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Has anyone rodded a 62 Rambler?

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by mac762, Jun 13, 2009.

  1. mac762
    Joined: Jun 28, 2007
    Posts: 676

    mac762
    Member

    Thank you all for the help and inspiration. Good stuff. Maybe we'll get another car out of the weeds and on the road? Josh.
     
  2. Do a Hamb search for Rambler. There are more than a few threads about.. The rounder 58-60's are more attractive rodded IMO.. You did not say if was an American or Classic.. The American is much smaller in the engine bay and to drop in another motor, I would clip it, taking out the trundle suspension and the massive wheel wells. Classics came with a 327, a large AMC made 327!!!! so about any motor will drop in, but you could keep and make it "unique". Hope you find it a challenge and follow through..
     
  3. doing one right now.. i dig this lil sucker!! I'll get more pics up later.
     

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  4. roddinron
    Joined: May 24, 2006
    Posts: 2,676

    roddinron
    Member

    That's just pure ignorance, ramblers make great hot rods. I love them, take it to a show and park it next to a line of camaros, you may not get the most attention, but you'll get it from the right crowd at least.
     
  5. joebuick
    Joined: Nov 9, 2007
    Posts: 584

    joebuick
    Member

    I've got a 66, I love that car it dosn't run and the floors are rotted out, but everytime I look at it I picture it with velocity stacks sticking out of the hood and a straight axle. I even keep a picture of it next to my bed for inspiration.
     
  6. CraigR
    Joined: Jun 20, 2008
    Posts: 375

    CraigR
    Member
    from California

    Had this for a while, (workmates gave me shit about Granpa's car!) 'til they helped me lower it and I fitted the astros. Not a fast car, but a fun cruiser, 61 Rambler Classic Wagon - what style Rambler does your friend have? And to those that trash Ramblers - what is your daily driver?
     

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  7. AnimalAin
    Joined: Jul 20, 2002
    Posts: 3,416

    AnimalAin
    Member

    One word. Sleeper. Ramblers are one of the last cars from the 50s or 60s that can be put into what used to be the standard sleeper mode of blackwall tires and dog dish hubcaps and not be suspected as a sleeper. Treachery is always cool in a hot rod.
     
  8. My old 63 American at the HAMB drags...
     

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  9. I LOVE IT!! I've got a '63 Ameican wagon patiently waiting an engine transplant (stock 196) and some other work before it hits the road again.
     
  10. farna
    Joined: Jul 8, 2005
    Posts: 1,282

    farna
    Member

    My avatar isn't hot rod enough? All AMC power too! Remember, the Jeep 4.0L is a modified AMC 258 (the 4.0L casting has a bigger bore, crank has a shorter stroke than a 258), which is a bigger version of the original 1964 232. The 4.0L is itself bored 0.030" over, and sports a 1974 258 crank for a 0.44" longer stroke, yielding 4.6L (280 inches). EFI and all. Jaguar rear axle, AW-4 auto trans with a manual controller in place of the computer. Not real big on power, but I built it as a daily driver from the start.

    Which Rambler do you have? The 62 American is really tight in the engine bay (see ramzoom's posts). The 62 Classic and Ambassador have nice big bays that will even take a big block, but have a torque tube drive, which means the rear axle needs to go and you need to build something to locate the replacement -- but use the stock rear springs by bolting the spring seats from the stock axle to the donor. Ladder bars or a G-body truck arm kit works nice, but I've seen everyting from 3/4 links to my Jag axle... though I have the only Jag axle in a Rambler that I know of (it's the expensive way around -- I could have bought a Ford Explorer 8.8" with disc brakes and a G-body truck arm kit for what I ended up with in the Jag set-up!).

    I'm a long-time Rambler guy who likes stock but doesn't mind some hot-rodding either. What do you want to do with it, and how much do you want to spend?
     
  11. pinman 39
    Joined: Oct 9, 2008
    Posts: 520

    pinman 39
    Member

    Hey I've got one .62 American Wagon .Datsun 4cyl, 4spd,.8in fordrear, slammed .

    Its like driving a bread box strapped to the top of a skate board !
     
  12. farna
    Joined: Jul 8, 2005
    Posts: 1,282

    farna
    Member

    pinman, I'd REALLY like to see pics of it, especially in the engine bay. Did you kept the original front suspension, or did you change it?
     
  13. Rocky and Tuck had dueling ramblers at the first hamb drags,,,
    do a search and i'm sure you'll find a bunch of info/pics,,,

    xoxox
    miss hbh
     
  14. 56savoy
    Joined: May 16, 2007
    Posts: 39

    56savoy
    Member
    from socal

    If this song don't say it all.

    <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/iBfoXqt7w1M&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/iBfoXqt7w1M&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
     
  15. mac762
    Joined: Jun 28, 2007
    Posts: 676

    mac762
    Member

    Thanks for all the reply's. I'll ask my boss when I get to work which Rambler he has. My Grandma has a Rambler station wagon sitting on one of her property's. It used to be the family car. I think it's a 64 or 65. I'll have to ask.
    I'll do some searching around here too. Thanks again, Josh.
     
  16. american opel
    Joined: Dec 14, 2006
    Posts: 1,222

    american opel
    Member
    from ohio

    what about yours with the hemi and tilt front end?
     
  17. James427
    Joined: Apr 27, 2008
    Posts: 1,740

    James427
    BANNED

    I had this one for a while and LOVED it. Brought a smile to anyone who saw it. When I took it to a cruise night the crowd would walk right past many a "hot rod" to take a look at her. Coolest thing about her was her "space suit" silver factory interior. She's living in Western Canada these days. I tried putting some mag wheels on it and just didn't feel right about it so I took them off.
     

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  18. mac762
    Joined: Jun 28, 2007
    Posts: 676

    mac762
    Member

    Very sweet car James427. My Boss's brother has a real nice one that looks about like that. I just asked him what model his is and he said it's a 61 American convertible. Thanks for all the replys. Josh.
     
  19. LowFat48
    Joined: Aug 28, 2005
    Posts: 910

    LowFat48
    Member

    O.T. but I have always liked the style of the Marlin....
     

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  20. goatboy
    Joined: May 9, 2009
    Posts: 617

    goatboy
    Member
    from kansas

    thanks for all the inspiration guys, as josh said its a stock 61 american conv. kinda rusty but not a big deal to fix for me. (i've done body work for 33yrs now) i cant decide whether to do this car or not and hes kinda been after me to rod this one out, i have to say i'm interested in doing something different this time instead of another goat. anyone know if i can transplant a full frame under this car and make it simple ya know K.I.S.S. it (keep it simple stupid)
    also anyone know what vehicles frame would work well and be close to the same size? thanks for all the pix and i really like the pink one, the one i did for my bro is green metallic, kinda neat but i want something different than his. keep the pix comin and i will look at them all.
    goatboy
     
  21. farna
    Joined: Jul 8, 2005
    Posts: 1,282

    farna
    Member

    The car doesn't really need a full frame, just a cross member or two added. Look under it real good and you'll see that there are bumper to bumper rails built into the unit body. The green Rambler with a SBC in it shown on an earlier page uses the stock front suspension. The rear has been hack-halfed so it could mount some big meats, but it was done similar to other unit body cars, welded back into the original structure. I've seen the cae and have a couple under hood pics. The full roll cage is welded in too, which adds to structural rigidity. Since you have the convert it also has a pretty substantial X brace in the center. I wouldn't run a blown or nitrous SBC in it like the green one (which does easy wheel stands!), but something like a stock LT-1 shouldn't be a problem. Those are some pretty stiff unit bodies! If you put much power to it you might want to do a six point roll bar with low (or swing out) front bars though.

    That green one uses "over the rail" Chevy II headers with cut-outs in the inner fender panels for the headers and some additional braces under the hood. Here's a pic or two...
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    If you just have to get rid of the front suspension, the front of the car can be cut off and plates welded in for a Chevy II front clip, or something like an Art Morrison front frame half. Sometimes those things rust where the front suspension bolts on, but usually it's just the floors in the 'verts. Make new panels (there are no repros) and patch it up, cover with carpet. The only thing that might be tough is the trans hump. you could probably trim up some Chevy II floors to patch the Rambler, or get the 66-69 Rambler or Javelin floor panels and trim those... or cut the floor and trans hump from some other car you have lying around that's solid.
     
  22. Gizzy
    Joined: Jan 20, 2008
    Posts: 761

    Gizzy
    Member
    from N.W,Ohio

    Here's my buddys 59' American...Giz'

    [​IMG]
     
  23. uglymailman
    Joined: Aug 8, 2007
    Posts: 188

    uglymailman
    Member
    from missouri

    I had a crew chief w/ a 69' "Scramblin' Rambler". It was red-white and blue. Think they made 250 of em. Had a 390 and a Hurst 4 speed. It was pretty quick.
     
  24. HemiRambler
    Joined: Aug 26, 2005
    Posts: 4,208

    HemiRambler
    Member

    Just my poor attempt at being facetious. Of course you can Hot Rod a Rambler or anything else for that matter. I just gotta laugh when guys post things saying you can't.......
    This sport wasn't built on following the crowd!!!!
     
  25. gotwood
    Joined: Apr 6, 2007
    Posts: 264

    gotwood
    Member
    from NYC

    My favorite 62
     

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  26. farna
    Joined: Jul 8, 2005
    Posts: 1,282

    farna
    Member

    The SC/Rambler had the 390/four speed from the factory. They made 1512 in all in three batches -- the first one was R/W/B with red sides and a wide blue stripe down the center in the shape of an arrow with "AIR" lettered on it, pointed at the hood scoop opening. The second batch was white with red and blue stripes on the lower edge of the door and rocker. The third batch has always been contested -- most agree that they were white with the stripes too as that was the less costly of the paint jobs. Don't know which batch the extra 12 were in -- probably the last one. So most agree that the white with stripes paint job was on most of the cars, but the flashier paint job seems to be more common. There was no paint code differentiating the two, and most restorers opt for the flashier scheme. All had the same paint code, or I seem to recall there were three possible paint codes, don't recall what they were now, but all just denoted "special paint".

    To everyone with one of these cars, or a buddy with one, I'd REALLY like some underhood shots, and maybe under the front, just to see how they were done. I've done a couple with the original framework left intact, just wondering how others have done theirs. The original front suspension is heavy enough and pretty rugged, but way different than what anyone is used to seeing, so it's usually canned for no good reason. It's not hard to deal with and easy to update the brakes -- once you know how!
     
  27. bmxarmy
    Joined: Dec 17, 2007
    Posts: 56

    bmxarmy
    Member

    here is my '61 not exactly rodded but lowered and fun to drive!

    [​IMG]
     
  28. mac762
    Joined: Jun 28, 2007
    Posts: 676

    mac762
    Member

    Now that you said that, wasn't the car called the Kelvinator and it was green? I might be wrong, I can't remember what color shirt I wore yesterday but I can pull shit like that out of my ass. :)
     
  29. CJ Steak
    Joined: Sep 23, 2008
    Posts: 1,377

    CJ Steak
    Member
    from Texas

    Probably been over posted at this point, but here's my six-foh Typhoon. it'll have a wicked six in it when i'm done.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  30. farna
    Joined: Jul 8, 2005
    Posts: 1,282

    farna
    Member

    The guy is an engineer from Warner Robins, GA. I talked to him about building his Rambler just as he was getting started, and it was a father/son project. He was a senior in high school at that time, I lost touch with him when he went off to college. I seem to recall the car having a bad 287 in it, and we discussed what it would take to build an old Rambler 327 -- if he could find one local (which he didn't!). His first thought, I think, was to use a 351 Ford that they had, but obviously he went a different direction before it was over! I forget if the car was a very dark green or black, but it is a four door 64 Classic with a turbo small block. Brian... can't recall his last name now... Anderson? I think that's it. I 'bout hit the roof when I saw the car in...I think it was Car Craft, pump gas drags?
     

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