Heater Blower Motor Upgrade (using a easy-to-find & cheap parts from a Mazda)
Difficulty (1-5): 1 (Simple straightforward swap, a few holes drilled, not much electrics)
Problem:
Many of us Nordic AMCers drive our Ramblers during the winter as well. As anyone fit winter-driving experience should know older cars tend to fog-in all the windows becouse of several different issues. There's moisture in the car (usually from wet carpets becouse of the snow) which can't be easily solved unless you've got a warm garage you can story your baby in every night. The other issue here is that the original heater blower motor isn't up to the task anymore. Be it whether the original Rambler part wasn't powerful enough to begin with or that it has worn out with time (keep in mind they're usually 30 years old!!!).
Solution:
A newer replacement motor.
By a common chance there's a cheap fix for the problem, which suits us AMCers quite well.. Mazda, like most other japanese manufacturer have long used copies and/or similar parts that the US manufacturers. And so it happens that at least '86-'89 Mazda 323 GLX has a VERY similar blower motor and most AMCs/Ramblers have.
There are no real modifications needed, just 2 holes (IIRC) for the screws that bolt it on. Along with good parts-availability (parts yards sell the part for peanuts) there are other positive points to the swap as well. The newer heater blower motor spins about twice as fast on highest speed as the AMC part and also some AMCers have noted that the jap part uses less power than the original heater blower motor, so there should be no problems with battery drainage either. The part works at least for Hornets and Rebels, so it should fit most AMCs/Ramblers.
Tested & working on following cars:
'70 Hornet SST 2D 304 (donor-car '88 Mazda 323 GL)
'67 Rebel 770 Cross-Country 232 (donor-car '87 Mazda 323 GLX)
Let me know at info@amccf.com if you find this tip useful and use it on your car, so I can add your vehicle here (maybe some pics as well!?).