AMC 401 bigblock, is this a good engine? (sorry its not an xj question)

Im thinking about buying a 1978 j10 for a spare rig, has the AMC 401 bigblock that I know nothing about. Is this engine any good? What should I be wary of? Any info is appreciated. Thanks!

Kyle

I'll probably end up moving this to "Other" Tech shortly, but Gen-3 AMC V8 engines tend to be VERY solid. Forged cranks from the factory, heavy block castings, and the heads were actually quite well-designed. I've been researching a lot of these "older" engines as part of the background work on Swappology, and I've long been a fan of AMC engines anyhow.

"Rock Solid" is a good adjective to use to describe the AMC V8 engines - especially the Gen-2 and Gen-3 engines...

This is an excellent engine. By the way it is not a big block. AMC 290,304,360 & 401 are the same block with a different bore & or stroke.

alfman said:

This is an excellent engine. By the way it is not a big block. AMC 290,304,360 & 401 are the same block with a different bore & or stroke.

Click to expand...

Yeah - I forgot about that. AMC didn't really have "Big Block" and "Small Block" engines - just "Gen-1," "Gen-2," and "Gen-3" engines. Even then, it's more for parts swappability than anything else, and Gen-3 engines seem to be the most common.

Go here for a complete edumacation on the holy grail of AMC engines (insert drool emoticon here)
http://www.ifsja.org