It was a vintage ad that sent me down the peculiar rabbit hole of American models built in South America — that alternate reality where familiar things appear as if seen through a funhouse mirror. At first glance, not a whole lot seems “off” with this 1969 Rambler Ambassador (which AMC aficionados can easily tell is based on the model’s 1965–1966 fifth generation). The funny business is only noticed with a bit more study: This one was actually built in Argentina by IKA-Renault, with no reference to AMC, and it’s powered by the OHC Tornado engine once used in the Jeep Wagoneer! Not only did the Argentine Ambassador have an extended model run, from 1965 to 1972, it was deemed luxurious enough to be presidential material down there.
Some of the complicated South American history of Kaiser Industries has been covered on CC before, including in Paul’s GT Torino post a while back and in my Jeep Willys post from last year. In short, Kaiser had arrived in Argentina in 1954, a newcomer to the region, and set up a local subsidiary called Industrias Kaiser Argentina (IKA). Local government incentives allowed Kaiser to get a factory going in Barrio Santa Isabel, away from Buenos Aires, in the Cordoba region.
IKA’s early crop of automotive products for Argentina’s market was made up of a predictable variety of Willys/Jeep vehicles, as well as versions of defunct Kaiser models, like the Kaiser Manhattan, sold in Argentina as the IKA Carabela. With the Carabela priced as a luxury vehicle and well beyond Argentina’s middle-class means and the Willys/Jeeps being utilitarian offerings aimed at a different segment, Kaiser reached an agreement in 1959 with Renault to also assemble the Renault Dauphine, which became IKA’s car for the common man. It was a relationship that would become defining in the future.
The Carabela was clearly aging by the late 1950s. So, Kaiser began negotiations with AMC to build Ramblers under license. Agreement in hand, Rambler production began at the IKA factory, with the first models reaching Argentinian showrooms in 1962. Ambassadors were part of that roster from early on.
The 1962 Rambler models lasted just one year before they were replaced by new 1963–1964 cars mirroring the styling updates of the US models. That 1963 Ambassador was considered revolutionary, carrying such novel items for the region as standard A/C, power windows, and power steering. Under the hood was some of that funhouse mirror business: Instead of an AMC engine, the Argentinian Ramblers were powered by the ancient Continental 226CID L-head six, with 120HP, mated to a 3-speed manual.
Other than the powerplant, little of the Ambassador’s options sound unique or special from a US viewpoint, but the model had more attributes than those offered by Ford and Chevrolet in Argentina at the time. As such, it established serious luxury credentials in that nation, even if the 1963 models gained the funny nickname “fish mouth.”
1965 models arrived in sync with the American updates; this was to be the last major overhaul the model would get before Rambler production at IKA ceased in 1972. Under the hood, the elderly Continental powerplant was finally dispensed with, but don’t expect an AMC-sourced mill in there…
Instead, it used the Jeep Tornado OHC inline-six. Paul covered the Tornado engine’s qualities and quantities in more detail in his previous post on the IKA Torino, the car that built the engine’s reputation in Argentina. Introduced in 1962 for US Willys Jeep products like the Jeep Wagoneer, the engine used an updated version of the old Continental L-head block, bored out to 230CID, but Willys chief engineer AC “Sammy” Sampietro” gave it a new cylinder head with hemispherical combustion chambers and a chain-driven overhead camshaft. It had 145HP at 4200RPM.
The Tornado engine made its debut on Argentina’s Ramblers in 1965, coinciding with the Ambassador’s new look. The magazine Parabrisas said the OHC engine gave the Ambasador “brilliant” performance: It could hit 62 mph in less than 14 seconds.
By 1968, IKA was wholly owned by Renault, and these cars were badged as the IKA-Renault Ramblers — the kind of alternate reality that only happens away from home…
Which leads me to the Argentinian ad that sent me down this rabbit hole, the one for the 1969 Ambassador. A car from a world of “European standards…” according to the Spanish copy. (A difficult line to translate, but I feel I’m getting the general idea across.)
In other updates, front disc brakes were now standard, the Tornado OHC engine was up to 155HP, and a ZF 4-speed manual replaced the 3-speed. No model was offered with an automatic, so this pedal setup is the one that all Argentine Ambassador drivers got to see.
And if you’re wondering, the funky lighting on this shot is far from factory original — it’s pure 21st century car show wonderland.
As far as I can tell, little changed stylistically during the IKA Ambassador’s 1965–1972 run. After that run ended, an additional number of them were built by special request.
Talking about special requests, just as had occurred earlier with the Carabela, Argentina’s rulers thought the Ambassador was the ideal model for presidential duties. The first limousine was delivered in 1968. The Ambassador Presidencial had its wheelbase stretched 12 inches, along with an enlarged rear window and C-pillar, all crowned by a vinyl top.
That concludes today’s South American funhouse mirror tour. To this moment, the idea of an IKA-Renault Rambler Ambassador built to European standards is still playing with my head, but like most things, even if I never get to accept the dissonance of those words together, I’ll learn to live with it.
Related CC Reading
Curbside Classic: 1971 IKA Torino TS – The Legendary Rambler European South American
Curbside Classic: 1965 Rambler Ambassador 880 – Kenosha Cadillac?
Car Show Classic: 1965 Rambler Ambassador 990 Convertible – Green And White Is Good!
This is just great—I only knew about “Big 3” Detroit marques in South America, so this is all news to me, with lots and lots of details. Thanks for researching and writing it up for us!
We had a 1966, bought new, for a 1 month trip we took. from Milwaukee, Wis, out to California and return. We did it all from a Pipestone Monument in Minnesota, to a dude ranch in Colorado, Disneyland, Universal Studios, multiple various roadside attractions, like the “Place where gravity doesn’t exist” (Everything was built off kilter, so metal balls rolled uphill, etc) (My father was an inventor, so explained how all this was just a good fake. But it was fun to see and experience!) We were riding in the lap of luxury with that car. It was powerful, smooth, my Dad loved driving it, and the trip is one of the most awesome I remember from our many childhood memories. I don’t recall a SINGLE problem we ever had with it, from 1966 until the valves started wearing out and it became hard to start in the early 1970’s. We bought another Rambler in 1970 to replace it. THAT became my first car in 1974, after my Mom bought a new blue Rambler Ambassador in 1973. THAT was also a nice and beautiful car, blue and chrome. We were a Rambler family. My beloved aunt bought a Rambler American in 1964 to replace her Rambler Ambassador from 1957.
My grandfather had been kicked in the face by a horse in the 1920’s, and barely survived. When he got home from the hospital, he shot the horse, and went and bought a Packard, and that was all he owned for the rest of his life. When he died in 1961, he had 2 Packards in his garage as his current cars, and, since he had never traded or sold off any of his previous Packards, we had a ROW of them in an orchard area where he lived. My grandmother died in 1963, and we moved to that farm. I remember multiple tow trucks showing up to haul all the Packards away. Today it makes my heart skip a beat, but back then, they were just obsolete cars with no longer any dealers to support them, so away they went.
As with Willys and Kaiser, the Argentine version remained constant while the US got facelifts. This ’69 looks the same as the US ’65.
A 4-speed column shift qualifies as “European standards”. I’d love to drive that car!
That OHC engine was used in the Army M715 where it seemed to be pretty reliable. For whatever reason, it did not enjoy the same reputation for reliability in the civilian Jeep Gladiator pickups on which the M715 was based.
Not sure why the difference. My impression was use in military vehicles pose the more severe test of reliability. On the other hand, tactical vehicles have fairly rigid PMCS schedule (Preventive Maintenance Checks and Services). An operator that ignored PMCS could quickly find himself on a motor sergeants sh** list. Don’t ask me how I know. In my time working in a garage, I noticed more than a few owners of even expensive vehicles ignored the factory maintenance schedule and only brought their car in after running to failure.
I wonder about this engine’s reputation for reliability in Argentine passenger cars. Maybe Argentine buyers of expensive machinery more conscious of maintenance than American drivers.
Interesting to say the least .
I don’t recall the OHC engine being long lasting .
-Nate
I don’t have any first-hand experience with the Tornado OHC engine, but I have been told there were 2 major issues. First, the front engine mounts were attached to the timing cover. As the engine was rather heavy and the timing cover was aluminum, over time the cover would distort from the stress and this would cause oil leaks. The M715 trucks had the engine mounts attached to the iron block, so they didn’t suffer from this issue. The second problem the Tornado had was excessive camshaft wear. This was caused by the engine’s novel design of using one cam lobe to actuate both the intake and exhaust valve of a given cylinder. The rocker arms were directly opposite of each other on either side of the camshaft, which only had 6 lobes instead of 12 as in conventional 6 cylinder 2 valve engines. If any Kaiser-Jeep experts can verify this I would appreciate it.
Late IKA-Renault versions (from 1973, IIRC) had 12-lobe cams that fixed the latter problem.
Wonder if the Renault Rambler Classic sold in France from 1962-67 originated from Argintina?. 3.2 ltr and “ Three on the Tree manual. 856 produced.