1982 AMC Sprit Challenge Build

These cars are awesome and need 100 times the love they get, can't wait.

My teammate ended up dropping the ACM off at my house this weekend. I thought this was going to take and afternoon to sort out since the car runs poorly but after a quick fix by Harkins he said it ran awesome and ended up driving it 3 miles to my house! Brakes are still very questionable.

Here is his solution to the frozen choke.

Now that it was in my yard I could test fit the wheel and tires off the turbo Cherokee. Car needs to be lowered a bunch but they fit for the most part.

The outer tie rod boot rubs the tire and the rod itself barely clears. Might have to run a small spacer or just trim the boot since its not really doing much anymore.

I then spent the rest of the day striping down the engine. Just need to get a piece of my hoist back then its ready to come out.

Next step will be to pull the brake booster and lines then clean up the engine bay.

Removed the cobbled together exhaust system. I’m pretty sure the muffler that was on the car is from a sport bike.

Engine is out and I’ve removed the booster, master cylinder and lines. I started cleaning up the bay but it’s been slow going since there is a bunch of rust that’s not easy to get at.

While I was taking a break from cleaning I started thinking about what size intercooler I can fit and where to run the pipes. I really want to keep A/C but without it I have a few options. If I go with an intercooler with the inlet/outlet on the same side there is a bunch of room up top behind the headlight.

The lower pipe has a lot less space behind the light and the other side I’ll need to figure out how much room I’ll have around the steering box.

PseudoSport can you tell me what application the gm ball joints you found that are taller is for.I've been looking for a taller ball joint for my hornet.I can't remember what the taper for my upper ball joint on the hornet is but have been told by several people it's the same taper as a mustang II upper.

The ball joints I looked were from an 80's chevy camaro and 1/2 ton truck. The each have a different taper and I'm not sure what the AMC has yet. To use either ball joint you would have to drill new holes in the upper control arm. Hopefully in the next few weeks I can get all that sorted out and have more info for you.

Here's a link to check out http://www.howeracing.com/p-7923-howe-22300-fits-k6024.aspx .If needed you could always have the spindle reamed to fit the taper of the chevy ball joints.

Ahh yes, AMC: All Makes Combined.

i do love an AMC (american mutant car) the best of all three

ahead of their time

In reply to singledownloop:

I originally came across the Howe ball joints which gave me the idea to look at the Moog numbers they cross to at my local parts store to see what fits. I’m hoping to find a stock application from another vehicle that works and fix the camber curve without spending money on the Howe ones.

Yesterday I tried out some 10 degree mid 80” GM ball joints and they fit too loose. That store didn’t stock the other ones I wanted to try so I’m going to a different one tonight. I think a set of 7 degree ones from a 69 Camaro and 69 C10 truck might work. Those have the same taper as the mustang I believe.

PsuedoSport,

Sorry I wasn't suggestion you spent the money on Howe ball joints since you're on a budget.This info from the link tells us that these truck top joints fit the gm spindle and also the pinto spindle.Since the mustang II top ball joint fits the amc spindle and Howe top ball joints fit pinto spindles they will work according to that info We know mustang II and pinto use the same ball joints.I'm not good at getting the info across online.Here's the relevant info from the Howe site. 63-71 GM Truck Most Late Models Asphalt and Dirt, shorter variation, also fits Pinto upper.

Cool, thanks for the info. I didn’t know that early GM, Ford Pinto/Mustang II, and AMC all used the same upper ball joint size. I did swing by the part store the other day and confirmed that the 7 degree 63-71 GM Truck ball joint will fit the Spirit’s spindle. Holes in the control arm are close but they will need to be redrilled. Truck ball joint is about an inch taller then the AMC one. I think I can get them from RockAuto for $8 each.

Glad I could help.What are you going to do for front disc brakes?I'm going to run crown vic disc set up like Samaleshi is running.I'm all over the place on the engine.I've thought about running a 360 but I really like the idea of running the original 232,maybe add a turbo.Either engine will get efi,probably Hesco,I'm going with custom coil springs,rollerized spring perch,performance shocks,factory amc swaybars,poly bushings in key spots and a variable quick ratio power steering box.Thinking I'll run 17" late model mustang take-off wheels and tires.

Brakes I’m leaving stock for now. Guess 1982 were a little better then the earlier ones. Not much time left this year for suspension mods either. Next year I’d like to find a set of sway bars and make either a coil over set up for the front or modify the lower spring mount to run 5” circle track springs in whatever rate I want. Rear the plan is to go with a ford 8.8 but I might have to leave the stock axle in for this year as well.

Main focus is to get the engine bay painted and the turbo 4.0 in so I can drive it to the challenge. If I can’t get it ready to fire by Sept 28 I don’t see it making it down.

I know you can make a hybrid spring perch with the amc pin and ford mustang perches.This will let you run the straight mustang springs.I just talked to John at Open Tracker Racing and he said he could make me a set like that.My issue if the top of the 4" I.D.mustang spring will fit in the amc shock towers.If you can find a measurement by chance please let me know.The amc/ford hybrid perch isn't new.You can do it on the cheap with stock or poly bushings if the budget doesn't allow to have the perches rollerized.Learn me about what all I need to put a turbo on my six.What size turbo,etc.I've been to some turbo sites but not absorbing the info.If you could share your turbo build I'd just copy it since the setup works for you.

Intercooler showed up so I was able to test fit it with the radiator. With 90 degree silicone elbows pipes should just clear the frame rails, radiator, and headlights.

At night I’ve been slowly working on getting the engine together. Broken piston ring compressor set me back but all the pistons are in now. Waiting on the timing set which should arrive today and I still seed to buy a head gasket set. I want the set with the MLS gasket but I’m still trying to find it cheaper. Price to beat is $47 shipped. Once I have that the head can go together and be installed. Goal is to have the engine sitting in the car on Sept 24th.

While I’ve been waiting for parts and paint to arrive I decided to weld up and smooth the engine bay. Well at least the parts that are noticeable. I even had some left over rust bullet that I used on some trouble spots. The factory spot welds are terrible and all the metal is wavy and I completely regret trying to smooth it. I even had some left over rust bullet that I used on some trouble spots.

In reply to singledownloop:

I havent pulled the springs yet but I know the top of the stock springs gets narrow. Pretty sure a 4" one would fit fine. I'll see if I can get a mearsurement next time I work on the car. That amc/ford hybrid perch might be a nice cheap options if I can source the mount. If not it should be easy enough to cut up the stock one.

As for the turbo our team ran a 50 trim T3/T4 on our last 4.0L and it was a great fit. Check out the build thread for our XJ-R project. You can see how we build a cheap manifold and ran the oil lines.

http://naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1094822

I would really appreciate it if you do get a chance to get that measurement for me.If the 4" I.D. mustang springs fit the amc spring pockets that's what I'm using.As we all know there's a ton of support for early mustangs so will have a wide selection of springs.John told me the hybrid spring perch is shorter the the stock amc perch.If I can do a decent turbo build without breaking the bank I will.

Engine bay is painted so I can now start cleaning up everything else and reinstall it.

I pulled the upper control arms and springs before painting it so tonight I’ll try to remember to measure the upper pocket and spring.

Looks great! What kind of paint did you use?

Thanks, it's a single stage urethane from TCP Global. Not as budget friendly as the $0.99 Walmart paint we used on the Jeeps engine bay but hopefully this will hold up better.

Looks great. I'm looking forward to seeing it in person at "The Show".

That Bay is looking pretty great - any plans to stiffen the chassis while everything is out?

No plans to stiffen it, just cleaning up the bay for now. I don’t think we are going to have time to do anything with the suspension or rear axle this year. It’s going to be stupid soft with 2.31 gears and open diff (might weld it in the parking lot). At least we won’t have to worry about running out of gear in the drags

With only 29 days of built time left I’m getting worried that we might not get it running in time. I still need to install the head on the engine, remove the turbo manifold form the XJ-R, mock up oil drain and modify 4.2L pan, run oil feed line, figure out what flywheel and starter I’m using, install engine, figure out what brackets and accessories will work, weld up down pipe and exhaust system, install external pump and new fuel line, rewire engine bay and install MegaSquirt, mount intercooler and pipes, start engine and hope old jeep tune is close.

And that’s all just engine stuff. Car still needs the stock suspension, column, and brakes installed.

Oh and we plan on driving it down to Florida from Mass.

In reply to PseudoSport:

You can do it keep plugging away can't to see how this does