Re: [AMC-list] slooow....

[Joe Fulton <piper_pa20@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

I have the same or a close cousin to that old Gemmer box in my 66 American.  
That (in 1966) was the last time AMC used it I expect and probably the last or 
nearly the last use by any American car maker.  That box design dates from the 
1930s I believe.  I'll be interested to know if it leaks the 50weight oil after 
your work on it. 


In other news, I brought home a one-owner 62 Classic wagon a couple of weeks 
ago.  I may have mentioned it here on the list, but the car sat in a garage 
since 1995 but was no garage queen before that, with 118,000 miles on it.  Still 
not a lot of miles for the age.  It appears to have been pretty well cared for.  
There are oil change stickers on the A-pillar dating from the 70s and 80s.  The 
engine is locked up so I put some Kroil in each cylinder last week.  I haven't 
tried to free it since then.  I cleaned underneath the vehicle and the trunnions 
had been so over-greased in the past that there was probably at least a pound of 
extra grease spread over each trunnion assembly from the spring seat down to the 
backing plate.  I had intended to adjust one front brake which was tight, but I 
couldn't even access the rubber plug on the adjustment port without removing 
gross quantities of grease.  I soaked the assemblies in purple cleaner and used 
my pressure washer after scraping huge globs onto newspaper for disposal.   I 
made quite a mess in my paved driveway with the pressure washer spreading bits 
of grease.  The underside cleaned up well though.  The car has overdrive and has 
a 13/43 ration according to the tag, which I think is about a 3.23.  With O/D 
engaged that old long stroke 195.6 torque will be useful. 

Other project include the 64 Classic.  I've ordered the proper shift arm 
grommets with metal sleeves from APD and I will try to tighten up the bushing 
low in the shifter to remove some of the slack so I can get crisper shifts.

The 64 American is still awaiting a transmission transplant which I may start 
tonight.  Still debating whether to use the big wrenches on the big nut or just 
chicken out and move the differential back like the TSM recommends.  Either the 
64 Classic of the 65 American will be for sale after this round of maintenance 
because I have just too many cars.  I'd like to be able to sell either one in 
truly roadworth condition though, hence the listed tasks above.

I'm trying to get my 63 classic wagon made weather-tight for the winter rainy 
season because it will sit out again this year.  The windshield was horribly 
shattered presumable due to vandalism in the past and I ordered a new windshield 
gasket from Mac McCoy.  I have a replacement windshield from a Classic I parted 
out.  A vent window was also broken and I need to replace that.  I have the 
parts.  


Joe Fulton



----- Original Message ----
From: tom jennings <tomj@xxxxxxx>
To: amc-list <amc-list@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tue, August 9, 2011 11:33:21 AM
Subject: [AMC-list] slooow....

well my rambler workings have crawled to a near, but not quite, halt. i'm
thinking of it as a long vacation.

i did finally get the "new" steering box assembled for the 63 American. was
an easy rebuild (though it took me 6 months). the only complication was, it
had been rebuilt some time in the past, and instead of pressing in a new
bronze bushing, someone bored out the casting and inserted a plain steel
bushing. did a good job, but it confounded bushing replacement. my solution
was to chuck the now-worn steel bush and bore it out to accept the stock
bronze bush.

let's be kind and say these are not performance steering boxes. it's sloppy
as designed. simple plain bushings for the output shaft. odd, because it has
adjustable (shimmed) taper rollers on the input shaft. i considered
machining it all for needle rollers but ugh, too much work.

it would be a tough thing to swap in any replacement. the box is very tiny,
about the size of a big fist -- seriously. given the odd geometry it would
be easier to put in import rack and pinion. that would be a better route, as
it's 6 turns lock to lock! that's 24:1.

So it made sure it's not gonna leak and filled the box with 15w50 synth
motor oil, and not grease or whatever it wanted originally. the bearings
showed some wear, but it was relatively minor, no grit or run-dry damage, so
back together it went for another 50 years (if we should be so arrogant).

so now i have a fully rebuilt cross-linkage and box, i hope to get those
both installed this fall, plus the anti-roll bar. then the front suspension
will be very tight and rally-able. the rear suspension is awful, but works
surprisingly well. that should be a lot easier to fixup.
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