Re: [AMC-list] My upgrades/conversions

[tom jennings <tomj@xxxxxxx>]

There's a lot of interchangability in the 1964-199x sixes, but not much of
it is of the type where you can do the whole job on a single weekend! The
4.0 head will bolt on, after you make a lot of changes, and figure out how
to mount your alternator, and the moved temperature sender, vacuum ports,
PCV, ... and all that other trivia. If you're putting together a project car
it's not a big deal when you're scrounging parts and planning, but if you
have an existing car, and want to upgrade it without being too invasive, big
changes are a PITA. And EVERY non-exact-fit has side effects, small or
large.

In my opinion, you can pluck all the "low hanging fruit" on those early
sixes with the aluminum intake, a better carburetor, electronic ignition, a
more aggressive spark advance curve, a "big" exhaust (2.25 - 2.5" and
without the factory flats and so many bends) and a non-restrictive air
cleaner, maybe.

And the electronic ignition won't *gain* you power, it doesn't drift out of
adjustment like points do, and there will not be a dropoff in spark so much
as there is with points, from 3000 - 5000 rpm where points really start to
go flat. Modern ignitions like Pertronix Ignitors (and probably aftermarket
Duraspark boxes, not the OEM 70's jobs) will handle more current than
points, and you can run a hotter coil with no downside, that ends problems
at 3000 - 5000 rpm. Good electronic ignition eliminates *loss* of power, so
that's a "gain" I guess :-)

The '81 up aluminum manifold install is not a bad job. There will be hoses
to re-plumb, carb heat is an issue to think about but not a big deal. You
can drive around without water in the manifold OK (for example, your first
week of debugging it), but you will be much happier with water in it.

I suggest paying the few bucks to have it hot-tanked at an auto parts store
before you install it. Remove all the bolts, accessories, etc first. I do
this with most used parts, even suspension parts! This stuff is all super
old, it's worth a good inspection before you bolt it in. Good prep to paint
things too. Especially watch for corrosion around the hose nipples for the
water jacket. They usually corrode there. I had one that was bad enough I
ran a tap through to get the crap out, and had to epoxy the nipples in
place. It's also just plain old pleasant to install parts that are all
clean, you can see problems and features.

A Carter BBD is fine, but there's so few good carb "cores" left these days
that decent rebuilds are hard to find. ANother reason I'm abandoning
carburetors in general. If I had to, I would buy a priecy one from
nationalcarburetor.com for $150 and get their guarentee. Or buy a Weber, but
they're $400 new. I got a used one OK from ePay and it lasted for years, but
the accellerator pump lever had a wear groove that I had to file flat to
reuse. Hardly anyone makes carbs any more (other than the modern 4-bbl
Edelbrocks and all that but those are all too too much for a stock six, even
the 500cfm jobs).

The Weber jeep kit is 100% drop-in to a 1970 Hornet. I think I had to fiddle
the throttle cable a bit, I forget. But '64 has the rotating-shaft type
throttle that is exactly wrong for the Carter/Weber. Throttle linkage will
be a project. I intensely dislike AMC's cable throttles. They feel crappy,
crunchy, and stiff. Easy to work with though.  As Mark points out, the early
rod-type can jam if you let your motor mounts go to crap, but it seems most
unlikely that you would do that!

Spend the time to run a plug tap (flat-ended tap) down each manifold bolt
hole in the head before you attach the manifolds.  Razor-blade off the
gasket surfaces, and get 'em spotlessly clean with solvent on a rag. An hour
spent here will save you time later and will probably prevent leaks that
will drive you crazy and consume frustrating hours later to solve! All AMC
manifold issues involve sealing on that face!

The last time I did one (the 232 in my Classic) I used Right Stuff around
all the intake ports, screw it, finger coated both sides of the gasket. My
232 developed leaks twice in 20 years with the iron manifold, it got all
warped and I took care of it that whole time. What a PITA! I don't think
I'll have troubles this time!
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