Re: [Amc-list] windshield squirter location on an American

[Frank Swygert <farna@xxxxxxx>]

1. Do you at least have a vacuum storage cannister? If not, get one of the balls or better yet quart (or half gallon) "juice can" types. Quart size are readily found on early four cylinder XJ Cherokees. The can just "looks right" under the hood of an older car, but you can also use the plastic balls in modern cars. Four cylinder models tend to have slightly bigger balls, though you'd think a V-8 would.... ;>

2. I mean the brace that the hinges mount on -- the only one under there, unless you count the two "truss rods" going out to the edges of the hood. Be careful closing the thing and make sure the hinges are oiled good! The hoods tend to buckle right in front of that base when the hinges start to get sticky. 

3. I can only guess that it's a combination of metallurgy of the day and gasket composition. I retorqued mine every other year when I was driving a 196 American as my second car. I put an average of 7K a year on it, but I wouldn't risk going over 15K. 

The newer gasket material probably allows the 15K interval, though the engineers back then were probably being conservative with the 8K mile retorque recommendation. The gaskets you get now are "no retorque required" designs. Back in the early 60s you had to torque, get up to operating temp for a few minutes, let it cool, then retorque when you changed a head gasket. The new ones don't need that, but you still must retorque the head at least every other year even if you don't drive it much. Any less is to easy to forget for one thing, and even atmospheric cooling/heating while parked will cause some loosening. 

----------------------
Date: Sat, 03 Nov 2007 14:32:45 -0700
From: Tom Jennings <tomj@xxxxxxx>

1. In the Classic, I don't have the vacuum booster pump, so the throttle is 
entangled in wiping the windshield. Makes for great fun.

2. The classic has a clearance hole in the hood brace htat locates it; the 
American doesn't have the internal brace! It's just a big expanse of 
steel...

3. Why does a motor need so much head-retorquing? It says check at 4000, 
retorque at 8000! Is this a factor of gasket technology? Or some 
metallurgical thing with bolts changing length with heat and torque? It's 
got a fair number of headbolts, and low cylinder pressures.

-- 
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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