, transmission, driveshaft, shifter, etc and
I'm still not done. I'm building it to DRIVE not sell.

You east-coast people have NO IDEA how hard it is to get hard
parts this far west. You'd never put up with it.

A car is more than an engine (to me, anyways) and no one but
fanatics would put up with this crap. A 250 6-cyl chevy with
automatic would be CAKE and half the cost. It's simple economic
reality. If I knew I was going to have this much trouble I would
have done that. I far, far prefer the 232/258 but sheesh it's been
a lot of work and searching.