Motor Trend "car of the year" for 63. Not really a major restoration "project," as it runs and drives great. Just took it up to 70 yesterday, rode great. Has a few problems, carbs need tinkering , has a va***e leak, and the PO told me the water pump needs to be replaced, works as is, just the fan can wobble a bit when it's not running. Also the horn, fuel gauge, and temp gauge don't work. And the high beams only brighten the outside lights, and the inner ones won't light. All the major stuff works though. Can burn the back tires no problem. Also have a problem with the p***enger side floor getting wet, looks like it might be coming from the firewall? Not really sure. The seats are a little torn in the front, but the back seats look brand new. Picked it up for $1300. Has a 327, 3 speed auto, and just took it over 88k. Get's people asking about it every time I go somewhere as it is. Not really planning to do much with it, replaced the rusty muffler with a Cherry Bomb, sounds awesome. Not going to restore it fully, just fix the major problems. More into stuff that is functional and a little scratched up than a car that looks brand new. The only other thing I want to really do is get a bigger set of rear tires and then ditch the hub caps off the front wheels. ^Wet floor, carpet is soggy, doesn't look like its coming from the floor pan or anything, but still want to figure this out.
A-body Mopars have a problem with the windshield wiper grommets going bad and causing leaks into the floorboard area. You might check this area out. Nice Rambler..with a 327 too...that's really cool.
The reservoir where the heater core is mounted is rusted out. That is where your leak is coming from. Its a very common problem for this era Rambler. Check out this link. It will show you what i mean: http://theamcforum.com/forum/whos-r...opic30972_post283032.html?KW=cowl+rust#283032 Mine was completely rusted out, and water made its way down the seam of the firewall and rusted that out too. It was a bad design. Good luck, I love '63s!!
Took my hub caps off today, not sure if I like it better or not. Too much blue. Thought it would look better with the steel wheels blacked out, but people gave me a bunch of **** saying it would be 'destroying the original parts' and how I shouldn't do it, but I think it might look better. What do people think? I wasn't really digging the stock hub caps, though they did make it more original to how it was new.
Yep, that's most likely the leak. That's mine in the link above. Peter Stathes (www.amcrambler.com) makes a ready made repair panel that's really neat if you don't have time/skill/tools to make your own. Was $65 last time I checked, but all welded up -- a very nicely done piece. What causes the problem is time! Can't help that. It's not like they rusted out in 10 years -- took 20+ to start rusting. So it's not really what I'd call a "bad design", no more than on the early Mustangs (rust in the same spot around heater, but not down the firewall/kick panel seam). Trash gets in the cowl vents eventually and will settle around the heater opening in the floor, rusting that out. The vertical pinch weld seam traps a little mud in it and that will eventually rust out. But the cars lasted well beyond their designed life of roughly 10 years/100K miles. Can't blame the design for not being good for 4-5 times expected life! Check the dimmer switch for the high beam problem. After that it may be the wiring in the front or the light switch. The gauges are easy! There's a voltage regulator that works the gauges behind the instrument panel. To make sure the gauges work just disconnect at the sending unit and ground. The gauge should read full or hot (all the way to the top). If so the gauge itself is good. Replace the old bi-metal regulator with a solid state 5V regulator -- http://www.wps.com/AMC/dashreg/index.html (works on Fords and others that use that type gauge too). The gauges don't care if they have a steady 5V or the average of 5V from the old regulator. And you will probably have to replace the gas tank sending unit. Cheapest to cobble one from a universal old style Ford 0-73 ohm (I think that's right... might be 10-73 ohm...), but you can get rebuilt Rambler units from www.ramblerparts.com or www.kennedyamerican.com.
I think it looks better with the hubcaps. It's yours though. And don't worry about painting the wheels black, they can always be repainted if you paint the car. It needs something on the wheels though, if nothing but chrome trim rings (I like the old thin ones, if you could find them) and chrome lug nuts can center caps. That might be too "rat rod" for the grand old girl though. That was AMC's flagship, ya know! Makes a great sleeper! Stick a 600 cfm 4V on it -- the original is a paltry little Holley 450. The 600 will wake it up! The only other thing you can really do to the 327 is have someone regrind the stock cam (cam must be sent to a grinder, any of the big cam companies will do it). A newer model AMC aluminum aftermarket intake can be modified to fit, biggest thing you need is two pieces of 1/2" aluminum to use for spacers between the intake and head on each side. The intake has to have the water crossover cut off, so once modified it's only good for the 287/327. Most people mod the Torker, but any can be done that way. For a street car I'd use a Performer or anything BUT a Torker! Torker got modded at first by people wanting to race the 327, then just because that's the only one anyone has seen modified.
I was thinking maybe doing both would look good, paint the wheels black, and then get a set of mini moon discs, so it would look something like this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/bf-goodrich-tires-american-racing-rims-baby-moon-g***er-hot-rat-rod-roadster-32-/150689894777?hash=item2315d15179&item=150689894777&pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&vxp=mtr But I couldn't really find any pictures of a sedan with wheels like this.
ruin the original? it's PAINT!!! yes, Paint the wheels black. and I agree, chrome lugnuts would be nice and beauty rings if you can find 'em. I like the car very much. I bet it's a blast to cruise in.
I like that wheel look -- rings and moons. The only thing I'm a little "off" about it is that the Ambo was the top of the line car and really needs some proper nice looking wheels to keep it's "image". I know, it's now over 45 years old and is nowhere near the top of anybody's line, but.... But it will look good in chrome rings and caps though, not too much "rat rod", just inexpensive custom...
Get ready for the "AMC copied the Chevrolet 327" comments. www.wps.com/AMC/Rambler-327/rambler v8 tsm.htm Studebaker 289 owners have to live with FORD references on nearly a daily basis. Not too long ago A crusty old timer at a local NAPA >INSISTED< the IH 304 in my Scout was an AMC engine. When I feel like it is necessary to correct a mis-statement, rather than entering a hopeless debate, if there is tech literature readily available I start off with " You seem pretty sure about that. Are you a betting man? " and plunk a $20 on the parts counter. With the parts references right there it doesn't take many comparisons beyond valve train parts to make it clear which engines are related.
And then there's the fact that AMC introduced their 327 in 1957, Chevy's came out in 1962. So who "copied" who??? It's really just coincidence that the bore/stroke combos came out to 327 in both engines, no one "copied" anyone. Same with the Stude 289/304 (the 289 was bored out to 304 in 62, I think... only made through 63 for most 64 models). Nothing to do with the AMC or IHC 304s, or the Chevy 305/307. Stude did use Chevy engines for their last two years in Canada though.
Got a few things. I tried to take off the whole instrument piece to get at the regulators for the gauges, I got off the screws and and the two nuts under the top cover part, and it still won't budge. Should I instead just replace them from behind? What do they look like, there was these small black circle things on the back of the gauge cluster? Also, how should I take the dash off to check for the cowl rust? There's a bunch of small bolts that run along the bottom of the dash, and a few other big ones in behind that look like they attach right to the frame that comes through the firewall. Is there more than these? Also, in the Ramblers thread you told me to check on the back of the manifold on the drivers side for the vac hose to the trans. The only thing I saw was a metal hose, here: Is that the vac hose for the trans. or did I just completely miss it?
Another slightly more worrying thing, I noticed this a while ago before I put it away, but noticed more to it tonight. On the piece where the other end of the wiper hose goes, down behind the fan (I have no idea what it's actually called) there's a piece that looks like something is supposed to be screwed into it. Tonight I noticed there's a piece of hose near it that's cut off right after the connecter. What is this hose, and where should it be leading to? And what goes into this open spot? I circled them in red in this picture:
Schpud, What you have circled is a fuel pump. AMC used to install a combo fuel/vacuum pump on cars fitted with vacuum wipers. It could be that the br*** fitting is the fuel outlet on the pump and the cut hose goes to the wiper motor. A lighter picture might help. Mike
1 - Instrument Panel - The black things in the back are sockets for the light bulbs. You need to unscrew the speedo cable and there is a big round plug for the wires in the back. It's probably stuck, but will pull off. The whole plastic surround comes off with the instrument panel. Pull the top cover off. Then there are four screws on the bottom (two on each side of steering column) and four nuts on studs at the sides. You should be able to see the top two through the whole under that top cover. The lower two are near the lower corners of the speedo on each side and have to be reached from under the dash. 2 - trans vac line - That metal line you show most likely does go down to the transmission modulator. Should just be a short rubber line under the car. Once you verify that, disconnect that metal line and make sure it's clear. It looks like that one might just go to the distributor. There should be another one to the transmission SOMEWHERE off the intake. Might have been changed -- may be another one plugged for the distributor. You can pull vacuum anywhere from the intake for the trans or distributor. But look for a line running down from the back of the motor going down to the trans. You might need to start at the modulator on the trans and follow up. The distributor may have been hooked up near the base of the carb. 3 - That looks to be the fuel line. One should come from the tank and into the pump, the other from the pump to the carb. The vacuum booster is usually on top, fuel pump on bottom.
Awesome, thanks a bunch. In another thread someone thought maybe my trans modulator was leaking fluid into the line, which could be causing some of my engine problems, not a vacuum leak? I took off the line on the top of the block pictured above (looked at it in better light, does go to the trans), and there was no sign of fluid, but some red crust on the threads. Could this be loc***e or dried trans fluid? I'm going to check the other end of the line at the modulator today. Also, the now-unused fuel line input on the manual pump, should I plug that up or close it off somehow, or is it fine to just stay open as it is? Project for today is going to radioshack to to get some new regulators, the two nuts under the bottom of the dash sound like what I was missing.
So you are using an electric fuel pump instead of the manual? I suspect you're keeping the manual pump on for the vacuum wipers then? If that's the case, loop the fuel line from the output to the input. That will keep oil from leaking should the fuel pump develop a problem.
Check on the switch there should be a spring loaded ****on push the ****on in and pull out the knob. Back in the 60s my buddys folks bought a 285 hp rambler biggest factory sleeper of all time.
The others had this, this is the only one without. It looks like it just slides on the shaft, but won't budge to come off.
Another question, trying to take out the carpet to inspect the floor panels, but can't get it off the gas pedal, how do you take this thing out?
There should be a ****on on the light switch as others pointed out. It's in the middle of all the wires, so you might need to unplug the wires to find it. The gas pedal should have a wire clip behind it. It's just a curved piece of wire -- flip the pedal forward and you should be able to see it. Pull each end out and the pedal will come off. The bracket the ends go in is welded to the floor, carpet cut so it will go through.
Well, I got the carpet out, it was so rotted I just cut it off, will need to be replaced. The floor must have been leaking on it for so long, the carpet just turned to mush when I pulled it up. In one bit of good news though, under the insulation and the paint on the floor, there is barely any rust. A little of surface rust but it looks really good. Now the I am a complete idiot and have no business working on cars part: First, I checked the coolant. Hadn't since I bought it, and honestly it hadn't really been a thought. I've only had it about 3 months, and put barely any miles on it. Check the oil and trans fluid frequently. This thing was bone dry. Probably why it was shifting hard too, because it shifted good in the freezing cold, but I just ***umed that was because it was a problem ***ociated with warming up. So probably not a vacuum leak, probably just be burning the transmission up with absolutely no coolant. Probably need a head gasket now too. Now it gets interesting, and even dumber. I filled up the coolant and thought I would take it for a test drive to see if it helped anything. Put the control panel back together and go to start it. Just turn the key to the start position and the thing started smoking everywhere. The dash, under the hood, and it kept coming even when I took the key out. I threw the hood open, ran in the garage, and grabbed a wrench, took the battery out as fast as I could, could barely even see what I was doing in the smoke. The smoke stopped then. All this happened in probably 10 seconds. Every bit of wiring between the dash and the engine is toast. Melted and exposed. The battery was in right, I checked it like 3 times. The only thing I can think of is there was a rubber washer on the ignition, when putting it back together I thought it went on the outside of panel, not between the ignition and the panel on the inside. It must have shorted somewhere through there, because it sounded like it was sparking right where the key was. So in short, I am a *****. My car has rust free floors, but because I really have no business working on cars, it now probably needs a head gasket, the trans is burnt to ****, as well as all the wiring under the hood. Son of a *****.
I couldn't find a wiring harness anywhere online. I'll just have to replace each wire one by one. Anyone know anything else I could have burned out, maybe the starter? Who knows. Oh well. Best way to learn is through mistakes. Almost burning your car down should teach you a thing or two. Edit: Took a couple minutes to get de-pissed, and went back out to look at the car. It's not as bad as I thought, just the wires coming from the ignition got fried. The heat may have melted the coating on other wires in the harness, but doesn't look too horrible right now. Probably only needs a few wires replaced, not the whole harness as it looked in the smoke. At least soldering is something I can do properly. And here's how I had the ignition set up...and that doesn't look right. What the hell was I thinking. Oh well, will give me something to laugh about in a few years, and something to keep me busy for quite a few hours.
That's not the original ignition switch. The original has a long shank and the bezel/nut on the front fits better. I bet you shorted something against the back of the switch when you were moving things around. I bet you only melted a couple wires, to/from the ignition. You got lucky!! Run a compression check when you get the car ready to run again. I doubt you need a head gasket. Just fill it up with coolant and try it! The transmission might be fine after a fluid change also. You only drain about 1/4-1/3 of the fluid when changing, but that will help a lot. It doesn't have a throw-away filter, but a really fine mesh stainless steel screen. Might want to clean that. When you drop the trans pan you'll find out if it's burned up or not! A little metal in the pan is normal, a lot means it's toasted!
The switch was obviously working. No need to replace it unless you can see where something hit the back and burned it bad. Replacing the wires should be sufficient. One of the terminals may have a burned spot on it where it shorted, but as long as the nut comes off it should be fine.
Hmm. I just zoomed in on an older pic I took of the dash, and the rubber washer is on the front. I'll just try wrapping the terminals on the back of the switch with some electrical tape to try to insulate them, since it apparently didn't short off the dash like I thought. Were right, must have moved something onto the switch when I was moving stuff around.
The Jalopy Journal
