Vehicle Description
Even though gasoline was in the 20-cent range in 1958, the state of
America's economy was in a downfall and the thrifty six-cylinder
engines used in the American series were well built and quite
reliable. The base six-cylinder was an L-head design featuring a
cast iron block and cylinder head displacing 195.6 cubic inches.
Its 3.18-inch bore and a fairly long 4.25-inch stroke, when
combined with its 8.0:1 compression ratio, yielded 90 hp. The
crankshaft ran in four main bearings, and had solid valve lifters
and a single Carter YF-2014S one-barrel carburetor. The only
optional engine, first available in 1960, was another six-cylinder
with the same bore and stroke, but a slightly higher compression
ratio of 8.7:1 and an additional 37 hp, despite the same one-barrel
carburetor. According to Warren Patterson, an AMC mechanic for a
Rhode Island dealership from 1958 to 1966, these basic engines were
quite durable and did not require many repairs, especially when
equipped with the optional screw-on oil filter that kept the oil
cleaner longer. Back in those days, everything was optional. The
flathead six featured no visible intake manifold, but rather was
integrated within the cylinder head; the exhaust manifold is a
log-type and looks like a long tube.TRANSMISSIONSThe base
transmission was a column-shifted Borg-Warner three-speed manual;
overdrive was optional. The three-speed manuals had but one
synchronizer, found between second and third gear only. Some owners
say it was basically worthless and hardly ever worked. Despite that
shortcoming, Warren told us that if it wasn't abused or power
shifted, these transmissions held up well, provided the gear oil
was changed regularly. An optional automatic transmission featuring
an aluminum case was offered and called a Flash-O-Matic. These
units function well, are very reliable and offer long life if
properly maintained. This transmission also was used by Ford,
Mercury and Studebaker at the time; AMC simply gave it the
Flash-O-Matic name. All vehicles are subject to a reconditioning
fee of up to $2000 for all qualifying vehicles.Sales tax in your
County title and tags not included in vehicle prices shown and must
be paid by the purchaser. While great effort is made to ensure the
accuracy of the information on this site errors do occur. Please
confirm availabilityof vehicle. So please verify information with a
custom service representative. This is easily done calling us or
visiting us at the dealership.716-886-1626Please
visitsafercar.orgto verify if this car has any open recalls.
