Frank’s 63 Classic

This is my second 63 Classic! I first bought a 63 Classic in the fall of 1999. I just happened to drive by when someone had it out of a garage where it had been stored for several years, undriven. I stopped to ask about it and they were willing to sell! I bought it and decided to put both it and my 63 American up for sale since I couldn’t really keep both while still serving in the USAF. The American sold, so I kept the Classic. I had the American for 14 years and was sorry to see it go, but I also wanted a car I could put a more modern engine in. I built a 4.6L stroker on a budget, using a 1988 4.0L block and pistons with 1974 4.2L (258) crankshaft and rods. I ran the old T-96 with OD for a short time until I could locate a stronger transmission, which ended up being a Jeep AW4 two wheel drive automatic. This necessitated eliminating the torque tube axle and driveshaft. I installed a Jeep XJ 3.08 rear axle with ladder bars, not the best solution. I drove this car from about November 1999 through July 2002. I had just returned from the 2002 Kenosha Homecoming show (I was stationed in Gulfport, MS at the time). The following day on my way to work I was T-boned at an intersection and the car was totaled.

In the ensuing months a friend found another one for me near Atlanta, GA. I made a road trip to retrieve the one-owner car. It needed everything — paint, interior, and drivetrain — so it was perfect for me! I used as many parts as I could from the wreck to build the car shown. It took me the better part of a year to get it done. That car was totally stripped down and rebuilt from the ground up. I shopped extensively at a local U-Pull-It yard (I believe it Robert Hall’s Auto Salvage in Lo0ng Beach)for parts. It was here that I found a Jaguar XJ6 as I was looking for a rear axle that would work better than the XJ axle. I made a deal with the yard for the axle and rebuilt it. Since the gearing had to be changed this ended up being a bit pricey — I had about $800 in it in the end. Not terrible once you consider that it included the entire rear suspension. I had installed the GM power steering box from the Jeep Commanche pickup I had bought for the donor 4.0L (it had no transmission), but decided to try a rack and pinion setup. After a few trial and error mistakes I got a power rack and pinion from a mid 90s Thunderbird working well. I don’t think I’d do it again — it’s really not better than the GM power steering box. I found a 1991 Eagle Premier in the U-Pull-It yard with the correct color seats. I installed the front power buckets, the console, and the rear seat. The rear seat bottom was modified to fit and the seat back was mounted to the original fold down seat back (plywood). The Premier seat back is thicker so the rear seat doesn’t fold down all the way, only about 30 degrees forward, but I don’t need it to. This was my daily driver from the time it was built until 2009 (seven years), just a couple years after I retired from the USAF. I commuted to work and used it any time I needed to go somewhere without my family. It made many trips from Gulfport MS and Dover DE to my home town of Batesburg-Leesville SC. It’s still driven on long trips, but not so often any more. It’s reliable and I’d drive it anywhere, I just need a pick-up for my handyman business. I still take it on occasional long trips — it’s been to the Kenosha Homecoming show three times since it was built — and get it out every 6-8 weeks for a weekend cruise, and any AMC shows I attend.

The engine was rebuilt in 2009. The Stroker had about 70K on it but was using oil excessively — about a quart every 400 miles. This was due to excess cylinder wear, but the engine still had great power. The excess wear was determined to be from the bore being too loose when it was built and the 258 rod/4.0L piston combination. AMC specifies a 0.002″ piston to cylinder wall clearance and my stroker was built with 0.006″. The machinist thought that would be fine, but he built mainly GM and Ford V-8s. I guess it was fine — but it started using some oil at about 50K miles, just didn’t get noticeably excessive until around 60K. The “poor man’s stroker” 258 crank & rods and 4.0L pistons bring the piston real low in the bore. In 1999 the only way to get a piston to use the longer 4.0L rod was to order custom ($$$) — now there are stroker pistons readily available that use the 4.0L rod with 258 crank. When I rebuilt I decided to just go with a stock 4.0L stroke and forego the stroker. I was building more for longevity and haven’t missed the 40 or so HP difference. I have a better cam and other improvements to the 4.0L (1999 intake, performance computer, larger injectors, etc.) that makes up for some of the power difference.

rW