Tucson, Arizona. It’s hard for me to think of a place I’d rather be. It’s a harsh environment for sure, but so is being outside when it’s -11 F (straight temp) shoveling snow, as I was just doing twenty minutes ago. Give me harsh heat over harsh, bitter cold every time. This 1963 Rambler American 330 2-Door Club Sedan (official model name) is listed here on eBay in beautiful Tucson and the seller has an opening bid price suggestion of $3,000 and a buy-it-now of $6,000 listed.
Given the work this car needs, I can’t see anyone paying $6,000 for it, and even the opening bid of $3,000 may be a stretch. As expected, the interior needs a lot of work due to the incredible heat of the desert sun and that won’t be inexpensive. And you can see what that sun has done to the exterior. At least rust holes don’t seem to be an issue as they would be here in snow country, so that’s good. The seller nails a grand slam with photos, well done! They even included a photo of the data tag and VIN, outstanding! With a “Trim” of 316-C, this car would have been Corsican Gold Metallic on the body with an Ivory top.
One good thing is that this car is just over 14 feet long so it could be restored in a one-car garage. Or if you live in Tucson, just park it under a canopy and go to work. Don’t stick your hand underneath without looking first, though. We don’t have deadly spiders in the upper Midwest as they do in the desert, that’s one drawback of living where it’s warm year-round. Rambler reportedly included 45 updates to the 1963 American line, its last year of production for this generation. This car looks incredibly complete, right down to all four hub caps. Oddly, Rambler doesn’t show these covers in a brochure, all of the Americans are shown with full-wheel covers.
The 330 was Rambler’s mid-trim level for the American in this era and the second-generation Americans were made from 1961 to 1963 and then they were radically redesigned for 1964. I prefer the pre-1964 Elmer Fudd-era Americans myself, even though they are a bit crude, style-wise. You can see the heat issues inside, the cracked steering wheel, and the headliner is burnt as is just about every other formerly-soft surface. It’s nice to have it all original, though, and this one has just 14,404 original miles, according to the seller. Why it was parked we don’t know.
The engine should be a 195.6-cu.in.”Super Flying Scot” L-head inline-six with 90 horsepower and this one appears to have had a carb conversion at some point. The seller says it turns over but there’s no spark. I’m sure it’s something fairly easy, although rodents are a concern in the desert (as everywhere), but hopefully it’s something easy. I really like this one, but $6,000 seems like a lot for a car with so much work ahead of it. What are your thoughts about this Tucson American?
Theres some positive things things with this Rambler. I’m with Scotty, I like this generation better than the next ( pre ’64). It’s kind of weird in a way that theres still a flathead 6 under the hood of a 1963 automobile. Buy, there you go, proven reliability. The sheetmetal looks straight, the chrome looks good, all I see is surface rust, if the underside is rust free it is a solid car. It probably wouldn’t take much to get that old flathead 6 running again. The interior definitely needs some love, but, there is a lot to work with here. I’m thinking the price might be a bit steep, but it does look like a great restoration candidate.
That little flathead six was the base engine for the Rambler American through the 1965 model year, finally replaced in 1966 with the new 199 OHV six (derived from the AMC 232 six and an ancestor of the Jeep 4.0).
I’d be curious about the little 2nd-Gen Nova sitting over there…
8b, it looks like a Chevy II behind it in the second photo, parked next to the white Chevy pickup. Another contender.
And also what appears to be a ’55 2dr shoebox in between them…
Scottys already firing up his laptop to start writing those up!!! Once he puts the snow shovel down…
The UGLY American bites the dust, no longer able to RAMBLE on!
The UGLY American bites the dust, no longer able to RAMBLE on!
Say again?
Curious to see Illinois plates on this car, considering what would otherwise be evidence of prolonged desert exposure. I do like it, although seeing a tow strap tied to the front makes me think it’s not been long at the current location.
A1994 ill noise plate at that, 30 years of registration?
In the 1990s I bought one similar to this, a 1962 American, for about $100. Although the car is long gone I still have some parts from it. (Note the dual master cylinder, a standard feature in all AMC cars starting with the 1962 model year.)
I wonder if hooking up the fuel line to the carb would help?
My father had on of these, a ’61, he bought new after a losing battle with a ’59 Hillman. He liked the old school flathead six, he said it was proven technology. It served the family quite well until he traded it in for a new ’70 Hornet. At least you don’t have to worry about replacing the dash pad on one of these. I remember when I was about 4yrs. old, riding in the back seat when my mother had to do a panic stop. The front seat folded forward (it was a 2dr.) and I went flying into that metal dash headfirst. My father had seat belts installed after that.
P.S. Hey Scotty I hear that everybody in Wisconsin and Minnesota is real excited about this upcoming summer. It falls on a weekend this year.
Ha, hey, excellent! 300 days of overcast skies every year, too, fun stuff.
geezer I guess head first into a steel dash could explain a lot
I’m guessing that those rear windows didn’t roll down? Correct me, if I’m mistaken! :-)
In 4th grade I took an I.Q. test, I was the only one in the class that won a prize.
They gave me a helmet.
Moparman, they definitely roll down, but probably not all the way with the rear wheel well right there. You can see the crank in this pic and it looks like the left rear window is down 1/4″ or so.
My mothers 2 door 1967 Rambler American’s rear 1/4 glass only went down part way as well , maybe AMC thought it was a safety feature ?
( and I like the 64 and up style)
Only 14k on a 60 year old car. The car wasn’t even broke in yet. When did it stop running? My guess is a while ago. Sometimes there is a good reason for why a simple fix wasn’t performed to get a car running again. Sometimes the fix isn’t simple. Buyer beware.
If this thing is as solid as it appears, go extreme. Find an LS1 drivetrain with 6 speed, beef up the suspension, the largest wheel and tire setup those massive fender wells will hold, strip and paint it orange and now we have something nobody else possesses! Imagine the reaction at Cars N Coffee, or when someone tries you at the red light. As the old country song went…”Let’s give them something to talk about!”
.. tell us how nice it is in The Old Pueblo in July ,,,, 125F, 101 rH.
That’s when the A/C or pool come in handy!
Has just the right amount of patina to it. These cars are not worth a ton so I would just get it running, do some work to the interior and if the budget allowed after all of the mechanicals were done, maybe just scuff and satin clear it. The write up on ebay claiming this to be only 14K original miles I would question and highly doubt. There is nothing about this car that would suggest that is accurate. Not to mention, at this stage and condition its in, its a mute point.
I’m betting a guy could spend a bit of quality time with a multi meter, fresh gas and a tune up kit and have this flattie running. It’s a fact that runners sell better than non runners and I can never figure out why you wouldn’t at least try to get it going before selling. I also bet that the person who flashes some cash in the neighborhood of the bid opening price will haul this little fella home. If this was near me that’s what I’d do. GLWTS.
you want 6 grand, and you can’t even spend 200.00 on a cheap set of tires on it? really? it’s this kind of stuff that make sellers look dirty and shady!
Having been registered in Illinois for who knows how many years, I’d like to see pictures of the underside. I also suspect that the odometer has rolled over and it has 114,400 miles on it. However, those old Ramblers were known for running forever if they didn’t rust away. If it’s solid, I’d get it roadworthy and just drive it. Maybe eventually throw a 50/50 paint job on it. It will never be worth whatever you spend on it, but could be a lot of fun.
This is the car I learned to drive in. I wish I could remember where the OD knob was, that would jack up the worth in my book. And yes, the back seat windows go down half way.
So, let’s just entertain the possibility that the original owners lived 10 months out of the year in Illinois, where they registered it, and 2 winter months in Arizona, where they took it once and flew home. That COULD result in the odometer not rolling over and the overall condition.
Grandma had a black 63’ station wagon I remember sitting in the back floor looking at my Charlie Brown Christmas book and eating candy. Was 5 years old.