American Motors Corp. was formed in 1954 through the merger of Hudson Motor Car Co. and Nash-Kelvinator. Throughout the subsequent years, the company usually operated on a shoestring but remained viable until the end of the 1980s when Chrysler took it over. From 1956 to 1960, the principal products were the Rambler Six and V8, available in several trim levels like this “Super” from 1959. This station wagon had a restoration started a few years ago that was stalled and is missing its engine. Located in El Monte, California, this mostly solid candidate is available here on eBay where the no-reserve auction has only produced bids of $760.
For a time after the merger, Ramblers were available at both Nash and Hudson dealers (until they could be consolidated). These cars were considered early compacts, a market segment that wasn’t fully embraced until the “Big 3” jumped on board in the early 1960s. The senior Ramblers got a facelift in 1959 (the year the official compact, the American, was born) and tailfins would be prominent. When you ordered one with an automatic transmission (like the seller’s car), it was controlled by buttons (shades of Chrysler). Trim levels included the Deluxe, Super, and Custom. The Super was treated to contrasting colors for the side trim, and most buyers went with the 196 cubic inch inline-6 (which was standard).
The seller describes this car as his “baby” and is probably one of the people in the photos. We suspect the ownership period goes back a few years, but we don’t know for sure. What we’re told is that the car was slated for restoration and went into a shop for the work to be done when Covid-19 hit. The shop subsequently went out of business after the engine was pulled and the seller was unable to get that part back (although he did rescue the rest of the auto). A good detective might be able to track the I-6 down but replacements are out there.
The pinkish/white paint and body look decent and the car is said to be rust-free although covered with a layer of dust and dirt. So a detailing might bring it all back. The interior was in the midst of the rework cycle, too, as at least the driver’s side door panel seems to be missing. If I’m not mistaken, there’s a small fan mounted behind the steering wheel to keep the driver cool on a hot day. Work that was completed includes the insulation around windows and doors, new brakes (including a front disc conversion), and some extra parts are included, so perhaps the vehicle is complete except for the engine.
From what we can piece together, the wagon is and has been in California the whole time, but the seller is in Florida. So, once the deal is done, he’ll provide the address where the car can be picked up. Hopefully, that doesn’t create any awkward logistics issues.
Funny to see that fan on the dash. We’ve come along way
since then. Thank God.
Actually AMC at that time was a leader in automotive air conditioning, they had just about the least expensive and most effective system out there but there were few takers.
That AMC guy ……..Thank you for the information.
I didn’t know. I would think that fan didn’t work all
that well. Bet they wished they got the A/C system.
Thanks again
I rehabbed a 59 Ambassador a while back. It had the AC flaps built into the dash. See pic. Interesting that there was a radio speaker mounted inside of the flap mechanism!
The poor man’s air conditioner.
I believe that would be a po’ mans a/c. I drove trucks that had no a/c but just the fan on the dash, and it worked quite well. I was glad to have it sitting in traffic.
The “big” Ramblers used a torque-tube setup where the rear axle was held in place front-to-back by the transmission. The transmission of course would be bolted up to the missing engine, so I wonder how the rear wheels in this thing are secured? (Maybe a front support was fabricated to hold the trans in place?)
I had one in red long ago. Like usual this car is located on the dark side of the moon from me and shipping would be a nightmare.
Caveat Emptor!! I tried to buy a car with the same set up, Car located in one state, will help w/shipping once paid for, and of course bank money order only. $5000 lesson that will never forget. If talk to them and have accent from europe, run don’t walk for the exit button
Russ, I think you meant to reference 1958 as the year of visual changes to the Rambler line [for 1958 & 59], and the return of the 1950-55 Rambler updated to be the bargain American [for 1958-60].
I owned a 1958 Rebel Cross Country wagon with factory air which, by design, came through the speakers on the upper dash! Wish the pics were more complete from the seller, lots of these parts are extremely hard to find these days. Twenty years ago there was a source in a barn somewhere in Michigan a friend knew of, and found me ac/speaker grills.
The author only mentioned a “facelift” for 1959, which was merely a new grill, but the sides were restyled too. ’59 was the 1st year for starting by pushing the neutral button, that is hidden by the steering column here. What I do disagree on, is “operating on a shoestring”. Late 50s were some of Ramblers best years, before the AMC name. I read, while most would pick Ford or Chevy in ’59, Rambler was right up there. They had a super dealer network, and things in Milwaukenosha were never better than in the late 50s, thanks in part, to Ramblers success during that time.
Best logical place to start would be to scare up another 6-cylinder engine.
Me, I’d go with a 258 cube unit mated
to a Torque Flight tranny-but not the 904 unit they used from ’75-87. That
thing was a real pain in the ass and
loved to tear up torque converters.
Oh sure, the 258 was a really good mill but that 904 gear box was a thing
from another world! Had an ’82 Concord wagon with that setup in it
and boy, I had a list of issues with that thing as long as your arm. After
replacing 3 torque converters, I finally
said the hell with it and traded the car
for an ’81 Chevy Citation instead. To
this day, I don’t know which car was the bigger POS, but the Chevy ran well
enough to get me to work and church
on time. Other than the torque tube
drive, this ol’ gal would be really fun
to update and enjoy. That 258 would
give you miles and miles of trouble
free motoring while a 3-speed with OD would give you excellent gas mileage. Would use it to do Door dash.
This begs to be sitting on a modern chassis and daily driven. Such awesome lines.
Back when I was a whole lot younger, a local minister had one very similar to this one. I was in the local service station paying for gas one day while they had his AMC wagon in for an oil change. I watched him set the hoist to raise it up for the service work, then he pulled the lever to raise the car. When the lift started to go up you could hear loud pops, snaps other associated noises of metal self destructing. The hoist was going up but the car never moved off the floor. The guy running the hoist, his eyes got huge and he said a few expletives and let go of the lift handle real quick. He looked at me and said, well I have to make a phone call and tell him we won’t be changing his oil now.
My affliction to these cars is well known to most, but in case you’re new here, I grew up in “Ramblertown, USA”, Milwaukee, Wis. EVERYBODY drove Ramblers, like the movie Drowning Mona, but with Ramblwers instead of Yugos. My grandfather was very adamant about buying a Rambler made in our hometown. It was the sentiment of many. We thought they were simply the best cars made. We had friends and neighbors that worked there, and were very proud of what they did, as menial as the task may have been. My grandfather had a ’61 4 door sedan, the “crunching sound” Paul tells, was probably the trunnions. Connected the front suspension to the unibody. It’s what killed grandpas car, even though it only had like 40K, and perfect body, nobody would touch it. A fate of many. Cal. car should be immune to that, and while the 6 was a great motor, in all its subsequent forms, this car needs a V8. Not some wheelstander, just a simple V8, the “Rebel V8” would be fine, but good luck, as I bet 90% of these came with a 6.
And of course, no ’59 Rambler post would be complete without mention of those famous reclining front seats. You can see the passenger front partially reclined in 3rd photo. Many may owe our very life to those,, :)
Oh, and another thing, you might think of pink as an unusual color, with todays meanings. Breast cancer or ladies perfume, but back then, Rambler was known for seemingly wacky color combinations, sometimes 3 on one car. A straight one color Rambler was very rare. Milwaukee was the home of the body plant,( now a Walmart) and the cars were shipped by open flatbed trucks to Kenosha for mechanicals. They ran down Capitol Dr. a short distance from my parents house, and we’d watch the car bodies go by with all the colors of the rainbow. Due to the ethnic diversity of Milwaukee then, Rambler had some of the most skilled painters from other countries. Probably couldn’t speak English, but knew how to paint a car. Milwaukee was an amazing place to grow up and Rambler/AMC was a huge part of it.
We had several Ramblers as I was growing up. My favorite was a 1960 with the 6 and automatic. It had manual steering and brakes, but had AC. It was light enough that it was fairly peppy. As I remember, AMC didn’t have the design capability to handle the increasing emission and safety requirements. Their cars from the late 70s on just didn’t seem to have the same quality as the earlier ones.
HoaA- I assume your “affliction” was an affection.
How exactly does an engine get lost but the vehicle is found……………………..hmmmmm
Sold for $4150 this morning
If new owner is going to ‘restomod’ it, I hope he has an imagination and doesn’t stick a sbc or ls motor in it. Have an original idea and go with a 343 or 401 AMC motor or at least a Mopar of similar size. Dare to be different.
Weatherstripping goes around windows and doors, not insulation. Seller miscalled it and writeup repeated the error.
Who cares, auction is over and people knew what he meant.
I prefer the looks of the 60 over the 59, but I still wouldn’t mind having this one but finances don’t allow it. A friend of mine had a 60 wagon that he dropped on a lengthened 72 Ford Bronco frame. When he first told me about it I thought he was crazy, but after seeing it in person, I had to admit it actually looked GOOD.
I should mention that my friend used a wagon that has no drivetrain or suspension and if he didn’t take it the weekend he found it, it was going to be scrapped the next week. He already had the lengthened Bronco frame that he had bought for the engine, and his neighbors were starting to complain about him having the bodyless Bronco frame and a car without wheels in his yard, so he just sat the body on the frame to keep the peace and when he saw how it looked once it was sitting there, he decided to make it a permanent combination.
Here’s a 59 Ambassador that I re-did a while back. Picked it up off eBay. Even though it was substantially mis-represented, I was enamored with the style. I had promised myself never to buy a car that needed more than cosmetic OR mechanical refreshment…This car needed it all. Good experience, though!