In 1958, American Motors resurrected the Rambler compact that predecessor company Nash had developed in 1950 and dubbed it the Rambler American. It would become the company’s top seller (we think) with more than 1.2 million assemblies in 12 years. This 1962 edition resides in Mineola, Texas, and may have been dormant for a while, kept outdoors (we also think) under a cover. The seller believes it can be made to run again with a bit of tinkering. This AMC product is available here on Facebook Marketplace for just $1,600, and our gratitude goes to “BCB42” for the tip!
There were three generations of the American: 1958 to 1960, 1961 to 1963, and 1964 to 1969. When the ‘69s were unveiled, they were the last of AMC’s cars to have Rambler badging. The American was often the lowest-priced compact on the market and consistently won the annual Mobilgas Economy Run. The American underpinnings would later serve as the basis for American Motors’s 1968 entry into the “pony car” market, the Javelin (and AMX). Minimally changed over the ‘61s, 1962 Americans saw more than 125,000 copies roll off the assembly line.
One of the new features of the 1962 American was an “E-Stick” option with the 3-speed manual transmission. That enabled drivers to change gears by using a button rather than a floor-mounted pedal for the clutch. Even though it was a cheap option at less than $60, few buyers went for it. The seller’s car came with an “E-Stick” which adds to the rarity of the machine after 63 years.
We’re told this is a two-oner car with 10,000 miles, but 110,000 is more likely. The auto isn’t running, perhaps due to some carburetor work the seller concedes is needed. Because the American has been sitting for a good while, new tires will also be needed. Rust is said to have been held to a minimum, but some is there although the floor pans look good. The seller would consider a trade for a motorcycle, though specifics aren’t given. If you’re an AMC fan you might do worse at this selling point.
My father used to call that color “$hit bringle brown”. Those old Ramblers seemed like the perfect car for the Depression generation. Nothing fancy, just dependable transportation. I’m sure Howard will chime in on this one with a few little known tid bits. If it was a coupe, there’d be a whole different conversation. Still could be a nice Sunday cruiser.
Hi junkman, yeah, the “Depression generation” takes on an entirely different meaning for today, but you are correct. Rambler made a fortune, of sorts, catering to the people that didn’t want or need anything fancy. I bet most Rambler American buyers still took the bus to work. The “E” clutch seems like an awful fancy gizmo for a Rambler American buyer, the sale usually based on simplicity and cost. These cars had some stiff competition, Valiant, Nova, Falcon, already restyled and OHV motors, that even the restyled ’64s had trouble with. I never recall any of these cars new, and always “hundred dollar beater with a heater” in the back row. None with an “E” clutch, got to hand it to that salesperson here.
only the bottom line Rambler had the flat head engine. They had an excellent OHV engine as well and later the excellent 232 six.
Fun fact..the first Rambler Americans (58-60) were just ’55 Ramblers with a slightly different grill and the tail lights turned upside down. Everything else including the dashes and drive train was the same, so AMC was able to market the American with very little financial investment. And this particular American, though it has the restyle, still uses the original Rambler American engine..
Also the ’55 was really a 1950 Nash Rambler with some minor updates. These 1961-1963 “breadbox” Americans have restyled, squared-off outer body panels but are still 1950 Nash Ramblers under the skin.
The flathead engine dates back to the 1941 Nash “600”, Nash’s first unibody car.
One thing about those flat heads…The number 5 cylinder tended to run hotter, so it wore faster and it wasn’t unusual to see these smoking once they had some mileage on them. Also, they had the torque tube driveshaft, so to pull them out of the tranny you had to loosen the rear end bolts and slide the whole assembly back. Not an easy job. I did a clutch on one of these. Oh,, if you need to pull the engine it has to come out of the bottom..which is another adventure. These were economical cars but not that easy to fix.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen one of these cars in the metal that were equipped with the E-stick, but Rambler factory shop manuals I have describe how it works. The clutch is applied using engine oil pressure. When idling there is insufficient pressure to apply the clutch, but as engine speed and oil pressure increase the clutch engages. To shift you let off the gas causing oil pressure to drop. The clutch then disengages and you can shift gears. Then when you hit the gas after shifting the increased oil pressure applies the clutch and away you go.
Unfortunately as the car ages if the engine develops low oil pressure the clutch will slip and burn out if it engages at all. (E-stick cars did come with a heftier oil pump.) It’s a good bet that at this late date most E-stick parts are made of pure unobtainium.
$60 in 1962 is about $600 today. The E-Stick option might have been a tough sell to justify on an $1800 economy car when the clutch could do the same thing-that’d of been a lot of gas at .35 a gallon.
I heard of this once before. It was a fairly rare option. I saw an add for one, the owner claimed it was a rare experimental car and he wanted some crazy money for it. After doing some reading on it, seems like a lot of owners were disappointed with it. Many had to have a regular clutch pedal installed. I don’t know about the value of these, but it sure would be neat to have one of these in working condition. This one seems like a better deal than the ’63 from yesterday.
Drove one of these with a automatic as hand me down car when i was in high school. Constant over heating. Would do 60 off a cliff with a tailwind, Worst excuse for a auto ever.
Hand me down car says it all.
I think I said this before here, but here again, in 1975 I had a 59 Rambler American in Philo, CA, if anyone heard of that, just 10 miles from rival metropolis Boonville, about 130 miles north of SF. I had worked at the Philo Lumber Company until it shut down. I headed back east to Philadelphia then with the Rambler, but I had too much stuff to haul. I bought a used converted rear half of Ford pickup and connected to the Rambler for trailer. It had the same flat 6 198 engine as the later style shown here. I took the long southern route because it was winter, had engine work done near Pasadena. Broke down again I think in Charlotte NC for something minor. It took at least two weeks to cross at maybe 3800 miles, the “Little Engine That Could”. The Rambler ran fine, and it received an Earl Sheib tan paint job, then a couple of years later a garage-spray light blue color. After that I did have a two door and wagon version of 62 or 63 Americans with the flat 6 engine. There’s nothing wrong with these cars, I think.
I don’t have a clue what the E Stick option is?
Actually sounds very similar to a Citroen, Citromatic. You shift it but, it does the clutching for you.
Volkswagen had an atrocious “Semi-Automatic” for a while. It was a two-speed standard transmission with a vaccum operated clutch, activated by a micro-switch, when you touched the shift lever. It was a dog in both gears!!
Does it come with that deluxe car cover? (I miss AMC.)
The E-Stick sounds like an upgrade on the Hudson Drive Master system. It worked fairly well using engine vacuum. You used the clutch to get started in first and then let off the gas for the shift to second and it would move the shifter for you. The same with the shift to third. BUT you still had to operate the clutch when stopping and starting. The last version was a little lever on what was the shift lever sticking out of the column with a little finger lever that you moved to shift. I guessing the original complaint was actually moving the shift lever, not the clutch operation.
I had a Renault 4CV with an electric clutch. It had dual voltage regulators. One for charging the battery and one to operate the clutch. low RPM disengages the clutch as does grabbing the shift lever. Bring up the RPMs and the clutch engages. I got the car for free at about age 11 because the shift regulator was bad. The replacement was $64 dollars which was more than the car was worth. I pulled the cover off the regulator and bent the point tab over so that the RPM portion was always engaged. Since I lived out in the boonies with no pavement around. The exercise was rev the engine and let go of the shifter. Starts always involved some wheel spin! Swing axle, rear engine, I learned not to let off the gas in a corner after rolling it on two separate occasions. Luckily it had a very rounded roof and the outside of the corners had 8′ high thickets so the top only got scratched. Once my Dad saw the scratches on the roof, the car was gone!
loved mine, a white vert w/blk top. i6 so smooth folks @ curbside thought Id stalled th motor wuz so fine (quiet, silent, -0- vibration… no counter-balances needed on flywheel).
My grandfather who was a wiry German immigrant about 5’4 but all muscle was an carpenter who was a perfectionist and called anyone who was not a shoemaker bought a 62 rambler 4 door fly head 3 on the tree as his last car he traded in a simca
The car was slow but reliable which suited him because he was a slow stubborn driver he would cruise along a highway in the left lane 5-10 mph under the posted speed and ignore the horns and fingers waived and say to us I am braking no laws and have every right to drive in the left lane
I hated driving with him LOL
That car survived him and then went through each of my cousins 12 in that family as each of their first cars was still running in the early 90 we with well over 200’000 long island miles of abuse on it
The Rambler and the Studebaker Lark were very reliable cars in the Mojave.
One of the few remaining relics of the Ghost towns, of the South West.
Stupid simple to make it: stop, go, and legal.
Not the most desirable body design, but when you needed reliable transportation in 120 degrees? Those were your go to vehicles.
I could have bought many in the 90’s. The owners were still driving them, and refused to sell.
Gee? I wonder why?