Lean burn engines

[Stuart Hastings]

> ...my Jeep Wagoneer, which has an AMC 360 V-8...
> ...The engine is currently at the rebuilder...
\.\...
> I noticed you were running an AMC 360 V8....I'm assuming this is roughly the
> same as the Dodge 360 V8 since Chry Co bought out AMC either late 70s or
> early 80s.  If that's the case, you are IN luck.  My 88 Ramcharger with the
> 318 has swirl-port heads with smaller chambers (more squish area) than the
> 360 heads.

[below cribbed from "AMC Muscle Cars," Larry G. Mitchell, ISBN
0-7603-0761-X, (c)2000, US$25 @ Barnes&Noble]

Chrysler bought AMC in 1987 soley for the Jeep division. The rest of
AMC was apparently bulldozed (literally) and discarded for a tax
writeoff.

The first AMC-designed V8 was a 290ci in 1966. All subsequent engines
used the same block; sizes were 290, 304, 343, 360, 390, 401. No 318.

According to my reference (above), Chrysler continued to use AMCs 360
V8 in Jeeps from the 1987 buyout until 1991. Dunno if Chrysler had
their own 360.

The supposed "best of breed" of the AMC V8 family was the 390;
introduced in 1968, 315HP (carb), 425 ft-lb torque, forged crank and
rods, 600 lb motor. In 1970, AMC went to a D-shaped exhaust port, and
in 1972, AMC copied Chryslers' exhaust manifolds; supposedly these
both dramatically improved breathing and HP.

I guess the "one to get" would be a 1972 or later 390 or 401. (401
ceased in 1974.)

Quoting from the book:

"Today, the expertise to rebuild AMC V-8s has been lost except to a
handful of builders in the United States and Canada. Most general
automotive shops will rebuild them to Chevrolet specs and the engines
will not hold proper oil pressure, run well, or last long..." [Goes on
to say "Read the AMC Shop Manual."]

"Final tips on AMC V-8s: When rebuilding, hold main and rod bearings
to between .001 and .0015-inch; replace the front timing cover with a
brand-new (not rebuilt) one obtained from Chrysler or Jeep parts
suppliers, because 25-35-year-old covers are worn out in the oil pump
cavity and will drop oil pressure even with new gears; overbore if
taper in the block exceeds .005-inch in any cylinder and totally
rebalance the entire reciprocating assembly, including the pistons,
rods, crank, harmonic balancer, and flywheel/flexplate if any of these
items is changed out for another unit(s), new or from another engine.
AMC V-8s are "Detroit" or externally balanced, and these parts do not
interchange, even between motors of the same displacement and
year. They fit, but the swap causes the engine to be imbalanced and it
will shake itself to death in short order. When in doubt on a rebuild,
spend the money to professionally rebalance the entire motor."

Quickie book review: Only for AMC-ophiles. You just read the most
useful parts. Many pretty pictures of garish paint jobs. Spend the
money on an AMC Shop Manual.

Where to get a Shop Manual? Search the web; there's a fair amount of
AMC stuff out there.

> The 360 was created long before Chrysler bought AMC.  My dad had a '74
> Matador wagon with that engine.  It's a real workhorse, but tends to
> be drippy.

In my own limited experience (Dad had a few), this is absolutely
correct; AMCs will run forever, so long as you keep pouring oil into
them.

But don't settle for a drippy engine; clean threads, clean parts,
careful attention to torque on the fasteners. Now even my Peugeot
stays dry.

Back to lurking,

stuart hastings
 



----------------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe from diy_efi, send "unsubscribe diy_efi" (without the quotes)
in the body of a message (not the subject) to majordomo at lists.diy-efi.org