Help with chevy 350/th350 conversion please

[LthLWpN]

I have a 67 rambler american 220 2door and i want to put a chevy small block and th350 trans in it. I also need to up grade the rear. Any help at all with this conversion as far as parts and installation suggestions would be very much appreciated. Also if anyone is interested, the complete original driveline will be for sale after i pull them, motor/trans/rear complete. Might part them out if the need arises. They are all in excellent running condition. If you could hotlink any articles on this conversion that would also be appreciated. Thanks to everyone in advance .

[big white bufflo]

EVERY ONE run chebby why dont you be differant and stay true to AMC ! not i dont blame you AMC is very rare and lots of money is needed for performance parts here are some ideas i have a 65 rambler 220 with a 401 if i were to go chebby i would use a motor plate that mounts to the front of a chevy and use those ledges on each side of the engine bay the ones below the batt tray on each side use them for the front support and what i did to syrangthen the body from flex i built my owne frame ties running frome the inside of the front frame to just in front of the rear springs there is a lift point cut thatout and sanwich the frame there then make a rear cross member for the tran if you good on fabrication i should not take but a day or two to do that the rear end i used a ford 8in out of a mavirec fit real nice the only trouble is you can only fit a 8in tire in the stock well there is not much room because the rear springs i ran slick running 12.20 1/4 mile but have plans to take rear sping out and run a four link with same frame set up i told you about good luck and hope i was of helpany other question just post them ii will try responding

[tommyw1992]

I recently bought a '65 Rambler 440H that was set up with a 350 & powerglide, which are for sale by the way......it is set up similar to the old style S-10 conversion with a flat plate welded to the frame that the engine mounts to that and then the original trans crossmember has another peice of flat steel welded to it making a ledge just far enuff forward to put the trans mount on. This car also has a Ford 9" rear, which is also for sale, that used the factory leaf springs with lift shackles and coil over shocks. This car I was told would lift and carry the front wheels a little way down the track. The car eventually got parked due to the underside rotting out and thats when I bought it for a few other parts for my '68 Rogue and my '64 330 wagon.

[big white bufflo]

Old amc are hard to find but sounds like you have some good parts you should hold on to the 9 in there pretty strong and put up with alot of abuse all the suspension parts are interchangable that was the nice thing about amc my eng cross member came from a 67 4 door with 4 speed on the floor

[MagicRat]

Originally Posted by tommyw1992

I recently bought a '65 Rambler 440H that was set up with a 350 & powerglide, which are for sale by the way......it is set up similar to the old style S-10 conversion with a flat plate welded to the frame that the engine mounts to that and then the original trans crossmember has another peice of flat steel welded to it making a ledge just far enuff forward to put the trans mount on. This car also has a Ford 9" rear, which is also for sale, that used the factory leaf springs with lift shackles and coil over shocks. This car I was told would lift and carry the front wheels a little way down the track. The car eventually got parked due to the underside rotting out and thats when I bought it for a few other parts for my '68 Rogue and my '64 330 wagon.

That Rambler sounds like an interesting ride. too bad about the rust.


My buddy has a '72 Gremlin with a Chevy 350/THM350 that is lots of fun Quite fast, with vast amounts of wheelspin, even with extra-wide rear tires, and fender flares.

The engine uses modified Chevy engine mounts. They are bolted to the block in the usual spot. The engine was positioned so the mounts could be welded to the chassis, in pretty much the stock location.

The mounts are NOT rubber. There is so little clearance side to side that any rubber mounting would allow the engine to rock just enough to contact the sides of the engine bay. There is a bit more vibration than normal but nothing objectionable.

The rest of the installation was very straightforward and fits so nicley it almost looks like stock. Shorty headers were used for clearance, along with what looks like s stock radiator and corrugated universal-type rad hoses.

[MariaJose]

That sounds like a great project! For the conversion, you'll need an adapter plate for the Chevy engine to the Rambler's motor mounts. You'll also need a new driveshaft to fit the TH350 transmission and an upgraded rear axle to handle the added power. Many people use a Ford 9-inch rear end for strength. For articles, try searching for engine swap forums or Chevy/Rambler-specific conversion guides. Good luck with the build!