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auto transmission and Jeep I6

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jhowes View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jhowes Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: auto transmission and Jeep I6
    Posted: Jan/05/2018 at 9:41am
I have a late 60's Jeep OHV I-6 (258 maybe)  that I want to marry to an automatic transmission for 2 wheel drive use.  Can it be done and do I need any special flex plate and torque converter?  Is there a particular auto xmission that I need to look for.  More details on the exact motor will be coming when the snow and cold make it possible.  Jack 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Lyle Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Jan/05/2018 at 11:41am
The only Jeep OHV engine I know of from the 60's is the Tornado. It's unlike any other AMC motor and I don't know what direct replacement transmission there is. I think information on this would be better on a Jeep forum but let others chime in. There may be a whole world of experience with this out there.
The Tornado has nice HP numbers and good rep.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote DaemonForce Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Jan/05/2018 at 11:41am
Borg Warner automatic or the torque converter and pump from one and mated to a Cruiseo/FMX will work fine. It's a lot of hard work to gift transmissions and parts to keep a pre-71 Jeep powerplant working. This must have been a problem with some early AMCs because they have the same problem with V8s. I don't know what donors you would be able to find other than a 1964-66 Mercury or a late 70's DJ-5. Torqueflite might be an option with an adapter but I tend to avoid both.
Originally posted by Lyle Lyle wrote:

I think information on this would be better on a Jeep forum

Lets not hope for miracles. Most Jeep owners on forums are concerned with 4WD stuff and they junk or modify the RWD models. Might be why those tend to sit under a tree for 30+ years and rot away.
1971 Javelin SST
American 304 2v | FMX | AM20-3.31

1983 American Limited
Jeep 4(.7)L S-MPFI | 1982 NWC T-5M (4.03/.76) | Dana30IFS/35-2.72
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Lyle View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Lyle Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Jan/05/2018 at 12:07pm
Found this in a a Jeep article:
"The JEEP TH400 was used in several jeep applications beginning in 1965 and extending throughout 1979. The first Jeep application to use the TH400 was The Jeep Gladiator supplied with the 230 Tornado I6 engine."
You may be in luck with a direct TH400 bolt on keeping the bell. I believe your going to have to get under it and see what you have.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote purple72Gremlin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Jan/05/2018 at 1:03pm
1974 -79 doesn't use adapters.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jhowes Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Jan/05/2018 at 3:14pm
Interesting information, thanks for the replies.  When warm weather comes I will get aggressive with this. Thanks again,  Jack
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ken_Parkman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Jan/05/2018 at 9:03pm
In the Kaiser years the first big Jeeps used the 230 OHC Tornado, and they were available with the BW automatic. In 65 the Tornado was replaced with the AMC 232 OHV engine, and the books say it was not available with an auto. If you got the V8 you could have an auto and it was the TH400 with an adapter on the 327 Rambler engine. The early 232 has a different transmission bolt pattern and the common auto bolted to it was the BW in AMC cars and a few oddball places like postal Jeeps. One of those should work for you. Apparently the first AMC era big Jeeps were available with the TH400 and some kind of adapter to the early 6 cyl AMC pattern. Never seen one.

Something more modern would have to be adapted, but there must be someone who has done that.

Or go with the post 71 AMC 6 that changed to the AMC V8 bolt pattern and there are a lot more tranny options, including OD's.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote farna Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Jan/06/2018 at 11:36am
We need to ID what six you actually have before anything else! Easy to tell if it's an OHC or not. That will be an easy start. Jeep started using the AMC 232 six in the big Jeeps in 1965. The 258 appeared in the big SJ Jeeps in 72... but Wagoneers only got a V-8 after 1973.

Since you say "late 60s" you most likely have a 232. That would mean a Borg-Warner auto from a 63-71 or early AMC/Rambler with a six. I'd look no earlier than 66 personally, as the later trannys were a wee bit stronger than the earlier ones.
Frank Swygert
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote purple72Gremlin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Jan/06/2018 at 11:51am
I've seen the 230 tornado engines as late as 1968
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote farna Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Jan/08/2018 at 6:17am
They stopped using the Tornado OHC six in CIVILIAN Jeeps after 65. MILITARY Jeep pickups (M-715 and derivatives) used the Tornado through 69. Other countries used the OHC as well. It was pulled from the US civilian market mostly because mechanics didn't like it or know what to do with it. There were a few issues when it first came out, but no more than any other new engine. It was "foreign" and derided by most US mechanics, most who didn't have proper training on it. Military guys were trained on it from the start, and most trainees didn't have prior mechanic experience to get in the way -- they were drafted or joined to get some training.

Kaiser moved production to Argentine (not all - the US military required domestic production) and used it their in several vehicles, including the IKA Torino - which was a hybrid 65 American/Classic body made there 66-81. The original 230 had four main bearings, IKA changed it to seven mains in 73. The four main bearing engine was raced at the 1969 Nurburgring 84 Hours race, where it came in fourth overall. One of the three cars (two were lost due to wrecks over the 3.5 days of running -- not mechanical failures) finished fourth overall, though it completed two more laps than the declared winner. There were some penalties for various small things, mostly from losing a muffler for most of a lap...  This proves it wasn't the engine that was faulty... it was the attitude of American mechanics that tanked sales in the US. Most of the ills of the early engines were speculation, not fact, though as I mentioned there were things like faulty oil seals that caused a few teething issues.

All three car still exist!! Great photos and some details:
https://petrolicious.com/articles/these-are-the-ika-renault-torinos-that-dominated-the-nordschleife-in-1969
Frank Swygert
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