AMC 258 six cylinder

Discussion in 'DIY Marinizing' started by alanrockwood, Apr 3, 2011.

  1. alanrockwood
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    alanrockwood Senior Member

    Just out of curiosity. Is the AMC 258 cubic inch straight six a good engine for marinizing? I understand it is considered one of the better straight six auto engines.
     
  2. gonzo
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    gonzo Senior Member

    No, unless you want an expensive hobby and are really qualified to re-engineer it.
     
  3. alanrockwood
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    alanrockwood Senior Member

    Good point.

    I'm just curious though.
     
  4. CDK
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    CDK retired engineer

    I think you are talking about the engine from an AMC Pacer.
    It was notorious for the long exhaust manifold that used to break in the middle after a few years because of contraction/expansion. AMC never solved that problem, the replacement manifold also broke.
     
  5. alanrockwood
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    alanrockwood Senior Member

    The engine was manufactured for many years, both before and after the Pacer line of carr was made, and even after AMC itself disappeared. It was a fairly popular and well regarded engine in the Jeep product line and continued to be manufactured up until relatively few years ago.

    I don't know if it had the problems you noted in all its incarnations, or just in the Pacer line.
     
  6. CDK
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    CDK retired engineer

    My experience is limited to two Pacers I owned many years ago. One used gasoline, the other one I converted to LPG; both suffered from the manifold issue (among lots of other problems as well).
     
  7. PAR
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    PAR Yacht Designer/Builder

    Nothing a header wouldn't fix. The 232 AMC engine was the one you wanted, not the 258. The 232 was a solid engine, produced for a long time and I think a left over casting from Nash (could be wrong here). As far as a marine conversion, if you have one hanging out of you pocket, then use it, but there are much more common L-6 engines to choose from, making parts reasonable.
     
  8. alanrockwood
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    alanrockwood Senior Member

    The 232 AMC engine was introduced after the Nash era was over. It came out in 1964. Variants of this family came in a variety of displacement ratings and the family was produced until 2006.

    Possibly the 242 cubic inch version may be better than the 258 cubic inch version I first mentioned. The 242 was the one produced until 2006.

    The biggest member of the family was 282 cubic inches.
     
  9. alanrockwood
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    alanrockwood Senior Member

    If not the AMC straight six, then what are some other good straight six engines for marinizing?
     
  10. alanrockwood
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    alanrockwood Senior Member

    Thanks for the replies so far.

    Now that I think about it, I think the topic is a better match to the DIY marinizing discussion group. Would it be possible to have the thread moved over there?

    Thanks.
     

  11. Boat Design Net Moderator
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    Boat Design Net Moderator Moderator

    <thread moved to DIY Marinizing>
     
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