One of the rarest of the mid-size muscle cars of the 1960s and 1970s was the AMC Rebel Machine. It was only produced for one year (1970), and estimates are that the number of assemblies was in the low 2,000-copy neighborhood. The seller has what may be the rarest of rare – a Machine finished in original Big Bad Orange paint (thought to be 1 of 5). Located in Nashville, Tennessee, this cool time capsule survivor is available here on Facebook Marketplace for $55,000. Hats off to Barn Finder T.J. for a unique tip!
When it came to muscle cars, you might say that American Motors was more of a dabbler. There was the 2-seat AMX from 1968-70, followed by the American-based SC/Rambler of 1969. And finally, the Rebel Machine, which competed with the likes of the Chevelle SS 396 and Pontiac GTO. Whether AMC ever intended for the car to just be a “one-year-wonder” is unknown. The seller says 2,326 were built, and at least half were painted in white with red and blue accents. That’s the version you see most often when one of these cars does pop up at shows or for sale.
You could get any engine you wanted in a Machine as long as it was the 340 hp, 390 cubic inch V8. We’re told the one in the seller’s car is numbers-matching, and it’s paired with a Borg-Warner automatic transmission. A two-owner vehicle, this hot rod has only 63,000 miles on the odometer and sports its original paint. The seller believes this vehicle is one of only five to leave the assembly line in one of AMC’s “Big Bad” colors, orange.
According to the listing, this Machine is show-worthy, from the solid body and finish, black vinyl interior, and the beefy drivetrain. The Ram Air hood is functional, and this Machine comes with the requisite hood-mounted tachometer. We’re told this car “will get down,” and we believe it. Although I prefer the ones painted to look like a U.S. flag, this AMC product should turn heads wherever it goes.
Wow! This this looks nasty, and flawless. I’m sure it will bring big dollars, and should.
#Howard
Thanks Stan, you sure got my # figured out. Am I that predictable? ( as predictable as 6:00 @ 5:30) The “Ma-cheene” will go down in the annals of AMC history, as the coolest sedan type of car to come out of MilwauKenosha. The plain colored ones went practically unnoticed, until they blew your doors off, that is, as the RWB ones got all the thunder. In fact, at the AMC reunion several years back, there were more color type ones than RWB. Many were clones, but still nice to see. While the TV show Adam-12 was probably the biggest shot in the arm for AMC, to many it was still a Rambler, and it did little for sales. All the big car names knew full well, the( performance) handwriting was on the wall, and practically every one gave it their “last shot”, and this was ours.
$55k seems like a reasonable price for a clean and rare car. I was never an AMC fan growing up, but in my older years, I’m digging on it. If I had the garage space, I would consider it.
Looks incredible, it’s worth the investment to have something so unique. One question for my Amc education, isn’t the Borg Warner tranny that has an inner component that is so discontinued that if it goes its kerplooey
The vacuum modulator for the Borg-Warner M11 is unobtainium.
Price is now $72,500? Still one clean machine.
He might have raised the price.
Looks too perfect, can’t attest to the exterior paint, but I’ve never seen a 50 year old car with 60,000+ miles with an engine that looks that nice.
Steve R
Better hurry before the price goes up again!!