That's one of the few times I didn't think the ez out would get it, being such a soft material. I've got new headlights, some brake hoses and a throttle cable to pick up today. Ol gal is getting some tlc.

 

Sorry I got to this so late.
When I first got into the AMC hobby I joined a group that was Studebaker / AMC as I believe Nash / Rambler took over Studebaker.
From what I remember valves & think rockers inter changed but that was a long time ago.

I think the AMC motor is under rated because AMC was never a big company to put a lot of money into racing like others did.
They were also known as "a family car" company and was hard for them to also over come that.

All AMC motors from the 260 up to the 401 have the same bell bolt pattern and same outside dimension. So a 401 will bolt in where a 260 was and have the same room all around it in the engine bay.
The 304 is what is in my 75 Gremlin with a TF999, beefer TF904 and smaller than the TF727, and was a good running motor.
Also note AMC motors have the CID casted into the block behind the motor mounts unless it was a service replacement block that could be bored to any size.

The cranks between early and late motors have different cranks at the flywheel end but can be over come most of the time.
This change came when AMC switched from BW autos to TF (AMC bolt pattern) autos think for the 71/72 year>.
Also note the 70/71 year had the same motor sizes, 304/360/401, but the cranks were different as above.
My street 70 Javelin has the early 360 crank and the vary hard to find flywheel but the drag 360 is the later 74 360 and uses a Jeep TH400 flex plate as I am also using the Jeep TH400 built for 4x2 use.

All AMC motors are balanced with harmonic balancer & flywheel / flex plate. Was the Jeep an auto or stick?
Part of an issue that AMC and other makes have is over the years parts makers lump all "parts" to fit "all" size motors and the flywheel / flex plate is one of them, think the balancer might be the same?
So that would be something you would need to keep an eye on if you need a flex plate to get the right balance

Oil pans & pickup's I don't think will be an issue if you need to change for the sump.
Oil dip stick tubes can be an issue but if you have one that is good there is a trick of cutting it down low to get it out of the way when working with the motor and then use a cuppling to put it back together.

Depending on the year of the Jeep, thinking 72 up came with 304's, what type of IGN it may have for you to work with should not be an issue.
The later years used the same DSII setup that Ford used or you could go with what ever you come up with to work.

Same goes for the ALT. Later think used a GM type with the regulator built in. If not it is not hard to fit one to the AMC motor if you have all the brackets that came with the motor.
My street Javelin is running that type GM ALT when I got the car. I did have to fix the bracket so the ALT would sit & adjust right.

I don't know how you will make out on exh. manifold fitment and if you were to go headers you would have to make them to fit.
I don't know of anyone at this time making shorty headers but have not looked in 7+ years when I got a set for the street car, hope they fit LOL
Any motor parts like intakes, dist., you may not find a lot if any under the AMC name but look under Jeep may turn up more.

If you can get the motor for a good price with all the front brackets, I don't think he could use them with the LS, I would go for it.
Only thing I can think might give you trouble is the flywheel if it was a stick and you need a flex plate for the 700R4 trans you want to run.
You may want to look at the smaller 200 OD trans as it may fit the car better and I am sure will be ok behind the 304. IIRC they came behind GM 305 motors and guys have built them up to live behind 350's.
Think thee Buick GN used that trans also.

Sounds like a cool project and I like different
Dave ----

 

Hey Dave I went and picked the 304 up last night. The guy has a "rock bouncer" with tires that are about 4 feet high and military axles. He said the 304 is very strong but that he just needed more power, so he is building a 360 (AMC) to replace it. He kept his 4 barrel intake but gave me the old 2 barrel intake to go with it. The year of the motor is not know at this point, he said he wasn't sure but always told the parts counter guy "1981 Jeep" whenever buying parts for it.

Regarding the transmission, I have been doing a little research (well googling and reading threads anyway), and wondered if there was an upgrade using stock type parts, since the 4.0 has the same bell housing pattern as the V8. Dang if I can't find the thread now! But it was a later model trans built after Chrysler took over Jeep, maybe it was a 500SE, but had to use the trailshaft of a different transmission. Well the trans will be down the road a little bit anyway, I don't have to figure all that out right now.

 

You may want to look here for any information on AMC's
The AMC Forum, American Motors Discussion Forums
I have not posted over there since I moved down here and got the pick up but there are some on there that know their stuff.
I want to say there was someone that did the OD auto from a newer auto that Jeep used when Dodge bought them but it was a long time ago and I did not follow to close as it was not something I was looing to do.
If you find it see how much work & $$ to do that or go as you said an adaptor and the 700 or the 200 GM OD auto trans.

BTW Jeep used an adaptor between the AMC motor and the BOP auto trans in the early days. Cant remember now if I have one or not but don't know if that would help with the OD trans thing?
I would also need to check over my stash to see if I have a v4 intake, performer, laying around.
Not that there is anything wrong with the v2 intake for street my Gremlin uses one with a Holley 2300 500cfm carb.
That v2 intake I hope has the oil baffle on the bottom as you will need to move that over to any after market intake you get.
You will also need to run the metal intake pan gasket or you can suck up oil thru the PVC that goes in the back of the intake IIRC.
I have not looked over my stash since I moved and cant remember what all I had / have LOL

Did the motor come with all the front brackets for ALT and maybe PS?
Or did he keep that stuff for the 360?
If it was a rock bouncer then I am guessing it was an auto?
Hope he did not keep the flax plate to run on the 360 as the balance will be off.
I think the Jeeps have a rear sump oil pan what does the car have?

If he could have found a 390 or 401, either year cranks for either motor, they cam with forged cranks & rods from the factory.
If he was not to worried about forged parts he could run 343 pistons in the 360 and get a bump in compression but think he would need to run high test or race gas.
I knew a guy that ran a 360 / 343 pistons all factory parts in the motor that ran 11's in the 1/4 mile and 10's a spray.
He had a bad gas solenoid and motor ran lean, also did not back the timing off either, and burned a piston or 2 but it was a runner!
He built the motor to put a hurting on me in a match race, and he did, then for S&G's after all the racing was done made 2 runs on spray and that is when he hurt the motor.

There is a lot I have forgot not being in the AMC game for a bit but I am sure we can come up with a working set up when the time comes.
Dave ----

ps if you wanted to go stick a mustang T5 will bolt to the motor using small body (Gremlin / Sprit / SX4) car parts or Jeep parts. Its what I have in the street Javelin.
Mine uses linkage but you could run a juice clutch if you wanted to.
Sorry for all the questions LOL

 

Hey Dave the AMC Forums is where I got that transmission info, and I signed up to be a member but never got the activation email, so I contacted the administrator to see if he can assist.

The transmission tip I had found, for a AMC Jeep Chrysler trans upgrade, was to use a 42RH from a 1995 Dakota, and then you use the front case from a 42RE out of a 95 Cherokee. Sounded neat but it's very specific and I wouldn't imagine too many people have both extra transmissions laying around to harvest parts off of.

I used to have a Wagoneer with the 360 motor, and it had a TH400 transmission. But the trans was made in a case specifically for AMC, it would not bolt up to a GM motor for example.

The rock bouncer guy, I don't remember him saying exactly, but I assumed he had a manual trans. Since that thing can be almost vertical when it's climbing I would not think an auto trans would hold up very well. At any rate I have no flexplate for it. I do have the power steering bracket & alternator bracket, so at least I won't need to hunt down those parts!

Here is a picture of his toy, it won't fit in the garage with the Jeep body on it.

 

He needs a bigger garage LOL

My drag car has the AMC bell TH400 in it.

Finding a flex plate that is balanced for a 304 can be an issue.
I know it's been posted how to tell them all apart so you will need to do home work to make sure you get the right balance.
Don't trust a parts store to have the right one.
Have them look uo part numbers for the 304, 360 & 401 should be 3 different numbers.
Dave ----

 

If its any help, my buddy Troy and his dad are pretty familiar with the late 70s amc/jeep v8s and trucks. If you ever want his number, just ask.

​​​​​​I ordered and put in new headlights on the f250, started replacing the body mount bushings. Core support ones were a huge pain. The big milwaukee impact ended up ripping some hardware in pieces because it was so ate up from acid. Thankfully it's getting all new ones. Supposed to get the windows tinted this Friday after work.

 

Do all 304's use the same flexplate regardless of year? They sell replacements at Autozone.

I actually did a little work on the 69 for a change. I got this bumper back in the April but never got around to putting it on. I felt like it was a 2 person job and my son-in-law had agreed to give me a hand, but that thought seemed to leave his mind pretty quick. So I used my hoist as my helper, to hold the other end, and only smacked my head into it once during the job. lol



I bought this homemade one off a guy with a 69 Chevy about 8 years ago. Never really liked the way it fit my truck, sticks out on the sides too far, etc.

Looks naked with no bumper on there.

New Westin bumper from Autozone, normally $145 I got it on sale for $130 plus I had 20 on my rewards card at the time. Sweet!

 

 

Dustin, Light look good.
Who did you get the lights from as I should replace the ones on the Dodge.

John, I believe all 304 flex are the same as I cant remember the cranks being different on the early ones.
How dose the Zone list the 304 flex? Is it just for a 304 and if so look up 1 for a 360 & 401 and see what the part numbers are for them.
What happens id the parts stores list all 3 motors using the same flex plates / flywheels & balancers and they don't.
Yes they will all bolt up to what ever motor but the balance will be off.
I just don't want you to get the wrong one and hurt a good motor.

I also hope the guy you got the motor from knows that 304 flex will bolt to the 360 but is not the right balance.

Bumper looks good
Wonder if Josh got the bumper installed he picked up from me?
Dave ----

 

Lets see what did i do on my day off??
Ate pizza for breakfast
Changed oil in mustang (no sparkles)
Changed oil in my new to me tractor (it sparkled)
Changed gear oil in transmission (it sparkled)
Changed gear oil in second transmission (it sparkled)
Changed gear oil in left gear box. (Guess what it did)
Changed gear oil in right gear box. (Yes the pattern continued)
Changed gear oil in differential. (Yup still did)
Then greased the 10zerks ive found so far.
48" mower decks a lost cause... so many holes itd take more time to patch it (and even then id be lucky to get it patched the metals so thin) than it would be just to replace it... shot the company that makes reproductions of the mower decks a message today... will see what they say...

 

I'd been wanting to get myself a front hitch for the 69, but the old spare hitch I had laying around was too wide. I came across one for sale nearby that was 34 inches outside-to-outside which should be a pretty good match for my frame, so I went and bought it. I figured I could modify it if needed to make it fit the front.

I test fit it in place, and it just hangs way too low, and too far forward.

So I put it on the workbench and got to cutting, I cut pretty much all I could out of it ~ 3.5 inches from the top, and 12 inches out of the length.

But when I test fit it again, I still am not comfortable with the height. The bottom of the hitch is about 5 inches below the front bumper.

Now I don't know what to do, I've already hacked it up so it's useless to anybody else! But I'm not happy with the way it is. Any suggestions?



I don't know what vehicle this was originally made to fit, and the guy selling it didn't know either.

Way too low.

Not a whole lot left!

Still too low, and there is nowhere left to go with it.

 

since your going to end up welding it anyways.. try flipping it over and see if that fits any better the way you want...

 

Ditto Shawn beat me to it

 

I made it a lot better by shoving it back another 4 or 5 inches and wedging it up hard against the frame. I think flipping it over would still leave me with the same quandary, only then the horizontal bar would be the lowest point instead of the center receiver.


I'd say this was close enough to perfect, it's about 1-1/2 inch between the bumper and receiver.

Sprayed some white on the frame so I could make my markings to locate it. At first I tried using masking tape, but it wouldn't stick to my greasy frame!