As an incurable AMC/Rambler/Nash/Hudson fan, a car like this 1963 Rambler American 440 Convertible is pretty appealing to me. Hopefully there are a few others who like this generation of the Rambler American out there. This drop-top beauty is listed on eBay with a current bid price of $5,600 and the reserve isn’t met yet. It’s located in Waterford, Wisconsin.
This car appears to be ridiculously nice. The seller mentions that it was bought brand new in Kenosha, Wisconsin where it was made and then driven directly to southern California where it has been ever since, until its recent return to its Wisconsin Motherland. They refer to it as a Rambler Classic, but it’s an American, of course. Although, in the general sense of the word I would classify it as a classic; just not an AMC Rambler Classic. The 440 was almost the American’s top trim line for 1963, with the 440-H being as good as it got. I think I would take a 440-H hardtop with a twin-stick manual over a 440 convertible with an automatic. Thoughts?
This car looks like it’s in such nice condition that it’s sometimes hard for us Midwesterners or East Coast folks to believe that a vehicle can somehow not have big, gaping rust areas and flapping chunks of jagged, rusty body parts hanging off of it. For the 1,304,038th time I’m wondering why I didn’t move to the southwest after high school. The seller mentions that the “top needs repair or replacement”, no doubt due to the southern California sunshine. I’ll take that over chunks of rusty metal falling off due to rust any day of the week.
What a gorgeous interior! Ok, there are a few cracks on the top of the padded dash from the southern California sun, but the seats have been reupholstered and it has new carpet, so it isn’t original. It looks like the upholsterer did a bang-up job both front and rear. This car has just under 76,000 miles on it and I’m assuming that it doesn’t have 176,000 miles on it.
As always, the engine is a 195.6 (or, 196) cubic-inch inline-six with around 125 hp for the non-440-H model – which would have had 138 hp. The seller says that this one “runs great” and it has a “new radiator and front brakes (needs rear brakes).” I would love to get a second-generation Rambler American someday. Have any of you owned one?
Sure is a cutie–turnkey cruiser…..good luck to the new owner..
Purchased new by Jane Hathaway. ?
Didn’t Chrysler supply the cars for “The Beverly Hillbillies?” Drysdale always had an Imperial.
Both Milburn and Jane drove Mopar products exclusively.
Interesting car, but the photos in the advert have me slightly confused. Can someone tell me what the piece of steel bracket is in the back seat shot, just above the armrest please? I went searching for other rear seat shots of ’63 models, and haven’t found one shot with that in it. Cheers.
Front seat headrests are upside down lying on the back seat. That is the metal part that is supposed to be inside the seat.
Thanks for that Rodent. It really had me confused, but you appear to be spot-on with that.
I suspect that the headrests are meant to be stored the other way around, with the metal support down the side of the seat, and serve as armrests when they are stored. Pretty neat design, actually.
There is one on the other side too. Maybe convertible top reinforcement piece?
Good lookin out, seems like a home-made fix for the top mechanism maybe? I’ve seen this car for sale on the internet for awhile.
My father had a ’61, bought brand new. A 2dr sedan with the flathead six and three on the tree. The salesman told him that motor had been around for thirty years. He said that’s why he wanted it. He didn’t want any fancy overhead valves or automatic transmissions. It served him very well until our northeast tin worms got it. I think after that my mother picked out the new cars, big Mercs and Chryslers. Also didn’t they have a Rambler American convertible on Third Rock From The Sun?
Great show!
I had a ’62 American Deluxe wagon that I got off my dad back in the late 1960s. It was the most uncool car in the parking lot of Fairfax High School in L.A, something it shared with a ’63 more-door (OHV-6 and OD) and a ’61 two-door (flathead-six and Flash-O-Matic).
He bought it new from a local dealer as a base model with a radio. 90 HP flathead six, three-on-the-tree and not much else.
Even with regular maintenance and driven carefully by my father, the car ate an engine, a succession of clutches and transmissions (when heavy-duty clutches were tried). Then there was the time I was taking a girlfriend up to Malibu for a day at the beach, filled the gas tank, which then promptly broke the single strap holding it to the chassis. As you can imagine, she was most impressed (NOT).
I ended up putting a Spark-O-Matic floor shift conversion in it – the column setup was literally falling apart, some ’65 Impala bucket seats that my brother had sitting in the garage, a tach, a Sears four-track stereo and a Vibrasonic unit for the radio.
As the one-size-fits-all universal floor shifter kit was bolted to the floor and not the transmission, if you floored it, the massive torque from the 1930s-era Flying Scott 6 would pull the trans out of first gear and – sometimes – nget it into second! LOL
Still I had a lot of fun times in that pile of junk. It was handy for weekends away, as well as hauling band and gear around. It got replaced with a one-owner 1960 VW Beetle, which aforementioned girlfriend suggested showed that I was becoming conformist…
Would I own another one? Never!
My parents also owned a red over grey ‘61 two-door American with a three-on-the-tree. It is one of the first cars I remember from my childhood. I found, and briefly owned in college, the same vehicle, but by ‘89 the rot had unfortunately compromised the uni-body. That flat six still ran like a Swiss Watch! They are neat cars. Of the three years for this body style, ‘61 is my favorite. Hope to someday be able to go back….
I have a 1960 Ramble American Super, 2 door three speed. Calf. Car have had it for 25years up here in Maine. Fun car in great shape . Great attention getter
Here In Maine.Wish I had this Conv. To drive when the weather gets warm again.
Great looking scarce car.
Is it just my old geezer eyes playing tricks, or do the rear wheels look to be quite a bit forward in the rear wheel fender opening, instead of being centered?
Ian, that’s how they were built – agree that it does look odd…
I’m almost certain that I’ve read about that – something to do with using the older chassis/wheelbase and trying to make the car look bigger. These cars always had an “in between 50’s and 60’s look” to them.
Early A/FX dragster?
like….
Nice to see one of these without the chugging old flathead six for a change.
Winning bid of $6,100.
I don’t have the time for another hobby car. I don’t have the space for another hobby car.
At $6,100 I’m kicking myself that I didn’t buy this!
Didn’t columbo detective drive one of these in the 📺 series!
This one is nice 👍
Think he drove a Borgward
A ’59 Peugeot 403.
Your right.
Sold! $6100, I think some one got a great buy!
Scotty,
Nope, not with you. I do like the twin stick but the 440 has to be a drop top for me. Even if it is an automatic.
The hardtop is nice inside but the lines are a little stoggy. The convertible, well I really like them. They look more balanced.
When first my eye caught the photo for this car, the immediate and very short-lived response was: “Cortina!” Must have been the wedge-stripe down the side. Still, there is a bit of a resemblance. Would be stronger, if the tail lights were much larger circles?
When I look at these cars the Maytag washing machine designers handiwork shines through.
Loved my little show winner but sold her for a year older(1960 Rambler American hot rod)
Very nice and an excellent buy at that price.
My best friend in High School had a ’63 440-H hardtop, solid white, but his car had stick shift – 3 speed & OD. That little Rambler was one of the faster stock cars in our high school. His whole family was Rambler/AMC, as a family member was employed by the local AMC dealership. Because his family home was only a few minutes from school, on the days he drove the 440-H, we used to go to his house after school.
Because it was a stick shift, and his home was at the bottom of a long hill, just around the corner from the main road, he used to cut the engine a few blocks away, and turning the corner, he would pull up to the curb on the right, parking squarely in front of the house.
My friend traded the 440-H in on a new Javelin in 1968 or 69. Again, he bought a white car, but this time with a small block V8 and 3-speed column shift! The first time we left school and headed down the long hill as usual, he pushed the clutch in and turned the ignition off as we rounded the curve. About half way into the curve, we both heard the steering wheel interlock “click”.
With the front wheels still pointing to the left, and the car in overdrive [freewheeling] preventing any engine drag when he let out the clutch, the car ended up on a neighbor’s front lawn, having driven between 2 other parked cars on the other side of the street. No damages to vehicles, but we both had to repair the neighbor’s front lawn where the wheels dug in.
“…Have any of you owned one?”
Yes, white ‘vert (blk top), in ’69. Nice (mid sz?) ‘square box’ and a bit of a turn off to other teens cuz of the brand. I liked it.
Even tho the paint job had dulled in just 5 yrs the 6 was so smooth’n quite folks would laugh when I stopped at the only stop lght in town. Thought it’d stalled out.
Being a dumb kid I’d jump offa the porch, one skip across the trunk, & vault into the driver’s seat (playin cowboy) to tear off into the sunset.
I think the sides looked more like the red 1 above, don’t remember the gold or yellow wedge dwn the sides as in the white.
That is a beautiful car! Here’s my 61 American Custom convertible ‘Lola’ from Austin TX.
Wow, Talk about memories, I had this same exact car in the hardtop version back in ’73 and it was the same exact color combo, an off white with the gold side trim, column shift automatic and bench seat. Non of the fancy frills on this. I drove this as a daily driver for a couple years and will recall a trip from Norcal to Socal to Disneyland with my first wife (now ex) in the summer of ’73. A very hot and miserable ride without A/C but that Rambler cruised I-5 just beautiful!
I like the convertible version of this model, and I do think someone got a very good deal on this.
I sold the car to a younger friend of my Brother, I heard he got drunk one night and hit a bridge abutment and totaled it. Sad!
One odd thing I noticed on the sellers picture submission is he had the rear plates on the front of the car, and then placed the plates on the front for photos. Not sure why he would do this, other than to just show it was a Calif. registered car.? Nice find!
Just $6100 for such a nice car, I guess a 4 door in the same condition is worth, maybe $5
Sharp looking ’63! The lucky new owner got a good deal at that price. I have a ’61 Rambler American Custom 400 four door sedan with the ohv six and three on the tree, radio and heater. Supposedly only 1629 Custom 400 4 doors built. It is a five passenger car with bucket seats and fancier door panels and standard padded dash. I believe there were only three color choices available also. They were just a slight upgrade from the regular Custom models. Mine has 45,000 miles on it and was sitting in a garage from 1974 until late 2016 but it’s back on the road and runs well.
i AM THINKING ABOUT PURCHASING A 63 4-DOOR with 3on the tree
however the clutch pedal is lower than the break pedal.Is that a problem?
Any other comments very welcomed.This little guy looks seriously beat up.
But its running
ernie,
It’s likely the clutch linkage is out of adjustment or the linkage pieces may be worn and in need of replacement. If the clutch engages and disengages as it should, and there is about a 1″ to 1.5″ play between when the pedal sits at rest, and where resistance is met by the clutch pressure plate springs, then the clutch should be OK, and it’s the linkage needing repair or adjustment.
Most mechanics familiar with older stickshift cars should be able to tell what the problem is, just by checking the pedal movement and “feel”, without having to disassemble the clutch.