The seller of this gorgeous, has-to-be-the-nicest-one-left, 1963 Rambler Classic Six 770 2-Door Sedan says that it’s been featured in a book on AMC cars, it’s been in two national calendars, and has been in three magazines. I don’t know if these photos are from one of those appearances, but they sure look professional. They have it posted here on craigslist in Duluth, Minnesota, and they’re asking $15,000. Here is the original listing, and thanks to T.J. for the tip!
Some of you may know that I was born and raised in Duluth, so this one is especially interesting for me as I try to pick out any familiar locations where the photos were taken. I don’t recognize the red barn, but if this car had a layer of dust on it and the barn doors would have been on this side, and open, this would have been one of the best “Barn Finds”-looking photos.
This photo is taken at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds, clearly during the famous “Back to the 50s” car show that’s held in June every year. 12,000 or so vintage vehicles are on display for that, and it’s a must-see for any vintage or classic vehicle enthusiast. It’s evolved somewhat into a restomod show, but there are a rare few gems like this Rambler Classic lurking among the modified vehicles. This Classic 770 2-Door Sedan would be a magnet for me; I’d pass up 11,999 restomods to see this car.
The second-generation Classic was made for only the 1963 and 1964 model years, and we’ve seen some nice ones here on Barn Finds. I don’t remember one as nice as this car. The seller says this is the original interior! That’s mind-blowing, as it looks like it was subjected to a high-end restoration. They say the paint is original, other than below the chrome trim, apparently due to a garage mishap in the 1980s. I’m assuming this car has never been driven in the relentless snow and salty roads that Wisconsin and Minnesota are known for. I hope it hasn’t been. The back seat looks even nicer, and the trunk also looks fantastic.
If this engine and engine bay are original, I tip my hat (if I wore a hat) to the owner or the previous owner/s of this car. They say it was bought new in its birthplace (AMC factory) of Kenosha, Wisconsin in 1963 by a retiring serviceman returning from overseas. Now there’s a real tip of the hat! After a year, he needed a bigger car, so he sold it to a neighbor who kept it (always garaged when not in use) until 2004, at which point the seller bought it. The engine is AMC’s 195.6-cu.in. OHV inline-six with around 140 horsepower and 185 lb-ft of torque. Backed by a three-speed manual and column shifter, this car has to be one of the nicest ones left. Any thoughts on this Classic?
Wow, I love it. My first car was a ’63 Classic 550 w/automatic. I loved the fold-back front seats; it made for a fun summer with Julie.
Hey Rex, that picture of you in Sonoma, were you at the drag races there? I hope “Julie” is Mrs. Kahrs.
What a nice Rambler. There were a few of these in my home town, so this brings back memories. This one has had lots of national publicity, and yes the photography is excellent. Three-on-the-tree is fine with me. I too would pass up lots of flashier cars at a show to take a look. Very good write-up Scotty.
What a handsome little car. Probably be a hoot to drive too w that powertrain. 👍 😎
Great Rambler!!! I’m with everyone else. I’d make a “B” line right over to this one first at any car show. 3 on the tree and everything is terrific. Love it!!!
I suppose if I didn’t comment on this, y’all might think I went to the big truck stop in the sky, but still alive and well, every now and then I know it’s kind of hard to tell, but still alive and well.( Johnny Winter)
1st, and foremost, I want to apologize to Bob^^, you were right, and you’ll hear no more from me on THAT matter, however the other thing I’m adamant about, the manual/automatic kerfuffle,,,that’s going to happen.
2nd, it can’t be forgotten, Rambler was the MT Car of the Year in ’63, and we were mighty proud of that fact. I still say there was some hanky panky, to pass up cars like the ’63 GP, or Riv, and quite frankly, it did little for sales, but put us on the map as we finally had something up on our arch rival, Studebaker, who sadly never got the CotY award, and a shame, it certainly deserved it.
This car has an updated full flow oil filter, as opposed to the “drain and hope” original, and of course, I feel the stick will limit sales, heaven help you if it needs a clutch, and the vacuum wipers ought to garner some comments in a downpour, but what a fantastic example here, and,,,no “Howard” post would be complete without a kvetch on the price, I feel the interest just isn’t there to justify $15 grand. Maybe if an automatic that someone with the money could actually drive. They were good cars, just not $15 grand good.
you never drove on the heavy fuel JW was on?
Hey Howard, finally someone else remembers that song from Johnny Winter. It’s been my theme song for 40 years ;)
Saw Edgar Winter in concert 🎶 🎹 Randy 👍
This very interesting article about AMC and Kenosha was in the inbox this morning.
https://www.hemmings.com/stories/independent-thinking-kenoshas-assembly-line-antics/?uemlid=75df4529af1b77d2cd83610e786f324e8be173fbeb6dd072b801902bd3ab4759&utm_content=other&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=EDaily%20Recurring%202025-08-05&utm_term=eDaily%20Newsletter
Interesting article-thanks for the link, Rex Khars.
Another excellent write up by Scotty as well.
That is Rambler’s ALUMINUM six-cylinder engine, a real unicorn! Very rare, as so many failed and were replaced with cast-iron engines. There were a number of reasons for that, with poor cooling system maintenance a big factor. (Aluminum-compatible antifreeze was not generally available and many people back then ran straight water in the summer.) A running Rambler aluminum engine at this late date is quite a find.
https://amcrc.com/feature/alum_eng.html
My first car. Don’t miss it at all. Got me back and forth from my first job that I do miss.
Very nice clean AMC. Like kenny rogers said they don’t make them like they used to.
It’s in very good condition for what it is. If I would have seen this new in 1963, I wouldn’t have looked twice. It’s a strippo model. Only a cheapskate would have bought this new and I kid you not! Why it was saved, who knows?
In American Motors terms, the 770 was an upper-level model. The 550 was a great deal simpler and a couple hundred bucks cheaper, back when a couple hundred bucks paid for a month or two of groceries.
Always a mystery to me why AM degraded the attractive ’63 into the more and more conservative ’64 and ’65. Maybe because they knew their core market.
Rex Kars, I enjoyed reading the “manufacturing” comments. Working at a Pontiac store in 1972 while in college. The only thing I can remember was a beer can in a heater getting beat up by the blower fan whenever the car hit a bump it again fell in contact with the squirrel cage. Most of our vehicle issues were from bullet holes while the cars were in transport. In 2006 (I think) I went to medium duty school in Flint MI. It was in the same facility as the plant. The very first station in the assembly plant that we saw was where the frame is upside-down and they mount the springs, and shocks. These shocks are not gas and they were laying on their side on trays that came from the shock manufacturer. One of the guys would grab the shock and place it on a machine that extended the shock so that it could be installed on the chassis. The problem with that is that they started with the shock upside-down! You can’t do that with a non-pressuized twin tube shock. It draws the reservoir oil AND air into the working cylinder which can cause cavitation with the shock valving. (I used to work for a former shock engineer from Gabriel) And since I knew that we were having shock issues with our C4500-C6500 trucks. I brought this to the attention of the plant manager, who then contacted the shock manufacturer and verified my concern. All that was needed was to extend the shock in the natural upright position and then flip it over to install on the chassis. The union would not allow the change in the job description until the next model year! He was not a happy camper! During the rest of the tour we saw several “workers” sleeping in chairs in a particular work station. The union requires so many bodies to “man” a station. Even if the procedures don’t need that many to perform the designated task. Again, he said he could not do anything about it. Well the union caused a lot of people to lose their jobs. Because GM shut down the plant and now has International assembling their medium duty trucks. I don’t know how long that will last as GM is getting out of the commercial vehicles business. They have already cutoff GMC from new product and given the van business to Ford.
Shocks are sealed. There’s no way for air to be introduced into them. Upright. laying on the side, or upside down makes no difference whatsoever.
My first car 63 rambler 550 3 speed on the column, fold down front seat. The car got me through high school. All my friends who had muscle cars wanted to borrow that car on date nights. If I had just rented it out for the weekend, I would have had a nice large investment portfolio.
My First Car Was A 1965 Rambler Ambassador 990 Four Door With A 327 V8. I Was Gifted The Car By My Grandmother. Baack In1978 I Had Graduated High School In1977. I Thought It Was Ugly. Front Seats Folding Down To Make A Bed Was Cool. My Second Car Was 1966 Mustang Still Had The Rambler.
My dad had one like that. I learned to drive a straight gear drive on it. The technique of reducing on the accelerator to allow the windshield wipers to work (vacuum) in heavy rain was a skill to master.
Upscale but not top-of-the-line line model. Nothing ‘strippo’ about it.
Dave, Yes they are sealed but there has to be a small amount of air space to absorb the expansion of the oil in the reservoir section. (Old style twin tube shock where the inner tube is the working cylinder and the outer tube is the oil reservoir.) Remember that shocks basically change kinetic energy (movement up and down in most cases) into heat energy. (The flowing of the oil through the valving in the shock piston and lower valuing at the bottom of the tube.) By tuning the shock upside-down the air in the reservoir then moves to the “now top” then extending the shock the air will be drawn into the working cylinder through the what used to be the bottom valve. Running the shock with air introduced into the working cylinder causes the valves (both on the piston and the bottom reservoir flow control valve) to cavitate. And just like a ships propeller that runs only partially submerged, the valves wear out quickly. And the case of a ships propeller it gets holes drilled right through it. Over 40 years ago when I was running Goodyear Stores. We stored shock absorbers laying on their side on the shelf. As does everyone else. I had instructed my techs to cycle the shocks a couple of times before installation. (That is done by extending the shock in its upright position, turn over the shock while it is extended and wait 2-3 minutes to allow for the air bubbles to travel to the top. Then compress the shock to fully collapsed. Wait 2 minutes and extend it again in the upright position to draw oil only into the working cylinder. After you do this a couple of times the reservoir expansion air will them be in the reservoir where it belongs. One of my techs thought he knew more than me and decided to bypass the shock cycling procedure and one shock that he installed on a Firebird was doing nothing. We wanted to replace “the defective ” shock. I had him pull the shock and watch him do the cycle procedure. His mouth fell open as all of a sudden the “defective” shock came back to life! I then had him pull the rest off and cycle them also. As he was cycling the shocks he started to get the reason and you can feel the change as you do the procedure.
Now this only applies to “old style” twin tube shocks. And some low price pressurized shocks. The air trap can still happen on these. So best to cycle when in doubt. KYB gas adjust, KYB monomax and Bilstiens are single tube deCarbone style shocks do not have these issues and can be used upside down to cut about 3 lbs of unsprung weight per corner. I laugh everytime I see a Highjacker upside-down on a 4X4 . You have shocks that will last maybe 5,000 miles.
Love the Rambler! My ’64 American 440 hardtop is still going strong after 60 years with only an overhauled automatic transmission, radiator and paint. Having lived in So Cal since new, the Rambler has never known the ravages of damaging weather which certainly made it easier to keep it in shape!
What a piece of history and cherry
very nice but as i read the listing it said the engine was rebuilt and said it was always maintained. if this was the case why did get an engine overhaul?
Good lord, it’s sixty-two years old!
All the AMC line of vehicles were recognized by Motor Trend magazine as Car of the Year in 1963. It was the first time Motor Trend recognized an entire manufacturer, over a single model! I loved that year Classic.
Dave,
No comment?
Seeing the interior color reminds me of a 1965 Classic my Aunt once had. Same color inside and out, with a three on the tree as well.