not too long ago i was telling poverty flats that i had purchased sight unseen 63 rambler with a weird shifter in it. well randaddy and i spent a whole day digging through the woods and never found it,we found other things but not the rambler with the weird shifter. well today i cornered the guy and he drew me a map how to get down to the car. my wife and i were covered in ticks but i found it. 1963 rambler 99o ambassador 2 door deluxe sedan with buckets, 327 4 barrel , and the rare twin stick tranny. factory air car,power brakes. some damage to right front and right rear.nothing that can't be fixed.last started 2 years ago. sold through the insurance pool in sapulpa oklahoma. i am going back to get pictures tomorrow and take bug spray. i have did a little research and this is going to be a good aquisition. stay tuned.......
yeah..that's what it looks like. not many were made but only a few exist. i was told that 327 could be built to a 413.
Glad you found it. Not crazy about the ticks though. My last encounter left me sick for a week or so. Keep us posted. I need to get to Shawnee and move some of my stuff around & deliver a body to a guy in OKC. I'll give you a shout.
ok randy.that car was in plain sight.i don't know how we missed it. when in shawnee,come see the packard..jim
The "Twin-Stick" is actually shifted like a five speed. It's a three speed with the electrically activated Borg-Warner OD unit except for one thing -- there's a big jump between the second and third gear ratios in the three speed. It's supposed to be shifted 1 - 2 - 2+OD - 3 - 3+OD -- five forward gears. OD is still automatic. Once in 2nd gear and going over 35 mph just let your foot off the gas and you will feel it shift. When going to 3rd hit the OD kick-down button on top of the three speed shifter when pulling it into 3rd. The button cuts power to the OD solenoid so the trans will be in 3rd gear. Accelerate in 3rd then let off the gas and it will again shift into OD. It doesn't shift fast, but it can be fun. In a standard three speed trans 2+OD is so close to 3rd that there is no point in "splitting" 2nd with OD. The second lever is simply the OD lock-out lever. Typically you leave it in the "IN" position. Locking out makes the trans a regular three speed, but is needed to park in gear or push-start the car. The OD unit has a one-way clutch that won't let the axle push the car -- if the driveshaft turns faster than the trans it free wheels. Standard OD units had a handle under the dash for the same function. AMC thought it would be neat to have the two shift levers instead. Twin-Stick was only used from 63-65 and was used on six and V-8 cars. The sixes had smaller trannys than the V-8s, so they don't interchange. In 66 the V-8 cars got the T-10 four speed, six cars just had three speeds, standard three+OD, or auto.
thanks for the info.my question now is"did i score well or is it junk?" it seems to have everything but that damage i explained on the front and rear.it is an a/c car.990 2 dr seda. balack with red interior.
If you want to fix it up and sell it, forget it! Not enough money in it. If you like it and want to fix it up for a driver, rod it, or whatever, then you scored! The 4V is a little 450 cfm. It's a Holley and uses the standard Holley bolt pattern, so a nice new 600 will bolt right on. The 450 is good for the AMC sixes, too small for that 327. You could have the cam re-ground too, for a bit of extra power. That's about all the engine work worth doing, except some cleaning up in the ports and maybe some port matching. Nothing made for the engine any more. A later model AMC aluminum intake can be mated to it with some homemade adapters, not too hard to do.
If you don't have an interest in doing anything with it yourself, probably. If you decide to sell or part it let me know and I'll send the info out to some of the AMC/Rambler guys I know. Drop me an e-mail with the details and your contact e-mail if you want me to do that. My e-mail is farna AT att.net. It's not a popular car for rodding due to the torque-tube drive. that's really too bad -- it's about the size and weight of a Chevelle or early Fairlane (larger than a Falcon), so with the same power performs about the same. Easy enough to install ladder bars for cheap, if you can fab the other options aren't hard either. It's just the fact that the rear axle and suspension has to be changed and there are no simple bolt-in options that turn people off. You can get rid of the torque-tube and even keep the original trans. The seal is the same as an open driveshaft car, and the yoke for the big auto and three speed are the same as a T-10 four speed. The flange for the torque-tube would be on the trans, but who cares -- it's under the car anyway!
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