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CC Follow-Up: 1961 Rambler Cross Country Back On All Four Feet Again

By
Paul Niedermeyer
– Posted on July 9, 2012

We have an official content category called “CC Follow-Up”, but I haven’t used it much. Actually, I created it for this car, when I did a post back in February of 2011 depicting its fall from grace. But it’s back on its feet, so let’s check in and follow its ups and downs.

This was a CC back at the old place, and had been the owner’s dad’s car. But after a break-up of his marriage, the Rambler broke up too.

The rear axle was obviously out of kilter. And so it sat for months, until…

one day it had its rear end jacked up. That was an encouraging sign.

Gave me an opportunity to shoot the Rambler’s rear suspension. Now, I was going to write “torque tube”, but then I remembered that my brother’s Rambler had overdrive, which usually means no torque tube. I should have looked closer, or I could look it up. Sure looks like one from here.

Anyway, my optimism about an imminent repair was misplaced. It sat on its jack-stand for well over a year. But then finally the other day, I see it back on solid ground, on all fours.  Now I can rest easier.

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15 Comments

  1. Reply
    avatar GrangeRover
    Posted July 9, 2012 at 4:01 PM

    That this wagon uses the sedan’s rear doors doesn’t do the styling any favors, but I guess that was a byproduct of AMC’s modest resources.

    • Reply
      avatar MikePDX
      Posted July 9, 2012 at 5:36 PM

      I like it.

    • Reply
      avatar MikePDX
      Posted July 9, 2012 at 8:47 PM

      By the way, not the first time they did that, check out this ’55 Nash Rambler Cross Country. You could even say it was a styling trademark.

      • Reply
        avatar JustPassinThru
        Posted July 9, 2012 at 8:56 PM

        I never liked it; and I saw a lot of it as we owned a 1962 Classic wagon for six years.

        But…in retrospect, it sure did stand out.

        Someone on another thread, about a year ago, suggested Rambler did that at least partly to be able to use the same roof stamping on wagons as well. Just tack-weld the rear quadrant onto the roof panel; and hope the seam doesn’t spring before it’s paid off. That was probably as much the issue as using the same doors.

      • Reply
        avatar GrangeRover
        Posted July 10, 2012 at 5:49 PM

        I don’t think it’s a hideously ugly car, but I do think the styling would’ve been a lot cleaner with its own rear doors.

  2. Reply
    avatar principaldan
    Posted July 9, 2012 at 4:04 PM

    Soldier on, Amigo.

  3. Reply
    avatar JustPassinThru
    Posted July 9, 2012 at 4:13 PM

    The Rambler Classic did have a torque tube driveline. I don’t know how that worked with overdrive; but a long time ago, for some reason, I looked it up. Must have been when I was recollecting of my early experiences…

    Anyway. He needs to either get it under cover or sell the thing; it’s just going to decompose by the side of the road. And old Ramblers are a rare item these days. Even unrestored, it should fetch a pretty penny.

  4. Reply
    avatar AKADriver
    Posted July 9, 2012 at 5:31 PM

    With a torque tube and a Panhard bar, I’d bet this thing handled quite a bit better than the typical early-sixties sled. Impressive.

    • Reply
      avatar Eric VanBuren
      Posted July 9, 2012 at 9:31 PM

      I’d say it handled worse than the contemporaries due to that torque tube/Panhard bar set up, as that kind of set up will cause rear bump steer.

  5. Reply
    avatar 210delray
    Posted July 9, 2012 at 7:04 PM

    Can’t believe this car was left a year with a only a jackstand to support one corner.

    • Reply
      avatar Paul Niedermeyer
      Posted July 9, 2012 at 7:10 PM

      I couldn’t either. One little bump from a parking car, and…

      • Reply
        avatar DougD
        Posted July 10, 2012 at 1:00 PM

        I was thinking more along the lines that it sat like that for a year and didn’t get towed. It wouldn’t last two weeks in my neighborhood.

        Nice that it’s back on the road, lots of classics get junked for lesser problems than this.

        • Reply
          avatar Paul Niedermeyer
          Posted July 10, 2012 at 1:35 PM

          Eugene is a tolerant town. They will only come and give you warnings if someone complains. The etiquette here is that you only do that if someone leaves a car for a long time in front of your house, but not if it’s in front of their house. I’ve seen some cars in the same spot for many years now, with weeds growing through the cracks in the asphalt.

  6. Reply
    avatar Bryce
    Posted July 9, 2012 at 9:04 PM

    Glad to see iy back in the land of driving I think if it was me it woulda happened faster

  7. Reply
    avatar Activated carbon
    Posted October 28, 2012 at 10:09 PM

    I am a huge fan of the 1961 Rambler Cross County. I have been driving it for the last 2 decades now.

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