1963 classic aluminum 196

I am in the process of buying a 1963 rambler classic with an aluminum block V6. The car is all original with about 90,000 miles. It was stored in a garage for many years. The current owner inherited it. He got the car running again but said the radiator sprang a leak while he was on a short test drive. He had it towed home. He replaced the radiator but thinks the head gasket is blown. He did a compression test and said compression was good but a bit lower on two cylinders.

Some parts are kinda hard to find.  Rotating parts like the crankshaft rods and pistons are interchangeable with the cast iron Ohv versions of the engine.  The block and cylinder head are wider, thus it requires a different head gasket.  It has hydraulic lifters and different valves than a cast iron engine.  I don't know whether the rocker shaft interchanges.   Accessories should be the same as a cast iron engine.   There aren't many of these engines on the road these days, and various miscellaneous parts like the valves show up on Ebay frequently. When/if you remove the cylinder head to replace the head gasket you will see that the engine has very small sealing surfaces because it is a die-cast "open" block without much of the horizontal sealing surfaces that a cast iron engine has.  I have heard that proper torque on the head bolts (and checking torque at proper intervals) is critical.   I have two of these engines, neither of which is running and I'd like to put one back on the road someday.  Joe

Try Galvin's Rambler Parts (www.ramblerparts.com) first for the head gasket. Kanter (www.kanter.com) may have it also.

If the two low cylinders are side by side then it is most likely a head gasket. The cylinders are siamesed in the block. That means the cast iron cylinder liners are connected in pairs (like Siamese twins). 1-2, 3-4, 5-6 are connected. The engine block is die cast, meaning it was cast in a permanent steel mold, not sand cast with a core that is washed out like cast iron blocks. The cast iron cylinder liners were clamped in place inside the mold then aluminum poured in. The aluminum encases the bottoms of the cylinders in the block, but it's not around the upper parts of the liners -- the cast iron is exposed to the water in the block, and look for a newer 199/232 (maybe even 258). The top of the block under the head is open -- there is no support except by contact with the head gasket.

Now, if the low cylinders are in one of the pairs I'd think that is good -- it's blown between the pairs. If it's between two pairs (say it's #2 and #3 that's low, instead of say #1 & #2), that could indicate a warped block. It may NOT be warped, could just be an old/bad head gasket, but "proceed with caution". I'd go so far as to see if the fellow would let you change the head gasket before you buy the car (leaving it at his house, of course). You'll be out the work and cost of the gasket, but if the block is warped the engine has to be replaced. That would severely impact what I'd pay for the car. Then I'd replace it with a cast iron block. Or maybe he'll come off the price on the grounds that the motor might have to be changed.

The only other thing to be wary of is the head. If it's cracked it will be very difficult to find a replacement. The cast iron block 196 is almost identical, but the heads won't interchange. Most internal parts (crank, rods, bearings, and I think pistons -- cams and lifters are different) will, but the aluminum block is wider and the head bolts are further apart side to side. Even cast iron block heads are hard to find in good condition. The good thing is you likely don't have a cracked head though. If you take the head off and replace the head gasket, however, take it to a machine shop and have it checked for cracks -- preferably before you  agree on a purchase price. Again, you're out $50-75, but would be worth it.

THE HEAD MUST BE RETORQUED periodically on the 196 OHV iron and aluminum engines. That's most likely why the head gasket is blown. It may have been run hot too, which can warp the block and/or crack the head. On the AL engine the heads don't get as hot as the FE block before the head gasket blows. Torque the head bolts every 10-12K miles or every 2-3 years. Depends on how much you drive it. Easy enough -- you don't have to worry about bolt tightening sequence on a re-torque. Just loosen each bolt then torque back down one at a time. I wouldn't go over five years even if I only put 1,000 miles (or less) a year on it. There is some expansion and contraction even sitting in a garage.

TomJ MAY have cured the re-torque issue by using ARP studs instead of head bolts. Studs don't work out as easily as bolts do, that's for sure! The problem is they may still work out some, so how long do you go now? I know from 14 years experience that you can go up to 14K miles on the FE block motor without a problem, but I didn't go 14K miles consistently. Mine was a daily driver so I put 6-8K miles on it a year. I tended to retorque the head if I had the valve cover off if I couldn't remember exactly when I did it last. On the FE engine valves need adjusting at least once a year, so I put 13-15K on it 3-4 times over 14 years between retorques (6-8 out of 14 years... I doubt I ever put 8K on it two years in a row, 7K/year was average), and those may not have been back-to-back. So half that time it was retorqued every year. If you put in studs that's great, but I STILL wouldn't risk cracking the head by not retorquing every few years/15K or so miles. The heads are difficult to find and no more will be made.

In the 63 Classic you have the option of installing a newer six rather easily, in the 58-63 American (and 50-55 Nash Rambler) it's difficult to install a different engine, and it takes a bit of work to put a different one in the 56-62 big cars (mainly fabricating motor mounts, assuming you keep the original transmission). The trans and torque tube can be a problem in the 63-66 Classic, but keep the original with a modest newer six and take it easy (just a cruiser) and it's a bolt-in job.


Edited by farna - Mar/14/2012 at 9:48am

You are in for an exotic project rebuilding the aluminum motor. I don't have hands on experience with the aluminum one, just the iron block. But i did a lot of research with the intent of building an aluminum engine for my project, but deemed it just too far out. The iron engine is hard enough to do right.

The BLOCKS warp on this engine. It's an open-top casting, no top deck; so machine work will require unusual care and setup, and a cheap local rebuilder will likely not be able to give it the care it needs.

Though I am fairly sure reliability problems in it's time were mainly from poor maintenance -- most 60's engines are tolerant of crappy cooling system maintenance (tho it eventually catches up...) but not this engine! It cannot be overheated, requires coolant with anticorrosion properties, etc.

The iron engine is hard enough to find parts for and to do good work on. The 232/258 is easy -- the 195.6 OHV is relatively exotic, and the aluminum one definitely so.

And yes, time will tell whether I've fixed the head-sealing issue long-term on the iron engine. I'm checking torque on close to the factory schedule and it's so far been zero change. I am certain i've fixed the startup-overheat problem -- and the Al engine will definitely have that! That is documentable and measureable.

Alright gang, looks like based on the advice so far, first steps are a compression test and new head gasket. If lucky, the head isn't cracked and the block isn't warped and I've got a runner for some number of miles before a rebuild. If not, I'm looking at a rebuild or perhaps an engine swap right now. There is an engine shop in town that comes highly recommended. I talked to them and they have worked on a few of these engines over the years. I would like to keep the car original if I can, so wish me luck.