Any AMC spe******t here .. A friend is lookn for a Trans adaptrer for a 65 marlin with a 327/ Packard block thatn had a Torque Tube trans and now want to use a 350/400 Any ideas
Let me be the first to point out that the 327 is not a Packard. It's the first AMC V8. Prior to the 327 Nash/Hudson used 320 inch Packard V8 engines. 1955 and begining of '56. Only one dumb cam grinder I know thinks 327s are Packard motors. he is wrong. Nothing interchanges
I believe you can convert that to open drive with a 57-59 Ford car auto trans, or the tailshaft and housing from one. Ford and Rambler used the same transmission for a few years in the late 50s/early 60s, made by Borg Warner. Which means anything you can fit to a Y-block you may be able to put on the Rambler with some obscure combination of adapters. (even more obscure: Rambler's version was push****on and cable shifted, Fords was conventionally shifted - even the Ford push****on used a servo instead of the cable deal). Studebaker used it for a while, too, and it even came in Jeeps for a couple of years. And yeah what they said, there's no such thing as a Packard 327 V8, Nash/Hudson only used the Packard while the AMC V8 was in development. The AMC V8 came in 250 and 327 inch flavors and was made from mid-'56 to like the end of 1968. I believe the V8 they used after that was all-new.
If you want to get picky the 48 Packard Super 8 was a 327. Hard to mistake em though...it's a straight 8
I had a 67 J3000 Jeep truck with a 327 (NOT CHEVY!). It had an auto bolted to it that appeared to have a 400 type pan. No adaptor. Great transmission. Might be an option for you...can't remember how the transfer case connected???
Late 60s Jeeps could have a TH400 with a short bell; some had AMC V8s, some had Buick V8s. They used an iron adapter to mate to the block because the trans had a Buick nailhead bolt pattern but of course the Buick 350 has the BOP pattern on it. You just need a short tail housing and the right yoke to change it to 2WD.
If there was no adapter it was a Borg Warner M-8 trans. Jeep 327s usually used a cast iron adapter that was about 2" thick with a TH-400. The TH-400 was the Buick Nailhead model, also sold by GM as a "universal" model due to the shallower bell. The Nailhead had a deep "shoulder" at the back of the engine and needed a shallow bell housing. The shallow bell left plenty room for an adapter. The AMC V-8 story is real interesting! AMC made a tentative agreement with Packard to cross-buy parts. AMC bought the Packard V-8 and Ultramatic trans, and Packard in turn bought... nothing. They sent some bids over, but rejected them as too high. That ticked AMC head George Mason off, so he told his engineers to get cracking! The engineering department hired a guy from Kaiser who had worked on developing a V-8 there, and had a 250 V-8 in production in just over a year. Only a few of the V-8s were used in 56 in the mid-year introduced Nash Amb***ador Special and Hudson Hornet Special. The Specials were really the shorter wheel base and slightly lighter Nash Statesman/Hudson Wasp with Amb***ador/Hornet trim. The regular full size cars used the Packard 352 in 56 (320 in 55 only). In 57 the 327 was introduced and replaced the Packard engine, with the 250 being used in the Rambler line -- with the notable exception of the special edition Rambler Rebel, which used hte 327. Only 1500 silver and gold Rebels were made in 57, and it was the second fastest production car tested that year, second only to a fuel injected Corvette. That was in the 0-60 and I think standing mile at Daytona Beach on the sand.
Dated a gal once who had a 57 Nash Amb***ador V8 (327) 4dr sedan - 3spd with o/drive - sweetest dual exhaust in the state (North Dakota). That road hog would do well over 100mph with ease. The gal was a major cutie-pie. dj
<<<<<<<<< Here's an AMC 327 In my project Jeep. I've got a 327 from a wagoneer with a TH-400 and the cast adaptor. You're right about the TH-400 pattern being for the Buick 350 that was also an option in early fullsize Jeeps and Jeep trucks(early 60's to 70-71). I belive that the adapter changes the starter location aslo... I've got the parts to put the TH-400 into a two wheel drive version also. I also have a 64 Rambler with a 287/auto which would be the same as in the Marlin, Just not the 327. I have a couple of these first gen. AMC V-8's There pretty cool old motors Jeff
The 250 was made from 56-61, 287 from 63-66, and 327 from 57-66. The 287 was only used in the Cl***ic line, and only as a 2V. If you find a 4V in a Cl***ic it was added by a dealer or owner. Stroke is the same for all three, they have 1/4" different bores. 250 has 3.50" bore, 287 3.75", 327 4.00". The bore is cast into the block right behind the right cylinder head. I forget whether it's decimal or fractional, but it's on top of the block. Hard to see with the engine in a vehicle, but clean it good and use a mirror and you might be able to. All have forged crank and rods, but then all engines did until the early 60s. The cranks and rods interchange in these, which is interesting considering the difference in displacement. Cheaper to cast a different bore in the block than make new forged crank and rods! Cast crank/rods would be different, but they couldn't cast reliable ones until the early 60s. You can't bore one out to the next size, though they do have substantial cylinder walls and can be safely bored 1/8" (0.125"). It has been rumored that early 287s can be bored out to 4.00" (327), but I wouldn't bet on it. Supposedly the first batch or two of blocks were just thick walled 327 blocks, but that makes no sense -- unless they were just engineering test blocks. Before going over 1/8" overbore sonic check, but 1/8" is perfectly safe. Finding pistons the right size for an odd bore like that (3.875" -- 3-7/8") would be a different story! Custom forged might even be hard to find, as most of those are based on a standard blank that's machined for pin height/diameter and ring location.
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