A 1500cc engine is a bad choice for an Amphi. It is a stroked 1300 so the piston speed is too high for the low gearing of an Amphi at hiway speeds. Most of these cars have done very well withut any mods. DO them if you like, but it's not necessary. I have twin SU carbs because I like them and they do help me recover the lost HP from my altitude (6000'+). She climbs the hills with ease, slower than most other cars, but with ease none the less.

I will gladly purchase your "Sows ear" and give it a good home that will appreciate it's beauty. My car sits for months in the cold of Colorado winters (unheated storage). It starts up everry time and I have few problems with it because I perform regular maintenance.

It is a very relaible car! The bad press these cars got was for the most part NOT TRUE at all.


        
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__________________

Hi there, I sure don't agree with you at all. I have owned six amphis over the past twelve years and I have four now. I own the very last Amphicar made "Weird Herald". I find with the appropriate maintance they are as reliable as any car that vintage. Well maintained cars are very reliable.
I do wonder about the 1500 motors. Why are they better. Are they quicker off the line or is the top end faster?
Weird Herald is all stock. He takes off from a stand still as fast as most cars I encounter. He will run better than 75 mph top speed although above 70 you should hold on to the wheel.
I think Weird Herald would run 80 mph but I had Lynne in the car and thought I better not risk her doin it.
So what is the attraction of the 1500 motor?
Tommy in Tampa


        
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Attached Images

	Amphicar swimming 017.jpg (67.3 KB, 27 views)
	Amphicar swimming 028.jpg (82.0 KB, 27 views)

The 1500 is actually slower for top speed than the 1147 because it doesn't rev - or at least it doesn't rev like the 1147. What limits the top speed in a standard Amphicar is revs. Above 6500rpm (about 75) Amphicar can't shift any more air past the 90 degree air intake bends and also the valves begin to bounce. Both these problems can be improved. Larger wheels give you a bit more top speed but take the edge off acceleration.

The larger engines give you more torque, so you can drive away from the lights in second and no need to change down to third on steep hills - less gear changes in everyday use - also acceleration 30-50 in top gear is much better but all the larger engines produce more heat which can cause other issues.

I wouldn't ever fit a 1500 but I like the increase in power from 43 to 60 HP and much better engine breathing with the 8 port head that you get from the small crank 1300.

John Friese has done a lot of work in this area, for a while one of his cars was 1147 and one 1300 so he could drive them one after another and properly compare on Californias hills.

David C


        
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"The 1500 is actually slower for top speed than the 1147 because it doesn't rev - or at least it doesn't rev like the 1147. I wouldn't ever fit a 1500 but I like the increase in power from 43 to 60 HP"

Thanks Mr C.
I sorta thought it was that way (slower top speed) but it is hard for me to believe that anyone would work that hard and spend that much money on such an exercise in frustration, just to make there car go slower and run hotter.
But I do guess that person would get to there new slower top speed faster.
And I guess that means he would have a free hand to wave as I drive past him in my "stocker" Amphicar.
Thanks again and it is good to hear from you. Tommy in Tampa


        
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Hello,

Yes, one of my cars had its original 1147 and the other had a 1296 engine in it and I found that the larger engine made the car much more driveable in the California hills and freeways. After a rather short time I found myself only driving the car with the 1296 engine. I then converted my other car to the larger engine too. Top end speed of my 1147 car was barely 72 MPH on the freeway with NO room under the gas pedal. Top end speed with a 1296 engine is somewhere above 85 MPH. I didn't want to take it over 85 but I've driven the car for many miles at 82 MPH and it's absolutely stable, with no signs of lift at the front. You people that have trouble with these cars at highway speeds have something wrong with the car or the setup. I drive my two cars at 70 MPH all the time and they're rock stable The most common problem I've heard of, and the easiest to fix, is overinflating the front tires, which makes the front end float and makes constant corrections at the steering wheel necessary. With bias ply tires, 14lb in the fronts. With radial ply, 18lb and no more than 20lb. 30lb in the rear tires for both types.

I ran a 1500 engine for ashort time. It gives you jack rabbit starts from stop lights but reduces your top end speed. I pulled it out and put in another 1296.

John Friese
67 White
67 Red


        
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John,

Your suspension must be set up very well too. When I first got my
Amphicar it was all over the road and very unpleasant to drive. The
steering wheel shimmied violently at times due to a cracked steering
box mounting bracket. That got welded along with adding a box brace.
A bent steering tie rod (due to someone adding a steering dampener to
try to "fix" the shimmy and it interfered in a bounce and bent the tie
rod) caused excessive toe-in. The rear trailing arms were so loose
and ovaled on the solid axle joint the car fishtailed in curves and
wandered on the straightaways. That got fixed by machining the holes
round and adding steel sleeves. And the most recent restoration was a
front end rebuild to replace the axle and king pin brass bushings
along with all new tie rod ends.

All that work made the Amphicar drive like a new car. It's now rock
solid on the freeways, hold the wheel in place and it actually drives
straight. Now if only I had some more horsepower.

Ken Chambers, CA
'64 Red






        
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Wow Amphibud hit a nerve there!
I have always said the 1147 is a great engine in Amphicars
Runs like a little sewing machine.
Nice low RPMs on Idle.

anyway I stock everthing for Amphicar..engine,, even new cyl., sleves to bring bore back to stock.
I just built up and ran a spare 1147.. may bring it to Celina.

GORD SOUTER.


        
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John ,many thanks for the radial tire inflation guide. Do the front
tires wear at a higher rate due the low inflation on radials??
I have a lot of handling issues over 60 MPH and really appreciate your
sharing your tried and true specs. I have been using about 26-28 pounds
in the fronts and that does not work well. Keeping an almost full fuel
tank does help a little. Chuck


-----Original Message-----
From: jfriese <>
To: tazman3115@aol.com
Sent: Fri, 27 Jun 2008 12:34 pm
Subject: RE: [General Amphicar Discussion-t-20066] Re: US Vendors With
Triumph Herlad Parts?



Hello,

Yes, one of my cars was the 1147 and the other had a 1296 engine in it
and I found that the larger engine made the car much more driveable in
the California hills and freeways. After a rather short time I found
myself only driving the car with the 1296 engine. I then converted my
other car to the larger engine too. Top end speed of my 1147 car was
barely 72 MPH on the freeway with NO room under the gas pedal. Top end
speed with a 1296 engine is somewhere above 85 MPH. I didn't want to
take it over 85 but I've driven the car for many miles at 82 MPH and
it's absolutely stable, with no signs of lift at the front. You people
that have trouble with these cars at highway speeds have something
wrong with the car or the setup. I drive my two cars at 70 MPH all the
time and they're rock stable The most common problem I've heard of, and
the easiest to fix, is overinflating the front tires, which makes the
front end float and makes constant corrections at the steering wheel
necessary. With bias ply tires, 14lb in the fronts. With radial ply,
18lb and no more than 20lb. 30lb in the rear tires for both types.

I ran a 1500 engine for ashort time. It gives you jack rabbit starts
from stop lights but reduces your top end speed. I pulled it out and
put in another 1296.

John Friese
67 White
67 Red


        
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Chuck,

Front tire pressure may have some influence on your handling but check
a few others things.

1. Steering box mounting bracket. It's a weak design to begin with
and cracked welds are common. To test, have someone turn the steering
wheel left and right a little bit while you watch the steering box.
There should be NO movement. Adding a brace to the box makes a big
improvement to steering, handling and safety.

2. Toe-in steering alignment. An easy check is to turn the steering
wheel so sighting down the outside of one front tire (where the white
wall is) is visually aligned with the rear tire white wall area. Now
sight down the other front tire. It should also line up very close to
the outside of the rear tire.

3. Rear suspension. First just push and pull (quite hard) the rear
end on the car left and right and watch or listen for movement on the
rear trailing arms. Mine was so bad you could see and hear the arms
move in loose joints at the solid axle connection. Better yet, jack
up the car and grab the rear of the tire and push and pull. Look and
listen again for movement.

4. Front suspension. Jack up the car and grab the tire at 9 and 3
o'clock and again at 12 and 6 o'clock. Push and pull to check for
worn king pin or axle bushings.

Let us know what you find.

Best,
Ken Chambers, CA
'64 Red




On Jul 5, 2008, at 10:54 AM, tazman wrote:





        
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Hello Chuck,

That high pressure in your front tires is almost certainly causing the steering problems in your car. Drop the pressure to 18 pounds and you'll probably see a wold of difference. What Ken says about adding a steering box brace is a good idea too but I had braced the steering boxes in my cars long before I discovered the tire pressure issue. I just use a strip of 1/4" thick steel and fit it to the steering box as seen in the enclosed photos. The original steering box braces in my cars weren't broken but I added the strip for extra stiffness and to protect against future damage. It's simple and it works but each car is has a slightly different dimension here so each strip must be measured for your particular car. The photos show both my cars and each has a different configuration in that area.

John Friese

White 67 (Under tank heater)
Red 67 (Fender mounted heater)








P.S. Yes, I removed that loose washer from around the master cylinder in the Red car Photo.


        
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