I’m trying to think of the modern equivalent of this 1963 Rambler Classic 660 sedan, any thoughts? This classic Classic is listed on Hemmings with an asking price of $3,900 and it’s located in West Babylon, New York.
Was AMC ahead of its time? At this angle, the grille of this Classic would almost look at home today with it’s somewhat angry grille and squinty headlights. And from such a friendly car company too! Ok, enough of that, these are round headlights so there’s no angry squinting on this Classic. This is the first year of the second-generation Classic and it was named Motor Trend’s Car of the Year.
This is a great looking car, the seller doesn’t really list any information about the particular car on Hemmings other than some general info about the ’63 Classic in general, but if you go to their website they talk about it. The 660 was right in the middle in-between the base 550 and top of the line 770 for the Classic series.
The interior looks great other than some typical wear on the steering wheel and some tearing on the passenger side of the front bench seat. I would have bet that the seats were reupholstered at some point but the seller says that they’re all original. “Very original in and out” and “original interior” are a couple of their statements, so I guess it’s all original.
As nice as the exterior and interior look, I’m always surprised to see a dirty engine compartment. I don’t know why, this is where the action happens so it should be a little grimy in there. Still, I’d want to spend a couple of weekends cleaning this one up. In mid-1963 AMC introduced a 287 V8 with just under 200 hp. It wasn’t quite the same as the 327 in the Ambassador but it was a welcome option. This one “runs and drives great” and the “motor purrs”, according to the seller. This could be a nice entry into the classic car hobby for not a lot of money. Have any of you owned a second-generation Rambler Classic?
Regarding the opening sentence, there is none. This wonderful car, built in my hometown, was for a time when 6 people was the standard occupants, not 4 like today, and when people cared about color, and we didn’t care about gas mileage.( oil mileage was a bigger concern) Just wasn’t an issue, like today. We, in Wisconsin, were very proud of the Car of the Year award, although, with all the cool cars in ’63, I figured AMC paid off Motor Trend well. Nice car, but check those front trunnions. My grandfather had a ’61 Rambler with 41K miles, looked just like this topside, but the front suspension rusted clear of the unibody, nobody would fix it, and he junked it. BTW, did you know, the front and rear bumpers are the same, just different colored lenses.
I’ve owned and worked on several of these cars over the years, and still have a Marlin which is built on the same platform. A quick check on upper trunnion condition is to inspect the front springs. They should be straight, if they are bowed the trunnions are worn. They will actually last a very long time if greased regularly but a lot of people didn’t bother to maintain them. Not many people know how to work on trunnion suspensions these days and parts are scarce. Additionally, the lower front suspension uses a ball joint and is similar to that on a Falcon, but reversed with the strut rod facing the rear. Strut-rod bushings are a common failure point and are no longer available for pre-1970 AMCs.
The 1963 Classic platform, shortened and narrowed, was the basis for the 1964+ Rambler American. This was further developed into the Hornet (finally, upper ball joints!) which spun off the Gremlin, Concord, Spirit, and Eagle. There were engineering changes, of course, but a 1964 American front crossmember will bolt right up to a 1983 Concord or Spirit. (Eagle was different due to 4WD.) So this platform saw AMC through to the bitter end.
Aside from trunnions be aware that these cars employ a torque-tube driveline, so doing transmission work involves pulling out the rear axle and torque-tube. Another thing that today’s mechanics are not too keen with.
There is a single U-joint behind the transmission and V8 models used a CV joint for which parts are no longer available. That’s one of the first things to check if there are driveline vibrations. If necessary a driveline shop can modify the driveshaft for use with an ordinary single universal joint which is what the six-cylinder cars came with. Automatic transmission is a Borg-Warner M8 which is similar to a Ford FMX.
These are comfortable, roomy cars and economical by standards of the day even with the V8. The V8 really livens up the car since the six would have been the ancient wheezy 195.6 which is what cemented the reputation of Rambler being a car for old men and spinster teachers. The 287 is a very heavy 1950s design though, so lots of understeer.
Visibility is outstanding in these cars, and though the dash looks kind of funky most controls are grouped in a pod in front of the driver for easy access.
This car has manual drum brakes (discs were not offered until 1965), but did come from the factory with dual master cylinder. Upgrading to front discs is not difficult. I can’t tell from the photos if this car has reclining front seats but that was a popular option, and Ramblers of this era still had comfy coil-spring seats.
I’m thinking Saturn….albeit they too suffered the same fate.
The Saturn Rambler SST rolls right off the tongue.
Scotty, if you might want to read why I think the 1963-1964 AMC Classics and Ambassadors are so special, check this out.
http://www.motortrend.com/news/driving-george-romney-1964-rambler-classic-550/
I’d really like to have a twin to George Romney’s Rambler! With a 327, please, and Weather Eye, of course…
Looks really nice as a base two-door.
Fantastic, highly-detailed, and a great read as always, Rich! Thanks for sharing.
That could be my Eldorado in the background. I had that car in 1984 and sold it in California.
Oddly enough, when I went to the Hemmings ad and looked at the dealer’s other listings, it isn’t there.
Hi Miguel, I put a link above but here is the car from the dealer’s website:
https://www.hollywoodmotorsusa.com/vehicles/139/1963-amc-rambler-classic-660
Thank you Scott, but the ’67 Eldorado is till not there.
Maybe they sold it.
My parents bought me a ’60 Rambler Classic….don’t remember series….to drive to Jr College, work and allowed me to go on dates. Shortly after, in June, 1963, I enlisted in USAF. Sadly, never saw it again. Had hoped they would keep it until I got out…but…. It was a great little car with an online 6 with 3 on the tree. Loved it would love to have it back. But, digression over… Would really love to have this one. Very practical car. One of these days….
It is odd that the interior and exterior look so good while the engine compartment is just dirty and aged. However, I do know people like that, If out sight just ignore it. Bet the trunk is grungy as well. :)
Yeah, I know people like that too. About 95% of the driving population, both then and now. It’s only car nuts like us who would actually spend time maintaining the appearance of the underhood area. This Rambler looks pretty typical under there for the age and the condition of the rest of the car. Some cleaning, painting and detailing would make a dramatic difference and be a fun project on a sunny weekend.
My thinking is that dirt and grime are preventing oil leaks. Clean the engine and you’re looking at needing a bunch of new gaskets to seal it back up.
I remember our doctor was driving this style of new Rambler in ’63 or ’64 (back in the days when doctors actually made house calls) And when I started going to wrecking yards in the early 70s there was a whole row devoted to Ramblers, most had collapsed front suspension (that failed due to rust) and were otherwise okay. And nobody was taking parts off of Rambler cars, either because by then nobody drove or wanted these cars (except for poor people)
I bought the’63 660 wagon when I graduated from high school, and paid all of $325 to the dealer. Had that car for 13 years, after rebuilding it from the tires up, and would have it still if the Northridge earthquake hadn’t put paid to that. Despite the expectations, that little Rambler was the best car I’ve ever had, getting great gas mileage, going almost anywhere, had enough power and speed to make a teenage girl proud, and it could haul up to a dozen of us to the beach without sitting on top of one another. Still looking to get it replaced someday, when I get the courage to have eye surgery so I can drive again. I’d recommend this vehicle highly if asked.
Interesting how dialed-back the styling was by 1965, with upright front and rear ends that could have come from the pen of Grant Wood. We had the 550 with a 199 cid 6 and it was actually pretty lively and handled well. Family still had it when I went away to school in 1968. Vacuum-operated wipers were a distinct retro touch.
I bought a new 1973 Ambassador 2 door hardtop with every option and the largest v8 available. Sat in the dealership for four hours to get the best price I r got on a new car. First car we had with a/c and we made many family trips from NYC to Florida. Rust is what killed it eventually.went for a Pontiac Safari wagon next.
Very nice mid level Rambler Classic. Cool color too. The seat cloth is difenitly not the original. I have rolls of original cloth and know several peopel with Rambler 660s and that is not the cloth for that car. Still wouldnt be hard to redo the seats if the vinyl is good. Great car!
That’s what I thought, too, ramblergarage. Thanks for the seat fabric confirmation.
I took my drivers license test, in our 64 Classic, in 1971. We got the car from Grandma, it had maybe 25,000 miles on it.
Ours had 0 options, other than it was automatic transmission. No radio, no power steering, or power brakes. And an anemic 6 banger. I was only 5’2″ when I got my license, and in that Rambler, all you could see was my head barely above the seat. I got pulled over by the cops often, because they thought I looked 12. It was embarrassing. Got teased in school about the car, and my height, but hey, I didn’t have to ride on the bus any more.
In that 64, the first detent on the shifter, after neutral, was D2, then D1. I understand D2, was supposed to be used for starting out in 2nd gear in snowy conditions. My Grandma never used D1, and the car probably had never been much faster than 35 mph. When we got the car we naturally started in D1. Not sure if that was the cause of the tranny failure, but I always got blamed for abusing the car… partly true I guess.
I always liked this year better than the 64, with the squinty headlights as Scotty quoted. As a child, my grandfather had Ramblers. A 1960 Rambler Six and a 1968 American. His next door neighbor had a light green one like this. My aunt had a 1965 Classic, but I still like this one better.
If you want to see how cool these cars are, check out this video (after fast forwarding through Camaro stuff at the start of the video).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mjRJZIcGEk