I’ve been following this car’s changing locations since I first shot about three and a half years ago. In its CC, I called it “The Hip Ugly American”, because I knew its young owners bought it for its hipness, and not its other qualities. But in my most recent encounter with it, it’s now gone full-bore hipster, inside and out.
Let’s check out the exterior remodeling first. I’m guessing the “face” on the hood has some connotation, but I’m not hip enough to know.
Here’s where things really get hip: there’s nothing hipper than bamboo anything, especially rear window surrounds.
More bamboo on the doors, and genuine burlap coffee bean bags for seat covers. And the dash has gone purple. I’m sure I missed some other touches too.
Well, it does have hips, so I guess it was bound to become a genuine hipster, sooner or later.
Tiki interior and bamboo window trim. That’s just Wow.
Gotta love that whole hipster repurposing thing, and I’m glad someone is doing something with that car.
Meh. The whole hipster thing has jumped the shark. Only now waiting on a ” hipster tax” to prove it. Someone show the poor thing some real love. As a former “rumbler” (65 770 hardtop/327) owner, these things are goofy without the whole ” tiki hut” option. Love please, not hipsterboi tacky.
Wow. Appears to have gotten the rolling tiki hut treatment! Considering I find this era of American to be rather homely, this does give it some more interest, and appears to be somewhat well-finished, even. I quite like the rear window bamboo treatment (though I hope it doesn’t end up trapping water and causing rust to form).
Hipster car culture is an interesting thing, I see some of it here in RVA as well…
Someone loves it enough to put a lot of effort into personalizing it. I must confess that I have a liking for these tough little cars, although they drive like irrigation pipes. It must be because they’re so damned uncompromising looking.
One of the few cars of its era that could make a Studebaker Lark look even a little stylish. 🙂
you missed the pabst sticker. that screams hipster.
The only remaining example of Rambler’s rare Thor Heyerdahl Edition.
Hahaha! Anything that brings a smile to your face has value, if it’s not at someone else’s expense. Makes me wanna run right out and make one for myself! Just needs animated parrots like in Disney’s original Tiki Room. And, they missed a chance to do the wheel covers in a faux bamboo paint scheme. They already have the right surface embossing to carry it off.
Possible monikers:
Hipster Island
Ti-Kenosha
Polynasian
Tropic Blunder
and, wait for it…
Haole Cow
Good ones. We don’t dare try this treatment on a Pinto or a Fiero, or we would get a Tiki Torch. 🙂
…”Kon-Tiki”
The poor unloved Rambler American .
They’re O.K. little cars ~ a buddy of mine who’s a Machinist made his Coupe into a , well a , well I dunno what the hell it is but it runs very strong for the awful cylinder head these are stuck with on the OHV models .
His is lime green with sparkly green plastic seat covers and a home made hood ornament from a burned out piston .
Whatever .
The face on the hood is a fake ‘ Tiki ‘ mask , one more thing hipsters like for whatever reason .
As mentioned , I hope they’re paying attention to water leaks as these cars like to rust out and this one looks very clean .
-Nate
For clarification, this is an AMC Rambler?
Yes. If you follow the link at the bottom of the article, that makes that clear, and provides more info on the car. That’s why we put them there.
The face on the hood may be a “Tiki mask”, but it looks like Bart Simpson” as seen by Homer while on drugs.
I wonder why the tiki motif was chosen, over say….the zombie motif?
If I ever found myself with a car exactly like this, I would feel compelled to build it as one of those late 60s red/white/blue American muscle cars.
Surprisingly, the bamboo sort of works. Too bad AMC in Kenosha never took a hint from its own Argentine division. Ramblers with wood and leather interiors could have become hip the first time around.
Those pictures also show an unbelievably pristine body under the decor. All of those spot-welded seams are factory fresh.
Why did the lead photo make me think “Trabant”? (I take to back — the Trabant was almost better looking.)
Trabant with hipster cred, indubitably!
Needs a stainless steel bar set on the rear window ledge.
I’m not feelin’ the bamboo. Call me un-hip LOL…
At least they’re still driving and enjoying the thing.
I keep seeing claims to the effect that “you can’t restyle a unibody car”, but AMC did it over and over.
This American is on the same platform as the 58-60 version, and that was a refresh of the 1950 Nash Rambler. The tip off on this one is the greenhouse carried over from the 58-60 version.
The 56 “big” Rambler went through three generations of styling, with only the greenhouse carried over.
The 63 “big” Rambler again went through three generations and a wheelbase stretch, while retaining the same greenhouse.
Here’s a 63 Ambassador, which only differed from the Classic in trim.
65 Classic. New front and rear, but same greenhouse as the 63
66 Ambassador. 4″ wheelbase stretch, new front clip vs the Classic, but still the same greenhouse as 63.
All Hudson’s problems restyling the stepdown were more a lack of foresight and innovation on the part of Frank Spring, than “constraints” of the unibody design.
Oh, yes, you can restyle unibody cars…..but they turn out like the Rambler American!
…but they turn out like the Rambler American!
Not that I’m trying to step on other people’s passions, but I have seen worse low buck bodge jobs.
touché!
The bamboo seems at least somewhat well executed. This car isn’t my ‘thing’ but in the vein of surf culture with Polynesian tiki god influences being a theme in hotrodding for some time…it does make a bit of sense to me. Whether or not this very uncool car has become cool is up for debate…but at least its being preserved and enjoyed.
Wow, I’m impressed by how many readers recognize Tiki Style. You often hear “needs an SBC” but hardly anyone says “needs more bamboo.” Here’s a bonus google street view screen capture of a still running Rambler temporarily parked curbside in front of my storage locker.
I don’t care what anybody says…that’s cool.
It’s not a brougham. Two points in its favor.
While not to my taste, I give the owner major props for pulling off a unified theme that well.
It still looks like an overinflated MK1 Cortina to me despite the wood trim, did someone get a hot glue gun and some bamboo blinds for Xmas last?
“My gawd, Dick, it looks like a ruddy ordinance vehicle!” As said to Dick Teague by his colleague upon their coming to AMC styling the first time and viewing the yet-to-be introduced 1961 Rambler American.
I love it, especially the bamboo and the seat covers.
This generation of Rambler American came out just a year after Hawaii joined the union as the 50th state. There was a fair amount of tropical fever in the culture then, so a Hawaiian American isn’t completely implausible.
My name for this car? “How ’bout a nice Hawaiian Punch?” (Link here!)
This car says “Aloha”, Big heaping piles of “Aloha”
I love the car (my dad always drove Ramblers) but I don’t like what they did to it. On the other hand, it doesn’t look like they did any serious damage, just some decoration
reminds me of the “customizing ” options on the old AMT model kits. it’s also always cracked me up that Pabst is now hip. Pabst was your father’s beer in the 70s. Definitely not hip. 🙂
Pretty soon the Hipsters will be embracing the Oldsmobile of their fathers.
Cue movie of hipsters slowly driving around town trying to find the Oldsmobile dealer…
It’s the can and the price. In my former life as a bartender in a dive-ish bar for 30 years, we sold them by the bucket. Pabst made it to hipster status, where a New York brand, Rheingold tried to get there in two attempts and went belly-up twice. PBRs go down real easy when drunk super cold. That may be true of most American corn ‘n’ rice brews (please drink responsibly).
This car would be perfect in Brooklyn. Left out overnight with no worries, it’s not steal-worthy, but it’s definitely sponge-worthy. It’s a hipster litmus test. If she won’t ride in it, her bangs are just for show. I’m not of the belief that we need to worry about one Rambler American being defiled; we aren’t down to a single example yet.
Love the Cortina reference, too. The American might be the Anglo Ford’s big bottom sister. As an artifact from the ’50s, the Rambler compact had chunky legs (15″ wheels) compared to contemporaries; one could imagine two Americans installed as trucks under a rail car.
Given its lineage, Rambler was born with bumper car saddlebags that might have had an included effect of making it appear more substantial in a big car world, but 10 years later, adding a crease along the shoulder gave it that insane greenhouse to body width ratio at the window line. AMC’s “X-Ray” sales brochures featured a dedicated looking, white coated “technician” who points out superior characteristics of their offerings. I seem to recall that in one picture, the width of the American’s door was touted as a safety feature compared to other compacts.
Funny, I built a JoHan model of this American back in the early 70s. It was NOS on my hobby store’s shelf…
I can’t think of a better car for someone to take in and make their own… I mean what other use is there for a car like this than being a little kitchy and/or ironic?
Tiki culture is definitely a thing here in Seattle. My artist gf loves it as do many of her ukulele playing, Hawaiian shirt wearing friends. It’s a fun subculture with no real downside other than the ukulele music. I love that bamboo and coffee sack interior. The owner is showing that old heap some serious Tiki love. I doff my hat to him or her.
Ramblers seemed to be outsiders looking in, with a wholesome disposition and love of the outdoors like their big brothers with fold down seats. It seemed the farther one got away the more Ramblers in motel lots and curious roadside cafes. How could anyone not like them when they drove for a day’s worth of travel on one tank of gas?
In town, they were homely in a fashionable way. The early ’50’s Nash’s were almost beautiful during the Pinin Farina days! And watch out forvthat 1957 Rebel that was 1/10th of a second away from boasting fastest 0-60mph times in the land (beaten only by Corvette!).
Now “Target Stores,” (Ithink!) has one of the pictured Americans in young woman’s a fashion spot! Maybe thst’s tge “hipster” you are talking about! The previous years of the Rambler American was actually good looking in a stylish and inexpensive-but-fashionable way!
I’ve always liked Nash’s and Ramblers! They seemed so “American – independent, reliable, trustworthy rain or shine! The American open road, and “city,” seems somehow less interesting without them! Surely to be missed! The ’59-’65 Ramblers were remarkably competitive to most anything from “The Big Three!”
Yep ;
Just so you summary of Ramblers and AMC Products .
The problem with ‘ hipsters ‘ is : they’re mostly lazy jerkhoffs who follow the crowd .
They’re every where in L.A. , running crappy shops converting anyting ti ‘ hipster chic ‘ and usually ruining it in the process .
My buddy took his old ’54 Chevy Two Door Post Sedan in for air bagging , I knew the *instant* I walked into that bullcrap storefront in Gardena he was in for trouble but I kept my trap shut because he was all excited about the !! SUPER LOW PRICE !! , sure enough they ruined the frame beyond repair , he had to get another frame and re do the suspension his own self , no half @SSed welds with no penetration , ready to break on the first bump..
hipsters , ugh . HEY ! GET OFF MY LAWN !! .
=8-) .
-Nate
Will someone put the poor thing out of its misery?
Spencer Carleton, former consultant to Kaiser-Frazer, loves this!
I’ve not been contacted personally, but extending his decor motifs across from premium products (much like Cadillac’s fins) would surely have been his dream. 10/10 to the owner who invested the time and energy to achieve the result. Very smile-making.
I actually think the Tiki motif looks great on it, hipster or no…
An unintended homage to Carlton Spencer’s 1951 Kaiser “South Seas” show car?
http://www.forgottenfiberglass.com/and-now-for-something-completely-different/1951-kaiser-show-car-south-seas-recover-lost-history/
As for the American itself, is this possibly the only American coupe whose rear side windows are longer than the front doors?
An unintended homage to Carlton Spencer’s 1951 Kaiser “South Seas” show car?
The production 53 Kaiser Dragon had a “bambu” textured vinyl top.
And nothing of value was lost. I drove one of these that happened to be in a yard for sale on the way home from high school, so 1981? Straight six, auto. It could barely climb a local hill that my daily driver 1600 Karmann Ghia routinely took in 4th with little struggle. I opened the hood and thought that it was a flathead. This site corrected me but that was 33 years later. The handling and brakes were…different.
Some Rambler americans had Flatheads , others had the wretched integral cylinder head OHV engine .
ALL were O.K. if not overly powerful , failure to keep them tuned up made lots of folks think Ramblers couldn’t go up hills or exceed 50 MPH when they did both , easily .
-Nate
While the “customizing” is questionable, at least it keeping the car interesting enough to the owner to keep it on the road longer. Then when they are “over” the fad, someone else can come along, buy the car and put it back the way it should be. If not for this, the car probably would have been sent to the crusher long ago.