1959 super cross country

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.

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.

Ok I will leave the front end suspension the car only has 47k on it so the components look really good

I don't know anything about it. I guess it is an alternative if the money is available.

"only 47,000 miles" -- is that what the odometer says? or from the P.O. who has records showing that much miles on known repair? because odo's only go to 99,999, so it could be 147,000. and even if it is original 47,000, it's half a century old... and absolutely, that old lubricant is no good.

Edited by tomj - Jun/27/2016 at 1:55pm