AMC!

[ronhic]

like Austin did for the 2200 in England

Small note of correction....

 

The first transverse 6 cylinder engine application was indeed in an Austin, but it was in the Austin Kimberly/Tasman developed in Australia, not in the UK. At the time, the Austin 1800 had sold better here than the UK and Austin wanted a 6cyl car with which to better compete with Holden, Ford and Chrysler...so the 4 cylinder 'E' series engine from the Maxi (and also used here in the revamped 1100) had a couple of cylinders added to it and was fitted transversely.....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin_Kimberley

 

[appliguy]

Washernoob...

You did not offend me at all, I did not mean to seem so abrasive.........sometimes I get so passionate about things ecspecially vintage things that I get TOO passionate, I honestly think it has to do with living in the DC area where most everyone thinks new is always better....of course we who congregate here know that is not always true don't we LOL.........we had a neighbor who had an early 80's Cavalier and the same thing happened to its engine that happened to your granddads Matador, the Cavalier  was done in by the 75,000 mile mark.......I think that your granddad must have had a lemon of a Matador.....it happens in every car line once in a while...a friend of mine's brother has a 74 Matador wagon he bought from the original owner and it has over 170,000 miles on it and he's had no problems at all. What year was your moms Scirroco? I like the first generation 1975 to 1981 I think they are very handsome cars. Washernoob I hope there are no hard feelings because I do find your post very interesting and I think it is cool that a guy your age is interested in this kind of stuff too......PAT COFFEY

 

[hydralique]

Ronhic,

Yes, I am aware that this was out in Austalia first, but was just trying to get the point of the transverse six across and the Kimberly/Tasman is virtually unknown outside of Australia. The 2200 was never sold here in the US, however I believe it was sold throughout Europe so is much better known. The probem with the Pacer is that the width caused it to be a very heavy car but  didn't pay off in useable interior space. Maybe AMC should have head hunted some Aussie engineers!

 

[washernoob]

Thanks Pat! No hard feelings at all.

Yes I know what you mean on the "every brand has a lemon"! I think everyone unfortunately hits one of them sometimes.

My expedition is a first year. People always say the first year expedition has serious issues and almost never lasts. 140k miles and no issues yet.
This is the plagued year that for a long time the motor would catch fire and often burned peoples houses down.

Not a single issue except routine maintenance for a high milage SUV.

Trust me. I LOVE OLD THINGS! ESPECIALLY cars!

 

[appliguy]

Combo52

The 4 cylinder Audi engine you speak of was only offered in the Gremlin for 1977 and I believe 78 the reason it was not popular was because it was not offered in the basic model but only in the more luxurious Custom line, the base Gremiln had a straight 6. Also another reason the Audi engine was not popular is the fact that it shook like hell at idle. The way AMC coverd this up was to use motor mounts that absorbed the rocking and vibration but according to my book on AMC if you lifted the hood of a 4 cylinder Gremlin at idle you would see the little 4 vibrating and shaking. The Audi 4 was replaced by the Pontiac Iron Duke 4 and that was the 4 cylinder engine offered in the 1979-83 Spirit (rebodied Gremlins) into the early 1980's and was also used in line Jeep Cj's and the redesigned 1983 smaller Cherokee's and Wagoneer's....PAT COFFEY

 

[ronhic]

Maybe AMC should have head hunted some Aussie engineers

Pride has led to many a company's fall I feel.....here, there and in Europe....

 

BMC/BLMC may have still been here today if only the British would have listened and used some of the products that were developed here in their own market....and I'm sure that there are examples of frustrated engineers in every company around the world who could have a field day with 'I told you so....'

 

[appliguy]

Washernoob...

I understand what you mean about your first year Expediton...I have a 1997 T-Bird with the standard V6 and I was told by a friend who had that engine in a 1997 Mustang that his head gaskets failed at 85,000 miles and that his mechanic said that the  Ford V6 from that era was known for having it head gaskets go between 80,000 and 100,000 miles...well my T-Bird has over a 135,000 on it now with no problems in sight. As a matter of fact when I had the transmission fluid and filter changed and the valve cover gaskets replaced 2 years ago my mechanic told me that from what they saw of the inside of the engine and tranny, my engine and tranny looked like they had only been run for 1 year not 11 years.....so I think that just goes to show...you get a lemon in every car line once in a while....PAT COFFEY

 

[yogitunes]

Funny how theres a little Gremlin in most "lemon" cars.......all I can think about is the bugs bunny cartoon with the Gremlin in the airplane trying to sabotage it...

one feature I liked about the Gremlins was the seat coverings in "Levis" denim

any "New" machine has a chance of a "GLITCH" in them.....does not always mean the entire line of that product is bad, but it is to be expected when a brand new product comes out, thats just the way it is...we just pray we never get one of them

 

[gansky1]

I'm voting for Beam/Franklin

 

 

[gansky1]

..

 

[dnastrau]

appliguy

Great history on the Buick V6! Regarding the AMC buyout of Kaiser Jeep around 1970: I read recently that a head AMC engineer at the time critiqued the Buick-then-Kaiser odd fire V6 and had no interest in using it as it was "rough as a cob." I remember riding in cars with that engine back in the '70's and they really were rough at idle. I guess it made more sense for AMC to use their own inline sixes which were solid engines (and much smoother.)

Kaiser Jeep had also been buying Buick 350 V8s and putting them in Jeep Wagoneers and pickups for a couple of years. This no longer made sense for AMC either since they had a perfectly good V8 design of their own. Ironically, the V8 that was used in Wagoneers from around '65-'67 before the Buick 350 was an AMC-sourced 327 V8 (no relation to the Chevy 327.)

 

[gansky1]

More Beam

 

 

[tomturbomatic]

You are right, as usual, Greg. The front of the cabinet has that distinctive bulge like old Hotpoints.

 

[hydralique]

Marquette . . .

I've never heard of these but what a neat looking console! I'd love to see a real photo. Thanks for posting!

 

[whirlcool]

Someone mentioned the Matador Barcelona?

 

 

 

[whirlcool]

Another problem AMC cars had was with the front end trunion. They would sag after awhile and were pretty costly to fix.

 

Ah, another AMC car that was around, the Rambler Rebel.  There was one down the street from us. I think it was a 67'. The people who owned it had it for a long time. I think they were happy with it.

 

 

 

[moparwash]

How Sad..

That most of these great department stores are now part of the ubitquous Macy's chain now...

 

[sambootoo]

I had an AMC air conditioner many years ago. It was a 5,000 BTU unit in a small cabinet made to fit casement windows. It was quiet and powerful for the size. The data plate read AIMCEE....