Glad's Blog

CC/Rambler 401

Posted May 8 2008 08:48 AM by GLAD
Filed under: Editorials

CC/Rambler 401

The AMC is back together with the 370-inch engine and the new Richmond five-speed. The nitrous system is set up for a 175hp shot but it is not connected because the car has no cage or frame connectors. Today we are going to Irwindale to make a few shakedown passes. We found a crankshaft sitting in plain view at JMS Racing Engines in El Monte, Califoria and are going to stroke it and use it in the 401 we are building for the CC/Rambler. We also took the block to JMS Racing to get it checked out. It looks like it needs to be bored so we are going to have to find 4.165 + 0.060-over pistons. The deck cleaned up at 9.208.

Here is the math:

9.208 stock deck

Stock crank journal 2.24

Stock Bore 4.165

Chevy 6-inch rod journal 2.100

Stock stroke 3.68

New stroke 3.82

6.00 inch rod + 1.91 (3.68+0.14/2)= 7.91

We need a piston that is 4.225 diameter with a 1.298

compression height. CID: 434

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Reader Comments:

1. This must be about the only RWD car in the U.S.A. with an uber-expensive sheet-metal intake and the battery still under the hood!

Surely a battery relocation kit is within the budget of such a serious car.

On the other hand, the CC/Rambler looks and is progressing faster than a lot of projects (see the latest posts in the "We're not rich" thread.

460-BBF-Turbo-In-CC - Posted May 8 2008 12:47 PM

2. Problem with the relocated battery is the kill switch that usually requires a drilled hole somewhere. If this was a '69 Camaro, I'd drill away because you can buy replacement taillights etc...
The sheetmetal intake is expensive because its an AMC. You'd hate me if I swapped in a SBC and a $500 ram wouldn't you? I know because a lot of people were cranky when I brought it up. A lot. The only thing serious about the car is that intake.
douglas

GLAD - Posted May 8 2008 01:58 PM

3. Nice seeing the Rambler last night Doug. Too bad about getting thrown out of the track!!!
http://images33.fotki.com/v1186/photos/4/42437/6214085/IMG_5610-vi.jpg

bowtie0069 - Posted May 9 2008 01:00 PM

4. But relocating the battery is such a cheap modification!

I'd put the cut-off switch in the license plate area.

(Actually, I'd probably draw up a half-dozen overly-complex plans, brood over it for a few months, then debate with Mrs. Dr511scj about the merits of buying the relo kit instead of some worthless gewgaw for the house she saw on HGTV...)

I don't specifically recall the rear bumper area of the Rambler (I doubt it's like the dead '61 Cross-Country wagons taking up space in my shop). However, it would seem that building a "switch pocket" behind the plate together with a GM fold-down licence plate bracket (and a prop for holding the plate folded down at the strip) or maybe a brace of quarter-turn fasteners for quick plate removal would hide the switch on the street.

460-BBF-Turbo-In-CC - Posted May 12 2008 06:33 AM

5. I looked into the battery thingy and it looks as if I could run the kill switch behind the gas cap in the rear. You aren't the first person to suggest the trunk-battery option. I've heard it should be a no-hood street machine as well. I'll ask Mrs. Glad.
douglas

GLAD - Posted May 13 2008 01:37 PM

6. Im puttin a chevy in my 65 anyway. Too bad you have to make haters happy. lol i thought the idea of "car crafting" was to do cheap and productive??? after all, it IS how it works and not how it looks. switch the motor out and lie. lol

KnowledgeTriggeR - Posted May 16 2008 04:42 PM

7. Putting in a "me-too" "belly button" [C]hevy is just the lazy persons way of "[C]ar [C]rafting."

Thankfully Douglas "dares to be different!"

The popularity of the CC/Rambler isn't driven by making "the haters happy." Instead it's a function of building something that hasn't been done (and done and done) about 500,000 times before and cannot be duplicated by any mope with a stack of catalogs and fist full of charge cards.

That's what Car Crafting is really about.

BTW, if defiling a Rambler with a boring Bow Tie lump isn't a big deal, why "lie" about it?

460-BBF-Turbo-In-CC - Posted May 28 2008 02:48 PM

8. Ok, I see you did get a 401- already lodged my opinion about that. You could also swap an American three hole front bumper onto the rear and have two other possible locations for a kill switch and you wouldn't have to cut any sheetmetal. Either that or co-locate a smaller led lamp where the current license plate light assembly is with the cutoff and use the existing wire hole for the switch shaft and wire for the led.

Steve

Reagam - Posted June 23 2008 11:13 AM

9. Also, you best sonic test the block if the shop where it's been "checked out" at hasn't done so. .060"can be too much for these blocks..125" wall thickness at the thinest measuring point is the minimum. Of course you could sleeve it.
Steve

Reagam - Posted July 2 2008 09:57 AM

10. I'd use thin rings since you are going uber bore and stroke- adds alot of friction to the equation when you go that big. Since the stroke is so large you can go with longer rods to get the thrust angle down and the stroke and displacement plus gearing will offset the low rpm inefficiency (relative). The biggest improvement at this level will be overall friction reduction- the smaller rod journals is a good contribution to the goal.

Steve

Reagam - Posted September 17 2008 11:06 AM

11. Also, it can't hurt to pick up where others have left off- contacting experts with many, many years of experience building, racing, breaking, and improving AMC's is a basic starting point- the combined experience they offer beats out any generic computer program or most popular engine building philosophies.
Notable contacts are but aren't limited to:
Herman Lewis
Barry Adkins
Randy Guynn
Lyn Peterson
Ken Parkman

Reagam - Posted September 17 2008 11:11 AM

12. I could be wrong, but it seems the the CC Rambler has been in CC almost more than any other project car in recent history. The last one being the Supernova? Anyway, my question is this; Glad, what would be your all time favorite car that you've owned? Maybe I've missed that somewhere in an article. Seems like you're having a lot of fun with this Rambler. I've been wondering too, what does CC do with the "retired" project cars & engines? Is that top secret? Does someone have to make a serious offer or does the staff get first chance?

69c10 - Posted September 29 2009 09:30 AM

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