I have to say that I have had a pretty fruitful week in my car sightings seen around the Home of the World’s Most Famous Beach. Although nearly every time I venture out into the wild around town, I spot something Curbside Classic worthy, I just need to remember to capture more images. I have some relatives in town and yesterday I climbed in the passenger seat of a huge F-350 4 door longbed diesel, let my older brother do the driving and we saw the sights around the area. One of them is the subject of my Curbside Classic for today.
I had previously spotted this Rambler in the parking lot of a locally owned pizza joint in the middle of the afternoon and got these images of it. We passed by it again yesterday and I pointed it out to my driver brother and he whipped in to take a look at it. I mentioned it was going to be showing up here soon and commented about that rare Daimler SP 250 I had previously seen. He made me bring CC on his wife’s fancy fancy cell phone so he could see it. He, just like me, couldn’t believe that sighting!
This is the third, and final, generation Rambler American. This is the last of the body styles offered by Rambler as the next grouping of offerings were from the American Motors Automobile Company.
It’s ironic this model was named the American when the first generation was introduced in 1958 and continued on until its demise in 1969. The third generation was a fairly economical automobile, both in purchase price and fuel economy, and it regularly won the annual Mobilgas Economy Run.
This Dick Teague era design was produced by Rambler both in the United States and Canada. Further, Rambler also licensed its design for the American to several overseas companies for production and sale in Iran, Argentina and South Africa. Those companies were able to do some design modifications to it, particularly on the front fascia and provided localized names for them.
This 106 inch wheelbase sedan has seen some use and wear and tear over the years but it is the owner’s daily driver and has been since 1983! He says it has 177,000 miles on it and he has not had the engine or transmission apart since he bought it with 37,000 miles on it.
One of the reason for this is most likely the engine it possesses.
Newly designed for 1965, the 232 cubic inch overhead valve in-line 6 in this sedan evolved into the venerable 258 utilized in nearly every Jeep from 1971-1989. My younger brother is looking at a 1984 Jeep Scrambler that has one in it! The engine further evolved into the 4.0 fuel injected version that was used in Jeep products, this time by Chrysler, through 2006. I would say parts are fairly easy to come by for this motor!
440….
The owner also mentioned he is often asked if his car has a 440 engine in it. I laughed and he mentioned the 440 was a trim level.
Rambler offered three different trim levels on the third gen American. 220, 330, and this 440. The differences were basically chrome and more chrome as well as engine size. This one has a three speed column mounted shifter for its manually operated transmission, factory air conditioning and four wheel independent suspension.
The interior of this one is in the same shape as the exterior, or worse. I would suspect trying to find some those missing buttons and knobs is going to be a long term project should this automobile ever be the recepient of a “frame off” restoration. I put “frame off” in quotes as there is no frame for this offering, it is of the unibody design. One of the first for Rambler.
I think the front of this American is interesting, especially the grill. The upper grill is continuous between the headlights while the lower grill does not. A bunch of car designers back in the ’60’s just sitting around thinking up minor chrome design cues like this just amaze this olelongrooffan.
The body of this car is in pretty good shape considering it resides less than two miles from the Atlantic Ocean. Other than a little rust on the hood, some surface rust and that dent on the trunk lid, it is just a few hours work away from a shiny new coat of paint.
And the sides are almost without door dings or other imperfections.
As an aside, this third generation American body style was incorporated a few years later for the creation of the
SC/Rambler. This sporty hardtop coupe is worthy of a whole other Curbside Classic, the extended version. I spotted this gaggle of them at a car show recently and still can’t get over it. That sighting was the most I had ever seen in one spot! Ah, to see one out in the wild will be fantastic.
However, my personal favorite American is this one I saw at the same show. This was a barn find up in Georgia and brought home to Daytona Beach several years ago. This vehicle was without engine or transmission and, instead of rodding the heck out of it, the owner put in a period correct 258 with an automatic transmission. I remember it being a ’68.
And why is it my favorite? Did you see the length of the roof on it?
These cars always tempt me when I see one for sale. I know it’s because they’re not supper common and upgrading the old I6 to a fuel injected unit with a 4-speed auto or 5-speed manual wouldn’t be that hard cause of the use of that engine in Jeeps.
Unit-body, eh? So much for the argument that BOF is automatically sturdier than uni-body construction.
Maybe you knew it , but this 1964 Rambler 440 was the origin of the further developed made in Argentina Torino 380 with a lot of facelifts well done by then
Kaiser Industries and it finished the glory days in 1982 under the name
” Renault Torino ZX ” which is no other than this venerable American 44o
Really 4 wheel independent suspension, Paul?
When I grew up, we used to regularly visit my aunt and uncle at Canadian Forces Base Trenton, Ontario. There were always a lot of Ramblers in Trenton in those days, perhaps a reflection that airmen were not particularly well paid. The always struck me as a reasonable car and they were quite popular in Canada. Then again, the Beaumont and Chevy II were also popular here, a reflection of a more conservative buying psychology in my opinion.
Sure why not? Oops, Looks like longrooffan got a bit carried away there.
My apologies. I got that erroneous information from the owner hmself.
Maybe it has to do with a bit lower incomes in Canada (or more practical buyers), but the best-selling cars in Canada often have been a size-class lower than in the U.S. I recall a couple of years in the 80’s when the Ford Tempo (of all things) was the best-selling car in Canada, and then a few years later when the Accord was on fire in this country, the Civic was the best-seller in Canada.
Back on point, when I was a kid, the Americans always struck me as pretty honest cars – not flashy, but they got the job done. And handsome, in their way.
I agree with your comment. Back in the 50s and 60s Canadians always went for the stripper versions of full-sized American cars. As a car-crazy teenager in the mid-sixties, finding a Chev Impala SS on the street was a very rare find.
Of course, most of those buying habits in Canada were formed before the Canadian-Amerian auto pact was signed. The US auto plants in Canada made a limited number of models due to the smaller market and because of the lower volume, prices were higher. I remember my wealthy uncle bragging about having a US version of a big Chrysler. US-made cars carried a healthy import tax.
I always had a thing for the ’63-on Ramblers.
They were massively strong- no squeaks or rattles, and although not very heavy, felt much more ‘together’ than a Ford or Chevy. Just a bit more antiquated- the ’63 American still used a sidevalve engine!
I had a ’64 Classic 550- that was the bottom trim level of the middle range in AMC-eese. It was a wonderful car- from Western Nebraska where they use sand instead of salt, so it was mint- and in 2001 it only cost $900!
I drove it for a couple of years in uni and then sold it when the gearbox bearings got noisy. I still regret doing that, but I was in college and $350 for the gearbox reconditioning might as well have been a million dollars.
It had a lovely turquoise paintjob; just enough chrome, pretty blue nylon seats that folded into a bed and the super cool ‘weather eye’ dashboard pod- with elongated 1234567890 numbers for the speedo.
Horrible vacuum wipers though- you had two choices- accelerate or see, but not both. Rain-X made it driveable.
Does anybody else think that the American looks like a ’64 Dart from the front?
A ’64 Dodge, in general — it’s the “barbell” shape of the grille and lights.
The thought of a mid-sixties Rambler American with a Mopar 440 is both hilarious and harrowing…
The front end is eerily similar to the 63-66 Dart.
Also, is it just me or are the upper front and rear doors completely symmetrical? If so, its a great example of the kind of design compromises that the little companies had to make to keep costs down.
I think the glass might be. Remember that AMC did show a “symmetrical” concept.
It was on the ’63 Classic, which this car is a cut-down version of, so it’s probably true here, too. These cars used curved side glass, a rarity for the time, so the frames and door glass for the driver’s door was shared with the right rear door, etc.
AMC, when it was focused, was great at this sort of cost cutting. The Hornet coupe and sedan shared the same roof stamping, and the original Javelin and AMX shared the same decklid, despite the two-seater’s dramatic fastback.
“It is of the unibody design. One of the first for Rambler.”
Sorry to nitpick, but that’s not true. All Ramblers and AMC-branded cars were unibodies. Nash-Kelvinator was the first American company to switch to unit construction with the 1941 Nash 600. Oddly enough, Hudson was the other early U.S. adapter, with the ’48 “Step-Down,” although that car still featured a full frame, not unlike Honda’s Ridgeline pickup…cash-strapped Hudson essentially overbuilt the car because they couldn’t afford to take any chances on rigidity.
AMC was the domestic innovator in this area and great hay about it, even after Chrysler adopted it for everything but Imperial (which in turn made great hay about it’s “isolated” separate frame) in ’60. Of course, if that’s what you meant to say, Longrooffan, please excuse my rant.
P.S. I really want an American or ’63-’64 Classic/Ambassador. Is that wrong?
Again, my apologies. I guess after listening to the owner of that Daimler, I presumed that all owners of their cars knew what they are talking about. Double, and triple, checking is my MO from here on out.
And no, you are not wrong about your choices of ownership.
Gotta agree that the wagon is the nicest looking one shown above. But I’ve always felt these cars were very good looking for “cheap” cars. If memory serves they offered some kind of overdrive with the manual. I remember considering one a long time ago.
AMC had a separate overdrive for many years (as did a few other manufacturers) where you reached the top gear and then engaged the overdrive, or conversely you could use the overdrive to “split” gears so say a four speed manual effectively became an 8 speed.
IIRC, the six designed and built by AMC was a seven main bearing motor. Those motors are incredibly tough. My less-than-mechanically-inclined brother ran the 258 version in his Eagle for 17 years and about 300K miles with not much more than oil changes, spark plugs and valve cover gasket changes. We eventually swapped out the plastic valve cover with a steel one from an older 258. I knew of several AMC Eagles like this, tough as nails, but the car rusted away from the motor in our part of the midwest.
You’re right. And I have no idea why I know that offhand. But it really was a great motor, and the later “4.0 Litre” Jeep used was impressively punchy in the ’90s…you just can’t beat a straight six.
I wrote Jeep off when they discontinued the 4.0 in 2006. The Wrangler isn’t worth a damn without it.
They made a convertible version of these too. 1967 was the last year. Too bad, an SC/Rambler convertible would have been pretty neat! I’m sure someone has built one though.
Update: found one, link below.
http://scrambler1969.blogspot.com/2009/06/ken-userys-scrambler-convertible.html
I first learned to drive (on the street, at age 11) a powder blue 1963 Classic 660 station wagon with the small V-8 and I think a Borg Warner three speed automatic. Dad bought it for (at the time) advanced safety features, dual hydraulic brake circuits, headrests, standard seat belts. I liked the curved side glass, “shark-mouth” grille and overall very clean and modern styling, especially compared to the fake-wood-sided Comet wagon he was cross shopping.
A strange observation that only an admitted AMC enthusiast (and lifetime Kenosha resident) would notice: this ’65 has a ’64 grill on it. In ’65 some pointless styling changes were made to make the car look different than the ’64. Among them was the grill, which should have 3 vertical notches evenly spaced across the face of the horizontal bars.
How’s that for wasted allocation of brain cells?
Oh, this brings back some distant memories. In 1962 I was 10 years old. The boy scout troop I was in organized a visit to the American Motors (now Chrysler) plant in Brampton. At that time this seemed like a trip to the moon, as this was in winter, and it was dark for the drive out there from Toronto. This was my first trip though an auto assembly plant, and was I ever impressed. They produced the American in all its body styles in Brampton, including the SW and the convertible. Someone mentioned the window frames, and I remember seeing these being fitted to the doors. The frames are chromed aluminum, and are bolted on. AMC pioneered the process of dipping the body into a vat of primer to ensure the insides of the box sections of the unit body were protected from corrosion. I saw this. This is one reason why some of these survived.
While no-one in my family here has ever owned an AMC, I took my driving lessons in an Ambassador (~’69). Oh, my father’s niece in Ohio had a Rambler American, which was replaced with a Pacer.
I learned to drive on a 1964 American 330 sedan, which was my mother’s car at that time. While no teenager ever thought of the American as a cool car, both my brother and I had a more than grudging respect for its handling, solidity, and the surprising power of the 230 inch six paired with a 3-speed automatic – a pretty impressive combination compared to other ‘compact’ cars of the time. Rambler had introduced curved side window glass in 1963 I believe, two years before Ford or GM, which helped make the larger Rambler Classic model in particular an extremely good looking car for its day.
Despite its falling popularity, I really liked the 68-69 Americans, they were the best looking of the species, much better looking than the Hornet that replaced them.
My dad bought a New Rambler American station wagon in 64. I liked the folding bench seats that could be slept on, great for camping . It was a nice sensible car , 6 cyl , 3 on the tree. Many of our relatives in Wisconsin had Ramblers too , where they were made. My grandfather had one of the 1st 4 door Hornets, which replaced the Rambler in 1970. Same engine, same 3 speed, sounded just like our old Rambler.
Owned a ’66 American 4-dr w/ 2bbl 232 engine– 3 spd and overdrive.
Acquired ’68 at 25k miles. Drove almost daily til ’83 and still strong
> 300k. Never had head off but replaced water pump twice, starter, thermostats, alternator, and overdrive clutch. Experimenting w/leaner carb jets ( 6000′ elevation), took off fan and typically 28mpg hiway. My personal rebuke to the system and scourge of Gates Rubber Co parking lots. Surprisingly quick faster off line than most ordinary V-8s and would haul up the mt passes.
re typical overdrive operation (like my ’66 American)– most people follow owner’s manual & “kick down” to break ignition very briefly via interupt switch located under the throttle . This took you out of overdrive but gave full throttle whether or not desired. I discovered you could accomplish same thing without flooring gas pedal by very quickly turning off/on the ignition–worked every time. I loved that 3 spd with OD—very useful to have 6 spds forward. 2nd overdrive slightly “lower” than regular 3rd was optimum sometimes pulling long mountain grades.
While I’m waiting for my ‘62 Falcon to be completed, I’ve been driving a ‘64 Rambler American 330 that I bought this fall for $750. I have to say it compares well to the ‘61 Falcon that came before it. It’s pleasant to drive, great in the snow, and the flathead six is torquey and adequately powerful, though I don’t push it past 60. The only real downside is how tough it is to get some of the little pieces to keep the car going – a carburetor rebuild kit, windshield wipers, and stuff like that.
Frankly, I’m going to hate to sell it in the spring.
BTW, the tail lights identify this as a ’65, but isn’t the grille from a ’64?
Re: the wagon: No 258 in 1968. 199 or 232. The 258 didn’t come along till the 70s. It wouldn’t be period correct in a 68 American.