It’s hard to believe that the Rambler Classic was only made for a half-dozen years, it’s such a well-known name among vintage car fans that it seems as if the name was around for longer than that. This 1965 Rambler Classic 770 two-door hardtop has to be sold so the seller can move. They have it posted here on craigslist in Beaverton, Oregon, just west of Portland, and they’re asking $6,500 or best offer. Here’s the original listing.
This is a third and last-generation Rambler Classic, the second to the last year of production. They were made from 1961 through 1966 in three generations. This is the first 1965 two-door hardtop Rambler Classic out of nine 1965 Classics that we’ve shown here which is surprising. The others have been four station wagons, three four-door sedans, and two convertibles. NADA is between $4,275 and $7,850 for their low to average values, just for the record.
Sadly, we don’t see even a sliver of the driver’s side of this Rambler, is there a driver’s side? We don’t know but there must be… It appears as if the photos were taken at night which is unusual, it would have been nice if the car could have been pushed outside in the daytime but it is 2020 and this is craigslist. The seller has provided much better photos than most craigslist ads so kudos to them for that.
The interior and the seats look great other than the carpet and the missing glove box door. This one has a Borg-Warner three-speed automatic with a column shift. The seller is moving so that’s why they have to sell this one and they mention that the “original imitation vinyl roof and body could be repainted.” I’m not sure what that means about the vinyl roof as it appears to be perfect in the photos. You can see something happening above the right rear wheel and possibly on the bottom of the right quarter panel but they say that there is “almost no rust”.
The engine is AMC’s 232 cubic-inch inline-six with around 150 horsepower. It runs great but appears to be burning a bit of oil and the transmission needs to be serviced. It also needs shocks, but there are “new front and rear brakes, wheel cylinders, master cylinder, new distributor, rebuilt carburetor, new fuel pump, new ignition switch, new idler arm, fuel pump, and newly welded heater box.” Any thoughts on this Rambler Classic? I’m an Ambassador guy but I really like this one.
Hmmm,,,Oregooon, my new home,,,WHAAAAA? Maybe,,,”Well I love those Rambler features,,,makes me feel right at home”( sung to the Lynyard Skynyard “Call me the Breeze”) 2 door Ramblers were almost non-existent, so this is pretty rare. Before you all throw up your arms and wail, “it doesn’t have a V8”,,,put your arms down. Get with the ( changing) times, V8’s are history. I know, crying won’t help, I’ve tried. It’s amazing( to me) how the 6 did just fine, FOR 75+ years,, until we( not me) all simply had to have ultimate behemoths, with 700 hp motors, well guess what? Not for long, chump,,and 6 cylinders will again be hot. Nice find, got a snowballs chance in Hades of anyone actually buying it, Ramblers have a following generally handed down from an older person, and with that person gone, I’m sure many don’t even know what a Rambler is, or was, much less spend a fortune on one. Outstanding find.
Howard, in all fairness, 6 cylinders have been fine for many of us, for some time.
In fact, I remain perfectly happy with the meager 332 horsepower in my Z.
Oh yeah, today’s 6-cylinder engines are a far cry from those of the ’60s. I wish the time would have been right for me when a friend sold his Nissan GTR a few years ago; 1,600+ horsepower at the wheels, 22 mpg (provided accelerator pressure is maintained at a minimal level), all in air-conditioned comfort, with the drag radials being the only clue that it’s not just a stock garden-variety 600 hp GTR.
Ha!, That’s very clever, but the masses probably won’t drive 330 hp V6’s anytime soon, even though, you have 330 hp on tap, and still get decent mileage to boot. It was my biggest gripe with the trucking jobs I had, slow, low hp motors thinking better mileage,,,wrong. You tend to drive a low hp motor harder, reducing any mileage benefits, and with a big motor, you aren’t struggling along, foot to the floor. Bosses are idiots,,,
I think you may be onto something, H. I wonder if many people under age 50 have even heard of Rambler? This looks like a nice one if a few things can be taken care of. As you said, there aren’t many two-door hardtops around.
370: a mere 332 hp?!
Scotty, I am definitely not under 50 and I do remember the Rambler. Barbara Holly’s parents had one in my neighborhood and they kept it clean as a whistle. Good cars.
The good thing about the lack of following for AMC products is that their values have not (yet) gotten to the ridiculous level of most other vintage vehicles. I have always loved AMC products, and was sad to see them fall by the wayside.
Beg to differ with you about ridiculous hyped AMC retro values…
My car of choice 69 Rambler “Scrambler”. Limited to that year.
390ci with a 4 spd crush box. relatively steep gears.
Barrett Jackson prices fo sho.
Perhaps I can explain, I agree with Will. What you have is a specialty car, and will always command high prices. What Will is talking about, Rambler was never popular outside a 4 state area( from Wisconsin) and the only way they remember AMC, is they may have sat in the back of one on a traffic stop. It’s entirely possible many may have never heard of a Rambler, or that AMC was Rambler, so very little interest, except, of course to an old fart( like me) from Wisconsin that has any connection to these great cars. As the years drift by, I doubt you’ll see many of these, if any, at an auction. There simply aren’t any.
Yeah, the SC/Rambler, AMC Machine, AMX, and some Javelins will always command higher prices, but I think the value for a Classic like this one will always be well below a comparable full-size offering of the same vintage from one of the big three. As a Mopar guy, I have commiserated through the years with my friends who collected AMXs and Javelins regarding the higher cost to restore and/or modify our respective brands.
I still like the AMCs, though. Even as a kid, when I knew many families (including my aunt) who were Rambler owners, I always liked their styling (both interior and exterior).
There used to be an AMC production facility about 15 minutes from my home.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brampton_Assembly_(AMC)
I had one of these back in the day it used to beat my buddies brand new
75 v8 Ford van.
Pissed him off royally as mine was totally stock 232
I’m 15 years old and I love amcs. They’re so under appreciated. I know ramblers, amicans, marlins, all that.
Same here.
“but it is 2020 and this is craigslist” ……??
“This 1965 Rambler Classic 770 two-door hardtop has to be sold so the seller can move.”
Is he pinned under the rear wheels?
I love the roofline of the AMC hardtops of this year. But like you Scotty, the ’65 Ambassador is my favorite.
Bot the Classic and Ambassador were better in details than the ’66s, IMHO. Small things that the ’65s had were better grilles, taillights, trim, hardtop rooflines. The same as in ’67-’68 for the Ambassador and Rebel.
Sort of like Plymouth ’63-’64, ’65-’66, ’67-’68 : the earlier year was better than the facelifted following year. All the nice details were given a ham handed refresh by eliminating the small things that made the original so interesting.
Even though there’s no driver’s side picture, at least there’s no Craig’s List Paranoia Finger in the photos covering the license plate. That’s a positive.
I love this car and would love to buy it. As usual every time something comes along that I want it’s on the west coast and i line in NC.
Nothing at all wrong with AMC products. My first car was a 60 Rambler American purchased in 66 for $125. The only thing we did was replace the ball joints. It got great gas milage, and had surprising power, plus being fun to drive.
I have a 2012 Mustang with a V6 DOHC aluminum engine 305 HP from the factory – 0 to 60 in 5.9 seconds – stock. The best mpg I got was 34 mpg on a 500 mile trip mostly highway 10% city. Sixes are OK by me.
My Aunt, who turned 85 today, had one of these back in the early 70s. Hers was turquoise with a six and a three on the tree as well. I’m pretty sure it was 2 door sedan.
Rambler had some nice colors, and I always liked that turquoise!
Well well well. What to do since beaver town is 50 miles from my shack. My family is definitely ram dambler smitten and we all gave this gem a thorough peek. I could have this in my driveway tomorrow by noon but my lovely bride may have a coupla things to say ‘bout that. That’s in the future plan. Moving on..:here’s the Kenosha iron that we’ve had the honor of protecting. ‘67 Rogue. ‘63 American Wagon. ‘61 American 4dr. ‘87 Eagle Wagon (sold on BF Aug 2021) and a ‘68 American 440 4dr. I’m joining the masses of my Boomer kin in 3 years and my fine parting gift will be a ‘65 Ambassador. Love the stacked headlights and all the AMC interior glitz. This offering listed is a great car and deserves a refurb and a trip or two down the 2 lane red carpet. Scoop it up BF Loyals!!
Interior not very glitzy by Rambler standard, at least not compared to my 63 Ambo 990.
Agree that Ramblers are fading from mind.
As said, this keeps the price down for those of us in the know, but if you want to sell it, well, tough, over here in the UK you can hardly give it away.
Not just Rambler; fact is in general people like looking at unusual cars, but fight shy of owning them.
How would you lose a glove box door……
All this talk about sixes with horsepower and no horsepower, I am happy with the 82 hp on my 1951 Nash Rambler.
I used to be happy with the 60hp from my 46 Wolseley 14/60, but I do prefer the 250hp from my Ambo!
82 hp was impressive for Nash in ’51. Several years ago, I was helping a friend drive some of his cars to a local show, and he won two door prizes at the Friday night preview gathering. The door prizes were free dyno pulls on a portable chassis dyno exhibit at the show. He had five cars at the show, including his ’65 restomod Corvette and ’71 LSX-powered Chevelle, and his wife’s ’60 restomod Corvette. We chose the ’65 Corvette and his wife’s ’60 Nash Metropolitan convertible for the dyno pulls. The Corvette sent 389 hp to the wheels, and the mighty Nash registered a whopping 36 hp. We were all laughing and commenting that we probably didn’t even need to tie the car down to the rollers; we could have just had a couple of guys hold on to the back bumper. We take several cars to Cruisin’ the Coast every year, and the Nash never fails to garner more attention than all the rest combined.
This has to be Barn Finds’ deal-of-the-week feature! Seems like every rusted out backyard ornament is selling for at least $10k! This is a great looking classic that can be driven, now. Price a used newer car and factor in what it will cost to maintain or repair it. Wish it was closer to me. This would be a good daily driver that I could maintain and repair myself.
Over here in the UK there’s a 66 Classic 770 convertible for sale, and it’s a V8. Not overpriced at £12,500/$16,000 but no takers.https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/134037573422?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649
Can be hard work, selling a Rambler.
Ooh, that’s a beauty! It’s almost priced low enough to buy it, and ship it to the states, but converting to left-hand drive would be a killer.
Listing update: the seller has uploaded all new photos and lowered the price to $4,500! How is this still for sale?!