[Amc-list] Ford V8 in a 62 AMerican

[Tom Jennings <tomj@xxxxxxx>]

Was up at Bruce Gasser's Sunday. He busted up his legs skiiing,
is recovering fine but it's kept him from under cars.

He's got quite a zoo up there. A lovely but rusty roof 62 4-door
American wagon that the P.O. had put a Ford 302 in. Before you
cringe or complain... he did it without ANY sheet metal chopping,
fenders or firewall.

He did make a new, fairly complex and very well done front
cross member (a suspension brace, really). Wide but thin plate,
with an offset forward to clear the V8's oil pan.

The steering gear he replaced with a thunderbird ranck and pinion
unit that was very sweetly done -- it looked like it was made
for the car.  Use one U-joint to couple to the steering shaft.
It tucked very nicely forward, used the original steering arms
and all.

Motor was out so I got to see it all.

The project failed because he had to make his own apparently
extremely tight headers that he could never get to seal
right. They'd leak, and it would take two days to fix, or
something like that, and he eventually gave up, pulled the
motor and sold to Bruce.

It came with a matching trailer made from the rump of another
American.  Car and trailer with red with white spear and
interior. Very nice looking, but the car is rough now.


So it can be done. I am generally of the mind, 100% AMC/Rambler
or skip it. But in this chassis, due to the special circumstance,
and it's extreme age (eg. Nash design from the early 50's)
the general rule has an exception.
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