The Rambler (or AMC) Marlin was one of several American Motors products crafted from existing vehicles. Other examples include the AMX (from the Javelin) and the Gremlin (from the Hornet). In the case of the 1965-67 Marlin, it shared the platform and sheet metal from the Classic/Ambassador. A short-lived personal luxury car, the seller has two of them from the first year (a primary and a parts car) in Lorain, Ohio. They’re available as a pair for $3,600 here on Facebook Marketplace, but the seller will separate them to make them disappear.
From 1963 to 1966, the Classic and Ambassador used the same shell, which made for large compacts or small intermediates. It was here that the inspiration for the Marlin came about. The new car was a Classic from the windshield forward, and a fastback to the rear. It somewhat resembled a 1964 Plymouth Barracuda and the yet-to-come 1966 Dodge Charger. Buyers didn’t fall in love with the idea, and less than 17,500 copies were sold before AMC threw in the towel. 60% of sales came in 1965 and trickled off in ’66 and ’67.
We surmise the seller of this duo first bought the blue/green one to fix up and/or restore. The black one came later as a donor for parts for the other one. But neither of them runs, and one is rustier than the other. The seller appears to have lost interest in the project and wants them gone. $2,800 for the primary vehicle and $800 for the parts car (no apparent discount for whisking them away at one time).
The blue/green car has a Chevy V8 under the hood (displacement unknown). The black one has a proper AMC 232 cubic-inch I-6, but it’s stuck. Both non-running machines have automatic transmissions. Spare parts come with the deal, including some performance goodies for the “Chevy” Marlin. The glass in both is said to be good, which we assume is a plus for the fastback portion of the Ramblers. Thanks for the tip, Barn Finder “Gary”.
The AMX was designed, prototyped, and presented to the automotive world, before the Javelin. The Javelin was an extension of the AMX. The Javelin hit show room floors first, which led to this common myth. For future reference, the 390 engine is not a Ford 390.
Joe S: Nor is the AMC 390 related to the Cadillac 390 V-8.
I’ve had an insane desire for a ’67 Marlin, but since only around 2,500 were built, doubt I’ll ever find one. Was the 343 the largest available? Did the ’67 have an open driveline? Still have trunions?
The ’67 Marlin’s largest available engine was the 343. The car had an open driveline.
Trunnions were still in use at AMC through 1969. The were replaced by ball joints for the 1970 model year.
Naming a car after a fish was the second mistake, the first was the overall design. Like naming a car after a corporate head with an unusual name (Edsel) being the second, and then the design, being a weird grill on a retrimmed Ford or Mercury being the first mistake.
On the other hand, like most AMC products, it was a good car.
” Like naming a car after a corporate head with an unusual name” (Nash)?
I am sure Barracuda and Stingray owners, including myself, would disagree with your fishy statement!
The Barracuda was OK, a fierce fish, the stingray is technically a fish but who but you and me know that? If you deep sea fish in the south you do know the Marlin is a big fighting fish, but otherwise, it is just a fish. Could just as well have been a Tuna, in Boston, “tuner” is pronounced “tuna”, so there used to be a lot of Hondas around called “tunas”.
Woman here in CA who is the brains of the DMV office has two. Marlins that is.
Mr. Ransom Olds would like to have a word with you, sir.
Take that vintage BoomBox off the shelf and stick it in the back of one of them.
These were good road cars, I used to drive one over half the country. However since it’s basically a Rambler Classic/Ambassador I’m sure one of those suitably optioned would be just as good.
I wonder how the transmission was handled with that SBC engine transplant. Maybe an adapter to match the Chevy engine up to the Marlin’s Borg-Warner trans? (I think Checker used such an adapter when they switched to Chevy engines.)
With the torque-tube drive these cars are equipped with installing an alternate transmission usually means having to ditch the torque-tube and convert the rear axle to leaf springs or a multi-link setup.
Marlin, they picked the wrong name, it should have been “WHALE”!
I dont blame the seller. I’ve lost interest too. 🥱
The Marlin was conceived as a variation of the Rambler American line, and was previewed with the 1964 Tarpon show car. AMC management switched it to the mid-sized Classic platform, and insisted that it be a full, 6-passenger car. The fastback roof didn’t mesh well with the Classic’s square lower body, and the mandate for 6-passenger headroom prevented stylists from lowering the roofline, resulting in a humpback look. The more curvaceous, Ambassador-based 1967 Marlin was a big improvement, but by then, it was too late. Buick made a similar mistake in moving the boat-tail 1971 Riviera from the G-body (Grand Prix) platform to the B-body platform.
Not bad for $800 maybe. The 258 6 is supposed to be a good engine and original, though stuck. Rusty car MAY not require too much to get running, then what? Lots of questions, but I prefer it to one with Chevy engine.
The seller is from my hometown, Lorain, Ohio! The International City; second to NYC in melting pot nationalities!
Also our local Ford plant produced about 8 million vehicles from 1958 – 2005!
I hate to bring this up, and I know you need to have pop up ads to support this forum, but they are getting ridiculous and frustrating to navigate viewing featured cars and making comments! 😮💨
Hi Ted, way to go Ohio,,,I read, in the 70s, the plant employed over 7500 people building just about every kind of Ford. It, like AMC, employed many folks from other countries, and hence the melting pot. That number steadily decreased to 1700 and by 2005, down to 750 closing altogether later that year, for reasons we won’t go into( cough,,,foreign). My hometown of Milwaukee went through a similar fate with AMC. Many from Lorain went to Ohio Assembly in Avon Lake and make trucks today. And some have the gall to say foreign cars are not to blame. I’d say the great folks of Lorain may say different. Like Milwaukee and Kenosha,( and Janesville-GM) Lorain has reinvented itself, but took a while.
Regarding the commenting, it is frustrating, and not sure why the problems aren’t resolved. Becoming a member eliminates those pesky ads, but not sure commenting is any better than a non-member.
Considering the asking prices these days, this seems like a pretty good deal for a resto project or a resto-mod.