The SC/Rambler (aka “Scrambler”) was a one-year muscle car from American Motors. It was based on the American/Rogue during that car’s last outing on the AMC roster. Armed with a 390 cubic inch V8, the 1,512 SC/Ramblers that were assembled were a force to be reckoned with. The example here is said to have been off the road since 1994, and we assume the lead photo shows the condition of the automobile today – alone in a dirty garage. Located in Fairmont, West Virginia, and listed for sale here on Facebook Marketplace with an asking price of $45,750. Our thanks go to “Ted” for this AMC tip!
Much like The Rebel Machine which would emerge for just one year in 1970, the SC/Rambler looked like a rolling American flag. The primary color was white with an abundance of red and blue with a mostly black interior on most editions built. Under the hood was a 315 hp, 390 V8 borrowed from the GT-style AMX, paired with a 4-speed manual transmission and Hurst shifter. The suspension was beefed up to accommodate the heavier engine in a compact car. The little factory hot rods were fast, able to turn quarter-mile runs in the 14-second range right off the showroom floor.
Though the seller provides photos showing the muscle car back in its heyday, only one or two pics may represent its status today. There is no mention of its running condition and it’s been parked for 30 years. So, the safe bet is that it doesn’t run and will need some mechanical tinkering besides a thorough detailing of the body and interior. The odometer reading is north of 67,000 miles.
Yet, while this all sounds negative, there is also a photo in a different garage of it all cleaned up. So, was the car rescued and brought back to life (hence justifying the asking price), or is it an expensive project? The seller could have been clearer about what was going on with the car and choose a different set of photos. Could this be why the listing is still up after nearly three months?
I try so hard not to look at the price, but it’s like trying not to look at someone welding, can’t be done. Maybe I need protective eyewear for this site too. Sorry to “Todd”, but they are grossly overestimating what these cars usually bring. They had limited appeal when new, and can’t be based off any auction results, because I don’t ever recall seeing any cross the block. Again, this was AMCs moment in the sun. Trying desperately to defuse the anti-USA sentiment generated by a certain war, slap a R,W,&B paint job on the most undesirable cars, drop the biggest V8 they had in it, Hurst shift, voila,, should have been a hit, no? Um, no, aside from stout AMC fans that had an axe to grind agin the others, it did fairly well, but not many 396 Chevelle owners went for a SC/Rambler. It could dust a 390 Mustang or keep up with a 383 Dart, and to us, that was good enough, even though to most, it was still a Rambler and not much has changed,,,Todd.
got my vote for someone looking at a welder. NEVER saw one in chiraq?.but i’m only 65?
Actually, the SC/Rambler sold better than expected. It was also about 150 pounds lighter than a 390 AMX with Go-Pac. As for being a gussied up Rambler, it had torque-links from the AMX, sub-frame connectors, like all V8 Americans & the 12 bolt axle. A friend recalls that back in the 1980s, his SC/Rambler beat pretty much everyone out on a Saturday night. Another thing about the SC/Rambler is the mail-box hood scoop. Many thought it outlandish, but it was designed to be in the air-flow. Low profile hood scoops are often in a dead zone.
“but not many 396 Chevelle owners went for a SC/Rambler.”…..duh….
I think it’s been listed so long because the price is out of line. I don’t know if it’s now all detailed and running, or if that’s an old shot and the current condition is in the lead photo. I doubt it would bring anywhere close to that number all cleaned up and ready to rumble.
Ill have to strongly disagree with you HoA. If it runs and drives $45k is a pretty regular price for private sellers. Auction prices are between $65&90k currently. As far as interest in them, when new is probably mixed opinions but nowadays they get a lot of attention at car shows even here in Wisconsin. I personally can’t drive mine anywhere without somebody talking to me about it whether at a show, gas station, or daily type errands. In current times a lot of people appreciate the patriotic paint scheme as well. These cars are no slouch either. Low 14’s out of the box. The purestock guys are 13.6-13.8 and other of us out there with better mods are much quicker than that. I can tell you first hand they are a blast to drive. Its best to just look at saving as many oldies as we can, no matter what brand.
Take 2, Hi, Tooyoung, it’s okay to disagree here, but you aren’t really disagreeing with me. In case you are new to the site, welcome aboard, I grew up in Milwaukee, so Ramblers have always been in my family. I agree that a car painted R,W,& B is going to attract attention in a sea of black, silver, and now white. It’s the unusualness(?) of the car with a wacky paint job. I doubt many can relate to exactly what you have today. Yes, I could see 5 figures( I think your $90K is a bit high) for a pristine one, but few would restore one. You can imagine my( and your) horror, someday, opening the hood on one of these to find a LS motor!
One must remember, back in ’69( cue Bryan Adams, who prandpa?) there was a huge anti-American sentiment, and it seemed the duty of a car company named “American Motors” should try and change that. More jumped on the patriotic bandwagon for the bi-centennial. To most, this was nothing more than a gussied up Rambler American, and the ones that did sell, led a rough life. I’m glad you have a passion for the car, makes an old Beer City native proud.
If this is rust free the price is surely in line. Find another.
Not new to site, been a member for a decent number of years now to try to support the site. Prior to membership was an on and off viewer over the years when a lot of the things posted didnt go up for sale. They were just photos and short stories about what was seen while driving around and no its not for sales. Im plenty old enough having been born in mid 80’s to know who Bryan Adams is… Im not an AMC diehard, I have no brand loyalty cause I like them all. If I was alive and able to buy a car new in 69 or 70, Im not sure how I wouldve picked.Too many great choices to pick from. As far as prices, Im just stating facts. I believe the highest auction price was just under $88k about two years ago. Not too long ago there was one of these posted in a FB group and they are unfortunately doing either an LS or Hemi swap, dont remember which. Yes these are often mistaken for Novas, Darts or Falcons for those thinking it. Mine has been in family since ’75, I purchased it from my uncle in 2012. Roadworthy by ’15 and have put 13k onto odometer and race it at track and local events. Lets keep these dreams alive!
These cars would smoke any 396 chevelle. I was there
These are rare, and the price is not out of line from what I’ve seen lately. But I could imagine that with all the choices performance car buyers had back then? When you compare the looks of the S/C with a Mustang Fastback, or a Camaro? You had to be a hard core AMC guy to pick the Rambler.
Agree…..only 1100 made is the claim and not sure many survived in this condition with papers.
1512 made total
Or a desire to be different than all the others. I had an SC/Rambler AND a Rebel Machine.
If you didn’t own one, you wouldn’t understand.
Back in the day we would laugh at these then someone told me how fast these were,and I stilled laughed at them.beside being fast l still want a good looking car !
Looks a lot like a Nova to me.
As a kid, there was one like this in a neighboring town that we saw occasionally. We all just thought it was a cool car. Not worrying whether it was better or worse than the Chevelles and the Roadrunners.
I would love to have one of these,but couldn’t/wouldn’t
pay that kind of price.
I’m going back to the ’70’s.
Back in 71, there were 2 of these in Anchorage parked next each other for a couple of years. I was 17 at the time and working on my first car a lot (57 Belair) and use to drive by them every day and final stopped and checked them out. I loved the exterior and the look of a hotrod but looking closer at the interior and realized it was already falling apart and how cheap the car was made really turned me off.
If you want to be different, this is the car. A sleeper, it is, if not for the paint colors. Dodge did the same with their Darts in the late 60’s. The SB 340’s were bad to the bone, then they added the 383,440 and the big boy of them all in 68′, the 426 Hemi (which was a drag car only and not for the street). The larger motors do not mean a better or faster car, in street light to street light racing, as most of us done but they do add a lot of handling issues. Value set aside, I’ll take a HP small block any day over a BB. They are such a better ride.
I have always thought that they were kind of cool. In ’69, I lived in a small town in Oregon, and for some unknown reason, the local AMC dealer had one of these, which good friend of mine immediately snagged because he thought it was neat. Here’s the thing about them though, they weren’t all that fast. Maybe should have been, but they weren’t. I was driving his one night and somehow ended up going out to the local back road drag strip with a 396/325 Chevelle. Ran him 3 times, and got dusted every time. Now as a point of interest, in ’66 I had a ’64 Nova with a factory 283 and a wide ratio Saginaw 4 speed. With no modifications except the intake manifold and C series AFB off a 300 hp 327, that Nova could beat a 396/325 everyday. So, not very fast, but cool just teh same.
CMJ—you are wrong—-they were fast
I watched a SC dust a 396/375 car twice… with studded snow tires on it. Grew up just north of Chicago, the McDonalds in my town was a hot spot for cars. This was in winter, snow on the ground but the streets were dry. The SC got him strong out of the hole, tearing up the street literally leaving in a shower of dust and sparks, coolest thing ever.
Way overpriced, I’ll just leave it there……people mustn’t have any clue or idea how much money it would take to restore this car……it probably requires total resto…….
For $45,750, they could at least wash it.
When I see cars and trucks like this pop up for sale at such a high price for what it is I start thinking they really don’t want to sell it but if Richard Rawlings happens to get drunk and surfing the web buys it the its all good but it also leaves me to wonder what makes the seller think it’s worth that much?
May not be worth that much to a collector of valued cars, but to a person that may have good memories of one, might be interested.
Makes me miss my 70 Rebel.
ET, a good friend of mine had a Rebel, not sure of the year, but it was Red. Remines me of a Dodge Dart.
Hood is on the roof, the front end seems high (maybe because the rear tires are flat), and no engine pictures. Is the engine even in the car?.
I sell a lot of cars for a lot of people and what I tell them is my commission comes from SELLING the car, not from posting it all over the interwebs. Many folks feel they need to make money on a car, like it is supposed to be an investment. That’s really not the case, except for some blue chip cars… but I’ve seen Ferrari owners take a bath too…
This SC/Rambler, is in my opinion, a rather cool car, big engine, small car – solid recipe. She’s boxy like the Nova, Dart, so looks are not totally unappealing. Unfortunately for this seller, he’s definitely wearing rose colored glasses. Even a quick search will find the values on these cars top out around $75,000 for an awesome car, but in the condition this car is presented (5 maybe a 4 car) values are in the teens.
As several folks here have mentioned, clean her up and say something about running condition, post a short video of her idling and there is a distinct possibility of fetching up over $30,000 – maybe even close to 40K. She could be a running, #3 car under all that crap – but we can’t tell.
Still amazes me how little effort people will put into trying to sell a car.
Not for the weak pocketbook so Im out. And not a rambling gambling rambler man. But I once had a rambler and the fold down seats that other cars did not have
I first saw one of these in the wild parked near the Washington Monument along the National Mall on Madison Drive NW on a vacation trip in June 1969. Parked all by itself looking brand new and about as inconspicuous as a tarantula on a slice of Angel cake.
That trip to Washington D.C. was a big zero for car spotting. The S/C Rambler was an audacious sight among all those serious monuments and memorials. I had the feeling that parking it by the monument where thousands of tourists promenaded along each day was part of a marketing effort to get eyeballs on it and provoke some discussion. Today we would call the S/C Rambler a halo car, an image builder. AMC already had the AMX and the Javelin. Producing the S/C helped to build image and gain some street credibility for a small dollar outlay. They didn’t expect to sell these in high volume. Getting people to talk and pay attention to little AMC was the goal. AMC would not be ignored. They also had the best TV ads.
I recall the “Matador” commercials.
Coming out of my dentist in 1970 I was an 11 year old car fanatic, I looked across the street at the Grosse Pointe AMC dealership in Michigan and saw all three red white and blue AMC models on the showroom floor. The Rambler must have been a slow seller at the time, it being a 69 and the others 70. My older brother bought that Trans Am Javelin off his buddy who bought it there new. I bought it off my brother when I turned 16 in 75. One of my favorite cars I ever owned.