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Serious Potential: 1969 AMC Hurst SC/Rambler

The owner of this rare 1969 AMC Hurst SC/Rambler (Rambler Scrambler) has had the car in storage for over 30-years, but a change of circumstances means that it is a project car that needs to find its way to a new home. I really have to thank our eagle-eyed Barn Finder AMXBrian for spotting this absolute gem for us. It is located in North Berwick, Maine, and has been listed for sale here on Craigslist. The owner is asking $20,000 for the AMC, although he may be willing to do a trade on an excavator or other machinery.

Don’t be fooled by the tired paint, because under the skin this is one solid old classic. The owner provides some really clear photos of the car’s underside, and there isn’t a spot of rust to be seen anywhere. There is some external rust in some of the lower body extremities, but none of this is too severe. Someone has decided to give the paintwork a bit of a spruce-up at some point, and the nicest thing that I can say about their effort is that at least it looks like they might have used a new paintbrush. Looking the car over, I can’t help but agree with the owner’s assessment that the AMC will require a full restoration.

The same theme continues inside the car, with a full restoration on the cards. On the positive side, at least the interior appears to be essentially complete. The gauges are all present, including the Sun Super Tach. The original headrests are on the bucket seats, but the seat cover have been replaced with something distinctly less attractive. Importantly, the original Hurst shifter is still present, because this has some subtle differences when compared to later Hurst products.

I wish that there were some photos of the awesome 390ci V8, but this is as close as we get. That engine produced 315hp, and that finds its way to the rear wheels via a 4-speed manual transmission. The Hurst SC was all about straight-line performance, and this is a car that had it in spades. Fresh off the showroom floor, they could accelerate from 0-60mph in 6.3 seconds, and rip through the ¼ mile in 14.3 seconds. The AMC hasn’t run for decades, and the owner concedes that the 390 will probably need a rebuild. I would certainly at least give it a thorough check before I considered firing it up. There is nothing worse than kicking the engine of a classic car into life and hearing expensive noises. It tends to ruin your day.

With only 1,512 examples being built, the AMC Hurst/SC Rambler is a rare piece of machinery. It was also quite a potent car. The owner makes claims about the vehicle’s potential future value, placing it between $45,000 and $70,000. These figures aren’t far off the mark, depending very much on condition and originality. I really hope that someone grabs this car and returns it to its former glory because it has been sitting unloved for way too long.

Comments

  1. Avatar CCFisher

    The seats could be original. Black seats with red/white/blue headrests were the norm for SC/Ramblers. The seats here appear to have the original pattern in the vinyl.

    Like 5
    • Avatar Bob

      My son had a very nice example of one of these and the seat fabric seems to be original. He sold a fully restored one for $24,000 about 10 years ago. It was either sell the car or foreclose on his house.

      Like 5
      • Avatar stanley kwiecinski

        did the front seats fold down like some AMCs? Hmmm. tough choice? LOL

        Like 0
  2. Avatar Southbound

    Well at least the undercoating is done..

    Like 4
  3. Avatar AMCSTEVE

    Could be cool but wheres the back glass?

    Like 1
  4. Avatar Nick P

    Agreed. Adam stated he can’t see a spot of rust anywhere. Because it’s black rust, not the traditional brown. Maybe if they use enough paint they can fill the holes with it too.

    Like 6
  5. Avatar Mike

    Sooo not a fan of that ugly hood scoop. Yikes.

    Like 2
    • Avatar mark houseman

      One of the coolest looking scoops EVER!!! Similar to the 1969 Hurst Olds, the finest scoop ever!!!!

      Like 16
      • Avatar Mike

        Multiple exclamation points are not going to change my mind Mark.

        Like 7
  6. Avatar Geoff

    The front end looks just like the rear end, I can barely tell if it’s coming or going!

    Like 2
  7. HoA Howard A. Member

    $20g’s for a Rambler?? You bet! I don’t know the value, but it must be right up there with other “unobtainable” cars costing a lot more. Few were sold, even though, I read, only 500 were planned, but demand was strong, kind of, Wisconsinites mostly, I’m sure and the 1512 were made. They were, at $2,998, probably the cheapest, new fast car you could get. Most were trashed for that reason, it was really nothing special then. I read it was the fastest production car AMC made, low 14’s out of the box, and 13’s easily with minor mods, and that is pretty cool for a dirt eatin farmboy like me, from Wisconsin. We showed them this was one Rambler that could beat the big boys.

    Like 13
  8. Avatar Roy L

    This car should be restored and back on the street. Asking 20 G’s in it’s present condition is a bit much. Let’s hope the owner comes to their senses and lowers the price. Think of the children.

    Like 2
  9. Avatar Desert rat

    I don’t trust the no rust comments, looking under the car we see rusty exhaust and drive shaft and trans but, not a spot of rust any where else? I don’t think so , someone took a couple cans of spray undercoat and covered up everything so who knows that under that undercoat.

    Like 2
    • Avatar Steve Hill

      If they would have spray painted the rockers and doors there would be no rust there either…. lol

      Like 1
  10. Avatar Ted

    Looked at one in the early 80’s in Bow Hill WA, missing the original engine but had a Javelin 390, driver quality, missing the bench seat, original rims and interior stuff, but I seem to remember it being $1800. Was p.o.’ed the seller didn’t tell me over the phone how much of the OEM stuff was gone when I got there after the drive from White Rock so I passed on it.

    I wanted a AMC stick car so badly then after going for a ride in an AMX stick car that literally did the watusi in first thru third………and passed on every AMC stick car I ever looked at for some reason or another mostly because I was and still am a stickler for all stock/OEM cars. Still a rumour floating around of a massive AMC collection in Richmond….

    Aarggh…..what a doofus I was then……….sigh…………

    Like 1
  11. Avatar Gene L Halsey

    Owner says in the ad it has a Muncie but they all came with Borg Warner t-10’s just like the Javelin and the AMX.

    Like 5
  12. Avatar Terry Bowman

    In 73′ a friend of mine had one and would always say on how “Bad” it was, but I never seen him show me. Show me, don’t tell me.I did like the look, mostly because it was rare as Mopars were and still are. Mopar Guy!!! Funny, it is a Mopar now also.

    Like 0
  13. Avatar Tort Member

    Though rare and have come to like these over time with the condition it is in the price seems to be a bit much.

    Like 1
  14. Avatar Little_Cars

    Owner/seller did what I’ll admit to doing — slathering POR-15 over anything that looks like rust in hopes of mitigating what has already occurred. But I’m not passing my car off as a $20k collectors item. This thing probably rides like a tank with those oversized rims (originals are hard to come by) and will handle like a wheelbarrow if things underneath haven’t been sorted out. Seems odd that the bench seat would be black with the patriotic headrests. Looks like black vinyl dye from years ago. Looked at one in the late 1970s…just a used car then…I think it was selling for $900 which I didn’t have.

    Like 1
  15. Avatar Comet

    Not a spot of rust to be seen underneath anywhere? Are we looking at the same car, or do you just not know what you’re talking about? Whoever troweled that thick black coating of deception on the underside has a cake frosting career waiting for him.

    Like 3
  16. Avatar JoeNYWF64

    Are those factory/perfomance mufflers? They look like they belong on a station wagon or something.

    Like 1
  17. Avatar mopardel

    Rare car but get a grip.

    This has a lot of issues.

    Which the next 3 owners will address slowly.

    But I will be dead by then 🤣

    Like 0
  18. Avatar Gaspumpchas

    To me these scramblers defined cool, they took Granny’s Rambler, stuffed a big @$$ v8 in it with a 4 speed and let ‘er rip. Had a customer at the Sunoco station I worked at in ’71 and all he would run was the fabulous 260 blend. I was hooked. Not sure this one is worth 20 large but a good honest inspection would tell you. Good luck to the new owner!
    Cheers
    GPC

    Like 1
  19. Avatar Del

    Junk

    Like 1
  20. Avatar jeff

    In the late 70s with the guys I used to hang and kinda street race with we had 2 RAM ABLERS that were not SCRAMBLERS but were factory AMC 4 speeds if I remember correctly they were both 327s ? a 67 and I believe a 68 the 67 had 4.88s and could hang with our big block MOPARS and CHEVELLE SS S red light to red light but after that weren’t much of a problem Nice car to restore and enjoy.Cars such as these will become more prevalent as prices on the more popular MUSCLE CARS climb beyond the reach of most of us working class guys . Just not sure of the amount of aftermarket parts available for these OFF BRAND cars . Maybe possible to find NOS parts before they get CRAZILY priced as in the case of MOPARS but I wouldn’t bet on it. Possibly AMD will tool up with FAIR priced parts which I am thankfull for .They really putin the hurt on guys extorting unrealistic prices for usually banged up, rusty, badly stored NOS stuff .Especially sheet metal parts . I had many older MOPAR nos fenders that I tried to store properly but just from moving them and storing them in smaller garages they took their fair share of abuse .

    Like 0
  21. Avatar Tooyoung4heyday Member

    From what I can see in pics this looks like a pretty decent starter project for someone. Id be curious what it looked like before undercoating was applied. When I pulled mine from its 34 year barn slumber in 2012 it was and still is pretty clean for its age. Rust free? No, but it presents very well for an unrestored now 60k mile car. Lots of compliments at car shows. Aftermarket is spotty but the AMC faithful is a great network to get into. For most part very helpful with info and finding parts. Theres always somebody that knows somebody thats got something laying around or a stash of parts. The interior color on this car is correct. They came with that basketweave material and its charcoal in color. The r/w/b headrests are actually covers that slip over charcoal headrests. The headrests look nicer for age, the aftermarket ones look pink. As stated they came with t-10’s not muncies. All cars were 390, 4 speed, posi 3.54 rear end from factory with power disc brakes up front and manual steering. Fun to drive around, you get to hear a lot of memories pour out of people. People always say you never see them, i say i see one every day. Truth is I know of around 27 from northern wisconsin to chicago area, they just dont come out to play very often. I drive mine a lot so I dont understand that. Whoever buys one of these and is patient enough to get back on road you wont be dissapointed. As for price, seller isnt obscene, maybe come down a hair. Average selling is $30-45k, nicer ones in the $50-65 range at auctions. I turned down multiple offers of $20k site unseen before it was even running again. I put about $10k into mine and would drive anywhere, its very reliable just thirsty and requires better than premium gas. No regrets whatsoever, enjoy them while we can, who knows what our future holds.

    Like 1
  22. Avatar Gaspumpchas

    Great post, 2young4heyday! I wonder if the reason you see so many is that they were made in Kenosha??? Keep up the great stories, These cars were so overlooked. Good luck to the new owner!!
    Cheers]
    GPC

    Like 1
  23. Avatar TimM

    I don’t think it black paint that they used under this car!! The owner is a fisherman and that is actually flexseal and his intention was to make a hurst amphacar out of this!! After all they put a screen door as the bottom of a boat why not have a floating Rambler!!!

    Like 0
  24. Avatar Fred

    Has anyone seen this car
    Is it worth doing what is it missing owner said he is second owners and it’s all original,it is missing air cleaner and wheels
    Has a two barrel on it
    Long ride to see it just looking for some help
    Thank you Fred

    Like 0

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