When I was a child in the late 50's and early 60's, this type of car was just about as UNcool as a car could get. I look at them in a whole different light now in my old age...That is a VERY cool car.
All wagons are cool now, I know what you mean by uncool... I grew up child in the 90s grew up in the 00s in the 90s still had wagons and had to same stigma... one goal I have this year is to hit as many unique vehicles as I can this year..
@@Primus54 circa '47 here, during our teen driving years in the mid '60s, it was mostly '55-'57 Fords and Chevys, no self respecting kid would be seen driving a Rambler, but I'd be proud to have something like that now...lol
My first wife had a ‘59 Rambler wagon, looked a lot like this except two tone green, three on the tree. In the early 70’s a buddy and I searched an entire wrecking yard in pouring rain, seeking a clutch linkage part for the Rambler. Finally in the far back corner on the last Rambler, we found one. When we came in to ask how much he wanted, the owner looked us up and down and said “I was going to charge you fifty cents, but you can have it, you look like you earned it.” Good memories.
That’s an awesome story.. I wonder if parts are hard to get for these... I was into 50s cars as a kid I swear I was born too late... I read about the 55 cross country wagon, my favorite car then was 57 Chevy the fins on the 59 rambler look similar side profile but different lights at the rear.. thank you for sharing that story =) be sure to check out some of the other wagons I’ve done 3 50s wagons so far
@@What.its.like. I loved the 1956 Chevy I had back in 1973-4. I grew up with 1955 and 1957 Chevy wagons (and Dad’s ‘50 Plymouth), not because they were cool but because they were affordable used cars. I think the internet helps us track down those increasingly old parts (at a price), but we were getting by with Hemmings Motor News for years. Some specialized parts may be a challenge to track down, but low volume builders often used the same parts sources (GM tranny in that Hudson, Delco distributor in an International - I actually had the same heater temp control valve in a 1966 International and a 1978 Saab), so it’s knowing the right parts guys and catalogs. Sometimes it can be easier to get parts for a 1959 tractor than a 1959 car because there’s an industry supporting them.
I was born in 57, and recall as a boy growing up in the early 60s quite a few of these still on the road. My grandmother drove one of these and she loved it. It had air conditioning. They got a new Rambler wagon in 1964, and she was proud of it too. But my favorite of the two was the 56, because it seemed larger to me than the 64. That 64 was the last Rambler they owned.
My mother drove a '64 Classic Cross Country for a few years. This video brings back memories, although I have to say the '56 was better constructed i.e. the door hinges.
I had a 59 Cross Country Custom wagon back in the 80s and sold it in 1998 to a guy in Pennsylvania. When I bought it I hated the pink color so we changed it to chartreuse and black which was glorious! It had a push button automatic and interior like yours only black and white. It was underpowered in my opinion for the hills of SF where we lived but was a great car for a long distance trip. Got about 23-24 miles on road trips. Sold it to a young man who drove it all the way to PA from San Francisco.
Wow that’s great story sad ending tho.. do you miss it? The one I drove didn’t seem under powered... I had a 72 karman ghia 0-60 in that car was like half your trip, but it was comfortable at 65-70 when you got there, smooth that thing got 32 on the hwy we bought it to flip I’ll share that story on here one day =)
Hello You seem to be familiar with these cars. I like unusual and rare cars and I'm thinking of buying a 56 Rambler wagon hardtop, it looks like a rare car. Could you advise what to look for when buying?
A hardtop wagon is indeed rare. The engines are easy to work on and parts are readily available. The main thing to look out for is rust in the unibody structure, frame rails. It can be repaired by an experienced welder but can get expensive if it's extensive.
They were the lowest production numbers for 56 I believe. In contrast they made quite a lot of regular post wagons and have no idea how many are left.I've never seen a 4 door hardtop wagon at any of the Nash Club meets.
Nash offered in dash air conditioning beginning in 1954, refrigerated air. The 1956 Rambler also was available with air conditioning. The four door Nash Rambler wagon was introduced in 1954. The roof line has the "dip" as the car uses the same roof stamping as the sedan with the additional roof piece to extend the car welded to it. That stamping saved a lot of tooling expense. The "Roof Top Travel Rack" was standard on all of them and both drew attention to the roofline and disguised the technique used to add the wagon sheet metal, The car was smaller than the offering from the Big Three and was called "compact" at the time. The ride quality was, in part, a result of the full coil suspension - no leaf springs. At one time, half of all American Motors production was wagons!
Awesome, thank you so much for the information... I really appreciate it =). I always liked the styling of the 59 in my opinion that was the pinnacle of the design. I hope to review one of those one day. But this 56 was an awesome color and couldn’t pass up the opportunity. It rode way better than I though it would.
This is an unusual and pretty color combination. I wouldn’t call it a “beautiful” car… but that’s my opinion. Certainly unusual styling, but consistent with Nash Rambler at the time. Ed Arcuri: I would imagine, that even though air conditioning was offered by Nash in 1954 and later Rambler in 1956, that there would have been very, very few sold with this option. Seems counter-intuitive to me to purchase an uber “economy” car… a “Rambler’…. and then purchase optional air conditioning. Even models from the “Big 3” with air conditioning in the mid-fifties, were very rare and few and far between. I imagine Ramblers with Weather Eye Air Conditioning, although I’ve never seen production figures on them, were less than 4% with the refrigerated air option.
@@Phonejag1 I’d put that 4% guess up higher. Because of the Kelvinator merger, I’m pretty sure the unique-for-the-time A/C was a big marketing highlight.
This reminds me so much of my high school friend's Rambler Ambassador sedan. It was couple of years later (59?) with the little curved tail fins. It had the 327 V-8 and we would often surprise cars that were supposedly faster. It also had factory air and the folding rear seat was great for hiding people in the trunk going into drive-in movies
The 59 Rambler curved fins were very cute. They were on both the Rambler Custom (mid-sized) and Ambassador (full-sized). My 3rd grade teacher had a pink one.
Barry Ervin: You could easily race alongside Cadillacs from a stoplight and stay alongside them up to 45 miles an hour. You also easily race alongside Ford's,Chevys, Plymouth, and Dodges and really startlingly surprise those other drivers! This is with the 327 cubic inch V8 and with either 2 barrel or 4 barrel carburetor! Very competitive engine for sure!
The last year of this body in the US & Canada was 1962. It lost the tail fins started in 1958. The Rambler Ambassador in 1962 shared a body with the 6 cylinder Classic. The Ambassador had square taillights with optional backup lights. The Classic had round taillights with optional backup lights.
I was born in 58 and in the 1960's I used to make fun of Ramblers, I thought they were cars for old people, I have to say that now, I think this car has a wonderful charm to it. I love the simplicity and restrained styling the the 1950's. Very good review, nice technical information
My mom's best friend had a pink one my mom had a 66 rambler classic 660. It had a 232 and on trips it averaged the mid 20's mpg. I still love those old oddballs . I remember reading the 1940 nash a car that seated 6 adults or 2 adults and 14 kids got 23 mpg. Amc was going after the economy market
Many of the Nash cars with ' 3 on the tree ' also offered optional overdrive . With overdrive they really were very economical on the highways of the time ...30 m.p.g. was definitely achievable . The starter switch worked in similar fashion to other makes at that time , some engaged by fully depressing the clutch pedal , some by fully depressing the gas pedal . As soon as the motor was running , a set of points opened and the starter switch was disconnected .
Awesome information thank you so much for sharing, I was wondering this the other day because gas prices just keep getting more and more expensive would it be cheaper to just buy one of those set it up perfectly to where it has overdrive put a two speed rear end in the back of it with 3:73 and 2:90 gear ratio I wonder if it would get close to 40hwy... that is definitely experiment that I would love to venture on money is just an issue lol and obviously you’re the only shift it into 290 when you were at speed because you would have zero torque to get up to speed and if you could add cruise control to hold it there to get optimal your mileage... it’s still blows my mind that they got 30 miles to the gallon back in the 50s and now with direct injection and computers they can’t get any better than that in a minivan (they probably can but it’s all about greed just praying on the common folk).
@@What.its.like. You are welcome ! Your experiment would be very interesting... Those old motors didn't have a lot of torque by modern standards , but it was produced low down in the rev range , making an overdrive very useful . As I recall , Rambler American and Studebaker Champion were the economy champs back in the day , both with overdrive and both reasonably light .
Yeah I saw the bullet noise studebakers got about the same gas mileage but with a flathead 6 I honestly can’t wait to do a packard or a studebaker for the channel I love the independent car manufacturers of the 50s it’s sad that bu the end of the 50s they ether died or merged...
My family had a ‘64 Rambler Classic sedan in the ‘80’s. It had the 196 cast iron block engine and 3 on the tree. It needed a carb overhaul(was a difficult carb to overhaul so my father never did it) and it got 32mpg on the highway. AMC was always interested in good fuel economy and safety.Many of the style cues were very similar to this car ,8-10 years later.
Thank you so much for sharing that story, I remember reading about the cross country as a kid, always wondered what this car would be like.. I know this sounds weird it being a wagon from the mid 50s it was like getting to meet your hero.. you some cars have presents this car did.. it was so cool, and the owner was so nice to have the opportunity to share this and tell the Hudson rambler cross country rambler wagon story.
I had a 64 sedan myself. Rebuilt the carb too. That car ran 27-29 combined city and highway miles. Great car. Sold it to buy a 71 Ambassador that had air conditioning, and a four barrel V8. Also a great car, and more in my liking as a mid twenties motor head in the mid eighties. Still, I regretted selling it even before it was sold.
I remember those old Nashs and Hudsons back in the '50's. I was barely 10 years old and preferred the GM styling because the Ramblers all looked so Box like. The best looking sedan cars for my taste (limited as it was then) were the Studebakers, especially the 2 doors. Looking back now, these cars had more style than the modern stuff they're putting on the road.
I love the studebakers in the 50s it so sad the ending of both studebaker and packard... it was like for lack of a better term sears Kmart merger in both cases companies were phenomenal at one point and then just gone couple decades later
My first 2 cars were Studebaker. 63 wagon with sliding roof, and 64 Commander 2 door. Loved the look of the Commander though it was a rust bucket when I got it in the mid 70s. The 64 with manual got me 39 mpg on the road, and around 25 in the city.
A good review of a particularly nice example of a pleasant-looking, well-engineered and important car. Yes there were Hudson badges on a few, but this was an all-AMC design that raised the bar for compact cars, launched AMC into three more decades of pretty innovative auto production which left legacies all over the place. This design proved a smaller car could still: run quietly, ride smoothly, be safe and reliable AND (clearly) be stylish. It stood out among the behemoths of the day, and it sold well.
32 miles per gallon with a carburetor... now they have computers and direct injection and can’t seem to get any better??? It’s crazy is all.. A good comparison modern car is 2011 Subaru Outback with the 2.5 they are about the same in power feel I will say the rambler is a lot smoother and doesn’t drone like the outback does... and the rambler is cheaper to find no AWD system
And they actually looked like cars. I remember that the AMC had commercials that said “some cars are big, some are small, some don’t look like cars at all “….🎶
You're 100% correct about the original paint, but respectfully I find it hard to believe teal is primer. For two reasons. One, pigment costs money, and two, there's zero evidence of teal anywhere else in the entire car. Likely it actually was hit and replaced back in the day.
Great history lesson thank you so much. This is a time when my father was young and helps me understand their way of life. Father bought a new Nash automobile back then his cousin borrowed it for the weekend and brought it back home on Sunday with the piston rings smoking out the tailpipe my father wasn't happy the clutch was gone too on a new car!
I drove a car like this as a winter beater in 71 and 72 and it was also my drive-in movie car with those reclining seats. The way the windshield curves back into the door opening I remember bashing my knee cap on it a few times getting into the car. Mine was also a wagon but with the six-cylinder and the three on the tree, and if I remember right it had overdrive. I don't remember what kind of mileage it got but it was a darn sight better than my summer car which had a big block Chevy and 410 gears in it. Tragically the wagon was killed in the spring of 73 when a drunk driver hit it when it was parked out on the street in front of my girlfriend's house. She and I were both sitting on her front steps and witnessed the accident. The drunk got out of his wrecked car unhurt and offered me 250 dollars to keep quiet about it. Since I only paid 40 bucks for the car of course I took the deal.
Wow that sucks.. I mean I guess made out in the end but I’m just made thinking about it. Back then it was just a car.. now it’s a little known legend... thank you so much for sharing that story =)
@@anthonynelson9136 It was a 425 horse 396 and 4 speed out of a wrecked 65 Corvette. The engine was the replacement for my 67 SS Chevelle that came with the 325 horse 396. With the 425 horse and the 4.10 rear, it was a monster stop light to stop light racer.
When my parents switched to a 4 door Rambler, my dad would turn around the back seat cushion at night. That way the whole thing was flat for sleeping. Of course he came out of the tent one morning really mad when I accidentally laid my feet on the horn ring.
That’s an awesome story my favorite year is the 59 rambler wagon essentially almost the same body just bigger fins and grill hopefully in the spring I can review one... I have impeccable timing making a channel in September when these cars go in hibernation... sick wagon review coming later this week so stay tuned
In 1973 my first car was a PINK 57 RAMBLER station wagon! It was a marvelous car. I drove it for years and my brother bought it from me and drove it until he sold it in 1985. I moved to Houston, but my brother saw that car driving around Sioux Falls well into the 90s. It had a 6-cylinder banger and was pink inside and out. The seats folded down, which came in very handy for when my friends and I put a keg of beer in the back, folded the seats down and sat cross legged and napped when we'd had our fill. It was the perfect college car! I'd love to have it today..
Thank you, Honestly can’t wait till spring I live in a state where winter prevalent during these months but we got some great content coming up in the spring time lots of cars with lots of really interesting stories... This is going to be the car channel for people with older cars vingtage classics with some of the newer stuff peppered in... more or less a car channel dealing with the classic stuff because a lot of those cars never really got a review... For example nobody has ever told the complete story of the Dematso Pantera hoping that in the spring/summer I can find another one because the one that I did find this they sold it before I could get down there to do it that is a very interesting car story that I would love to share on this channel hopefully soon
That was the last year of Hudson/Nash, wasn’t that the pinin farina style bodies one year only also have stying traits from the Hudson italia, not saying it looks exactly like it’s just saying that you can see different cues from the Hudson italia.
'49 model here, I get a kick of what you're finding amazing. I had a teacher that drove a Rambler. It was a 4-door post model, a cheap model. He was just starting out with a family & that was the way he went. It did get extremely good gas mileage.
That V8 you spoke of was available in most models. It was standard in the Rebel & it was hot! It would give the big 3 fits altho rarely did anyone mention it.
It sucks in so many ways the deck was stacked in favor of the big three.. like journalist and go out of their way to review cars back then. Tom McCahill was big name in automotive journalism Not sure if you reviewed Rambler or not I’ll have to look into that
Why not do a more in-depth story on Tucker? Drew Pearson, a journalist, was the one that literally sunk the car maker. It's curious how that all came about. Even after all these years there's still a cover-up.
Thank you for taking the time to study up on these cars which were everyday stuff for some of us growing up. We had a 58 sedan which was similar to this in the passenger section but different front & rear treatments. Dashboard was similar but had push button transmission. Kind of cool how the buttons lighted up at night. I was always curious about the older Ramblers, looked through the windows before, but never really in any depth. Thanks for taking us through this car-especially with it being a Hudson-and I appreciate your enthusiasm for these cars.
Thank you so much I’m glad you liked the review.. more cool stuff coming this year for sure... this channel is going to be a lot of cars that never got reviewed... I’m Tom mcCahill (who was the Jeremy Clarkson Of his day) but he didn’t do all the cars most of the cars he did was in text not video.. Some don’t even know some of these cars exist because they aren’t mainstream.. and then get forgotten and lost to time.. this channel is going to keep those cars alive.
I realize this is an old post. That shaft coming out of the generator was not running the water pump. We owned that wagon and my dad kept it for almost 11 years. Ours was a 3 on the tree with over drive. On the road, my dad figured it out and he would get between 26 and 29 miles to the gallon. Climbing hills, made it so overdrive couldn't be use so the gas millage decreased down to about 20 to 22 miles to the gallon. It was a really nice car. When my dad traded it in he bought a 1968 AMC Ambassador, fully loaded. That car he drove I believe close to 14 years. By then I had my own car. I know that he drove each over 100,000 miles. He really took great care of his vehicles and I am thankful he taught me what I know. Big problem now is the damn computers. In the good old days you didn't have that to deal with. I know on the 1957 he replaced the timing chain and rebuilt the carb. I'm not totally sure of anything else other than routine maintenance.
I own a half dozen ramblers and love them all. Four of them are 196 cars. The car you are highlighting had a one year only six cylinder: in 57 they moved the water pump to the front and the engine remained a 196 through 1965
That curved dogleg windshield was also known as “the knee knocker”, which is why it went away in the early 60’s”. By the way, I don’t mean to be critical, just informative. You provided a great professional-level review. Thanks!
no worries thank you for the information glad you liked The review.. I never had an issue with getting out of one I just did a jaaag which will be coming if it wasn’t that style wrap around windshield you couldn’t get out of that car.
I had a 1958 Rambler sedan, dark green roof and a light green body. The engine was the 196 cu.in Straight 6 mated to a 3- on- the- tree stick shift. The Rambler replaced my 1950 Plymouth Special DeLuxe. The Rambler was also a "Uni-Body" construction. The car was very tight, and quiet and Yes it also had the "fold down" seats making it into a bed.
A good review. I love Hudson, Nash and Rambler. I had a 'Dinky toy' 58 Rambler Cross country as a kid. It was the 1970s and the toy was second hand. But I loved it.
My Dad wouldn't drive anything but AMC's. I was young but I remember a 1965 Rambler Classic he had with a 230 six in it and he used to brag about how it got over 26 miles to the gallon on a trip to Colorado in 1971. The car was packed with all of our camping gear and our family of 4. Love the video and yes I subscribed.
The 65 was a big car.. the thing I get hung up on these car companies where able to get that kind of fuel economy numbers back then.. with carburetors.. now we have computers controlling fuel and everything else with direction injection and can’t do any better.. thank you for subscribing more cool stuff coming =)
I bought a used '63 Rambler wagon while working for a newspaper in 1969. Gas prices were no big deal at the time, but I remember being astonished at how long the Rambler went between fill ups. Made the 1964, 6 cyl. Nova I had at the same time, look like a gas guzzler!
@@thomastrout9997 my brother bought his first car, a 1963 Rambler American 4 door in '73 I think. It was sweet! White over red with the full trim package including the original hubcaps. Thanks for telling me about your '63 bc my brother's was a 327 and I never knew how great they were on gasoline except for 2nd hand stories before. It's really cool to hear one first hand.
@@What.its.like. When making the mileage comparison to today’s cars, keep in mind that contemporary engines are also tuned for much higher horsepower per cu. in/cc. There are very few modern passenger vehicles that don’t run 0-60 in less than 20 seconds. So, there is a trade off with the MPH.
Well I've definitely learnt something today.... When you said Hudson, I was like nah that's a Nash... I never knew they were also badged as Hudson. Excellent video, subbed the channel.
Thank you it’s a weird gray area car.. I love the orphan cars especially Nash Hudson studebaker packard. I’ve been wanting to hit Hudson more but haven’t seen any which is a bummer.. welcome to the channel =)
My Mother Loved Rambler station wagons she owned a brand new dark Maroon 1963 rambler, and a brand new 1965 Rambler American 9 passenger Also Moroon, then purchased a 1971 9 passenger wagon maroon also, And when I was 5 mom bought, a Nash Metropolitan, 1960 two tone White on top of A,Teal green 4 speed manual!
As everyone else mentioned, this is a cool car nicely reviewed. I very much appreciate the "everyman" approach to a subject you enjoy without the tiresome radio-voiced dude trying to sell me something. I very much doubt the teal was oversprayed with bronze given the engine bay, door jambs, hardware, etc are body color, but I am happy to be corrected. My dad bought a new '67 Ambassador Wagon that served us well; I was a voice for the underdog AM because of that car. Keep up the good work.
The roof is that way because an extension was welded to a regular sedan roof. It also turned out to be a convenient place for a luggage rack. I've never seen one without that rack.
Nice!!! I've seen allot of Hudson's. I have a 53 Hornet Coupe myself. I have seen tons of Stepdowns, a few Jet's, allot of prewar Hudson Essex and Terraplanes, a couple of AMC big Hudson's even a Metropolitan with a Hudson badge and an Italia, but none of the Hudson badged Ramblers. Thank you so much for sharing this.
Dad had a 56 hudson hornet black and white with continental kit. We drove it from upstate New York to San Francisco that shipped to Japan for 3 years than back to California than to Atlanta ga.
This was the Premier of the body. Mine is the final year before Roy Abernethy ordered the new body for the Ambassador and Classic. My Rambler, from what my late dad told me, was a showroom car at the dealer when he bought it in August 1962. The engine is rated at 125 HP and has enough power to climb a 6% grade at 55 mph in high gear with a 3 speed manual transmission. My dad took the car on a camping vacation twice in the 70s to the High Sierras off US Highway 395. In 56, AMC introduced their V8 engine in the Nash Ambassador, Hudson Hornet and the Rambler as the Rambler Rebel. It was available in the wagon (Series 20 is the Rebel V8). The key shown in the video is not the original; the original ignition & door key is a Briggs & Stratton octagonal head with an AM Logo, and the glove box & Trunk / tailgate key is round headed with the same AM logo. The 56 & 57 Rebel had a choice of 250 or 327 V8. I got close to 20 mpg on the 196 six on my 62 Rambler. The wagon featured is a series 10 model Rambler (196 six ohv). Model is likely 5618 judging by the body style. A Rebel Cross Country would likely be a 5628. First 2 numbers is year model, next is the model series. Nash and Hudson had Series 50 and 80 for the Nash Statesman/Hudson Wasp and the Nash Ambassador/Hudson Hornet. The Hornet and Ambasssador in mid year Specials used the new AMC 327 V8, dropping the Packard V8 & Ultramatic transmission from the cars, and nullifying the costly deal with Studebaker-Packard which had become 1 sided with no benefit for AMC. 62 was also the first year AMC switched to a dual master cylinder, pioneering the dual braking system.
I miss spoke it’s close to 1.5 tons all thing considered is pretty light for a all steel 50s American car. I’m glad you liked the review be sure to check out some other content on here as well lots of cool stuff you don’t see everyday. =)
It was look up 1959 rambler cross country ambassador wagon that is the pinnacle of this design science and it started with this car... I guess one could make an argument that it started with a 55 cross country model year.. although the 1955 model is a lot smaller and narrower than the 56 model...the 59 has fins that are very similar to the fins on a 1957 Chevy bel air..
My parents had one! I barely remember it, though. I do remember the "swirly" like leather seats. I used to follow the swirls with my tiny fingers just to occupy my time and to imagine that I was driving on curvy roads, 😄 haha! I also remember that one time, my Grandmother was in the back seat next to me, and when my father made a right turn, her door flew open, and we almost lost Grandma out of the door! My father allowed his mom to get in and close her own door and she hadn't closed it all of the way, that's why the door flew open, phew, that was scary for everyone in the car that day 😅. I honestly don't remember anything else about that car except I think it was a yellow or butterscotch color. 🙂
That is an awesome story thank you so much for sharing it, glad grandma was ok... I wish I could have been around when this car was new, like I’ve said I was born way to late..
That '56 is a sweet car! Haha ...Just love these old ads! @ 0:59 my father had luggage just like the 2 pieces in the ad! It was made out of a very heavy leather that got more of an orangish-brown color as it aged.
We have the aluminium version of that engine in our 1961 Rambler Classic. I think the 30+ mpg figures were usually achieved with overdrive equipped cars. Ours does not have overdrive but it is still surprisingly easy on the fuel. The old lady gets 25+.
@squid667 Looks like you have the top line 61 Classic, the Classic Custom. I've seen the 61 Classic in Deluxe, Super and Custom. Is yours a California model with a factory PCV Valve closed crankcase ventilating system? The PCV smog control was mandatory on California model 1961 and later cars. I have a 62 Classic Custom sedan. That year, it came in Deluxe, Custom & 400. 400 had the aluminum 196 OHV as standard, but offered the cast iron OHV 196 as a no cost option. The aluminum engine was optional on the Deluxe and Custom package. My 62 is a California model with a factory PCV Valve system.
@@maxheadroom8857 It is not a Custom. It is a regular Super. It lacks the extra trim that was found on the Custom. It has been in eastern Norway since it was new. We don't have any of the California equipment.
@@squid667 Your Rambler might have been assembled by Renault or Austin. Austin built the Metropolitan for AMC until 1962. AMC and Renault made a deal to have Renault assemble Ramblers in Europe and market them. Renault was licensed by AMC to add European touches to Rambler to appeal to the different countries' preferences.
@@maxheadroom8857 I did not know that. I knew of the Austin Metropolitan, and that they worked closely with Renault, but I did not know that they actually assembled Ramblers that early. If I am not mistaken they also had an assembly deal with VW of New Zealand. And Karmann assembled Javelins in 1969-1970.
By the way, I have a 62 Rambler that my dad bought new. It has the same OHV engine. The California version which I have has a PCV Valve on it, in place of the down draft vent, per California regulations for 1961 and later new model cars sold in California. Some of these in California were retrofitted with PCV Valve kits in 1966 per California smog retrofit mandates for 1950 and later vehicles. Your wagon is the top of the line model. Mirrors were optional until 1966, and states required retrofitting the driver side with an outside mirror. Renault had an agreement with AMC to build them in Europe. Renault bought a stake in Nissan back in the 90s, giving them rights to the retro design on the Armada and the Nissan Murano (AMC Gremlin Triangular back). My 62 is a Classic Custom 4 door sedan with the 3 speed stick. When Rambler went to the Borg Warner Automatic, they went to a push button activated automatic up to 1962.
Beautiful old car.Back in the 60's our small country church had an older guy that had a Rambler station wagon and he had sunday school class for a few high school boys outside in that car.I was thinking it was a 59 or 60 model..It was a basic model solid black,3 on the tree but very dependable.Too bad they don't make em like that anymore.
Thank you so much for that story.. I totally agree if that car was mine I’d drive it spring summer and fall they are meant to be driven.. cars were machines back then not like the appliances they are now..
According to the book "Hudson, The Postwar Years" by author Richard M. Langworth, the breakdown for 1956 Hudsons is as follows: Wasp 2,519, Hornet Special 1,757, Hornet 6, 395 which makes a non-Rambler total of 10,671. 20,496 Hudson Ramblers were built for 1956.
Awesome thank you so much for that information. =) Richard Lang’s worth’s I wonder if he is still writing books I have the complete blue chip auto investment book written by him I need an updated version can’t seem to find one I reference that book a lot
@@What.its.like. It's Langworth (just one word). His book on Hudson came out in 1977. He also wrote a great book titled, "Studebaker, the Postwar Years." These books are frequently available from on-line auction sites and just use Langworth Hudson or Langworth Studebaker in your search for these books.
DUAS MARCAS DE AUTOMÓVEIS MAGNÍFICAS DO MEUS TEMPOS DE OUTRORA, LEMBRO DE MEU PAI, QUE ADMIRAVA OS CLÁSSICOS DO AUTOMOBILISMO, POIS SEMPRE TINHA DOIS NO PÁTIO DA NOSSA CASA. maneco - Porto Alegre-RS - Brasil.
If the hudson has the GM slant pan hydramatic, it actually does have a park feature. When the car is in reverse with the engine not running, the trans output shaft is locked similar to any modern transmission.
I was born way to late I would have loved growing up in the 50s or 60s... if I had a time machine so places I’d go packard dealership in the mid to late 30s.
@@What.its.like. 1956 Packard Caribbean. If You get a chance to drive one in good shape, Take it! indescribable. The fall of every year was always exciting. The new models come out. I'm turning 64 and have been a car nut My whole life. I've owned some wild cars and plain janes. 1958 Buick Special plain Jane And a 57 Super 88 Olds J2 with every option including AC. Great Channel!!
Just saw this pop up for me to watch, a little late I guess. I liked the way these looked. I love your excitement and enthusiasm when doing this video for a wonderful find. I was born this year so I always look at cars on the net and especially ones around this year. Gotta love the fold down seats that make a bed and the option kind of mattresses you could order for those "cross country'" excursions. Ramblers were the car other car makers didn't think was necessary or attractive, but they were wrong as they ventured into the small car market in the '60s. Thanks for the tour of this rare car. There were other rebadged cars from Nash and Hudson in the mid 50s to check out. But at least they changed the grill and other things. I think they were wrong to discontinue Nash/Hudson full sized cars. I really like the 1958 Nash Ambassador Custom and the '61 Ambassador as well. I hope you enjoy many more adventures with the collectables.
Thank you so much for the good vibes and positive feed back, I plan on hitting every car probably not this year but journey into classic cars.. this channel is for those lost forgotten classics.. there are more classic cars out there besides mustang camaro trans am.. more cool unique cars coming this year for sure =)
It was, really made me want one... I thought 196 would be a dog it’s like driving 2011 Subaru Outback 2.5 four cylinder, that would be a good comparison as far as power it didn’t drone like the Subaru and was a much smoother ride seats were more comfortable too
The 3 cranks for the windows are fine when you consider it usually took 5 or 6 turns in other cars. I've never seen seat and door covers patterned like that before. Is that original? What a well built car! good video.
Ha ha!... I got one... I've Modified it to fit a Small Block Chevy V8 engine in. I Extended the front four inches... I put an independent rear end in it too. It's just about ready to go back on the Road Thanks for Sharing
Oh when you mentioned a '59 that's the first car I ever remember riding in. Dad had a gold w/ black trim '59 Rambler Cross Country station wagon. It was a sweet car. When he finally sold it in 1974 I begged him not to and literally cried!
I would have cried too... one year only I guess one could argue that the 58 is just about the same thing 59 had the best Paint sceme grill and trim are different...my parents never had a car that I was attached to I owned a 1967 mustang and almost cried when I sold that one.. but I was getting married and had debt that I wanted gone before I got married and just didn’t want it to sit because it wasn’t running at the time and no one could fix it... That’s the worst thing you can do to an old car is let it sit. Need to drive them. Took the 52 1 ton out yesterday 55 degrees in western pa nice day people were out these two kids where walking down the road stopped and waited for me to pass saying nice truck makes you feel good preserving cars so one day they can enjoy them too
Ancient gas mileage claims are specious, at best. The excellent gas mileage claims were for moderate speeds on US highways (before the interstate). You would accelerate to about 45-50 mph and leave it there. When freeways came along, it blew most of those high mileage claims away, because a car that got impressive (for the day) gas mileage at 45-50 mph with steady driving wasn't tuned (or sometimes, even capable) of excellent gas mileage on the freeway. My dad used to brag that his 2-barrel-fed, 318-powered Dodge (he had several over the years) could get 20 MPH on the freeway. He was astonished when he bought my sister a VW beetle and it got 20 mpg around town, even before he got around to giving it a tune-up.
Hi Nash offered the fold down bed as least as far back as 1937. At that time it was the rear seat folded and you would make use of the trunk for your feet. Similar to station wagons.😊
I couldn't help but stop in my tracks when I saw your Rambler because it's identical to the one we had, including the color, except ours was a sedan. I recall only seeing a couple others in that "salmon - tone" color so needless to say the color is very rare. . My dad traded it in 1964. I have been totally immersed in cars since I was a kid and have a particular affinity for AMC. I've restored and rebuilt more than a few cars. When I graduated from college, I went to work for AMC as a mgt. trainee but that was near the end so I spent the remainder of my career at Chrysler. Where are you located? I would LOVE to visit and see your '56!
All the cars that I’ve done are for sale around the area that I live... I own the 52 chevy 1 ton in the very first video...and the Honda odessey we have another odessey that I might review later... I saw that Hudson rambler wagon for sale and it looked perfect so I reached out and asked if I could review it... owner was so nice and has some really cool other cars hoping to go back in the spring and do some more..thank you so much for sharing you rambler story =)
Kelvinator, not 'Calvinator'. 3100 pounds just about matches the weight of the Studebaker Champion. The Rambler was built on a shorter wheelbase, but was among the lightest cars built in the US at the time. The roofline inflection point above the trailing end of the rear doors was a compromise eliminating the need for a different full-length stamping for the wagon roof and use of sedan doors. The roof rack was standard equipment to soften the appearance of the odd roofline.
For an econo car it was built doors had a solid sound when you shut them... and the tailgate was the second heaviest one of the three wagons I’ve reviewed 59 Chevy was the heaviest Chrysler town and country was light
Sorry to be 5 months late. Many good, knowledgeable comments. I think the color was often called “salmon” by various car manufacturers. Usually with an off white and sometimes also with a shade of gray. You brought up some very important items in your history lesson. Air conditioning was a rarity back then. So to have it standard was a huge deal. Most cars had vent windows to provide airflow with the windows up. The name of the refrigeration is “KEL-vinator”. All one word but emphasis on KEL. Sears sold Kelvinator appliances for decades, and they were good. There are several lessons in history and business with all those companies. Hudson, Nash, Studebaker, Packard, Kaiser, Frazier all tried to do something that would set them apart. I’m still puzzled that it didn’t turn out better.
I liked it. I had a 62 Rambler Classic, you had to be careful with putting them in Park. It was a pushbutton transmission that totally relied on the parking brake. I saw one that rolled outt of its parking space go across the road into a Rexall Drug. I think I'll Subscribe... Thanks👍
The Ramblers were very popular they were # 3 in sales overall by the early 60s. I thought the 58,59 models were styled beautifully, to bad they didn't make a 2 door version except for the old American model those years.
Yeah that’s a bummer that they didn’t make that many two-door wagons.. there’s one coming in the pipeline 59 two-door American rambler wagon very rare said it was one of only three made in 1959.. not 100% sure when that one’s coming the next episode is going to be 1933 Franklin Super charged air cooled V12 even though it’s not really technically super charged. I wanted to try to get that episode up today but I’m still looking for information information is very spotty on that car I want to make sure that I’m presenting the most information that I possibly can Been looking for dashboard Maps because I’m not sure what all the button switches and knobs do
If you look at a Nissan armada the same roofline as the Rambler cross country wagons did... I don’t know if they did that on purpose as a homage to that vehicle but once you see it that’s all you see is the rambler cross country wagon every time you see that vehicle is much like to me every time I see an Alfa Romeo I think of an Edsel... Especially the new Alfa’s
i drive my dads 59 rambler. it only has 480k miles on it. it has a 327 amc v8 3 speed o/d. it is a sedan. back in the 80s i drove it fast enough to hide the needle on the speedo.. I did road trips as late as last year. it is comfortable. this car got 25 mpg. dealers could special order the 327 in the v8 chassis car. some times it would go through. these are some what rust prone. the recliner was available in late 1950 on the airflight. thats the earliest i know of.
Awesome story thank you so much for sharing I still want to drive one with a 327 in it I think that would be epic I honestly never seen the ambassador version in the wild of any car the sedan or wagon
The reason for the rear roof dip design was adapted from the sedan in the interest of cost-saving, due to the fact AMC was in dire straits at the time needing a fresh product design -eventually successful.
A couple notes on the trans. 1. The trans in this car is the 1952-55 Dual Range Hydra-Matic. The 1956-64 HydraMatic got the PARK position on the quadrant. The remaining 1955 transmissions is what GM sold to AMC. 2. Shifting the trans to REVERSE and turning off the engine was this trans' version of PARK. 3. There should be a vacuum lock-out switch to keep the starter from engaging if you pull back on the shift lever once the engine is running. Otherwise, an excellent review and video.
The 1956-57 are Rambler's finest looking, similar but better than 1958-59, and a far cry from the 1960-61 Classics, which I would NEVER want to be seen in. Someone in the comments below commented on the steering wheel being humongous enough to make the car pass for driving a bus. Well, I always HAVE seen a subtle hint in the lines of these cars of Ralph Kramden (the Honeymooners) but the chunky tone doesn't detract from the styling. It adds grace to it. They had such a short life, though, owing to rapid rust out!!
Total beast that got great gas mileage then and still gets good gas mileage all things considered, when I drove this it seemed very comparable to a Subaru outback with a 2.5 liter engine... but the Rambler didn’t drone like the outback does... i’d venture to say that the Rambler was smoother than a 2011 outback..
Among my many many many cars, I just drove a 62 Bel Air 409-425 horse 4-speed, with 3.08 highway rear gears, 20 gallons to go 120 mi. And I was taking it real easy, never above 60, remember 3.08 gears keeps the revs down, so I think six seven miles per gallon. On the other hand, I have a V6 Mitsubishi LeBaron with a 5-speed, convertible, that thing easily gets 36 37 all day long. I just drove a 2019 Suburban half ton four-wheel drive 5.3l to florida, got just over 30 through georgia, 65 70 mph, never below 26mpg
That’s awesome I want to drive a 409 car and the later 396 version (wasn’t that the replacement to the 409) and see which is better... here is a question why didn’t car manufacturers offer a two speed rear in the muscle car era... think about it 4:11 to get off the line and 3:73 I’m not up with gear ratios, but have another gear to take you the rest of the way? It was a thought I had... I want to build a speedster one day sorta of like the style of type 35 Bugatti I’ll never be able to afford a real one so I’d like to make my own thought about two speed rear would be really cool.
15:49 The roof line was no styling gimmick, it was just a result of having no money (and using the rear doors from the sedan). Decades later Volvo used the doors of the 240 sedan in the wagon (just an other example) and they were lucky that they did not have to make the roof line so odd.
Just another 2 cents worth; I think you mentioned it weighed ~3100 lbs. A new Chevy Malibu is ~3100, a Camaro ~3300. We tend to think of the old cars as heavy, many current cars are heavier. It’s just that the older cars were built with real steel, thicker sheet metal. Now the structure is solid, but the skin is thinner gauge.
Yeah everything is backwards cars are made of plastic now and more money then when they were made out of steel.. my mom in 2006 bought a Dodge charger when they brought the Dodge charger back as a four-door it was the first year that they had it in a long time anyway I hated washing the car because every time that you would wash a fender it would bend in... I always like the older stuff I had an 88 Lincoln town car when I was 19 it was a signature series model top-of-the-line but when I washed that it never moved.. that to me tells me that cars were built better with better quality back then I can only imagine what it’s like now.. I don’t own any new cars anymore the newest car I have is a 2006.. if I could have it my way I would have a whole bunch of Classic Cars
Mom had a '62 American Rambler station wagon. It was made by American motors. But if I remember correctly American Motors came out of Hudson Nash and Kieser
Hudson Nash Willis overland Kaiser Jeep = American motors Corp they lasted until 1988 when Chrysler with your boy Lee Iacocca at the helm at Chrysler bought amc just for for Jeep name plate that’s how Chrysler got Jeep brand... AMC was also making the eagle at the time so I had all wheel drive... hope to review on this year for the channel they’re super cool cars they were made as a two-door in a four-door hatchback..
The GM Hydramatic did not have a park pawl but because of a spring loaded (hydraulic released) band if you put the shift lever in R with the engine off it locked up the transmission acting just like park.
