New member and new Rambler barn fresh!

Hey guys, finally making first post. Picked up a 62 Rambler American 400 wagon today. Bought from 2nd owner, in barn for last 19 years, runs great, no rust, great car to start with. Yeah, surfboard came with it, not that it does me a lot of good in Missouri.

 

Super cool long-roof!!!

Dig that steering wheel...

 

Wow that"s in nice shape. What are the plans for it ?

 

That is a bad ass steering wheel !

 

Great wagon, welcome aboard.

 

Good score! I've always liked their minimalist dashboards and wild steering wheels. Good base car for a rod.

 

Not exactly sure what I'm going to do yet, suggestions? For now, going to get that OG paint, engine bay and chrome cleaned up and figure out how to lower it, at least the front, some kind of hubcaps or wheels etc.

 

Man, that thing is BEGGING for wide-whites!!!!

 

I had one of these some FOUR DECADES ago and nobody then thought it was cool (specially the speed that only went to '12' - LOL)! Times, sho'nuff, have changed (and I'd probably own one again if they were available over here..).

I'm sure you'll have a great time with your longroof. How about doing it up as a surf wagon, ideal for catching waves in a land-locked state?

Lowering one of these is pretty easy, by either getting the springs reset for a lower ride height or by adding old skool J-bar clamps. At the rear, you could go lowering blocks, reverse the spring eyes or use longer shackles.

The bolt pattern's the same as Ford, but you're stick with 15" up front due to clearance issues.

 

Sweet find.

 

After being in my garage for the first time all night.. I am realizing that it smells just like the barn it sat in for 19 years.. whoa! Gotta work on that one.

 

She's a honey!

Check the mechanicals, wash, wax, drive.

 

Had a 62 American.. Put a 302/C4 and 8" in it..Fun car.........

 

I've got one also . Yours is in great shape .Lose the surf board and go for a ride.

 

I think you'll find an old style closed drive rearend under that neat little wagon.

 

Mechanically, so far, really good. Everything seems to be working really well, save for the brakes a bit wooden. Just elbow grease needed now, everything needs to be cleaned. All that storage was really hard on the front seats especially, and yeah the smell you dont really notice outside (so far I have not found any critters). After I get things cleaned up with the power washer, etc., will post up some better pics. I have had a hard time finding anything conclusive on dropping it with the stock suspension. A couple of ideas were mentioned above and I searched and found a nice blue sedan on here that was bagged but not much else. It's too stock right now, needs a bit of attitude. Any more ideas?

 

Lots of threads here on "de-smelling". Try different keywords in a search.
I've used the truck driver "can-o-coffee" trick a couple of times.
Powdered carpet freshener has worked as well.
Neat little car.

 

I got a shop manual around here somewhere for that car. It's yours for the cost of postage if you want it.

 

Unfortunately I don't have more photos of a similar car.

 

Its great to see another wagon. I'm currently rehabing a '62 Rambler Classic S.W. Please don't rod it as this is a great original find. You can get a service manual on ebay. Since this car has not been driven in a while you should retorque the head as this is a weak point for this motor. Did you get lucky and get the 2bbl version? I'm not that far from you(LR, Arkansas). I'm trying to get mine up and going to go to Louisville,KY for the AACA car show june30-july3.

 

Sure, that would be great. PM me or post how I can get in contact with you. Thanks!

 

Would love to see any pics of you've got em. I am already planning on retorquing the head bolts soon. Plus will give me a chance to repaint valve cover and so on.

 

just send me your address. it might take me a little while to dig it out.

 

So I'm assuming it's the OHV six since you mentioned retorquing the head bolts. That's a MUST to prevent damage to the head. 400 model was the top of the line for 62. That designation, by the way, was only used in 62, and on all bodies (all were top of the line). For 63 AMC switched to all numbers for trim levels -- 220/330/440 American, 550/660/770 Classic, 880/990 Ambassador (and a stripper "800" model for fleet only use).

Anyway, I'm real familiar with the 61-63 Americans, all I owned and drove from 79-99! Done a lot with several of them, still have a couple parts cars... one I may have plans for if I ever get around to it!

 

That's a beautiful car! What a great find! I have been looking for something like that to use as the family go-getter, I have to admit I'm jealous. I wouldn't touch it either, give it some white walls and leave it at that. Beautiful!! Good luck with what ever you decide to do, looking forward to more pics as you get into it a little more. Enjoy and welcome, I'm a newbie too

gabby

 

Great Find! Congrats.

 

This is a prime Photoshop chance guys !!!

 

to cover up and maybe get rid of the smell, try some dryer sheets (fabric softener) under the seat...

 

I didn't look at all the pics first time -- it's the OHV engine. Oh, and there IS NOT an "enclosed driveshaft" (torque tube) on the Americans. Only the bigger Ramblers had the torque tube. You've got the "big nut" driveshaft though, unique amongst Ramblers as far as I know -- never saw one anywhere else.

That big nut on the rear yoke is on tapered threads that tightens the yoke on the pinion shaft. I suggest you NOT loosen it -- it has to be tightened back to 300 ft/lbs! I always disassemble the joint instead. Jack the car up and support by the rear axle -- you MUST have weight on the rear axle or it moves forward just enough to bind the driveshaft in. Then drive the inside lock rings out of the two caps on the rear axle yoke. Knock the driveshaft to one side, but be careful not to dent it! I use a wood block right on the end. When one cap clear remove it, then drive the other cap back into and through the yoke. Then the cross can be twisted and the shaft will drop out. If you raise it too far in back you'll have to raise the front some too. Easiest done on a four post drive-on lift (remember, have to have weight on the rear tires!). The service manual says to unbolt the axle and slide it back on the springs. An old Rambler serviceman told me about the trick of disassembling the joint instead.

The one thing you want to do (after retorquing the head!) is inspect the front trunnion joints. The upper one is just a threaded pin that goes through the arms, the lower has two big acorn nuts that screw onto the lower joint AND into the stamped steel arms. If the front end isn't regularly greased the joints will freeze and turn in the arms. Turn the wheels all the way to one side and look at the acorn nuts and upper pin as someone presses down on the front end. The nuts and pin (the pin has a head on one end, nut on the other) SHOULD NOT turn inside the arms, but move WITH the arms. If they move with the arms everything is as it should be. If they turn, the joints need to come apart and be cleaned up before the arms are too badly damaged to fix. You can get the lower joints and they aren't expensive ($75 or so each? under $100). The upper joint is hard to find but can be fixed. If the pin is stuck it will probably have to be drilled out. Since it's a hardened pin take it to a machine shop where they will use a carbide tipped drill to get it out, or use a vertical mill or lathe. You can't drill it out with a hand drill, and the carbide bit you'd need will cost as much as a machine shop would charge. You don't need a replacement pin! All the threads are standard 5/8" course. Get a threaded stud from an industrial fastener supply (5" or 5.5" IIRC) and use nylon insert nuts on each side. The factory pin is rifle drilled with a grease zerk on the end, and it breaks off when you try to remove a stuck one because of it. I drill the back side of the flat on the trunnion where the pin goes through for a zerk. It also helps to take a file and flatten the threads in the hole (round or triangular) or on the pin with the flat toward the zerk go grease will travel along the pin better. I always assemble the threaded parts with anti-seize then grease once they are together. They take very little grease with a grease gun.

You've heard of a rambler loosing a wheel, right? What happens is that lower joint is never greased. Over LOTS of miles of turning the threaded hole in the joint eventually wears and the steering knuckle pulls out. The knuckle pin is harder than the joint. Take a grade 8 5/8" bolt and a standard hardware store nut and turn the nut back and forth until the nut will slide off. That's what happens! There is a little sideways pressure on the joint from turning, but that's it. Takes many thousand miles and NO GREASE to loose a wheel! In other words, lots of neglect.

 

F@#* mice!



Stage 1 of the cleanup.. no real scrubbing yet, just cleaning out the big junk and what was left of the plastic seat covers. So far, still no rust.




Hopefully will have time for some proper powerwashing and scrubbing tonight and start on the paint tomorrow.