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What "Classic" AMT Kits Had Interchangeable Engines?


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I think I read or heard somewhere that several of the AMT kits of the early '60s had engines designed to be swapped directly between kits with no modification needed--direct drop-in. I believe the optional engines in the '40 and '49 Fords (Olds and Buick engines, were they? I forget.) fell into this program. Is this true? What if any other kits were involved in this?

(Yeah, I know, I know, a real modeler can put ANY engine in ANY kit. I'm talking about kits where the engine mounts, transmission length, and so forth were the same.)

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I think it was pretty much all of the early Trophy Series Ford kits. Like the '32, '36, '40, and the '34 pickup and probably the '25 T and some others. I'll have to go thru some of the kits that I have and compare. I'm thinking the way it worked is that if the stock engine was the basic Ford four or flathead V8 they all had the same engine mount points so their "modern" OHV replacement engines also fit those same mounting points.

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The engines in the '32, '34 pickup, '36, and '40 Fords interchange for the most part. The Lincoln engine in the '25 T has similar engine mounts but I'm not sure if it interchanges with the others. The Chrysler 392 in the '32 roadster has a couple of spacers that usually have to go with the engine, and the FE-series Ford in some of the Deuces (and the '34 pickup) might need to be cheated a bit by installing the oil pan backwards, but otherwise they'll usually fit. The Chrysler might not fit into the '36 with its steering column, and the '40 bodies might need some firewall work to get it in also.

The engines in the '49 Merc and '49/'50 Ford kits swap about as easily (among those kits), more so since the '49 Ford had the front wire axle eliminated awhile back. With the '50 convertible, you'd have to either drill to get the axle in or do something to eliminate it.

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GREAT information, thanks all! Any idea if the '56 Ford, '57 Ford, '53 Stude, '57 Chevy, and/or '59 El Camino were in on this, too? Or was it limited to kits with flathead Ford engines? How about the Double Dragster Fiat chassis?

BTW, I'm looking for an easy swap for the '25 T, and would like to make Tim Boyd smile by NOT using a smallblock Chevy. B):lol:

Edited by Snake45
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GREAT information, thanks all! Any idea if the '56 Ford, '57 Ford, '53 Stude, '57 Chevy, and/or '59 El Camino were in on this, too? Or was it limited to kits with flathead Ford engines? How about the Double Dragster Fiat chassis?

BTW, I'm looking for an easy swap for the '25 T, and would like to make Tim Boyd smile by NOT using a smallblock Chevy. B):lol:

I use to write Rodder Profiles for a "local" hot rod magazine. After a while it got boring. Every car had a small block Chev, Mustang II front end, and a 9" Ford rear end. So I like the idea you've got here of looking at using other engines. Chevy small blocks are great. But, they're boring when they're in everything.

Scott

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I knew you'd get a kick out of that, Tim. Hey, I posted the '69 Nova improvement pics you asked for up in that thread. Did you see them?

I sure did....thanks....I thought that post (and the ones that followed) did a good job summarizing the work to be done.....thanks again. TIM

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Okay, lets see if I have these straight. Please feel free to correct me if any of these are wrong. Here are the optional V8 engines in the Fords:

'25 T, All variants:--Lincoln

'28 Ford Tudor—Mopar 413 (Hat tip to Greg Myers!)

'29 Ford—Baby Hemi? (354)

'32 Ford 5-window: Small Block Chevy

'32 Ford Phaeton—427 Ford

'32 Ford Victoria—427 Ford?

'32 Ford Roadster—Chrysler FirePower Hemi

'34 Ford Pickup—Ford Thunderbird (Hat tip to rmvw!)

'36 Ford—Pontiac

'39-'40 Sedan—Olds

'40 Ford Coupe—Buick

'49 Ford—Cadillac (not sure this kit was part of this swap program)

Any others?

Edited by Snake45
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If I'm not mistaking, the '34 Ford pickup, originally AMT and later Lindberg, had the same chrome plated Ford engine as the AMT '57 T Bird. Also included was a great flathead engine. Here is the T Bird engine in a '32 Ford Roadster I built.DSC04170.jpgDSC04169.jpg

Edited by rmvw guy
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Whoops, after examining my '57 T bird I noticed a difference. The distributor is in the rear of the engine on the '57. I'm no expert when it comes to Ford engines. I will say it was a little bit of a tight fit on the firewall of the '32 as you can see. I should have recessed the firewall maybe? The air cleaner is actually touching. Most of the AMT engines are interchangeable with a little tweaking.

The one that gets me the most is the small block Chevy on the '32 5-window. For years I had no idea what engine that was suppose to be. I also never knew that was a 427 Ford on the Phaeton. The transmissions are all pretty much just a little box kind of like an early Ford.

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'49 Ford—Cadillac (not sure this kit was part of this swap program)

Was there a "Swap Program" ? Or was it pretty much just by design? Or coincidence? :huh:

Either way, a great list, I for one am going to save, Snake, Thanks ;)

Edited by Greg Myers
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