New member and new Rambler barn fresh!

Can you believe its the same paint!!??

 

WOW!!! look'n good!

 

looking sharp!!

 

Rambler wagons are cool!!!I just picked up a straight axle for mine.Will start fabrication after the summer is over.Keep us posted on your progress.....

 

A very nice wagon

 

SWEEEEET.......WHERE YA SURF IN SPRINGFIELD ?
REPLACE THE BOARD WITH A BROAD.
" we don't cut hoses......just farts "

 

There was no 64-65 two door wagon from the factory. Did you cut the back off a wagon and graft it to the two door or remove the B pillar from a four door and graft the two door B pillar/door/front of rear quarter in?? From the looks of it my guess is it's a wagon back grafted onto a two door sedan body. Would have to see inside back to be sure, but then there isn't much difference in the floor and side panels -- the wagon panels wouldn't be very hard to remove and spot weld in for anyone who has done much sheet metal work.

 

Nice, had a 61 Convertable, wish I still had it!!!

 

Yeah, I know I am going to get that question often!

 

It's covered here or on one of the AMC Forums, Frank. I'm surprised you haven't spotted it.

It's got sedan two doors on it and the posts were moved back. Killer job.

 

It's come up really nicely. Tres cool!

 

Ah,, Ramblers...

Sweet wagon...!!! Lower it an inch or two and drive the hell out of it....

I have a '66 American more-door with the 199 and 3 on the tree, and the good old 'big nut' rear.... Somehow I managed to completely shred the 'big nut' yoke off of the pinion... So,, it you drop a hot-shit V8 out of an AMX into that thing, be gentle or upgrade the rear....

Unfortunately,, my American is laid up curbside with a snapped main leaf on the passenger side... Oh, how I miss driving it...

Oh, new guy 'Chris VHS-Betamax',, listen to Farna and Brootal.... They know their Ramblers and have provided me with tons of great information pertaining to my American and it's little nuances......!!!

Great to see another Hudson/Nash/Rambler/American Motors/AMC in good hands.....
-Jim............

 

Thanks guys. Got the front brakes apart now and scraping off the inch thick coating of grease and dirt from the front suspension. Will have some pics up soon.

 

Brootal, I may have seen it several years ago, but just forgot. So it was a wagon and just had the B pillars moved back for two-door doors. That's what I suspected, maybe because something in the back of my head was trying to let me know I've read about it before? Really good job!

 

I found the Rambler I want but I can't afford it! It was at the end of the rainbow that started in my field during the storms we had up here Saturday, no joke. I went into town the next day and there she was! I had been by the spot just the night before and she wasn't there. I feel it's meant to be but now I need that rainbow to come back and leave a pot of gold!

$6000 is that too much? It's from Kansas, no rust, registered and inspected until March of 2011, ,carpet and headliner replaced other than that its all original with general up keep. I so want this car!!!!!

 

If the condition is as good as you say it's worth $6K. I'd only question the engine -- what kind of work has been done? The six is prone to head warping and cracking if run hot. It has to be retorqued every 2-3 years or 12-15K miles or the head gasket starts to leak water, then it runs hot (usually the first sign of a blown head gasket), and after a few times it cracks. Hard to find a replacement now! Age and running hot is what causes the cracks now. The head is a big mass of cast iron and grows/shrinks about 0.020" every time it's run up then cooled down. This eventually loosens the head bolts, so there's no way out of it. The bolts can be replaced with studs, and that SHOULD solve the problem, but I wouldn't risk it. Would still check torque every 2-3 years just to be safe, so why invest in the studs?

 

Thanks for the info Farna! I do know that the engine has 97,000 original miles on it but that is all I know. There wasn't anyone there to talk to when I stopped. I haven't called the owner as I don't want to be a tire kicker. If I can find a way to come up with the funds then I'll bug them with questions.

I'm guessing based on your info that I should replace the motor if I plan to use it as a daily driver? So it will be my everything car from long trips to grocery gett'n. And if not this car then the one I do end up with because I am determined to have one of these! You say the motor is hard to find. Any suggestions to what I can put in it that would be a relatively easy bolt up?

Thanks again. Gabby

 

Cool ride. Put wheels on the board and have them pull you around with the wagon !

 

My old 63 sedan...raced it at the HAMB drags. Had a grudge match with "Tuck" and his 65.

 

Of the 18 wagons I've owned and loved over the years,only one was a Rambler 4DW,others were Ford's[don't remember the year of Rambler ],at the time I picked it up for $25 not running in about 1967, got it going/cleaned up, plus added some new paint. It had a flathead 6 with a EX manafold that was a pipe that clamped to the side of the block,it finely blow a rod after a year of dayly driving.
Funnyist thing about it,was a few days after first getting it running,I could not fine the spair tire or even were one would of been,so run over to AMC dealer and ask a saleman,he didn't know,so ask there old guy in the shop,he comes out LOL,and opens my wags door and pops up the back seat and points to a little tin box under a clip holding it in place"there's your tire patch kit[just like a bike's]glue and some rubber patchs.
That's all it came with,there was no hole or mount anywere for a spair.
Cool wag anyway,after blowing a rod,I still sold it "as is" for $75.
Farna may know just from the story what wag that was

 

The old 196 will be fine for cruising around town and even long trips as long as you're not in a big hurry. It will push the car along at 65-70 with a moderate load but that IS pushing it a bit. It will be a lot more comfortable at 55-60. You just need to do the maintenance every couple years/12-15K miles. Adjust valves and retorque head. Make sure the cooling system is up to snuff too.

The only problem with taking it on long trips is that there are a couple items that are hard to get. Buy a spare water pump and keep it in the car. It takes 3-4 days to get one, and could take two weeks if yours has to be sent in so you get the right one. We've had problems with parts guys thinking there was only one when there were at least five. Which you get might be pot luck!

The other things can be fixed in a couple days. Standard Delco generator and starter, also distributor (guts/tune-up parts are standard, dizzy body/shaft is Rambler unique). So those can be fixed. I'd consider converting to a common GM alternator (10 or 12 si) and a Pertronix ignition module (keep points and condensor in glove box for emergency use) to improve reliability, that's about it.

If you want to do any heavy towing or load it down then you need to consider repowering. Easy to stick in a 64-71 AMC 232, it bolts to existing trans though you'll have to fab front engine mounts (should be fairly easy). That will gain a bit of power (30-40 hp) and reliability, and parts are readily available. Otherwise it's pull engine/trans/torque-tube/axle and replace it all with a four link/three link/truck-arm suspension. Not hard as far as old car swaps go, but a good bit of money and work. Take a week or two to research and plan things, then it's a weekend swap. I have some info over at www.theamcforum.com, in the suspension area I think.