Author Topic: That AMC V-8!  (Read 563 times)

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Online Bob Riebe

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That AMC V-8!
« on: September 11, 2022, 05:39:29 PM »
https://www.motortrend.com/how-to/1905-dont-ditch-amc-v-8/?wc_mid=4035:23560&wc_rid=4035:34246972&_wcsid=7293EDDBE91A7D0919013BA3C0B6050E9F82BFAEBF73E73E



...Opening the doors of Valley Head Service on May 1, 1965, Ofria quickly made a name for himself as a premier head flow guy. In 1968, he got a call from AMC, and in 1970 the dogleg head would become the only head available for the new larger-displacement (with a taller deck height) AMC V-8.

Larry tells us, "The AMC was the ugliest motor at the track, but don't ever mess with it, because if it was built right it'd eat you alive! And it was a good competitor. What killed AMCs in racing was having a two-bolt main instead of a four-bolt. The AMCs would lead the first half of the race, and either burn up the rear or drop the crank out during the second half.

Larry continues, "I got the call from AMC in '68 because of all the work I was doing for Holman & Moody, Shelby, Stroppe, Bud Moore, and Dan Gurney. Back then, we were doing just about everyone's head work except for Penske and the Chrysler Black Shadow Group guys. In 1968, a gentleman by the name of Ronnie Kaplan, outta Chicago, contacted me, and after we hung up, they started to make the arrangements. Their head flow guy had retired and moved to Mexico, so they found him, pulled him out of retirement, and sent him to spend three weeks with me on the flow bench. Back then, there were only about five real good flow benches across the country. We started testing and we simply found out where the air wanted to be—so we moved the port offset. The old AMC heads would just flow air straight in, not swirl it, and it would bounce back out. We moved the port to make a more drastic turn to swirl the air."

The dogleg port would be AMC's edge they were looking for in racing, and it brought even more notoriety to Ofria's genius. He continued to be a head specialist until around 1974, when he expanded and started building complete engines. Today, Ofria continues to man the helm at Valley Head Service in Northridge, California, still pumping out some of the best custom-built engines in the automotive world....



Offline Lloyd Smale

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Re: That AMC V-8!
« Reply #1 on: September 11, 2022, 08:25:54 PM »
I know there as an airman for the base around our race scene with a 390 red white and blue hornet and he embarassed alot of cars. Thing would get down the road.
blue lives matter

Offline phalanx

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Re: That AMC V-8!
« Reply #2 on: September 12, 2022, 07:48:53 AM »
I know there as an airman for the base around our race scene with a 390 red white and blue hornet and he embarassed alot of cars. Thing would get down the road.

It had an AMC 304 in it.
In this time i Command ,That you take the Secular to Jerusalem .
There you rid the Holy City of the Scourge of Islam , Make the streets run red with the Blood of those who wish to wash Israel and Christianity from the face of the Earth.
Constantine III

Offline Lloyd Smale

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Re: That AMC V-8!
« Reply #3 on: September 13, 2022, 12:15:37 AM »
yup that was available too but the s/c scrambler had a 390 https://knowhow.napaonline.com/rambler-scrambler-all-about-the-1969-amc-hurst-sc-rambler/
I know there as an airman for the base around our race scene with a 390 red white and blue hornet and he embarassed alot of cars. Thing would get down the road.

It had an AMC 304 in it.
blue lives matter

Offline phalanx

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Re: That AMC V-8!
« Reply #4 on: September 13, 2022, 11:12:20 AM »
yup that was available too but the s/c scrambler had a 390 https://knowhow.napaonline.com/rambler-scrambler-all-about-the-1969-amc-hurst-sc-rambler/
I know there as an airman for the base around our race scene with a 390 red white and blue hornet and he embarassed alot of cars. Thing would get down the road.

It had an AMC 304 in it.

My Jeep has a 304, four speed.
In this time i Command ,That you take the Secular to Jerusalem .
There you rid the Holy City of the Scourge of Islam , Make the streets run red with the Blood of those who wish to wash Israel and Christianity from the face of the Earth.
Constantine III

Online Bob Riebe

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Re: That AMC V-8!
« Reply #5 on: September 13, 2022, 03:10:27 PM »
For what it is worth: The S/C Scrambler, with a 390, was a Rambler, a line of cars in the same caliber as the Chevy II, Ford Falcon etc., the Hornet replaced the Rambler but came after the Ramble was ceased.
The 360 Hornet was the highest performance version of that car.

Offline Lloyd Smale

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Re: That AMC V-8!
« Reply #6 on: September 13, 2022, 09:25:56 PM »
I had a cj5 with a 304 myself. By todays standards it isnt much but it was light years more powerful then any jeep i had driven to that point. Ended up with a holley car, manifold and headers which really woke it up. Almost to the point with that short wheel base that it could get you in trouble. One thing else i will say is it was a dammed good motor. I didnt have one issue with the motor in the 50k or so i had it and that was rare for jeeps or for that matter about anything back then.
yup that was available too but the s/c scrambler had a 390 https://knowhow.napaonline.com/rambler-scrambler-all-about-the-1969-amc-hurst-sc-rambler/
I know there as an airman for the base around our race scene with a 390 red white and blue hornet and he embarassed alot of cars. Thing would get down the road.

It had an AMC 304 in it.

My Jeep has a 304, four speed.
blue lives matter

Offline Lloyd Smale

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Re: That AMC V-8!
« Reply #7 on: September 13, 2022, 09:30:12 PM »
I believe it was a rambler American with the scrambler package. Rambler was the name of there whole car line like chevy or ford or dodge. 
For what it is worth: The S/C Scrambler, with a 390, was a Rambler, a line of cars in the same caliber as the Chevy II, Ford Falcon etc., the Hornet replaced the Rambler but came after the Ramble was ceased.
The 360 Hornet was the highest performance version of that car.
blue lives matter

Online Bob Riebe

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Re: That AMC V-8!
« Reply #8 on: September 14, 2022, 07:09:27 AM »
I believe it was a rambler American with the scrambler package. Rambler was the name of there whole car line like chevy or ford or dodge. 
The 1950s brought major change for Rambler, and the country's largest corporate merger for the time, when on May 1, 1954, Nash-Kelvinator merged with the Hudson Motor Car Co. to form American Motors Corp.

Under the direction of Charles Nash's successor George W. Mason, Nash-Kelvinator Corporation began the development of a small car that could be produced inexpensively for the post-World War II economy. However, steel shortages limited the amount of raw materials that Nash could obtain, so Mason turned the compact, now designated the Rambler, into a two-door sedan with a convertible top. The cars were equipped with many standard features that were typically options, to maximize profits for the company.

In 1954, American Motors Corporation (AMC) was formed from the merger of Nash-Kelvinator and the Hudson Motor Car Company. Following the merger, 1955 and 1956 Ramblers were badged as both Nashes and Hudsons, with no visible difference between the two. Rambler became a marque in its own right for the 1957 model year. The Nash and Hudson makes were continued as a "senior" model only through 1957, after which all of AMC's offerings were marketed as Ramblers, with the exception of the imported 1958–1962 Metropolitan.

You are both correct and wrong as Rambler was never a company like Ford and Chevy.
It was an early version of badge engineering.
 The Rambler ceased to totally exist after 1969,