Re: [Amc-list] 71 Gremlin 232

[Tom Jennings <tomj@xxxxxxx>]

On Wed, 20 Feb 2008, Ted Dooling wrote:

> As the proud owner of a 71 Gremlin (my dream car since I
> was 13. I know, I know... what kind of a man would dream
> about owning a Gremlin)

A stylish and sensible one not afraid to like what he likes.


>  First,
> is there anything I can do to beef up the performance of the
> 232... carburetion, etc?

KEEP THE SIX!
KEEP THE SIX!
KEEP THE SIX!
KEEP THE SIX!
KEEP THE SIX!
KEEP THE SIX!

The good ole AMC six is a brick sh*thouse of a motor. AMC built
them slow and lazy on purpose, but you can wake them up cheaply,
and best, incrementally.

Intake and exhaust on that particular year motor SUCK.

The ignition is either points or Prestolite (aka
Prest-no-lite). Suck.

Good news for 71 is it's not burdened with the poorly designed
70's smog crap. Maybe AIR (no performance hit when working
right).

The most expensive and invasive in-car hop-up would be a cam
change. You can do that in-car -- I've done it. I have a cam
in my 258 that makes it KILL starting around 2800 - 3000 rpm
up til where I feel uncomfortable revving (4500 - so) (this
is a stock motor otherwise) it's easily as fast as a stock
V8, and doesn't hurt mileage at all. Alas, I didn't install
this cam, and can't tell you it's grind! Others on this list
(Frank?) could give you likely candidates. It idles at 16 -
18 InHg, 600 rpm, yet pulls like crazy above 2500.

You'll need a cam kit (cam + lifters) and a headgasket set,
and I'd change the timing gear. Rent/borrow a puller to get the
harmonic balancer off. YOu can do it in a weekend. Technically
speaking, it's not very intricate, just a lot of steps all of
which are in the technical service manual. Nothing requires
super precision or skills, just careful work.

IT should pass all state's smog (even if the kit is not
specifically allowed by law...), and has no longevity or wear
downsides.



THe rest you can do from a junkyard!

THe 4.0 EFI swap is well known. Except for headbolt size issues
which might require a stepped washer set to adapt, it's what
people on this list call "bolt on" -- but I don't. THere's a
lot of detail involved (like post-1980 heads DO NOT CLEAR THE
FIREWALL ON PRE-1973 GREMLIN/HORNET!) and a crapload of wiring.
If you feel up to that it's a known large performance improvement
though.


Comfortable weekend projects:

Get the aluminum intake manifold and matching exhaust manifold
from 81? or 83? up carb'ed car. They flow really well; it'll
save you 25 lbs off the left side of the motor! A Carter BBD
comes with (find a non-feedback model) or spring for a Weber
32/36DGEV (specifically that model) and adapter (common Jeep
hack) for more mileage and more power.  Its PERFECTLY sized
for that motor. A 32/32DGEV would be fine too but less common.

The intake has fittings for water; connect those, and you'll
get stable carb tuning at all temperatures. If you live in a
cold climate, connect up the pelnum electric heater -- comes
with! Leave the EGR in place to plug the hole, or plumb it
(EGR working right has no performance penalty and cleaner
exhaust neve hurts) or make a flat blockoff plate.

The exhaust manifold flows better, but will require a trip to
the muffler shop for a new downpipe I'm pretty sure.



Get a later model Duraspark distributor and box (drops in, 2,
3 wire changes) or Google for "Jeep six HEI" and put a GM HEI
in, probably a better choice today. You will need to re-use
the gear off the bottom of your points distributor for that.



Big, free-flowing exhaust and decent air intake is always a
good idea.


Last but NOT least, you can juggle axle ratio and/or tire size
to move RPMs at 60mph around, and swap speedo gears to keep
speedo accurate.



All of that except the EFI and cam is cheap stuff. The cam
package will probably set you back, I dunno, $300? $400?

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