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1959 super cross country |
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Ccole23
AMC Fan Joined: May/14/2016 Location: Wa Status: Offline Points: 16 |
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Posted: Jun/25/2016 at 2:54am |
Hello everyone I have just purchased a 1959 super cross country wagon. The previous owner has installed a 5.3 ls but no trans or rear end. I have a 9 " 1979 lincoln mk v disc rear I was thinking about putting in it but need some advice as to the width etc. I was thinking about real using the coil suspension with Panhard bar and a custom 4 link, with possible airbags in the center of the coils and having shocks as well. Or going full aircoil on the rear and front. Also I'm unsure whether I should keep the original front suspension or swap it as well. Any advise or suggestions are much appreciated. I purchased the car to be a really cool reliable daily driver as my great grandfather had one when I was a kid and I love the look and memories of the car.
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vinny
Supporter of TheAMCForum Joined: Jan/05/2012 Location: Calgary Status: Offline Points: 2837 |
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Did you get any ideas from 'rear end swap 55 - 66 classic'? Good luck with it, you've got a bit of work ahead of you.
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farna
Supporter of TheAMCForum Moderator Lost Dealership Project Joined: Jul/08/2007 Location: South Carolina Status: Offline Points: 19676 |
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Keep the original unless you just like spending money and time. The Gen1 AMC V-8 was a lot heavier than the LS in there now, so weight is not an issue. You can upgrade to disc brakes using any AMC factory disk brake setup (not really recommended any more due to high cost of rotors, and rising!) or a Scarebird setup (www.scarebird.com). Wilwood and Aerospace Components also make AMC disc setups. The later two are only specified for Javelin and AMX, but they will work on the Rambler. You might need to use spacers (grade 8 washers) on the spindle to center the caliper on the rotor though.
There is nothing wrong with the trunnions. They do need to be greased regularly, but if maintained will last .You might want to disassemble, clean, grease, and put back together. A good bit of work, but not very costly. They work every bit as good as ball joints. The only drawback is if you wanted a lot of caster. Turnnions will only allow 3 degrees in either direction tops. More than that and they will bind. For 99% of people that isn't a problem. Parts are getting expensive, but as I said -- grease it once a year and you won't have an issue. If you take it apart put a tack weld on the bushing caps (the big acorn nuts) on the upper and lower trunnion -- tack trunnion to arm. Put the tack on the outside edge where you can get to it with a grinder or chisel to knock off in case you ever need to replace one. When removed and replace the tension on the hole in the stamped steel arms is weakened. It's possible that the trunnion may be loose enough in the arm to turn out with the vibrations of driving. I had that happen once, lost one of the caps on a trip. Not fun, but not as bad as breaking a ball joint. Doesn't take much to keep it from turning in the arm, a good tack is a lot of peace of mind! You could use red loc-tite instead, but I prefer the tack weld. |
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Frank Swygert
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vinny
Supporter of TheAMCForum Joined: Jan/05/2012 Location: Calgary Status: Offline Points: 2837 |
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http://www.freakride.com/product/amc-front-coil-over-conversion-systems
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Ccole23
AMC Fan Joined: May/14/2016 Location: Wa Status: Offline Points: 16 |
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Ok I will leave the front end suspension the car only has 47k on it so the components look really good
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Ccole23
AMC Fan Joined: May/14/2016 Location: Wa Status: Offline Points: 16 |
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I just looked at the control freak setup I'm assuming the goal was to get easier sourced and serviced parts? The adjustment is about the same for alignment and geometry seems almost identical to factory?
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vinny
Supporter of TheAMCForum Joined: Jan/05/2012 Location: Calgary Status: Offline Points: 2837 |
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I don't know anything about it. I guess it is an alternative if the money is available.
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farna
Supporter of TheAMCForum Moderator Lost Dealership Project Joined: Jul/08/2007 Location: South Carolina Status: Offline Points: 19676 |
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The Control Freak setup will not work on a pre 1970 AMC. Totally different suspensions. You'd have to make a completely new engine/suspension crossmember to use it for starters, and then I don't think the upper control arm would fit the earlier car -- so you'd have to make new or modify the upper control arms.
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Frank Swygert
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tomj
AMC Addicted Joined: Jan/27/2010 Location: earth Status: Offline Points: 7544 |
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those are nice cars!! sounds like a great ride. pictures? Farna's right, in good repair the trunnion parts will easily last "forever", but only if they're clean and with good lubricant. people comfortable with only ball joint front ends find the trunnions to be weird and strange. but once you work out how they go together they're actually superior, quality and durability-wise to ball joints. (they are more costly to make and more labor-intensive to work on, so factories save money with remove-and-replace ball joints.) the "big car" V8 upper trunnions have needle bearings instead of plain bearings. no one seems to know why, since it affects nothing (they're under no greater load, there's only incidental side load on the upper knuckle vertical pivot regardless of engine weight). if for some reason they were bad you could swap in the more common bushed trunnion, with zero penalty. Edited by tomj - Jun/27/2016 at 1:55pm |
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1960 Rambler Super two-door wagon, OHV auto
1961 Roadster American, 195.6 OHV, T5 http://www.ramblerLore.com |
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tomj
AMC Addicted Joined: Jan/27/2010 Location: earth Status: Offline Points: 7544 |
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i do recommend air springs though, they are particularly easy to adapt Rambler front ends for them.
in the rear, you could fabricate a rigid wishbone to locate the rear axle. this mimics the original geometry closely. that car had a panhard originally anyway, with the torque tube rear. i just did this for a '61 American, though it was for a much smaller engine there is no reason you couldn't make a stiff enough wishbone for a big v8. i used a Mustang rear, kept the original bracketry, and extended it upward for air spring perch and triangulation. http://sensitiveresearch.com/1961-Rambler-Roadster/axletransupgrade/index.html truck arms, or a torque arm, would be easier to adapt probably than a 4-link anyway. |
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1960 Rambler Super two-door wagon, OHV auto
1961 Roadster American, 195.6 OHV, T5 http://www.ramblerLore.com |
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