1967 Rambler American - How To Build Your First Drag Car

Because this is a Rambler, there are no bolt-in applications for the radiator. We used the Flex-a-fit radiator with a 22-inch core that is 2731/44 inches wide and 1811/42 inches tall. The universal mounting brackets allowed us to mount it on the existing six-cylinder core support without welding in new supports. It also came with its own fan, and we added an electronic fan control so we could set the temp and forget it.

Notice we've avoided the standard fuel-cell-and-battery-in-the-trunk treatment, even though that was our first impulse. The NHRA rules say that if you move the battery to the trunk, you have to add a kill switch and a battery box; if you leave it alone, you don't have to do anything.

The long-tube headers made the most power, and they also fit in the engine bay with the 360. We wanted the exhaust to go over the rear axle, so we used a Flowmaster 2.5-inch U-fit dual kit and had Wayne from Speedway Mufflers weld it together for us.

No way the stock starter would fit, so we again looked to the Jeepers and stole a ministarter idea from Powermaster. It uses the Hitachi silhouette design parameter, so it fits inside the headers if you remove them. The washers we used to set the lash on the ring gear turned out to be the same thickness as the transmission spacer, so we found one from another AMC engine and doubled them up. The starter makes 250 lb-ft of torque, which is likely more than the original six-cylinder engine did.

We weighed the car and found that without the driver, it was 2,771 pounds. The heaviest corner was the driver's front, which will likely get worse with a CC guy behind the wheel, but the car is still very light. Once we get the rearend back together, we are going to find the center of gravity and work on launching the car.