Projects I destroyed a nice old car, help me fix it

Oh !!!
Storing bondo in there?

 

Gray is the new flat black,which is traditional and all.........which came from gray in the first place.......

 

You really should have got some doors instead of trying to roll your own. Post body doors aren't hard to find, and 64-65 American doors interchange with 63-64 Classic and Ambassador doors. The window frames are different between American and big car though -- American has steel frames, big cars have extruded aluminum (and maybe a different shape -- I think glass is different). If you weren't so far away I'd have a set of doors from a rusted out floor two door (I'm in South Carolina). Don't have time or inclination to ship them... mainly time! Was supposed to do some things for myself this morning, but have to wait on AC guys to fix that (in house)!! Too darned busy with work these days...

 

Okay, went back and read nearly everything. So this is long!! Sorry about that....

1. My GF doesn't really like my Rambler, but tolerates it well. She's not a hands-on mechanical type with anything, but doesn't mind if I come in greasy... as long as I go wash before I touch anything. She never complains about riding in the Rambler either. The AC is marginal at best when it's over 90 outside, so I don't take the car then (though it doesn't bother me). She's good with it, and doesn't mind it being my hobby, or going to the occasional swap meet or show -- has even suggested we go to one or two she heard about. So she's supportive, and that' fine. Sounds about like yours.

2. There's not a lot you can do with the old 196. It was an economy engine, and sorely out dated in 1965, the last year of production. It was outdated in 1960, if you ask me! You won't throw a rod unless something comes loose, like a rod bolt. Has forged crank and rods, and though only four mains, they are pretty wide. The head is the sore spot. It is a converted flat-head, but the block casting was changed around the valve area, so you can't put the OHVhead on the old flat-head block. You can swap cranks and rods and timing components. All bearings interchange, but cams are cut way different, of course -- otherwise they would swap too. Distributors are different, oil pumps interchange from 56 on. The flat-head dates back to 1940, and it was just current tech then, not cutting edge. All cranks/rods interchange back to 1940! The OHV head is a big chunk of iron and expands/contracts 0.020" every heat/cool cycle. That will eventually loosen the head bolts. The tech manual says to check the head bolt torque every 8K miles. We've been retorquing every 10-12K miles or every three years ("we" is Rambler enthusiasts in the know about this engine) with no issues. If you don't, you will blow the head gasket and most likely crack the head. Good heads are hard to find, so if yours is running good and you haven't retorqued it you better do it before driving much. When the gasket starts leaking the engine will run hot. The head gets VERY hot and holds the heat due to the mass, so by the time it boils over it's about ready to crack. Can't stress keeping it torqued enough!! No need to over do it, just remember that 10-12K miles/three years. Some have put studs in and they hold longer, may not need retorquing at all (in theory they won't), but I wouldn't be willing to risk the head on the theory. I've built a 170 hp 196 OHV, and that's about all you can do without a turbo. With the stock cast pistons 4-5 psi is all I'd throw at it. Then you could get 200-220 hp out of it. If you want to build a performance six get a 64-71 199 or 232. Those can be hotted up real nice, equal to the smaller small block V-8s.

3. ALL US built in-line sixes were economy engines, both in price and driving tune (recent V-6s are a different story). That doesn't mean they can't be hot, but no one actually built them that way stock. There are a few exceptions -- Chevy put a "Blue Flame" six in the first Corvettes with dual carbs and a hot cam, and Pontiac made a hi-po version of their OHC six complete with four barrel, but that's about all I can think of. Well, Kaiser put a Paxton blower on the 226 flat-head six the last year or two they produced in the US because they didn't have a V-8, so that's one more. Europe didn't have the derision against the six and has made some hi-po models. The early 80s BMW M1 used an I-6 ofup to 650 hp in race models. Little I-6s with short strokes and big bores, sort of like the SBC. All pre 65 or so US built sixes had long strokes and small bores (the 196 has a 4.25" stroke, 3.125" bore) -- great for economy and pulling at low rpm, poor for performance. AMC changed that with the late 1964 232, and the other US makers came out with new sixes in the early 60s that were a bit more rev happy than the old ones, but only a couple (like the Pontiac OHC) were tuned for performance. Heck, I can't think of ANY other 60s US built performance I-6! Ford even went the opposite direction with their 250 I-6 -- lengthened stroke to increase displacement over the 200, and ended up with a long stroke/small bore again. But it was an economy engine too...

4. Just don't give up! I'm with the guy who suggested "subframe connectors" (SILL connectors is the correct term, Ramblers don't have subframes, those supports are technically called sills in the AMC tech manual). Since you removed the B pillars the connectors are probably needed to maintain rigidity. Only the "newer" unit bodies (from 63 on for AMC, about that time for others too) are all that flexible. The older Rambler unit bodies were a lot more rigid, with a formed sheet steel rail running bumper to bumper. Even those had extra under body bracing when made into convertibles, but the 63 American hardtop had no extra bracing, just the convert (only year hardtop in that body, but the nearly identical 50-55 Nash Rambler hardtop was the same, no extra bracing needed). One fellow (TomJ) has even made a roadster from a 62 American with no extra floor bracing, but he welded the doors shut (removed them and put in tubular bracing under the skins) when he cut the roof off (http://sensitiveresearch.com/1961-Rambler-Roadster/index.html).

 

Sounds like your doing pretty decent for an amateur. The main thing is keeping the pieces "true," while your welding and keeping warpage to a minimum. If the gaps are right around the outside then it's just a matter of metal work to minimize the bondo to straighten it enough for paint.
If you can find a donor car, even a rusty one that you can cut up it would be easier than making everything for the pillars, window cranks and tracks and similar items.

If there are 2 door skins available, that might be a good idea. As long as your lengths are close. That would mean no weld mid door.

Biggest thing is to take a break when your getting frustrated, but don't give up. Just a break. Work on it when your in the right frame of mind.

These TV shows that they build them in a week are total BS, even with 8 guys working on them. Don't go by that. Keep after it!

 

Too bad you're all the way in Iowa, and I'm in South Carolina. Otherwise you could get a 65 two door with bad floors cheap! I'm just looking to get slightly more than scrap price, $250. Also have a 65 wagon for the same price -- $500 for both. The wagon doesn't have a drivetrain, the two door has an L-head that was running about 8 years ago. The wagon has a lot more rust, but a lot of good parts. Both have floor rust. The two door rusted from the inside -- rubber floors with padding that holds water, and a window was left partially down while it was stored outside before I got it. Not titles on either, they came from Georgia where no titles were issued, so you just need a bill of sale to get a title in any state.

 

Hey guys! Just wanted to check in and let y'all know I wasn't dead. I've been in school learning to engineer and stuff. Haven't been able to work at all, also. I busted the drive shaft yoke about 6 weeks ago, so i'm really considering going for a streetable gasser build next summer.

The 196 still runs, and runs a lot better now that the water is all drained out of the block. I am fairly certain that rainwater got in one weekend when I left the hood off(no air cleaner right now). I am still toying with the idea of rodding that motor.

I did end up getting the windows in, but i scratched the hell out of the lexan I made them out of. The windows do not "roll" up and down, but they clip into a sill(easiest solution).

The doors both open and shut the way they should, but I really need to do the body/metal work on the inside of the car. (I don't know if I ever mentioned this, but my welder cost me $110 new from HF, and I did the first half of all the metal work with a mask with a handle, so I feel a little slack has been earned )

As for now, I'm on hiatus! I'll let you guys know next time I go home and work, perhaps I'll grab my seat covers and start making those in my dorm, I bought a nice classic sewing machine. I have made one cover, and it turned out really well, but at the time was too broke to try and do faux tuck and roll. I would like to try doing that at some point.

Also, I found that a 51 ford taillight lens presses into my housings almost perfectly. However, I think I want to run dual frenched 52 ford taillights. Also, I'm toying with the idea of widening the rear pillar for aesthetic purposes mostly.

I was so close to giving up, but then I realized that I was so close to really having something!

 

Well, mostly good news! You can get about 170-175 (crankshaft) hp out of the 196. It should take boosting with a small turbo up to about 5-6 psi if you control detonation. The pistons are cast, so you can't go crazy with boost. While it only has four main bearings, they are pretty wide. IIRC it has just about the same bearing surface area as some late model small block V-8s, which have five bearings.

For some info on the 196 see http://worldpowersystems.com/AMC/195.6OHV/index.html.