(first posted 4/6/2016) Those of you who have been around for a while will be familiar with the “Not-Niedermeyers”, that perfect all-American family that endlessly indulged their only beloved child (Paul). Dad Not-Niedermeyer loved camping, and took the family in a VW Wesfalia for idyllic camping trips and lots of fishing (but no hiking). But when they were home, Dad Not-Niedermeyer spent all of his free time with Paul tinkering in the garage or driveway.
The highlight of 1962 was when Paul was given a gas-powered miniature Indy 500 racing car for his birthday. What else? I mean, it’s what he asked for, so of course he got it. And then Dad Not-Niedermeyer showed Paul all of the tricks he’d learned over the years as a famous racing car engine builder how to squeeze more power out of the screaming two-stroke McCulloch kart engine. Wow, Dad; it’s sounding really wicked. You’re so amazing. Can I try it out now?
Sure, son. But be careful; it’ll probably hit 70 now. I don’t want you going too fast down the Highway 6 here, because I’m afraid I won’t be able to keep up behind you in the Rambler.
Ah yes; the Rambler. I don’t know what got into him, but he traded in Mom’s black 1960 Tri-Power Pontiac Bonneville Safari wagon for…this? A Rambler Classic sux six? Well, at least he kept his matching black Bonneville hardtop, but Mom Not-Niedermeyer so hated the lame Rambler—intended for her—that she appropriated his Bonneville, and now poor old Dad was stuck with the Rambler.
But Dad was a always good sport about that kind of thing.
Sigh, all my dreams of go-karts, mini-bikes and powerful family cars also went unrealized Paul.
Luckily, as Cutter John said in Bloom County:
Gotta like Bloom County.
I always love hearing stories from the Not-Niedermeyers. In looking at those pictures, all I can think of is that jingle about how “one of these things is not like the others” – the one and only thing that does not belong in those pictures is that damned Rambler. No wonder Dad is tinkering with your little car – anything is better than driving (or being reminded that you have to drive) that Rambler.
I dunno,
I’d definitely love to have that Rambler in my driveway, and the go-kart, and probably the dad too.
I’m more interested in the Rambler than the go-cart. Were they really that dull to drive? What kind of a ride did the trunnion front suspension give? I like the styling, but it seems that AMC really fell down in the mechanical underpinnings (the story of poor little AMC it seems). I owned later Concords and they didn’t seem too bad to drive, as long as you got one with ps & pb.
The ride isnt’t bad at all on these. The Rambler Six had coil springs at all 4 wheels, rear axle located by a torque tube. In 1962 they introduced lower ball joints, but retained the trunnions on the upper control arms. (Larger models only, the Rambler American retained the old Nash full trunnion suspension until the 1964 model year.)
The early ball joints had a manufacturing defect that frequently failed. In the early 1960s Ramblers stranded with a front wheel kicked out were a common sight. (Of course any of these cars left today will have long had this problem fixed.)
The seats are a comfortable foam over coil spring construction and recliners were a popular option. (Fathers would frequently not let their daughters date boys who drove a Nash or Rambler!)
Brakes were marginal on these cars and handling was kind of like a motorboat. You didn’t drive so much as aim and the car would wander over to where you’d point it. Steering was slow and Ramblers were not using an integral power steering box yet, you just got a booster cylinder on the mechanical linkage.
The new-generation 232 six was a couple of years off yet, so these cars used an engine that was originally a pre-war L-head, converted to overhead valves in the 1950s. They were pretty reliable as long as you didn’t get the aluminum block version but not much on power. Not too bad with manual trans, but with the low-efficiency Borg-Warner automatic these were real dogs and cemented Rambler’s reputation as an old person’s car. (They did have push-button controls for the automatic though which is kind of neat.)
Of course these cars came with vacuum windshield wipers as well. I’m not sure if electrics were available in 1962. AMC did not make electric wipers standard on any of their cars (except the Metropolitan) until the 1972 model year.
On the plus side, the Weather Eye heating and ventilation system is quite nice and these cars had effective factory AC available as well.
The new Rambler Classic and Ambassador introduced for the 1963 model year had a much more modern body design but came with the same dated mechanicals. V8 engines were made available in the Classic line so you could at least get a little more oomph. (I used to have a ’64 Ambassador with 327 V8 and 4-barrel carb and that thing would definitely get up and go!)
Thank you for the detailed anaylsis. Info like this makes it easier to imagine living day to day with one of these cars. Hard to believe AMC didn’t use a proper power brake booster back then, and didn’t even make electric wipers standard until the early ’70s – wow!
I owned several Ramblers back when they were still common so am pretty familiar with day-to-day life driving them. As with any car there are good and bad points.
Power brakes were probably available in ’62 but with drum brakes it doesn’t really help much unless you have a really heavy car. (In fact power drum brakes are pretty touchy, I’ve never liked them.) Drum brakes have a ‘self-energizing’ effect that mitigates the need for power assist.
AMC did start offering front disc brakes on their larger cars in 1965. The Marlin came with them standard that year. (Today it’s actually a pretty simple matter to install front discs on just about any AMC vehicle if desired. You could have power front discs up and running on that ’62 wagon in a day’s work.)
If I were going to daily drive one of the big Ramblers today I’d probably want a 1964-1966 model. Although 1963 brought in a major improvement in body design (very Mercedes-like), I’m pretty sure AMC did not move to integral power steering until 1964. This was a GM/Saginaw unit that was decent for the time, and you can easily swap in a better performing steering box if desired. That year also saw the introduction of the very nice 232 six-cylinder engine (though it was not available until mid-year). If it came down to it I’d prefer a V8 rather than the hoary old 196 so the car could get out of its own way. Electric wipers were optional and could be retrofitted, and as mentioned upgrading to discs is pretty easy. Many years ago I used to have a ’64 Classic wagon with 287 V8, automatic, and factory AC. While certainly not a sports car it was quite pleasant. With a few modest upgrades one of those would make a nice driver today.
I recently changed my Minx from trunnion lower upright joints to ball joints ride seems unaffected but steering effort has reduced, I can back my trailer and steer easily one handed while doing so much easier.
I owned and drove a ’66 Ambassador in the ’80s. Not out of love for the marque. I was poor and the opportunity arose to drive a solid, low-mileage car for little money. It was Kenosha, so not implausible.
Mine had a 232 2-bbl and automatic. The trans started in 2nd if it was in D2. I think many made that error & came to believe the transmission and car was sluggish. Initially, I did also, but began properly using D1. I thought it was known as an efficient transmission, seemed so to me. My main complaint was it didn’t like to downshift. Had to come to nearly a complete stop if I wanted 1st without yanking the shifter.
The 232 was already very smooth and quiet. With the torque tube drive, what vibrations there were didn’t even make it into the cabin. Easy to mistakely twist the key when it was already running. Could hear the soothing patter of the six’s exhaust when underway.
Mine had fingertip effort power steering and a huge steering wheel. I added grease to the front suspension every 1000 miles or so, when I could sense some friction. (Maybe some seals were blown, I don’t know.) Slow steering even with the power steering. Rotating the steering wheel seemed to provoke lean and tire noise (bias-ply) out of proportion to the actual turning. I never hooned it because I needed to not break it.
An odd effect I attribute to the torque tube: The rear end of the car seemed to jump twice when it went over a bump. Maybe not helped by the Ambassador’s long wheelbase. Maybe on shorter cars it wasn’t noticeable.
The idea behind “D2” starting out in second gear was mainly to reduce traction loss on slippery surfaces. As you discovered you needed to select “D1” to start out in first gear. These were pretty much OK transmissions but not as good as the Torqueflites AMC started installing in 1972. (Remember that at the time most Chevrolets still used the 2-speed Powerglide.)
No part-throttle downshift is a common problem on the Borg-Warner trans. It’s usually caused by a sticking governor. Another common malady was losing reverse gear. This was caused by a sealing problem where the rear band could become lightly engaged when in forward motion, eventually burning it out. A common fix was to drill a small hole in the reverse servo to bleed off the pressure. The hole would be too small to affect proper reverse engagement.
There was definitely a problem if you had to grease your front-end every 1000 miles. That was called for with the early trunnion design, but by the mid-1960s the factory service interval would have been something like 30,000 miles.
Although I’ve seen them called “Satan’s idea of ball joints,” those trunnions last a heck of a long time as long as you keep them greased. They were more of a problem in the small American (and early AMX and Javelin) since the company introduced “lifetime” trunnions with a rubber bushing that required no maintenance and in fact could not be greased.
As a small boy, lived less than one mile from the main plant. I’d seen (a ’62 Classic iirc) dead at the side of the street, a gash in the asphalt leading from ‘just driving down the road’ to the place where it was parked with front wheel cocked. That made me sensitive to the fragility & caused me to grease my ’66 so often. Maybe it was not necessary. Great to read your explanation here! I didn’t know the story.
My dad had what IIRC was a 66 classic 4 dr. He didn’t have it long. My faint impressions was I thought it was kinda weird but it seemed pretty nice overall. Kinda nice inside, for the day. And air conditioning!
That 62 Rambler Classic has Ambassador trim above the grille and down the side. We had the exact same wagon. Blue and white
Well uh ;
I’d rather have the Rambler too .
Yes , they were just *barely* adequate mechanically , those who knew how to properly tune them had few complaints .
A few years ago My Missus asked me for a Station Wagon (actually she asked for a Min-Van , NO!) and I found a nifty 1959 Rambler Cross Country 7 passenger Wagon fully equipped with PINK tri tone paint , OHV i6 engine , overdrive , factory AC , roof rack and even the rare ‘ Westerner ‘ upholstery .
Oddly , she said ‘ fuck that ‘ so I gave her a vintage Mercedes 7 passenger Diesel wagon , also fully optioned , she likes it , I’m not in love with it .
I wonder how some kids got bikes , go carts , etc. , etc. .
-Nate
Sounds like the perfect Rambler to me! I may be getting more practical, but that would sorely tempt me.
Any idea who marketed the kart? I’m assuming it was a production thing (however pricey) rather than a one-off. I just ran through some period issues of “Boy’s Life,” where I found plenty of Cushions and such–but nothing like this. Ideas?
Hey, that wagon ain’t so bad! It probably has almost as much horsepower as the white car parked next to it…
Paul, I can relate. I had to make my own (gravity powered) go-karts using discarded lumber and old lawn mower wheels. Which reminds me of the Little Rascals episode where they had an old (even then) car fixed up into a taxi powered by mule… CC-ers. what kind of car was that?
Based on the location of the mule, I’d have to say it was a very early Volkswagen.
Excellent, simply excellent. There is even a little overlap with my personal history. My family had a Ramber wagon, although there were a few differences: 61 vs. 62, low line “DeLuxe” rather than the top Custom, one tone green stripper compared to two tone with… You betcha, I have issues.
As kids back when the pictured Ramblers were common, we made fun of them. GM could do no wrong, and when the 1963 trifecta of the Sting Ray, Riviera, and Grand Prix came out, we thought we were in heaven. Of course our parents drove boring Chevy Bel Air 4-doors.
Meanwhile the rest of us poor rascals had to make do with clothespins and playing cards on our bicycles or worse yet motor noises with our mouths (changing pitch to simulate gear changes). At least there were Chevrolets in our driveway so we had some self respect. The irony in this scenario is that the kid with the racer would be first to the Creemee Freeze on real asphalt leaving dad eating dust!
Nice story.
So….how fast did you ever go in that souped miniature race car?
I had a ’62 Rambler Classic in the mid 90’s with the 196 ohv pushbutton auto and it was a great driver. Very comfortable stop-n-flop drive in special seats, rock solid body, good brakes and very quiet at highway speeds. One piece fiberglass mat headliner. It had no problem keeping up with traffic even on the hilly section of hwy 15 from San Diego all the way to up to the 138 across to Lancaster. The N button on the gear selector was also the starter button. Should have kept that one.
Our next-door neighbor gave my brother his eleven-year-old 1962 Rambler Classic Cross Country wagon when my brother got his license. Gray on gray with Weather Eye air conditioning. Oldest car I’d ever seen so equipped. To a GM family, it was as much an oddball as the Citroen DS owned by my mother’s friend from work.
I was too young to drive it, but the pushbutton tranny controls, reclining “Nash seats” and solid door-thunking construction got my attention. I did think the styling was too 1950’s for an early ’60’s car, and it certainly seemed tiny compared to the ’64 Impala wagon and ’70 Buick Estate Wagon my parents drove. But it had its own unique character, something we lost when the indies faded away.
When my brother got a ’67 Camaro, my cousin grabbed it and used it for a few more years as a parts runner.
In the late 50s to early 60s the karting craze was sweeping the nation. I have some old car buff magazines from that period stashed somewhere that ran so many articles on kart building / racing that subscribers were sending irate letters to the mail bag columns. The only thing Pop bought for my brother and I to use with a motor was lawn mowers. I built a couple of coaster carts out of produce crates and such. I can recall m-ming over the steel go cart and mini bike kits in Boys Life magazine. I’m 55 now and recently bought a 72 Honda SL70 from a coworker, l guess because, now I can. Maybe I’ll let my grandsons ride it. Maybe.
The scene looks familiar. We had a ’60 Rambler sedan. Good car when it ran, but it had an intermittent ignition problem that the dealer couldn’t fix, so it didn’t run reliably.
My dad, a professor who should have been a carpenter, built a unique non-powered go-kart with my “help”. One long 2×4 was the chassis, with a 2×8 rear axle. Steering was done by a Model A steering column mounted at the proper angle, turning a pivoted front axle. The front seat was from an old kitchen chair; the chassis 2×4 overhung behind the rear axle, with a second seat (bouncy!) at the back. Braking was done by a slat pushing on both rear wheels, activated by a lever beside the steering wheel.
We lived on a long hill, so there was plenty of speed available; but the cart was too heavy to pull uphill easily, so it didn’t get much use.
Hmmm…
Mr. Not-Niedermeyer seems pretty handy. Who’s to say he hasn’t dropped a Caddy or Firepower mill in the ‘ol Rambler? 😉
Was ’62 too early for the AMC 327?
The 327 V-8 was available in 1962, but restricted to the Ambassador.
Dad’s Rambler is using a body that originally debuted for the 1956 model year. During a time when the Big Three were bringing out all-new bodies on a regular basis, AMC was able to compete with a heavily face-lifted version of a car that was designed in the mid-1950s.
Despite this apparent handicap, 1962 was a very good sales year for Rambler. At one point during the model year, AMC came very close to out-selling all of Chrysler Corporation, which was stuck peddling Virgil Exner’s oddball, downsized Dodges and Plymouths.
Geeber is right! in 62 Rambler was third or fourth in sales with a circa 56 car!
the competition must have been losing their minds trying to make sense of this
What really is odd is that by the time the handsome,modern 63’s came
out the Rambler party was over and it got worse every year
I wonder what George Romney was thinking?
Sorry that I don’t much to add on the Rambler conversation (other than I am a fan of them), but I will take the opportunity to post a picture of my son’s gas-powered miniature racing car, if that’s OK (it’ll do 70+ …. :-)—
Here’s the officially endorsed father/son/Rambler picture! From one of Pat Foster’s books.
I lusted after a go-cart of any type during my youth. One day a mutual friend in six grade came flying around the corner (25 mph/ 40 kpm tops) of a bike path and scared the living crap out of the four us. We all rode bicycles and we enamored with it. We each asked if he would let us drive it. No Way! He said. You don’t know how many times I almost got killed driving this thing around. Without a track near by and I assume board of parking lots he drove it primarily on bike paths but was forced to use side roads sometimes. He said golf course paths where by far the best but that residents always called the cops. I’m certain if I had one even with with a ten foot tall safety flag that I would have ended up in the hospital at best or road pizza at worst. A few years later I was able to source a rusted out mini-bike frame and the obligatory Briggs & Stratton 3.5 hp horizontal shaft engine. That was fun yet slow enough to not get me into too much trouble.
“Hey Russ! How do you like the new Family Truckster?”
All I can think is that Go-Kart Dad bought that Rambler because he works for AMC and they live in Kenosha.
Dad teaching his son how to tune his go-kart-what would George Romney say!
My parents had a ’61 (bought in Compton, CA) and a ’63 (not sure where purchased), both green, both wagons, both 6 cyl, and both automatics. We drove back east in the ’61 from California when we moved to Pittsburgh (imagine moving from Southern California to Western PA in 1961…my Dad sure was one to buck trends!) as my sister and I were deemed old enough to ride in the car all the way rather than fly via prop plane as we did the opposite way in 1959. Don’t know why he bought the ’63 other than maybe the ’61 got sandblasted while riding through a storm, it might have been worse for the wear from the trip. My Dad drove solo in his ’56 Plymouth Plaza, flathead 6 and standard, no options except maybe a heater on the way to California, and the ’63 was gone after it got totalled outside our motel room in Catonsville MD (yes, Westinghouse moved my Dad from Pittsburgh to Maryland in the interval…we moved around a lot in my parent’s younger years due to my Dad’s job (chemist who worked on semiconductors since he got out of college in ’56).
Anyhow, my “ride” at the time? A 1959 Plymouth Plaza fire chief’s peddle car I got for Christmas that year at our home in Covina (first house my parents ever bought, doubt we even lived there a year)…have a picture of it somewhere I’ll try to dig up…red, of course…how about that, Mr. JPC?