early American -- engine thrust bushing!

That's a good theory! I've had plenty of the 61-63 Americans over the years. While I've seen my share of separated motor mounts, they were all 30+ years old and more were separated due to lifting the engine or not having the fronts fully out of the engine (the front mounting edge is slotted, but also has a retainer bolted on top!) when removing it from the bottom. I haven't replaced those mounts since the early 90s, when they were still available. Guess they have dried up now. Luckily they are just flat "puck" type mounts up front, easy to adapt a number of "universal" type mounts to. Just need to be about an inch thick with a single 3/8" or so stud in top. Anything over 1/4" (even a 5/16") would be fine. The crossmember can be drilled for a different pattern for the base if necessary. The bell housing (rear) mounts are different for the manual trannys, just flipped upside down front mounts for the autos.

here are three different-year blocks with and without provision for thrust. some apparently later blocks have bosses with threaded holes and often studs in place to accept the thrust bushing bracket. my "63" engine has them, and i think i asked half-heartedly on this forum what they might be, years ago.

for whatever reason AMC seems to have done a little flurry of improvements and changes to the 195.6 in the last year or two of its existence. some are clearly inexpensive life-extenders (the 199/232 certainly in the works) and some like this less obvious.

my "1963" engine i call that because it originally came out of my '63 American. but it was a commercial rebuild to begin with, then i "freshened" it (poorly), did a full teardown/rebuild (what i then though was a decent job, now i know not so great), and most recently, the pro build by Pete Fleming to exacting standards. but the point is, i don't really know what year the engine was made. it does have the cam-journal top-end lubrication metering so its not "old".


1965 BLOCK WITH THRUST MOUNT BRACKET PROVISION (1/2-13 tapped bosses each side of the oil pump mount area)





"1963" BLOCK, in the car, harder to see here, but studs (NF threads) in holes. "it came that way" i never pulled them out. see comment; many be later block, unknown.






1958 BLOCK. i bought this off ePay close to 10 years ago, a commercial rebuild "short block". it was stated to be 1958, came directly from an engine-rebuilders old stock, so likely to be the correct age. it does NOT have top-end timed-oil.

The left front corner of the engine block should have the day/date engine build code stamped in (just below the head).  That started in 1958 I believe.  Farna will know for sure.   My 62 Classic has a 1963 195.6 (cast iron) engine and it does have threaded bosses for the thrust bracket you mention.  I believe a former 1962 Classic wagon did have the thrust bracket you showed in the diagram above.   I have three other 195.6's here that I can check if you need more examples.  Joe 

Edited by farna - Jul/24/2018 at 5:44am