Dear Frank:
I really appreciate your help and information.
My situation is a little confusing from the information you provided. My
car is a manual transmission but the crankshaft has the cone you are
speaking about. Could I possibly have an engine that was not the original
1958. I didn't think this was the case. This car was my wife's high school
car and her Dad bought it used in 1959 or 1960. Therefore, a early 60's
engine doesn't seem realistic. Is there some was I can tell the year of the
engine?
Anyway, any further help or information would be greatly appreciated. I
have decided to purchase the complete engine rebuilt kit from either Kanter
or Falcon. Any thoughts there? The engine has already been bored out to
.0040 and we have found pistons from Egge.
My father in law had done some previous engine work on this car.
Unfortunately, he has passed away. I should have asked about it years ago.
John C. Metts
2407 Sierra Vista
Artesia, NM 88210
Telephone 505.736.1962
Cell 505.308.3188
-----Original Message-----
From: Frank Swygert [mailto:farna@xxxxxxx]
Sent: Thursday, April 30, 2009 3:39 PM
To: amc-list@xxxxxxxxxxxx; jcmetts@xxxxxxxx
Cc: Tom Jennings
Subject: re: Fwd: 1958 Rambler American restoration
John, I sent this to the AMC-List and to your personal e-mail.
As long as you have a manual transmission you can use the crankshaft from
any 55-63 195.6 flat-head (L-head) or OHV (overhead valve) engine. The
cranks and rods are the same in the L-head and OHV.
If, however, you have an automatic transmission, it gets a little trickier.
55-62 automatic transmission cars have a "cone" on the end of the crankshaft
and you must use one of those. 63-65 195.6 engines with automatic trans use
the same crank as a manual transmission car, so if you have a manual trans
you can use one of those also. Manual trans engines (and the 63-65 auto)
have a flat flange on the end, no "cone" in the middle. If you need a pic of
the "cone" crank, Tom Jennings has one on his website... somewhere. Couldn't
find it, but I'm sure he'll post a link once he sees this.
You can use any year engine in your car. If you happen to find a 64-66
American 195.6 it won't have the plate on the front that holds the engine
mounts in yours, those models have side engine mounts. It's simple to remove
the side mounts and install the plate on the front of yours (it mounts under
the timing cover) on the later engine. If you have a 64-65 American you
wouldn't be able to use an older engine (except for a 63 Classic engine) as
the block doesn't have the mount bosses on the right side (front and rear of
oil pump).
This info should help you find a crank or parts engine quicker.
----------------
From: "John C. Metts" <jcmetts@xxxxxxxx>
Date: April 29, 2009 4:53:54 PM CDT
I would appreciate any help you or other club members could give me
in locating a crankshaft for a 1958 Ramber American 196 flat head
engines.
I've been playing Dick Tracy for weeks and come up short at most of
the logical web sites. I think my best bet would just be to find
someone who has some cars and parts.
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