UPDATE – Joel just let us know that this one sold to the first person to contact him!
Who’s up for going rogue in this Rambler? I’ve always thought these cars were an interesting departure from the typical Ford or Chevy, and they are usually quite affordable! Joel S found this one in Wisconsin and while it needs some rust repairs, it looks like a decent starting point. It even runs and drives! He’s asking just $1,900 or best offer, so it won’t break the bank. If you can live with the rust or work fast, you could probably even have it ready for the summer. Find it in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin and you can contact Joel via the form below!
The Rambler Rogue could actually be quite the sleeper when properly optioned. You could have it fitted with a 343 V8 and a T10 4 speed from the factory. Sadly, in the case of Joel’s car it was fitted with a humble inline 6. It’s a bullet proof engine though and could easily provide you with many years of enjoyable miles. Or you could find an AMC V8 to install and build one mean sleeper!
Seeing as this car was still on the road as late as 1996, it really shouldn’t take much to make it a driver. Now making it looks nice and drive well will take a little more work. The interior is usable, but the dash has some cracks and the seats need new covers. Those are things you could work on while still using it, the rust on the other hand will require doing some cutting, welding and paint work.
It’s going to need some work, but this could actually be a really fun classic to have. I would want to check the floors and structural areas for serious rust. As long as it’s solid though, I think you could do some cool things with it and you would have something you don’t see very often these days. So would you install a V8 into it and really go rogue or would you leave the six and just make it a driver?
If any of you have a classic that you are thinking about selling, please consider listing it here as an Exclusive. There’s no risk and as long as your car is priced right, it should sell quickly.
Great find although any unibody car, even Ramblers, will almost always have rust issues.
To see the upside potential of this car, check out these photos of one of the many Rogues I’ve owned or photographed (as in this case) over the years.
http://automotivetraveler.fotki.com/1967-amc-rambler-ro/?view=roll
These are great cars, and are great drivers.
Here’s one I did own, years ago. Coming back one morning from when the original Orange County, CA Cars and Coffee, I stopped for gas in Newport Beach and while I was fueling up, one of the original Barris Batmobile replicas pulled in next to me on the adjacent pump island. This car was a 290 car, done up in a very mild pro-touring look with Audi Pearl White paint with a full silver vinyl top.
Cool photo opportunity.
As you said Rich, “will ALMOST ALWAYS have rust issues” … I got pretty lucky on this eBay purchase a few years ago. I stripped the entire body down to bare metal and not a bit of rust! Small dents and dings, yes, but no rust.
AMC dipped the entire unibody in galvanized rust proofing starting in ’63. The last ’63(had 3 of them) I owned in ’85 had not a speck of rust in the body.
A good friend’s dad drove a Rambler Rogue back in the late 70’s. I think it was a 1967, but I’m not certain. It wore a factory bumblebee color scheme, yellow with a black roof and trunk lid. It was really a nice-looking car, and had a V8 as I recall but I don’t know which one. All these years later he’s still one of my best friends, and he still remembers the Rogue fondly.
I still like these, all the style of a Nova at 25% of the cost! Looks like WI is as hard on bodies as PA. This one is cheap enough to be tempting, I’m not in the market for a project at the moment, if I was I’d be tempted to make the trip to look at this one. It would definitely get a V8 conversion and vintage A/C, and if those a true bucket seats I’d be looking for the console for it.
I wish he was closer..I have been looking for an ‘American”,to redo for ages..I would put a V8 in it for sure,and drive the wheels off it as I fixed it up mechanically,and body wise.You know…like the ‘old days’?.before rotisserie restorations?,when you actually DROVE the car you were redoing?…Gawd I must be old…:)
It’s pronounced “Fonjalak” ( or “bottom of the lake”, I know, sounds silly) Great find, the “Wisconsin” part naturally makes me nervous. I’ve posted this before, but at the AMC reunion ( next one this July) there was an older guy from Ohio, also named Howard, that had his car there. It was a 343, 4 speed, and was, without a doubt, THE nicest Rambler American I ever saw, and I told him that. http://st.hotrod.com/uploads/sites/21/2015/01/1967-amc-rambler-rouge-front-passenger-side.jpg
Like Rich sez, unibody and Wisconsin don’t go together well, I’d too, would look this over well, especially the front end. The similarities between this and the regular American, even with the “twin stick” is purely coincidental. I’d go the V-8 4 speed route.
I like how it fills out the wheel wells. Buy, drive, and repair/ upgrade as needed/want. Cool rig.
Wisconsin, great for cheese, terrible for cars!
Don’t knock the humble six. I actually had a ’67 Rebel with the 6 and an automatic. It was a reasonable car. And I actually stood in the engine bay…with both feet on the ground…talk about access. Today’s vehicles…you can’t even fit a hand down in there. (Of course…I was a lot thinner in those days, too!)
Howard, I have an X code 343 4 speed 1967 Rambler American hardtop It is the 440 series not the Rogue. It is a very rare car and have heard and seen many production numbers posted. Some say 56 were made and have seen on line as few as 11.
It has also been said that only two were ordered by the public and that the rest went to dealers as demonstrators or to be used as advertising at the drag strip as mine was.
Certainly what AMC learned in just how powerful these were and the torque monster created so much body flex that the windshield trim would pop off paved the way for the 1969 SC/R.
I do suspect that the 343 4bbl option was omitted from the option sheet in 1968 as not to over shadow the introduction of the AMX. It is very sad too as the performance put the little Rambler direct in GTO territory in 1967. Too few made to make an impact on the public then as now. All anyone can remember is the 1969 SC/R.
I can remember pricing out a 290 4bbl 4 speed,when I was younger..sure grip with something like 3:91 gears..I was making $1.50 an hour,price all in for the Rogue was less than $2300!A friend later built a 343,for his 68 American 2 dr.Back in the late 60’s with bias tires,he could lay down a patch of rubber seemingly forever.With a set of cheap slicks added ,he could pull the front wheel off the ground.He ran high 11’s low 12’s in the quarter,when he raced. AMC’s of that era never got the respect from rodders,yet the 343’s were stout ,fast engines.I always liked the AMC’s especially the late 60’s Americans/Rogue body style.I still regret not pulling the trigger on the one I was interested in.
My grandfather had a 1968 American 2 door sedan pretty close to this. The rear windows were stationary, good for hot summer days lol. One funny feature it had was that the windshield washer was a rubber boot on the floor, completely relying on air pressure.
The windshield washer pump was on the firewall near the floor on the left side almost directly above the dimmer switch.. Been that way since the early 50’s.
Oh yeah, that’s right Loco.It was so long ago, but now I have a visual.