best engine swap for 65' rambler american and 63' rambler american?
 

whats the best engine to use in a 65 rambler amer. and a 63 rambler amer. ?

AMC 290/304/360/401 will bolt into the '65.. '63 takes some cutting to put anything other than an original 196 6cyl into

If I stay with the 196 ci can you hop them up?

Sure. cam can be reground, and The factory had a 2bbl carb option, along with a dual carb offered in the 1950's in the Nash's

best engine swap for '65 rambler american and '63 rambler american
 

Nash produced some top flight inline sixes in the '50's. Some even came factory stock with dual carburetors. They were no slouch for power. Just never really caught on in the main stream. I know of one now in a Rambler two door that garners a lot of attention when he attends the Nostalgia Drags in the San Joaquin Valley. I'll bet there are some still out there with the recyclers.
Normbc9

Okay,spree001 here. I'm new here and yesterday I asked about engine swaps in 63 rambler americans and 65 americans. I guess my bigest problem is air conditioning. I want a strong enough engine to support that. I'm not really looking for a hotrod as much as i'm looking at AC. It gets hot here in Georgia. The 63 has a flat head I think. Bought from a relative unseen. THe 65 has the ovh valve 196. My other problem is suspension and sterring. Any way to upgrade on a reasonable budget? thanks

Welcome to the board. :thumbup:

Have you looked at some of the aftermarket AC manufacturers? Vintage Air and Classic AutoAir come to mind, and some are under dash units. Google aftermarket air conditioning.

thanks 68novaSS. I'll try that.

best engine swap fpr '65 rambler american and '65 rambler american
 

The Nash engines I' referring to are both OHV 6 engines but Rambler was owned and produced by American Motors who also owned and built the Nash motorcars. The engines will fit believe me. I've seen many conversions. Thi sin't a first time venture by any means.
Normbc9

Just a thought? How about the jeep 4.0 six..comes in efi and has A/C on it and can be readily obtained. Might be an option for you..

Sam

Thanks, Highball and Sam. Will the 4.0l fit in the 65' ? I know the engine bay is shorter on the 64-65' models than the 66-69' models.

the 4.0l will fit in the '65, but not with factory A/C. the 232 was avail that year, but not with A/C.. 4.0L is not even close to fitting the '63.. The 196 will work with A/C as '64-'65, the Americans used 196's for cars with A/C

I think that measuring the jeep engine bay and comparing the length to the Rambler bay would tell the tale on how close the 4.0 would come to fitting.

Sam

Jeep 4.0L is the same length as the 232 that was used in the '65 and could even use factory mounts. It would require a CJ5 or '65 Rambler 232 short water pump, as the 232 used that year in the American. Length isn't the problem on the '63, the front suspension is 'large' and the 2 inner fenders take up a lot of engine compartment space, which really can't be mod'd

I'd use a Rolls/Merlin V-12. Once you cut the hole in the firewall and dash you might find it a little crowded in the front seat but you'ed have enough poop to run any kind of A/C you'ed want!