Inliners International Forums General Discussion AMC/JEEP L6 OHC/OHV jeep engines

Fellows,

There is a subject going on another board that I do take part, and a guy told that the L6 engine available on 1962/1963 jeep wagoneer has an OHC set up. Never heard anything about it.
Any comments?
Thanks.

The 230 cu. in. Tornado six was available in the
utility wagon '62-'64 and the J-100,J-200 and the
J-300 '63 and '64. The bore was 3 11/16 and the
stroke was 4 3/8. The CR was 8.5 to 1. It had an
overhead cam sitting on top of a hemi cross flow head. The cam was mechanical and used stamped
steel rocker arms that rode directly on the cam.
It used a 2300 Holley carb,similar to the 350 and
500 cfm carbs available now,but with the small
float bowl. The exhaust manifold was cast iron and
looked alot like a header.
I had one of these in a '64 wagon in the mid '70's. The engine made very good torque off
idle to about 2000 rpm,then fell on it's face. I
think it was the cam. I think with todays cam
technology it could have been a lot better engine.
The biggest problem with them was oil leaks. You
couldn't get them sealed up. There were major
problems with the front cover,valve cover and rear main seal. I had a friend that worked in a Jeep dealership at the time and he told me that
trying to seal one up was a waste of time. I don't
think it burned any oil,but I had to add a court
every 300 miles.The engine compressioned good and
would start at -20 degrees.
The wagon had a hi-lo transfer case,but I hardly
used the low side. It just had the torque to pull
it in the high side.
I'm sure this is more info than anyone cares about'just my 2 cents worth.
This was a Jeep engine. They also used 199 and
232 cu.in. AMC engines during that time.

Gordy

I was in the army in the mid 1970's we had tons of these things in pick up trucks and ambulances. I remimber the same problem. Oil leaks! It had a stamped valve cover and the edge where it met the head would cut through the gasket if I'm remimbering it right. I always thought it was neat just because it was so wierd. Why did they bother with a OHC? beats me!

I have a 1967 Kaiser/Jeep M715. AMC was buying out Kaiser, and Kaiser had the military contract at the time. Lots of these were used in Vietnam production ran from 67-69. They are a 1 1/4 ton pickup with the 230 Tornado OHC. Dana 60 front Dana 70 rear and 5.83's stuffed in the differentials. Like previous posts state, nice cast iron header setup. Leak leak Leak leak Leak oil, you betcha. Remember I'm talking about a military application speed was not a factor--low end torque was the issue. With the gearing I'm not sure if it is a low end monster or the ratios, I do know that it will just crawl through, over, anything in its path. I use the truck on my farm it's unstoppable. I have heard that it was one of the first OHC sixes and highly prone to failure. As far as I can tell after ten years of typical old farm truck abuse the only issue is it leaks oil, leaks oil, leaks oil. Never seen any outside of Jeep application and further more on my dash it says 28 gallon tank, 7 Miles per gallon, 196 mile range on a good day, GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!

After a little more research I believe the
Tornado engine was a Kaiser design and not a Jeep design as I had stated earlier.Don't know
if it was bought from Kaiser or they merged at
sometime.

Gordy

I know this is a fairly old post, but have some info someone might like.

As stated, it's a Kaiser-Jeep design. Mechanics didn't like it because it was different and they were fearful of the long timing chain. First US OHC engine since the big Duesenberg in-line eights. Not sure if Deusies used chain or gear drive, but not many mechanics saw those! The OHC was unique in that it only had ONE LOBE per cylinder. The lobe was double ended and operated both vlaves. This limited cam design somewhat, but it still worked fine.

In 1965 production of the engine moved to Argentina. Jeep only used it in FSJ Wagoneer/pickups through mid 1965. Some sources list it for the military derivatives (like the M-715) through 1969. I'm not sure if Kaiser sourced engines from Argentina or continued making military engines in the US.

It was used in the IKA Torino built in Argentina (a 1964 Rambler American/Classic cross breed -- American front and rear, Classic center/wheelbase; unique grille, dash, and extended front support rails -- effectively "subframe connectors"). Three cars were entered in the 1969 Nurburgring 84 hour race and won their class (3.8L). In 73 the block was changed to seven main bearings instead of four, and cam changes occurred over the years. The car was made through 1982. Top power was 220 hp for the three side draft Weber version. It was popular through the 80s and at least early 90s with Argentine racers, and can still be found racing there.

Want more? See http://www.ramblerrogue.com/torino1.htm