[Sirrotica]

If you're serious about more HP all ya need is a Stratostreak Pontiac in your Jeep.........

I had 2, 60s Wagoneers with 389s and my Jeep wrecker had a 455.

I don't have any pics of the Wagoneers, but I do have one of my J4000 wrecker/snowplow.



If I could find a decent YJ. or a TJ I would build another Jeep with a 350/400 in it with a 4L80E.

[KS circutguy]

Originally Posted by Sirrotica

If you're serious about more HP all ya need is a Stratostreak Pontiac in your Jeep.........

I had 2, 60s Wagoneers with 389s and my Jeep wrecker had a 455.

I don't have any pics of the Wagoneers, but I do have one of my J4000 wrecker/snowplow.



If I could find a decent YJ. or a TJ I would build another Jeep with a 350/400 in it with a 4L80E.

My wife really liked her 4cylinder AMC Spirit.

[Sirrotica]

Originally Posted by KS circutguy

My wife really liked her 4cylinder AMC Spirit.

That was a customer that I could always count on coming back usually every 1-3 months because there was always something wrong with it. I had another lady that owned an Eagle wagon 4X4 that was also a frequent flyer at my garage. And a customer that owned a Hornet/Concorde wagon that always needed something repaired, or replaced.

The AMCs were dependable in the sense that they liked being at a garage, more than they liked being on the road, you could depend on that.........LOL

When AMC took over Jeep the same thing happened to Jeeps. Though the older Jeeps were never known for longevity, or dependability, they got worse after AMC took the reins.

[KS circutguy]

Originally Posted by Sirrotica

That was a customer that I could always count on coming back usually every 1-3 months because there was always something wrong with it. I had another lady that owned an Eagle wagon 4X4 that was also a frequent flyer at my garage. And a customer that owned a Hornet/Concorde wagon that always needed something repaired, or replaced.

The AMCs were dependable in the sense that they liked being at a garage, more than they liked being on the road, you could depend on that.........LOL

When AMC took over Jeep the same thing happened to Jeeps. Though the older Jeeps were never known for longevity, or dependability, they got worse after AMC took the reins.

She bought it (used)without my help. It was actually a nice vehicle for her. Only problem was right after purchase it would smoke after cold starting.
My good friend happened to be service manager at that Jeep- AMC dealership and after I called them out on the smoking he had a Tech replace all the valve stem seals and it fixed the issue.
She drove it numerous times from NY to WA state without issues.
Later the next year we moved to Arizona to get away from the winter snow, not fun for an up and coming tech.
I worked for a Toyota - AMC - Renault - GMC in Kingman, Arizona the new Cherokees just came out after I started. We had a hard time keeping them in stock they sold so well. Worded for 2 1/2 years before we finally moved to the best state in the land (imo) Washington state..
No extreme heat or snow and cars don't rust, a great place to wrench for a living.
AMC's were pretty decent vehicles it was the Renault's that were total **** boxes.

[455Grandville]

Originally Posted by KS circutguy

AMC's were pretty decent vehicles it was the Renault's that were total **** boxes.

That’s putting it mildly, I knew a girl in high school that often needed a ride.
She had a 87 Renault Alliance even when it was a year old and it was more often in the shop than it was on the road.

[455Grandville]

Originally Posted by Sirrotica

If you're serious about more HP all ya need is a Stratostreak Pontiac in your Jeep.........

I had 2, 60s Wagoneers with 389s and my Jeep wrecker had a 455.

I don't have any pics of the Wagoneers, but I do have one of my J4000 wrecker/snowplow.



If I could find a decent YJ. or a TJ I would build another Jeep with a 350/400 in it with a 4L80E.

My first car was a ‘63 Jeep pickup from the Southwest (no rust) that unfortunately was powered by the OHC-6 cylinder. I rebuilt in my high school auto shop.
I sold it to a guy who later put a 400 SBC in it, he still has it today only it’s powered by an LS.

I’m kinda surprised, I have six Jeeps and two are are AMCs ; 258s ones a 304, they’ve been pretty trouble free.

[Sirrotica]

Originally Posted by 455Grandville

My first car was a ‘63 Jeep pickup from the Southwest (no rust) that unfortunately was powered by the OHC-6 cylinder. I rebuilt in my high school auto shop.
I sold it to a guy who later put a 400 SBC in it, he still has it today only it’s powered by an LS.

I’m kinda surprised, I have six Jeeps and two are are AMCs ; 258s ones a 304, they’ve been pretty trouble free.

One of my Wagoneers (65) had the tornado OHC 6 in it, and it ran fine until it blew a headgasket, it then got a 65 GTO engine. This was a 3 speed stick so the V6 buick 225 (CJ5) bellhousing made there no need for an adapter, Jeep had already done that.

The next Wagoneer (67) had the 327 Packard based V8 that spun a rod bearing, it also got a 65 Bonneville 389 transplant. Jeep was using the T 400 with a generic short bell case that GM designed so that other car manufacturers could use the short bell case with their own adapter to mate it to whatever powerplant they decided to use. Jeep had opted away from the 327 in favor of a Buick 350, so again Jeep had already made an adapter to mate the short bell T 400 case to a BOP Cad bolt pattern. You can use a GM case also and bolt it to the Jeep transfer case with the mid plate adapter that came in T 400 Jeeps.

My 73 truck came with a 360 2 bbl, and the timing chain and gears jumped at around 75,000 miles, rather than screw with that I just opted for Stratostreak power since I already knew how well it had worked in my Wagoneers. Motor mounts are cut and weld, stock manifolds fit fine, it's really a fairly easy swap to do. Considering the AMC was rated at 170 HP and a similarly rated 455 was rated at 250 HP it was an easy decision. I made the swap a little harder than it needed to be by mandating headers. Left side 3 tube slips right in, right side has front driveshaft to contend with so I had to remake 2 tubes to fit the chassis, time consuming. Years later when the headers rotted out I just replaced them with log manifolds.

I've always wanted to do a civilian conventional short wheelbase Jeep with a Pontiac V8, just never have gotten around to doing it. God willing maybe I can get it done before arthritis makes it impossible.

[455Grandville]

Originally Posted by Sirrotica

One of my Wagoneers (65) had the tornado OHC 6 in it, and it ran fine until it blew a headgasket, it then got a 65 GTO engine. This was a 3 speed stick so the V6 buick 225 (CJ5) bellhousing made there no need for an adapter, Jeep had already done that.

The next Wagoneer (67) had the 327 Packard based V8 that spun a rod bearing, it also got a 65 Bonneville 389 transplant. Jeep was using the T 400 with a generic short bell case that GM designed so that other car manufacturers could use the short bell case with their own adapter to mate it to whatever powerplant they decided to use. Jeep had opted away from the 327 in favor of a Buick 350, so again Jeep had already made an adapter to mate the short bell T 400 case to a BOP Cad bolt pattern. You can use a GM case also and bolt it to the Jeep transfer case with the mid plate adapter that came in T 400 Jeeps.

My 73 truck came with a 360 2 bbl, and the timing chain and gears jumped at around 75,000 miles, rather than screw with that I just opted for Stratostreak power since I already knew how well it had worked in my Wagoneers. Motor mounts are cut and weld, stock manifolds fit fine, it's really a fairly easy swap to do. Considering the AMC was rated at 170 HP and a similarly rated 455 was rated at 250 HP it was an easy decision. I made the swap a little harder than it needed to be by mandating headers. Left side 3 tube slips right in, right side has front driveshaft to contend with so I had to remake 2 tubes to fit the chassis, time consuming. Years later when the headers rotted out I just replaced them with log manifolds.

I've always wanted to do a civilian conventional short wheelbase Jeep with a Pontiac V8, just never have gotten around to doing it. God willing maybe I can get it done before arthritis makes it impossible.

The 327 is actually an old Rambler/AMC motor.
I had another Jeep truck with one in it, and it spun a bearing too, with 80,000 miles.
I took it apart and it was clean. They must have been a junk motor I guess ?

My wife has a CJ7 from Arizona with a 304/automatic, but she uses it on our property or to take into town occasionally, that’s it.
I replaced the timing chain in it with 70k orig miles and inspected the oil pump, it was real clean. The chain was sloppy as hell, probably about to go.
The 4.0 , the 232 & 258 are reliable as hell , though.

[Sirrotica]

I read somewhere that the Packard V8 was used by AMC/rambler, and Nash somewhere years ago after Packard folded. Well that part is true and Packard was used as a fill in for 2 model years until AMC started to manufacture their own V8, learn something new everyday. They are 2 different designs.

As most Detroit I 6s the AMC is about as reliable as an anvil, no argument here ford chevy AMC and chrysler straight sixes last forever with minimal care.

[455Grandville]

Originally Posted by KS circutguy

She bought it (used)without my help. It was actually a nice vehicle for her. Only problem was right after purchase it would smoke after cold starting.
My good friend happened to be service manager at that Jeep- AMC dealership and after I called them out on the smoking he had a Tech replace all the valve stem seals and it fixed the issue.
She drove it numerous times from NY to WA state without issues.
Later the next year we moved to Arizona to get away from the winter snow, not fun for an up and coming tech.
I worked for a Toyota - AMC - Renault - GMC in Kingman, Arizona the new Cherokees just came out after I started. We had a hard time keeping them in stock they sold so well. Worded for 2 1/2 years before we finally moved to the best state in the land (imo) Washington state..
No extreme heat or snow and cars don't rust, a great place to wrench for a living.
AMC's were pretty decent vehicles it was the Renault's that were total **** boxes.

Originally Posted by Sirrotica

I read somewhere that the Packard V8 was used by AMC/rambler, and Nash somewhere years ago after Packard folded. Well that part is true and Packard was used as a fill in for 2 model years until AMC started to manufacture their own V8, learn something new everyday. They are 2 different designs.

As most Detroit I 6s the AMC is about as reliable as an anvil, no argument here ford chevy AMC and chrysler straight sixes last forever with minimal care.

Packard had a 320 V8 that they used in 1955; it was a huge engine with 5.00” bore spacing.
We had 374 or 352 cubic inch Packard come into the shop when I was 18 for a rebuild; it was a pretty durable piece of cast iron.

The Rambler 327 had tiny ports and a mild cam, it didn’t have much potential for high power.