Cute, cute, cute, and cheap, cheap, cheap. Those are the words to describe this little gem of a 1961 AMC Rambler on craigslist. You maybe wouldn’t think of it if someone said, “dream car,” but when you see it, your heart is stricken. Is this the car Aunt Bea drove to the set of The Andy Griffith Show (and in the show itself)? No, but it’s in the ballpark. Maybe you folks who watch Hazel could see her driving this. That show premiered in the same year this car was born, after all. Curvette found this, another masterpiece of a tip. The car is at a $4900 asking price now, off an initial price of $5900 and sitting in West Linn, Oregon.
What’s not to like about that four-door configuration and dog-dish hubcaps? It’s no muscle car, but a get-around buggy more stylish than any modern car. Look at the side spears and vestigial fins. That color—perfect for a four-door sedan, and I bet you’ve never seen a rear-window configuration like this, a kind of mini version of the popular bubbletop 1961 Impala. As for the paint, that’s a bit perished, but the other P-word, “patina,” is what the seller offers up. Apparently the car is clear-coated to preserve that look. (Shades of a pro re-seller are all over that fact, something to keep in mind before you fall too far in love.)
Inside, you’ve got bench seats front and rear, so you and five friends can tear up your town. That is, if they’re not big people. Adding 1000 pounds of passengers might just tax the original straight six engine’s ability to go 0-60. Or zero to anything. How about the three-speed column shifter? That theft-proofs this little gem. What car thief knows how to operate one of those these days? Add in crank windows and granny-style cloth upholstery, and you’ve got a way-back machine on your hands here.
The only potential problems are rust issues and need for a mechanical rebuild, as the 38,000 miles showing on the odometer are likely plus-one-hundred-thousand, per the seller. The rust has been repaired in the passenger side floor, apparently, by welding in new metal. No word whether that’s any kind of properly configured floor pan. Don’t laugh—I’ve seen flattened coffee cans used to replace parts of floors, and that at a car being sold at a classic car retailer, not a guy with a welder out behind the garage. But that’s less a concern that whether other areas of the body have been attacked. As for the sheet metal as a whole, there appears to be a crease at the base of the front driver’s side fender. And in terms of inspection photos, there is no view under the hood or in the trunk. Consider the ad a starting point, and do your homework from there. You might just find this little sedan the right car for your adventures.
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