The year 1954 saw the formation of American Motors Corporation from the amalgamation of Nash-Kelvinator and Hudson. The same year saw the merger of Studebaker and Packard. These historic combinations were provoked by a devastating price war kicked off by Ford and GM in 1953, which wrecked automotive strategies far and wide. AMC fought back by carving out a new niche – one that came to be known as the compact car. The new Ramblers were not as compact as, say, the VW Beetle, but stacked against the big platforms saturating the landscape in the ’50s, they were small and frugal. The wagon boasted a roll-down rear window, headlamps mounted in the grille, and plenty of seating for all the kids. This 1956 Rambler Cross Country wagon was advertised here on eBay, and though that listing has expired, it can still be found here. This stylish emblem of the ’50s is priced at $17,500. Thanks to Driven by Faith Restorations for the great tip!
While this Rambler is substantially snazzier on the outside than anything plying our roads today, its underhood equipment emphasizes thrift. AMC’s 195.6 cu. in. OHV inline six-cylinder was reworked for 1956, managing output of 120 hp but retaining a claimed 30 mpg. AMC offered GM’s Hydramatic three-speed automatic, calling it the Flashaway – as the only transmission option. The coupling of these components offered torque but virtually no noticeable speed. By ’56, the electrical system was updated to 12v. This car has seen substantial recent brake work, backed by receipts available with the car. The underside reveals a relatively new exhaust system.
The interior is a bit of a letdown. It’s clean, and might be new, but personally I don’t love the color, and the upholstery isn’t fitted well. Also, at about the same time the brake work was completed, someone installed a modern radio, cutting the door panels to fit the speakers. I’d rather have clean panels and satisfy myself listening to the labor of the engine. That said, the instrument panel looks great, I love the steering wheel, the headliner is fine, and at least the seats aren’t the usual dull black we put up with in modern cars.
The roof rack is a nice touch, but it’s barely noticeable amidst the spectacular curves of chrome trim, the roof indent echoed by the swoosh of contrasting paint on her flanks, set off by those white wheels. Overall, this is a wonderful representative of AMC’s answer to changes in the market. The Rambler compacts were successful enough to give AMC its best sales years ever in the late 1950s, putting the company in the black for the first time in some years. What do you think of this stylish wagon?
Well, I’ll be the son of a foul mouthed carpenter, what a memory. I’m sorry if certain cars don’t do for you what Ramblers do to me, it’s just, on the “last lap” of life, me and my brother talk a lot about our childhood, and Ramblers were a big, no HUGE part of it. We try and recall what our neighbors, teachers, friends parents drove in the 60s. The guy across the alley had a wagon just like this, only red, black and white, I think. Not many car companies offered 3 or sometimes 4 colors on a single car. I delivered paint to AMC plant, only black for some reason. I heard they had painters from overseas that were masters and fled Europe after the war. The finished bodies were transported by truck on open double deck flatbeds from the E.Capitol Dr. plant in Milwaukee, now a Walmart( pulled by IH 4000 cabovers) to Kenosha 30 miles away for final assembly. Drivetrain and eventual shipping. In all weather, which may explain the rusting. We used to watch them go by, one truck every 5 minutes, it seemed. The colors were outstanding. Pinks, purples, yellows and yes, pea green, to name just a few
As usual, as unbelievable as it is to see one again, the dang stick shift will kill any future sales. I know, many here can and might prefer a stick, but the bigger picture is, nobody in 20 years will want to drive this. Today, being different is not what it was in the 50s-60s. I think pea green may have been partly moms influence, but the point is, they had the chutzpah to drive down Panelwood Estates Lane in this, and were mighty proud. It’s great to see one again.
Howard A …..Howard I’m glad you put a picture of yourself in one of your comments. ….So we could get to see what you look like. ….Now we can put a face to your comments. 😊
Where’s that picture? I’ve gotta see that! The picture of Howard in my mind he looks like an old truck! Lol buddy. You know I think you’re the best thing Milwaukee ever put out!
Here’s a picture of Howard:
https://barnfinds.com/cheap-locomotive-1950-general-electric-80-ton-switcher/#comments
I also read the description and looked at the pictures and wondered why it wasn’t mentioned it as being a stick shift. I prefer stick shifts myself and I think this car would be fun to drive, but as far as future interest is concerned, I doubt I’ll still be here in 20 years. Maybe will it to a museum or something.
Now that’s detail regarding the bodies etc.
Howard, wasn’t this the year they made the fast Rebel? Even at my advanced age, I’m not sharp enough to recall being 4. I do recall one of my Father’s friend – who was a parts man for the other local Rambler dealer – meticulously restoring a Rebel with I think a 327 that was quicker than most of its peers. My most vivid memory of the plant in Milwaukee was that the Great Northern passenger train passed by. Then at dealer drive in Kenosha being spoiled with a bottle of pop all to myself. Funny how a 60 year old memory is sharp in my brain, but I look for my sunglasses when they are atop my head!
The Rebel you’re thinking of was offered in 1957. It had the 327 from the Ambassador but with mechanical lifters and a higher compression ratio. It was the second fastest factory stock car at the Daytona Beach time trials. The only faster car was the 1957 Corvette.
Hello, Dave! If you were 4 in 1956, you are NOT OLD: I speak as one who was a young adult at that time. And I refuse to admit that I am old, even when I have those who insist that I am not old at all, I am ANCIENT! I laugh at my age now, because I am so grateful to still BE here, and relatively able. All of that aside; though I would love one of these 1950s Rambler wagons in excellent condition, I would never touch THIS one. When people restore these vehicles, WHY can’t they leave the original A.M. radio in place, and NOT convert the clock to quartz? If I wanted those things in modern form, I would shop for a modern car! The valve (tube) A.M. radios were 1,000 per cent. better than the “solid state” car-radios of newer times. The sound was rich, and stations hundreds of miles away were heard with ease at noon. Those original radios would even hold onto a small station out way beyond its service-area, until some other station on the same frequency began to intrude upon it. Try that with a modern radio, and the first station will fade out to hiss after about 40 miles, and it will be another 50 or so miles, before you begin to hear the other one breaking through the hiss. And how can someone cut holes in the original door-panels, just to install speakers which never belonged there in the first place? If I were to buy a 1956 car, I would want a genuine unmodified 1956 automobile, just as it was designed to be for 1956! I HATE to see any of the few survivors DESTROYED by someone who insists upon adding what they would have in a newer vehicle: go BUY that newer car, then, and let vintage vehicles alone!!!!!!!
Harrison Reed – long distance AM radio listening–did you listen to any pirate radio stations back in the 70s?
I was one of the operators of WCPR 1620am, “John Doe” — remember?
Harrison – I can recall changing what I called the vibrator in tube radios to make them work – after taking the tubes to the local grocery store to test them for working. I also recall getting WGN -Clear Channel Chicago 50,000 watts – at 2a.m. when driving between Miles City and Lemmon, South Dakota. I do not know if this is still possible. I, too, am glad to still be burning gas. I am my dear Mother’s care-giver and she will be 95 in February. Life is good for us, especially when you do not take it too seriously.
Stunning car.
We had a wagon like that in coral and cream paint. Good running car. It towed a model A ford 100 +miles from Cape cod
Contrary to the write-up it had three on the tree.
Looks like this one has a clutch pedal also.
They charged Eight Hundred Dollars to cut the holes for the speakers and Fifty to run the wires ?! What were those doors made of? Seriously, I would never pay what they are asking but it is a fascinating car. Don’t know about the black with green and white though.
Cool find! Our Neighbor across the street drove a teal and white 4 door Nash Rambler until the day he passed. He once got into an argument with his next door neighbor, Mrs Gertrude. Afterwards, I recall him telling Dad “that woman’s meaner N’ a striped ally cat, and uglier N’ a two tone Dodge! Some things you never forget.
Real nice car, has that “mouth full of teeth grill” Rarely ever see one of these and in good shape.
I think it’s beautiful. I love the front end of the car.
Car designers in the 50’s & 60’s really had the style thing dialed in.
Oh, yeah!
As a kid growing up in the early sixties, my mom’s friend always drove Ramblers. I remember being embarrassed riding in her Black over Coral wagon. Then she traded it for a mint green Rambler sedan…
This is a great example why Barn finds is so popular. Seeing cars that are not as common but bring old memories of youth past to life again. A neighborhood resident had a black and coral color one. She would always honk the horn to warn us she was coming home and move to the side when we were playing stick ball,,football or roller hockey in the street! Oh the 50s-60s great time to be a kid 🧒
Hello, Dave! If you were 4 in 1956, you are NOT OLD: I speak as one who was a young adult at that time. And I refuse to admit that I am old, even when I have those who insist that I am not old at all, I am ANCIENT! I laugh at my age now, because I am so grateful to still BE here, and relatively able. All of that aside; though I would love one of these 1950s Rambler wagons in excellent condition, I would never touch THIS one. When people restore these vehicles, WHY can’t they leave the original A.M. radio in place, and NOT convert the clock to quartz? If I wanted those things in modern form, I would shop for a modern car! The valve (tube) A.M. radios were 1,000 per cent. better than the “solid state” car-radios of newer times. The sound was rich, and stations hundreds of miles away were heard with ease at noon. Those original radios would even hold onto a small station out way beyond its service-area, until some other station on the same frequency began to intrude upon it. Try that with a modern radio, and the first station will fade out to hiss after about 40 miles, and it will be another 50 or so miles, before you begin to hear the other one breaking through the hiss. And how can someone cut holes in the original door-panels, just to install speakers which never belonged there in the first place? If I were to buy a 1956 car, I would want a genuine unmodified 1956 automobile, just as it was designed to be for 1956! I HATE to see any of the few survivors DESTROYED by someone who insists upon adding what they would have in a newer vehicle: go BUY that newer car, then, and let vintage vehicles alone!!!!!!!
Harrison Reed – did you listen to WCPR 1620 AM pirate Radio? I was “John Doe” and remember talking to you way back when!
calabrojohnny@gmail.com
I learned to drive in one just like this. I believe the hydromatic was a 4 speed. Reclining seats made for great dates at the Riverbreeze Drive In .
This is nothing short of simply fantastic. I’ve never seen one in tri-tone. Unfortunately, I have to agree with the sentiment that as time goes on, the amount of people interested in cars like this will continue to dwindle. It should be the polar opposite; in a sea of new grey jelly beans with black wheels that all look the same, how could something this different and beautiful not be appreciated?
Mr Reed … reminds me of radio station KAAY in Little Rock … after 10pm or so you could get it anywhere in the continental US … 1090 AM “Beaker St” radio … rock-n-roll at its best … those were the daze …
A small correction, the only thing faster than the 57 Rebel was the fuel injected Corvette, standard Corvette was not.
The interior on this car is totally hokey. I have a 56 with the original cloth interior.
To John Calabro: Ahh… the 1970s, and an old [HEAVY] military transmitter named, “Karen Ann Quinlan” — and Patrick Sky’s 1973 L.P., “Songs That Made America Famous”. He used to play at Caffe Lena [Lena Spenser] in Saratoga Springs. Small world! Good to know that you’re still around! SOMEbody intermittently operates on 1620 kcs. even now, playing the softest of 1950s oldies and popular standards. They clearly use a crystal and not a variable tuning-condenser, to control their carrier-frequency, and they put in a moderately weak signal. There are no announcements, hour after hour upon hour: then, suddenly, they vanish, as though someone pulled the plug on their operation or flipped-off a power-switch. The audio isn’t bad, though a bit lacking at the higher frequencies, and they seem a trifle under-modulated. Wonder who and where they are? I still use the same radio — a Zenith Royal 500H that I bought in 1961 — which I was using to listen to you 48 and 49 years ago. Back then, I still utilised my 1949 RCA Victor model 8B41 four-tube portable, far more than I do now — tube sets are tough on batteries, and batteries to fit that set have gone through the roof in price! The “A” battery, a simple “D” cell, is no problem. But the 67-1/2-volt “B” battery, which sold for $3.25 in the mid-1970s, is well over $100.00 now… WHEN you even can FIND one! So, I keep a good set of batteries in that reliable 75-year-old radio, just to show some curious person that it still works: other than that, it sits and mostly gathers dust until I lovingly dust it off. The present batteries have been in it for at least ten years. Nice to hear from you! Happy New Year!! I got old, but I assume and firmly trust that you didn’t change at all.(smile)
Amazing coincidence to connect with you again. I’ve been following Barn Finds for years, one of my daily online reads–this is one of the best things about the internet. Please shoot me an email, would love to catch up again!
calabrojohnny@gmail.com
http:/www.thepirateradioguy.com
Hi, “Pirate Joe!”
To Jon.in.Chicago: KAAY in Little Rock is rarely heard over here, because their signal is severely nulled-out to the east. They have 50,000 watts; but then, so does 1090-WBAL in Baltimore (which is nulled-out to the west): the two stations protect each other. WBAL, about 500 miles south-southwest of my location, can be heard here all day long (not just at night), although their daytime groundwave signal is weak, here (it’s “there”, when you look diligently for it, and that’s about it). I used to hear KAAY after WBAL dumped off the air between 1 A.M. and 5:30 A.M. on Monday mornings perhaps once a month 60-odd years ago. I do hear things way underneath the ultra-potent WBAL — but I can’t tell if what I hear is KAAY, some 1090 former daytimer or Canadian now allowed to operate with “flea” power at night, or something from “south of the border”. But since WBAL is on 24/7/365-1/4, I can’t pick out anything else on 1090. Sorry. But I do occasionally hear a St. Louis conservative talk station on 550 with 5,000 watts, even though they are nulled in this direction at night. St. Louis’s KMOX-1120, of course, is easy to hear, here. But one station I no longer regularly hear, here, is 870-WWL from New Orleans.
To Jon.in.Chicago: KAAY in Little Rock is rarely heard over here, because their signal is severely nulled-out to the east. They have 50,000 watts; but then, so does 1090-WBAL in Baltimore (which is nulled-out to the west): the two stations protect each other. WBAL, about 500 miles south-southwest of my location, can be heard here all day long (not just at night), although their daytime groundwave signal is weak, here (it’s “there”, when you look diligently for it, and that’s about it). I used to hear KAAY after WBAL dumped off the air between 1 A.M. and 5:30 A.M. on Monday mornings perhaps once a month 60-odd years ago. I do hear things way underneath the ultra-potent WBAL — but I can’t tell if what I hear is KAAY, some 1090 former daytimer or Canadian now allowed to operate with “flea” power at night, or something from “south of the border”. But since WBAL is on 24/7/365-1/4, I can’t pick out anything else on 1090. Sorry. But I do occasionally hear a St. Louis conservative talk station on 550 with 5,000 watts, even though they are somewhat nulled in this direction at night. St. Louis’s KMOX-1120, of course, is easy to hear, here. But one station I no longer regularly hear, up here, is 870-WWL from New Orleans. WHCU-870 in Ithaca now operates all night, and is beamed in my direction. WWL used to mix WITH it, but not recently.
Hello, Dave Peterson! I am closer to your mother’s age, than to yours (smile), and I remember many a vibrator in old car radios. You ask if it is still possible to get WGN-720 in the wee hours out in the Dakotas… I should rather HOPE so! — since I am in that part of New York State which is adjacent to Vermont, and I can hear WGN (albeit faintly) all day on my transistor radio. After 2 P.M., it gets stronger and stronger, and by 4 P.M. WGN sounds “local”. And they stay strong here until at least 8 A.M., when they start getting weaker again through midday. The same is essentially true for the Chicago stations on 670, 780, 890, and 1000. Sometimes we get 1690, 1160, 820, and 560, also. I don’t recall where you are — but the Chicago 50,000-watt A.M. stations blanket about 2/3 of the “lower 48” and half or more of Canada all night. Unless you are west of the Rockies, you should be able to hear them. Sunspot activity can block them, however: when the Aurora Borealis is seen, the only distant stations you’ll get are ones in Latin America, if even them.