So rooting for this car! 1964 model human here, and my first car was a 1969 Rambler sedan with a 232 in it. Its too bad AMC didn't make their car bodies out of better steel, because they would rust something horrible here in the northeast, but the engines would run forever. AMC called their engine line "torque command engines", and I can confirm that is true. They had no top end to speak of, but you could go from a standstill to 30mph in about 2 seconds. Ramblers were great cars, and the inline six is an amazing engine.
So was the Chrysler slant 6s in the 60s, early 70s. They all rusted out here in the salt belt states. In the dry states they're still around just most have them put away.
I have always lived in the UK. In the War my father was on the transatlantic ships and he fell in love with all things American from jazz to shoe trees to cars. His first car was a Renault Dauphine but happile I was too young to remember that. In 1963 he bought a Rambler Estate very similar to the one here. Right hand drive, of course. I loved sitting in the back in the dark watching the band stretch across the speedo and waiting for the blue light to come on when he put the headlamps on high beam. There was a whine from the propshaft from new. There were 4 of us children over time, and 3 of us could sleep in the back. The rear door in two halves was tremendous. He drove us all over Europe. Once he ran out of petrol in France but my mother hitched up her skirt a bit and a horny Frenchman stopped to offer aid. I loved the steering wheel and the sound of the starter. Seeing the engine compartment again brought back happy memories of my childhood. Thanks for the video.
We had a brown 1965 Rambler 770 Classic 4 door when I was a kid. I think we got it around 1971. By 1982 it had been parked for years rusted beyond all repair from the salt on Ontario winter roads. Rear quarters gone to the beltline. I liked that car. It had character.
AMC were some of the highest quality cars on the road in their day. Many are find that out now and these cars are in high demand now. Parts are available on line.
We had a few Rambler Classic and Rebels in New Zealand,I always liked the Classic,I mostly had Ford Falcons but would happily have traded for a Rambler.
Very true Daniel. In the early seventies my dad bought all AMC. Is pick up my mom's AMC hornet my one sisters AMC matador and my other sisters AMC Javelin. All were Bulletproof, and there is a very interesting story about that javelin. But the True Value in cars today is not in their shininess or technology or newness. The True Value is shifting back to where it should be, getting you where you need to be safely and reliably. Their longevity and their ability to be repaired by the average man.
@@MrJackanand Should be common knowledge now as the few modern cars which still let you check the fluid at all ask that you idle the engine in park on a level surface when the transmission is warm to get the exact correct level.
A little fun fact about this car is that the right side lug nut are right handed threads, but the left side is left handed thread's. So you don't want to mix them up from side to side.
We had a '67, Dad welded a hitch on it so we could tow our boat to the lake and use our utility trailer. Almost 30 mpg, ran clean and quiet. Even took it out on the beach for Clam digging. We Loved it!
We had a '67 AMC Rebel 550 with a 343 V8. I bought it from my dad in '82 and proceeded to get in a lot of trouble with it! lol! Great car, but parts were impossible to find back in the "pre-interwebs" days.
@@yammmit It was a two door sedan. My dad hot rodded the engine. Milled the heads down, huge 4bbl carb, low restriction exhaust...the list goes on. It was FAST!!!
Just discovered your videos. Can’t stop watching. Great sense of humor and very positive when approaching these potential disasters! Lol keep the content coming! JD Tulsa
Seeing this car again on the streets is in itself awesome , amazing , astonishing.....You always make these cars old and vintage are starting what ever their states..thanks
Nice to hear the AMC Rambler purr and move. I live in Kenosha, Wisconsin, the home of AMC. AMC is rare and should get it running in good order and she is a keeper. Good job getting her running and moving.
The swimming pool feature comes from the fact that Rambler used real rubber in 1965-66. Real rubber shrinks as it ages. Cars that don’t t have shrinking rubber don’t come with the swimming pool feature. By the time Rambler gets this age the windshield gasket feature the very special feature of a 1/2” gap.
I always did like the Rambler American station wagons. My Dad had a 1963 Cross Country 660 that I was embarrassed to be seen in until he bought a 1970 Ford LTD. That was in the teenage years so that's to be expected. Now that I'm in the mid 60's I like the old Cross Country too. These cars are never seen on the road anymore, at least not by me. Too bad. Happy to see you brought the old girl back to life. Thumbs up from me.
My grandmother had a pink '63 Ambassador...I was 4 or 5 years old and I remember the hood flying open...lol..And in '69 My dad bought my mom a 69 RAMBLER 2 door..blue..it cost $1999.99..no pwr steering or brakes.We took that car on our family vacation that summer and we got into an accident with a "65 Mustang....Memories!
That's a 1966, first year of the American's final body styling update. The '64 and '65 were similar, but had "frenched" headlights. That 232 2-bbl was a very strong engine in that light car, but the Borg Warner automatic really held it back. My '68 American 440 wagon may be my favorite car I've ever owned, even with the 199 six. I'd love to find another!
My sister had a ‘67 Rambler American 2 door with a 3 on the tree and a six, the grille looked just like that. I always loved the clean simple squared off styling of that car. The whole thing was a little bit from every manufacturer, sometimes we had to go to Chrysler for parts, sometimes GM and sometimes Ford.
I had a 66 Ambassador about 10 years ago, was a dry Arizona car, light purple with mint black interior with reverb radio. I know it's still out there because it was rust free when I sold it and ran great.
in this day and age of super modern technological cars, I would love to have an old school simple No Frills something you can work on! you can always update to electronic ignition and fuel injection to make it run every day of the week.
The car companies know if they made a few old school car's they would sell like hot cakes but they won't. They're lucky I'm not a billionaire, I'd start a classic car company and start building these cars again. The government can't stop anyone from building them, if they can they can't stop me from restoring 100k old cars all over out west and reselling them as turn key cars
my friend's AMC Hornet had that same little 232 6. its pretty bulletproof. when everything else started falling apart on that car, that little 6 kept chugging along.
Great work. Video and commentary informative. Only one request. I would love to see and hear if the horns still work after so many decades. Every car had a voice. Music to my ears.
Those Rambler/AMC cars were actually very well built back in the day. Our family bought a new 1962 custom station wagon. I dont know why my Dad bought it with the straight six, but it pulled the wagon just fine even with that push button automatic transmission. We made several trips from Seattle to Disneyland in California with two adults and five kids and it never strained when going through mountain passes. The exhaust pipe was even porcelain coated. We had it for many years then traded it in on an AMC Rebel wagon in 1970. THAT car had abysmal build quality and was never reliable even when it was brand new, a total piece of junk!
It’s got a little 232 six in it. In Australia, in 1964, a 232 c.i. was huge. Our ‘66 Ford Falcon Station Wagon (XP is the Australian nomenclature) had a 144 c.I. six.
We had the 200cu, in 64 and with the XR in 66 we got the 289 v8 so not really limited to the 144. The other one was the 170. I had that in my XM, high pursuit motor. Nothing high pursuit about it but it sounded cool.
The 232 with 2-bbl carb was actually a performance upgrade that year for the American. It was rated at 155 HP vs. 145 for the base 1-bbl. That would have been a spunky little car when new!
I can concur with Ed, Daniel, William, drfalcon about the year, and all the others. It is, to be precise, a 66. Easy way to tell is the shape of the headlight surrounds. On the inside, they have a matching zigzag top and bottom. In 1967 and thereafter (to 1969) the bottom portion was straight across (no zigzag) and the grill was narrower. In 66, you could swap them side to side. Not in 67-9. 440 was the base model. I have a 66 V8 Rogue. Would go a wagon too if one fell into my lap. In Australia, they assembled wagons and 4 door sedans. NZ didnt have Americans. We got the Classic (and later the Rebel) midsize models only
Steve, the 440 was actually an upgrade trim. The base model was 220. Another giveaway on the year is the dash - the '67 and later went to separate round gauges.
going to wrecking yards, did see so much potential if this was not a ""disposable" society~ am sad, and do know when I'm proudly drivin' my favorite ride tragedy takes things away, so in a museum or front and center of the man cave, never to be driven...my uncle Frank was working on a fancy Packard, and would sit in it to escape the smoker patrol~ fell in love right there and wished that level of luxury from then on~
My Gremlin had the 199 in it when I bought it and the engine would probably still re-running fine if some dumb-ass had to put water in it and it froze and cracked block
And it has good oil pressure! Looks like the ol dumby light shut off while you were cranking. I think the ticking is just dry hydraulic lifters. Love the color.
On my chevy nova it says in the manual to start the engine set the parking brake and put it in drive. I've been checking it this way for the ten years I have owned it.
I had a 1965 2 door Rambler 770 Classic back in the late 90's. It was really nice when I first got it but one day I was driving home and this 17 year old girl driving her daddy's big Dodge pickup truck pulled right out in front of me and I T-boned her going about 40 miles an hour and after that my car just went to crap. I drove it for about another year after the wreck but it was one problem after another so I ended up selling it for 400 bucks. I wish I had kept it I'd love to restore it. I love those old Ramblers.
lol, my dad had a 64 rambler, but not the wagon!...i remember riding around in it when i was like 2 years old, in 1973. in 1974 it got hit by a train and completely wrecked (my dad was fine, he jumped out in time). he loved that little car!
Had a 64 rambler american wagon...had a 4 cyl flat head motor if i remember correct...i dropped in a 327 cu.chev motor...4 sp..used the front coil springs from the bigger wagon...dual exhaust...original 2.9 rear end. ..that wagon would cruise !!!
Hi new in your Chanel I collected 1966-1969 rambler's for 35 years rear wheel cylinders are ford easy to get trans is a BorgWarner air cooled 2/3 speed with bull low 232 first year is 1966 early ones had L194 6 cyl love those cars :)
Those bottles are mayonaise, mustard and ketchup dispenser bottles. Of course you can put anything else in them. When I was a kid all the restaurants had them sitting on the table with mustard and ketchup in them.
Ramblers were made for comfort and hauling long road trips. Shoot i would love to have this rambler nice smooth vehicles , not so much on rocky roads or like back wood roads in Montana .Def put it in shop pay attention to the Trani there could be a hole or something cracked underneath? good luck on this Beauty Ramblin Man . hehehe Rambler .Love ya n ol cars n trucks . Friend Barbie USA NWFL.:)
I love these old orphan cars, glad to see it running. Hope it has a good future. Hey what about the 57 Corn binder? Please email or pm me to talk about it?
I recently spoke to the original owner of a tan and white 1964 Rambler station wagon who just turned 89. I visited him and his family in Ohio in 1974 as our family moved out west 8 years earlier. They still had it then. But the original driver's side floor pan was rusted out, leaving a big gaping hole in the floor. But they were putting in a homemade replacement floor pan at the time I visited them. No more hole. But because the carpet was not reinstalled yet, I could see shiny new steel where the hole used to be.
Had a 63 550 wagon. The rain would pool on both sides from the leaky window seals. The rats nest in the air cleaner can help absorb any water that might get in the carb.
On your wheel cylinders, compare it to a early to mid 60's Mustang. AMC used a lot of parts from ford .my 1972 hornet used the same u joints. Maybe they used the same brakes.
AMC Ramblers used either Bendix brakes, or Wagner brakes. No GM or ford parts will fit. Chrysler also used Bendix and Wagner brakes, so some Valiant / Dart parts may be the same.
Swimming pool feature! Love it! Get a couple years old Mercedes or BMWs and owners find out they are diving the fish bowl editons as they seem to attract water as well. I would drive the wagon as is, dent on drivers side and all, including the engine tick! (Just drive it locally/car shows etc) Or maybe patch up the ticking.
The tick that you are talking about is the fuel pump, it always did that on my Grandfather’s 69 Rambler American. The only automatic he ever owned. Bought it because Studybaker went out.
The best video would be fire one of these things up then drive cross country !......Now that would be AWESOME!....My best friend had a old spirit ....Then got his hands on an AMX.... Nice ride !
