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Rambler American engine conversion #2

107K views 221 replies 26 participants last post by  ramzoom 
#1 ·
:mwink: Oh boy here we go again....

You might already know we are in the middle of a conversion on a 60 Rambler 2 dr. wagon with a Mazda Rotary...well I also own a pretty clean 59 Rambler American sedan. The motor runs really good but it is looking like a rebuild is coming up so if all goes as planned we will be yanking the stock l head 6 and trans tomorrow and looking to replace it with something "modern"...actually it is a pretty cool powerplant that will provide good pick up and driveability..no it is not a smallblock anything :mwink: The stock IFS and rear end will remain in the car..I will post pics and info as we go..we are hopeing to have this one done in the next few weeks and then back to the wagon.

If all goes well I should be posting some more info within a day or two......

 
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#202 ·
Oh man..My parents had a 37 Ford Woodie..it was all over the place..we were at shows all the time..It was used for a Disneyland promotion and for a Mickey watch..it was on Solid Gold (remember that lol) with the Beach Boys, a Hamburger Helper commercial..they hit all the shows so it showed up in mags from time to time..they are all in a trunk..The solid gold video is on Youtube...I just found that not long ago..my old man freaked because when they were filming some of the male dancers were jumping up and down on the running boards and hanging on to the rain gutters and if you've ever owned or seen a woodie the rain gutters were hard to find at the time and very fragile..Disneyland had a "Blast to the Past" promotion and it was at the entrance as you walked in..then a Mickey watch came out with the woody on it shortly thereafter..that was funny because the artist obviously copied a photo of the wagon because when they drew it they even drew that lazy door handle on the drivers door hanging down..lol..that kind of stuff is just cool..it holds really great memories for me..so I am not a trophy guy at all but its cool to see your car pop up like that..
 
#203 ·
MARTINSR said:
What cars and magazines are they? Sounds like something I would love to see. I enjoy seeing someone I know in the mags nearly as much as seeing my stuff. Like I said, it adds a little interesting stuff to this life.

The other day an old high school friend of mine who is a facebook friend posted a few photos of his uncle racing at Indy in the sixties! HOLY COW is that cool or what!

Brian
My mother has a pic of her at Lions racing in a rose and white 57 Chevy 2 door post, small block 4 speed launching off the line!...Cool stuff..
 
#206 ·
Heres a few..I had to use a capture for the Solid Gold that I had but i am still looking for the actual video..

Dionne Warwick..cant get a better suited summer beach celebrity that that! lol..I always thought it was kinda lame but she was part of the show..

The poster is from Wavecrest..A woodie show down here..My parents were at the 1st one when there were only a few wagons and it was actually more a surf contest than a woodie show..The artist that does the posters used their wagon..My old man used to be a police officer and thats my mother he's pulled over..The red 64 was a lightweight max wedge car..just sitting in the garage with some misc. junk..lol
 

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#207 ·
Nice chatting with you Robert!

Guys, funny stuff this car nut world. Today I got a call from a guy looking for a couple of Rambler parts. I didn't even ask him how he knew to call me but he got my number from my ebay or craigslist ad and called it. We are discussing it when all of a sudden he says, HEY, I'm Robert with the Rambler engine swap on the Hotrodders forum! He recognized me from something I said about my Rambler. LOLOLOL Funny stuff, we chatted for a long time about the cars.

That was a ball Robert, I'll be looking for those parts you need. :thumbup:

Brian
 
#210 ·
ramzoom said:
an ad came up on the internet..not craigslist or anything like that..some obscure search engine thing?
You mentiond the NOS wheel and that hit me like a brick..Oh yeah! BRIAN! up north! lol..

I don't know of anywhere I put an ad but ebay or craigslist it must have been a link to one of them?

Brian
 
#213 ·
I am tempted to install a five speed but just hate the thought of loosing my column shift. :( I am starting to do some research on the overdrive. I have an original tranny and a few NOS parts but need more. I am looking for the underdash control for one if you have one you would like to sell PM me.

Brian
 
#214 ·
I don't have one anymore..I did from the green 59 but it was sold long ago. I will keep my eyes peeled at the yards and see if anything turns up. I can tell you the stock L-head with the overdrive trans was really nice..my 59 would cruise great..as far as a stock one goes that was a nice setup.
 
#215 ·
You can get an under dash cable from a number of sources. Any of the OD equipped 50s cars will have one, and ALL used a Borg-Warner OD. The under dash park brake cable from a 60s compact or a more modern 70s/80s import will work too. You would want to remove the ratchet and spring from a park brake handle, of course. Just make sure the cable is stiff enough. A choke cable, for example, won't work. An auto trans shift cable will, but then you have to devise a handle for that. There might be some HD control cables similar to universal choke cables that would work, but I don't know where to find one. I've seen T handle control cables (smaller than the Rambler T-handle, but usable), but can't find any kind of source right now. Even tried Grainger's on-line catalog, no dice!
 
#216 ·
Took the Rambler to Cruisin for a Cure last weekend..My father drove it home so he wasn't getting on it hard but this video is with the 5 speed..went with the T5 from a S10..The trans is geared perfectly now for the Quad 4..I will say the car is sooo much better performance wise..We had about an hour drive roughly in 100+ degree weather and the little Rambler ran 180-185 and 190-195 in traffic on the freeway. A lot more fun with the T5:D

Quad4 Rambler - YouTube
 
#217 ·
LOLOL, I could only dream of getting on the freeway with my Rambler like that! LOLOLOL, it's tached out at 45! LOLOLOL, that is such a cool car you have!

Brian
 
#218 · (Edited)
My 11 year old shot the video so it's a little funky but here is MY version of what you did. :) I shot two of these and both of them I found myself with my foot going up on the clutch to shift into the next gear when there isn't any! LOL

Brian



 
#221 ·
OD doesn't make a whole lot of difference with the L-head. Had one. You MIGHT notice a little more take-off with the lower rear axle (usually a 4.11 with the L-head, but might be a 3.78), but I doubt it. The old 196 (L-head and OHV) just takes a while to spin up with the 4.25" stroke and heavy crank/flywheel/rods/pistons. Hard to stall out once it starts though! I went from a 3.31 to a 3.78 gear trying to get a little more acceleration once. Had to have a stop watch to notice the couple tenths difference in a quarter mile! Once you hit about 20 seconds for a quarter mile you just don't notice if you cut it down to 19.7 or 19.8. I DID notice another 500 rpm when cruising at 60 though!! Wasn't worth having that... The old L-head really needs the low gear to pull OD. Stock was 4.11 in 61 with OD, went up to 3.78 in 63.
 
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