Though American Motors had used the nameplate before (1960), the Rebel moniker returned in 1966 as a sporty version of the Rambler Classic. With a revised roofline and available V8 engines, it inched AMC closer to playing in the new muscle car market. Only 7,512 copies were built before the Rebel name replaced the Classic on all its intermediates in 1967. This nice survivor-quality AMC can be found in Kanoplis, Kansas, and is available here on Facebook Marketplace for $12,000.
Mid-1960s Ramblers may have been reliable, but they weren’t exactly exciting. A step in the right direction was made with the 1966 Rebel, which ended up being a one-year offering the way it was marketed. AMC took a Classic 770 2-door hardtop, modified the roofline a bit, added a special interior with bucket seats, and made it available with a V8 engine and 4-speed manual transmission. It wouldn’t be until 1968 that American Motors would fully get into the performance car market with products like the AMX, Javelin, SC/Rambler (1969), and The Machine (1970).
The seller’s car has a 287 cubic inch V8, though a 327 was available. And, it also has an automatic transmission and factory air conditioning, so the original owner was more interested in comfort than speed. This nice car may only have 57,000 miles, but the seller says the machine looks slightly better in the photos than in person (but still presentable). The interior may be okay too, though we’re told the front bucket seats will need to be reupholstered.
You’ll need to sort out why the A/C isn’t working, and the car has new shock absorbers and ball joints in the front end. Also, the engine was pulled to replace the rear main seal and then reinstalled. It’s said to be a good-sounding cruiser thanks to a new dual exhaust system. All-in-all, this looks like a great car to have and there can’t be many ‘66 Rebels left – in any condition. Thanks for this cool tip, T.J.!
Good eye TJ. Nice AMC cruiser.
280lb-ft, Flash-o-Matic autoloader, 3.15 rearend.
Kinda looks like a ’64 chevelle, but unibody instead
Very cool! Maybe the author finds it “unexciting”, but this car excites me more than yet another Mustang. These were very good looking cars. I’d take this design over the 66 Chevelle. Get rid of those tacky aftermarket wheels and you’d have a sharp cruiser.
Those wheels make the car! Tacky is in the eye of the beholder and wrong
Those are Magnum 500s and are perfect for this car.
They are tacky. They didn’t come with the car and are another effort of someone who just has to turn every nice car into a hot rod. Yuck! Beautiful car otherwise.
Lots of classic cars running around with “after market” Cragars and Keystones like my Skylark pictured as my identity photo. No one has even used the word “Tacky.”
Those wheels make the car, they are far more attractive than any hubcap AMC ever produced.
I didn’t agree with that wording either. I would think a 343 cubic inch engine, or their own 327, four barrel, with a four speed, would be fun. And to be a little different, a Twin-Stick set up for shifting! Fun! AMC didn’t have the budget the big manufactures had, but they not only had fun drivers, but some of the best looking cars of that era in my opinion.
Nice car! I wonder if “new ball joints” means the lower ball joints, which are conventional, have been replaced or whether it means new upper trunnions. (I’ve seen those described as “Satan’s idea of ball joints.)
Also I have a pretty good idea of why it was decided to pull the engine instead of the transmission to replace that rear main seal – you don’t want to have to deal with the torque tube if there’s a way around it! (Though that engine has a rope seal that could have been replaced in situ using a “Sneaky Pete” tool.)
My dear father, who was keeping the farm machinery going when 13, would react in horror whenever a mention of trunnion work came about at the store. It was the one thing he never insisted I learn to accomplish. I think they were gone by the time I was 15 or 16. whew
Cool! Love the rims which caught my eye immediately! Definitely makes the car.
Nice looking 66 Rebel, clean dash, don’t see any rust outside. The 287 was rated 198 H.P.
If you lose your keys at the beach, you can take a quarter and stick it up under the dash, held in place by 4 protruding screws, where the ignition is bolted in, and the car will start and run! LOL…I know this from experience when I lost my keys at the beach in Pensacola back in 1983. That’s how I drove her home!
Iron, this is just too funny! Reminds me of all those TV shows where they reach under the dash, jimmy a couple of wires and take-off! Fun post!
As far as the car, this is a looker with the roof & body lines. The Methodist minister across the alley from my parents’ house had a ’66 Classic with a 232 6 popper. I used to wash it and thought the reclining seats were cool, but not as cool as the Burmese girl they adopted. She sure looked good in white shorts!
Great body style. Love it. Priced right too