This one had me at the hood ornament. It’s a 1966 AMC Marlin, though, and that also means one of the sweetest fastback shapes ever made. More on that later. For now, the details: It’s in Rome, New York. The listing here on ebay is at $8100 with the reserve not met. But it must be close, because there’s also a buy-it-now price of $12,000. For how beautiful this car is, that seems like a bargain. Let’s mull this over.
The Marlin was marketed from 1965-67, first as the Rambler Marlin, then as the AMC Marlin. It had been foreshadowed by the 1964 Rambler Tarpon show car, which previewed its fastback roofline. In 1965 and 1966, it was built on the two-door Rambler Classic body. In 1967, it was fashioned atop the longer AMC Ambassador. The 1966 move to the AMC name was in part an attempt to get away from the Rambler nameplate, which to many people connoted “cheap.” Perhaps the modern equivalent of that is how people use to view Kia automobiles in the US. (Don’t write—I get that those cars are way better and far more reliable than they were in decades past.)
The car here has 52,000 miles on a 6-cylinder engine of 232-CID displacement. It’s a grocery getter for sure, with a manual, column-mounted three-speed transmission. The seller makes a virtue of its manual brakes, steering, and windows for their simplicity. I’m thinking this car is not that much fun to drive as a result of the lack of equipment. But fun to drive and fun to look at are different things, and this one covers the latter with ease. The way the fastback roofline comes gradually towards the center as it reaches the rear bumper is spectacular. On the inside, the brushed chrome accessories on the dash and the leftover jet-era styling on the steering wheel are equally compelling. And let’s not forget the foot-pump operated windshield washer. For you kids out there, that’s not the only thing you used to do with your feet when behind the wheel. The other one was brighten and dim the high beams.
What do you always want to know about a northeast car? What’s the paint hiding? This one is in its original color of Marquessa Mauve, but it has had a respray. However, the seller claims there are no rust issues, and the shots of the undercarriage show, at the least, an undercoated and dry car. The Marlin spent much of its life in Colorado, which is also in its favor in terms of avoiding the tin worm. So all in all, a tidy package, priced right, and as handsome is the day is long.
My dad was from Rome. He raised his family a few miles away from Rome. He bought all his Ramblers in Rome. We still called them Ramblers even when AMC got behind the wheel. The dealership was on the “Muck Road”. I only remember two Marlins around town. My cousin had one and a high school friend. One was two tone black over dark red the other all blue.
This one is priced right and would be fun to own.
Must have been a local thing.
One of my parents’ family was from Utica. There were several Nash men within…when Nash merged with Hudson, it was Rambler all the way, and then finally, as retired gents, Ambassadors-By-AMC.
They were not alone. That was an unusual place for the time – not unlike Wisconsin, another place where AMC products enjoyed popularity. Part of that was, of course, that AMCs were local, there. The appeal in Oneida County, NY? Don’t know.
But I could see one of them shopping all the way to Colorado, to get just one more of those good Ramblers…of course they’re long gone, but others of the same mindset, remain, probably.
Rome and Utica were home to a lot of hardworking blue collar folks who spent their hard earned dollar wisely. I grew up in Sherrill which was a small town a few miles from both Utica and Rome. The next town over was home to the Utica Rome speedway. It was a combination shirt track oval and drag strip. I haven’t lived there since 1980.
Cheap? Well,,,I’ve never,,,sigh,,sadly, Brian is spot on and an insecurity all Rambler/AMC lovers endured. People in the 60s were so cruel, not unlike racial injustice. Even though Ramblers were great cars, many never got the chance because THEIR old man drove Fords, or whatever and forbid any other brand, ESPECIALLY a Rambler. Oh, we took many a lump, but in the end, justified it as their loss.
Fast forward to today. Long gone is any shred of knowledge of AMC, it’s just an unusual looking vehicle, and that’s what will sell it. The manual trans is not desirable, heaven help you if it needs a clutch, and the automatic is just a better way to go.
Some may remember, a Marlin a couple years back in my little town, a middle aged woman and her sister were showing it. It was her late mothers car that she bought new. The daughters added the wheels, but of all the cars there, maybe 50, the Marlin got all the attention. Not to boast,,,well, a little, I was the only one who asked to see the motor. I could see the anguish in the womans face,,,um,,she said, I don’t know how to open the hood. I was the big hero, showing them in the grill, so my point, THIS is who is attracted to these cars, and I guarantee, that woman could not, nor want to shift a 3 speed.
Yeah well, I’ll take the 327, with a 4spd, thank you
Take another look at a 2015 Camaro 2SS from the side.
It most certainly is a fastback.
Or get your eyes checked. Or some automobile knowledge.
Your integrity is poor.
Instead of being lazy, take a look at the 2015 Mustang “Fastback” GT and the 2015 SS Camaro.
The rear window treatment and body lines over the rear fender well are nearly identical. The hips on the Camaro wider.
If the Mustang Fastback GT is a Fastback, so is the Camaro.
I’ll put my age, integrity, logic and accomplishment up against yours any day.
Former SWAT Nuke Team Leader US Army
Retired Economist.
Instead of being lazy and ignorant, make a logical debate.
As a matter of fact, likely the reason why the Mustang Fastback GT and Camaro are so similar in the fastback area, is due to improved Wind Tunnel Testing, improving the style of the fastback itself.
Speak for yourself Howard with regards to a manual transmission. The 3rd pedal is what I first look for in any car on my radar.
You know you have a good point. My family has had all 4 of the major car companies. I once asked my grandmother what her favorite car she had was. Her reply was “oh our rambler rebel” asked the same of my father, his was split between a rambler American convertible and a 68 Torino GT. Never understood why AMC didn’t get more attention in the classic car market. They had some pretty cool cars in their day.
While the I-6 /3spd may not motivate spirited driving it should be an extremely reliable powerplant – to my knowledge the 232 is just a different bore/stroke version of the 258, which again later developed into the Jeep 4.0 – one of the (if not THE) most durable engine in the world.
Love the fastback Marlins; IMO this fastback is up there together with the 1st gen Chargers and 40s bombs
Leave it to AMC to design one of the ugliest fast back cars’s out there. When AMC’s design team saw how goofy the original Barracuda looked? They said, “hold my beer.”
Richard Teague.
He had several home runs, in his career…which apparently made up for his horrid overall batting average. He started his career at American Motors with the cleaned-up 1963 Rambler Classic/Ambassador; then on through several horrid steps…the Marlin, the awful front clip on the Jeepster/Jeep Commando; the Matador Coupe; the Pacer…and then, to close the career, a record-breaker with the XJ SUVs.
How someone can be so good, and so bad, defies belief.
People like it now because it’s different. When they were new you couldn’t give them away. My neighbors on either side of us when I was a kid drove them. They were among the cheapest people ever put on this earth! Even they said that the Marlin was too flashy.
Foot-pump operated windshield washer! That’s a new one for me I never heard of that.
Ford trucks used them right into the late 1970s.
My employer got an F700 dump truck, new, in 1977, and it had exactly that.
Also, FWIW, had the 1968-72 pickup dashboard. Without padding.
But the foot washer pump meant, one less thing to break and Maintenance to ignore forever…
My 70 Challenger has a foot pump.
My 1971 Plymouth Scamp had a rubber bulb that you stepped on to wash the windshield. I suspect all Valiants had them.
’73 Barracuda had floor pump washer.
What a beautiful automobile!
67 with the longer hood and stacked headlights was light years ahead of 66
The 1967, with the Ambassador stacked headlights looked much better IMHO.
Two bad there wasn’t a second generation Marlin, based on the Rebel. AMC might have have had a NASCAR contender well before the Matador. Anybody want to Photoshop, create with AI, what might have been?
Best looking fastback ????? In no particular order ;
66/7 Charger
Riviera
Corvette
Mustang
Torino
and many more ……..
My 2015 2SS Camaro in color corrected satin black with side louvers is a gorgeous vehicle.
At least by all the compliments received, especially from females.
Camaro isn’t a fastback, never was
My eyes are fine, and I was probably messing with cars before you were born. A true fastback has no change in angle between the bottom of the back and the front of the deck lid, the camaro does. Sorry, but it’s a couple. Almost a fastback, but not quite.
Don’t be a lack of integrity hypocrite jerk
It’s certainly a lovely looking car. My favourite Marlins have always had the horizontally placed headlamps.
“Rambler,” to my mind, was considered frumpy, not cheap. There were opportunities for AMC to change that. Consider the 1957 Rambler Rebel, the fastest American sedan on the market that year. Alas, it was only that year. A pox on thee, Mr Romney.
The Tarpon was another faux pas. Imagine a car the size of the Mustang with the styling cues of the Marlin. Instead of “pony cars” they could have been “fish cars.” Eh, probably not.
Disagree.
Rambler was the third-best selling marque in 1961; and fifth-best in 1962. Not a small feat for an undercapitalized independent still fresh from a merger and brand reconfiguration.
What Romney wanted, what he thought would sell, may not have been what we’d buy, but it certainly was what the times called for. The money made, from 1960 or so to 1965, kept AMC going until the purchase of Kaiser Jeep started paying off in the early 1970s.
He saved the company, basically. I doubt George Mason, Romney’s predecessor and creator of the AMC merger, would have done as well.
IMO it’s a very nice car based on the uniqueness with a very decent price,
Hardly know as cheap, known for economy. The Ambassador was know as the Kenosha Cadillac.
The production decision for the Marlin at AMC, including the decision to base the car on the mid-size Classic instead of the compact American (like the Tarpon concept), was made by the Roy Abernethy team. George Romney was governor of Michigan by this time.
Romney defined AMC and Abernathy maintained. In fairness, had the Tarpon been produced, we wouldn’t have had the beautiful Javelin. Or perhaps the Javelin would have been the second generation Tarpon.
I actually liked the Matador coupe. I didn’t like the front bumper, and I doubt that’s what Teague and Co. had in mind. I’ve not seen any concept sketches but I doubt they heathers a chrome-coated railroad tie.
Tried to buy one of these from Goldenrod Garage several years ago. Neil Martin was a great guy who actually talked me out of it. Unlike a lot of folks here, I really liked the styling of the Marlin. I still want one, but not crazy about the colors of this one.
It looks like it’s Chevy’s ’65 color “Evening Orchid”.
(I miss AMC!)
The Marlin was kind of a “love it or hate it” car. Personally, I liked’em, almost bought a 65 off a used car lot when I was in high school, but I couldn’t come up with enough nickels. These were Rambler’s attempt to jump on the fastback bandwagon in response to the Mustang, Barracuda, and Charger, I always thought they were sharp looking, although a little different, but the buying public apparently didn’t agree, as they didn’t sell well. This one was really looking to me, till the hood opened. Sorry, I gotta have a V8, I want some poop and and some sound lol
You have been obnoxious from the start, the integrity of the hypocrite.
Simply make a logical debate as how the 2015 Mustang Fastback GT is different in the fastback area of the 2015 Camaro.
This is a Simple Logic Simple Integrity Exercise
Something rocket scientists like yourself should know something about.
Perhaps a stint in the military would instil some standards, old school military.
2015 2SS,
YOU are the rude one.
Can’t let it go eh 00
More BS personal attacks
Hypocrites always rude
Discuss the topic in an intelligent manner without the personal attacks
You are rude
2 generation Camaro FASTBACK
Discuss the topic hypocrites
I just finished resurrecting a ’65 Econoline pickup. Inline-6 (a 250ci from a Fairmont!) & 3 on the tree: it’s an absolute blast to drive if you are relaxed and in no hurry…but the driveline fits the vehicle.
I do not get putting the same driveline in what was clearly designed to sell to the youth (and not weirdos like me, who loved this kind of thing in my teens & 20s); no surprise that they did not move smartly out of the showroom.
Now it’s 50-years on and the driveline is rare & funky, just the kind of thing I like to see at car shows, next to all of the tarted-up horsepower kings.
The Econoline also has a foot-pumped windshield washer…as an option. Mine has no washer system at all – not even the holes for them. One-speed wipers 1-speed fan. Amazed tat whatever business ordered this for their fleet bothered to order the optional tailgate (but damned glad that they did).
Love the Marlin. GLWTS.
Hey don’t be so hard on yourself for what you like. Personally I like the Ford 300cid i6. Not fast by any stretch of the imagination but I’ve had 2 Ford trucks with them and got close to 350,000 miles on one of them. And I’m sure the other would have lasted longer had the lower end of distributor not self destruct and screw up the engine. 78 f100 no frills, and three on the column, 94 5spd extended cab, only option on that truck was AC. So I have a fondness for old slow I6s. This one would be no different if it were in a better looking AMC like the rambler American. Enjoy the Econoline
Nothing wrong with an inline 6, 3spd column shifted car with no power steering, no power brakes and hand crank windows for me. That 3spd behind the 6 lets you use the motor to its full advantage. I’ve had a few cars with that motivation combo and the lack of the other power options.
Would love to have my dads 70 falcon with that setup I learned to drive in. No carpeting in that one either, just rubber mats. Only thing I didn’t like about it was that dark ford green!
Oh, nice fastback!
Not as clean a design as some of the competition back then but a nice machine none the less. I like the side by side headlights as well.
Remember walking to grade school every day and there was a red and black two tone Marlin I’d pass everyday. I thought it was the coolest looking car I ever saw when I was a kid.Car seems priced right for nowadays. The 6 stick makes it for me.I like it.just wish it had PS. I haven’t seen a Marlin in the wild since then and that was 50 years ago.Maybe a few in the scrap yards poking around as a teenager.Glwts. It’ll sell easy.Heck I wouldn’t mind it if I had room.
Changing it over to p/s isnt that hard to do, I swapped one in my mothers 67 American 220 . Of course finding parts today may be an issue in some areas
My lord, manual steering is fine, one less belt, and one less thing to leak
i was 16 and my first car was a 66 bel-air wagon manual everything. I wasn’t crazy about but it got me there. Manual brakes no problem, liked the 3 speed on the column. Manual steering I no like.for a around the town driver.
The guy in the parking lot the other day couldn’t get out apparently – no power steering.
Good lord wind tunnel testing and improvement on vehicles like not having to have arms like a gorilla or points you have to change far too often.
Not everyone has to have your “sensibilities” concerning vehicles.
Improvements in vehicles is just fine.
You could stand some work yourself in personal improvement, rather than trying to get everyone else right.
The opportunity cost of worrying about others is self improvement.
Go with logic.
Oh, and by the way, you don’t know what coupe means
Because a coupe can also be a fastback
You really should learn what you are talking about
Before you embarrass yourself on the internet
2015 Mustang GT Fastback Coupe
Are you new to cars???
I like the 6/3 combo. prefer the 67 model with the stacked headlights. put a “neckers knob” on the steering wheel would almost be like power steering. Bidding ended at $8200, don’t know if it sold or will be listed again. As big as the Marlin is you should still be able to get close to 25 m.p.g. out of it. Just don’t do any power shifting.
Drop it to the ground and put an LS 1 in it. Bad ass.
I wouldn’t put an LS in my lawn mower
You don’t like a nice lawn.
Well, 2015 2SS, looks like we’re running out of “Reply” options, and you’re starting to get obnoxious, I’m just here to talk cars. Oh, and btw, I’m a rocket scientist, and camaros are coupes, not fastbacks
Too ugly for my taste, I think the 66 charger looked way better, but still liked other year and models better, such as a 67 and up rambler or rebel , and the 70 rebel, “the machine”,was quite a looker, again it’s all about personal taste though.
Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. Compared to the beautifully sculpted Ford’s and GMs of the 60s ramblers and the marlin were ugly as sin
This Marlin has been relisted. This time it’s @ 11K, Buy It Now.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/185856672865
Thanks for your work posting updates on sales etc.
My pleasure. I figured that someone reading these articles in the future may be curious what something sold for.
I always am.