Why the 202 in '55/'56

50C8DAN

I got to wondering why AMC put the 202 in the '55 & '56 Wasp models? It seems that using the 232 would have been a far better choice than the 202 cu in. Jet engine.

[Deleted User]

Dan, It would have been a better choice since the 55 and 56 Wasp were very underpowered, but that reason wasn't good enough for AMC. Apparently the reason was that the engine bay in the Wasp would accomodate a 202 better without any modifications to speak of. The slightly larger and more powerful 232 would have required modification to the existing Nash platform so management went the easy way out and put in a 202. Let's just say that the bean counters won over the engineers. The sad thing is that it got a bad rap as a result. The little 202 wasn't a bad engine per se but it really wasn't fair to make it tote the weight of a Wasp around.

PAULARGETYPE

Room I Think Was The Main Thing The Wasp Has The Short Front End On It The 232,or 262 Would Not Fit And I Think They May Have Had A Few 202 'jet' Engines Around And Sticking Them In Some Thing They Could Sell Made Good Sence

The Cheapest Way Would Have Been To Use The Same Engine They Used In The Short Wb Nash Cars

[Deleted User]

Didn't the 232 only have 10hp more than the 202? I would think the lighter weight in the AMC body would have made up for any gain in performance with the 232.