4.2 258 to T90

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   Hello! New to the forum and the world of AMC. Just bought a 59 rambler american and couldn't be happier. The old flathead is gone, and I want to stick with an AMC engine. I've been considering the jeep 4.2. Does anyone know what I need to do to marry it to my original T90 3 on the tree? I've gotten mixed info so far. Also considering the 4.0. Any help is appriciated.

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My59Rambler6 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List AMC Fan Joined: May/28/2018 Location: Colorado Spring Status: Offline Points: 8	Post Options Post Reply Quote My59Rambler6 Report Post Thanks(1) Quote Reply Topic: 4.2 258 to T90 Posted: May/28/2018 at 9:21pm
	Hello! New to the forum and the world of AMC. Just bought a 59 rambler american and couldn't be happier. The old flathead is gone, and I want to stick with an AMC engine. I've been considering the jeep 4.2. Does anyone know what I need to do to marry it to my original T90 3 on the tree? I've gotten mixed info so far. Also considering the 4.0. Any help is appriciated.

tomj Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List AMC Addicted Joined: Jan/27/2010 Location: earth Status: Offline Points: 7553	Post Options Post Reply Quote tomj Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: May/28/2018 at 9:53pm
	the manual transmission in that car is a T96, not T90. and sad to say, there's no way to mate a 4.2 (aka the 258), or any other AMC engine other than a pre-1972 six, to that bell housing. the bell pattern is an old Nash pattern. the 195.6 OHV and flathead, and the 199/232 64 to 71. that car (pre-64 Americans) is the 1956 Nash restyled, more or less. the engine has two mounts up at the front of the block and two on the bell housing, where the 64-up engines have two engine mounts near the middle of the block,e ach side, and one at the back of the transmission. also the 199/232/258/4.0 is much longer than the 195.6. the only way to make it fit is to nix your heater box. as a project, it depends on how much effort you expect/willing to expend. there is no bolt-in options except the two 195.6's, the T96 plus it's OD variant, and the Flashomatic transmission. it's a very limited chassis. my favorite AMC in a lot of ways, but it's problematic for modifying.
	1960 Rambler Super two-door wagon, OHV auto 1961 Roadster American, 195.6 OHV, T5 http://www.ramblerLore.com

My59Rambler6 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List AMC Fan Joined: May/28/2018 Location: Colorado Spring Status: Offline Points: 8	Post Options Post Reply Quote My59Rambler6 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: May/28/2018 at 10:17pm
	Cool, thank you!

My59Rambler6 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List AMC Fan Joined: May/28/2018 Location: Colorado Spring Status: Offline Points: 8	Post Options Post Reply Quote My59Rambler6 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: May/28/2018 at 10:41pm
	Car did come with a few extra trannys. One of them is a t90. Will this work with my Colin shift?

farna Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Supporter of TheAMCForum Moderator Lost Dealership Project Joined: Jul/08/2007 Location: South Carolina Status: Offline Points: 19689	Post Options Post Reply Quote farna Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: May/29/2018 at 7:37am
	As long as the trans has shift arms on the side it will work with a column shifter. You might have to bend shift rods to get them to fit right. You CAN mate a T-96 to a 72+ six, but it takes a little work. You need a late 70s/early 80s multi trans bell (got mine from a 79 Spirit) for starters. That has the 64+ T-96 bolt pattern. The pre 64 (except for 63 classic) T-96 uses a "short" bolt pattern. The top two holes are in the same position on both,. but lower holes are higher up on the pre 64 model. You might have to drill those lower holes in the multi-pattern bell, and tap or use a nut on the back. You also need a T-5 bearing retainer, as the hole in the bell is larger. I managed to drill a T-5 retainer to fit a T-96. I got lucky and got it perfectly centered on the first try. You can only be about 0.005" out of alignment with the crankshaft... about as perfectly centered as it can get. The big caveat is that the T-96 won't last long. I did it behind a 4.6L EFI stroker, so it should last longer behind something with nearly half the power (like a carbed 258). That is still 30% more power than the trans is rated for though. Expect the synchro to go first. Those didn't take much abuse even with the stock engine. So the T-96 is the least desireable trans for such a combo. I had a T-96J that was from a 70 Hornet with 232. The J model has a slightly larger input bearing and some harder internal parts than the typical T-96 -- J was used only by AMC and only in 70-71 Hornet and Gremlin, IIRC. So it's hardest to find and to find parts for. Rebuild wasn't cheap (I had an OD trans, even harder to find in a J!), and I got rid of it as soon as I found a better trans. I did manage to put about 10-12K on it over 18 months, but the synchro lunched after 3-4 weeks and I was double clutching to down-shift.
	Frank Swygert