For years, American Motors published a comprehensive booklet comparing its products with the competition. It was called “X-Ray,” and various engineers, stylists, and executives introduced the new Ramblers with exhaustive comparative data that showed, more often that not, that AMC products were more-or-less even with the competition. My trusty copy is sitting by my side, and I can tell you that this top-of-the-line 770 Classic would be a fine daily driver, according to the folks at American Motors. So let’s go shopping, courtesy of Chuck Foster, who sent us a tip that you could find this Rambler on craigslist in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
We’d start under the hood, but the selling dealer has excluded any photos of the engine compartment. It is a six-cylinder car, so we know that it’s the AMC 232 under there, with 145 horsepower and 215 lb.-ft. of torque, right on par with most popular sixes. Being the “luxury” Classic, it’s no surprise that you’ll also get the “Flash-O-Matic” three-speed automatic for relaxed driving. One thing that “X-Ray” tries to put a positive spin on is the fact that AMC was still clinging to the torque tube, a quaint example of driveline technology that even sentimental old Buick gave up after 1960. That will hardly matter to you in your daily commute, however, unless you find yourself having to remove the transmission. Then your day gets a little more tedious (and I hope you’ve been working on your core at the gym).
American Motors was rightfully proud of their interiors, and this Classic appears to be all-original (great color, too). There are some torn seams in the cloth inserts on those wide, reclining bucket seats (a Rambler tradition). And where’s the driver’s headrest? The carpet is protected by an ancient, clear vinyl floor mat, so it’s probably in excellent condition as well. It’s a little discolored, but you can see AMC’s molded fiberglass headliner, which “never sags or droops.” Pretty neat.
The dashboard is right up to date, given that it’s 60 years old. The selling dealer claims that it’s an 85,444-mile car, and given the condition of the interior, I’d be inclined to agree. That Rambler driveline is just getting broken-in, as they say.
The Classic was one of the trimmer intermediates, with an overall length of 195 inches, a little shorter than a Fairlane or a Chevelle. Richard Teague, Vice President – Automotive Styling, says that “true automotive styling excellence…should avoid excessive use of cumbersome sheet metal and extraneous appendages,” so it appears that he and the styling department have done their job. The outside of this Classic looks solid aside from some minor rust behind the passenger rear wheel opening, and there are also a few strange dents on the trunk lid. These are minor concerns and not unexpected for a 60-year-old daily driver.
American Motors produced 23,603 Classic 770 sedans in 1965, not exactly a number to write home about, and indeed, American Motors was not in the best of shape in 1965. That doesn’t matter much today, because there’s enough club support to ensure that you’ll be in parts and advice for years to come, and you’ll have one of the most interesting daily drivers in Tennessee. How much? The dealer is asking $5,500, which is a lot cheaper than just about anything in similar condition that you’ll find on the lot these days. Let us know if you decide to live the Rambler life.
Oh man, that’s gorgeous! Nice one, Aaron and Chuck! Not having an engine photo (and from a dealer, no less) takes another several months off of my life, but what a car. And it’s not far from my favorite car museum, The Lane Motor Museum.
I visited the Lane back in 2016, what a trip! Now that’s a guy living his best life.
Howard could cruise cheerfully into the cars 🚗 and coffee ☕️ Flash-0-Matic, and torquey six-pot delivering him in sensible style 😌 👍
Don’t forget “Tri-Poised” power, Weather-Eye heater and vacuum wipers. The reclining seats were more hype than anything. Very few Ramblers went on dates that might find those seats handy. They were great cars and their ads were some of the best.
Entertaining write up, Aaron! The color of this Rambler’s interior is terrific, and I would love to have a 60’s dashboard in my art gallery. Maybe Bob can run down and snap an engine photo for everyone – he’s somewhere in TN.
That car was my first daily driver.
CT Dave
Torque tubes were so quaint that Ferrari started using them in the 275 GTB right about that time.
Big difference. The Ferrari had an independent rear suspension, so the torque tube was basically stationary because the transaxle was bolted to the structure. In the Rambler, the entire heavy apparatus articulated with the suspension. Even the C7 Corvette had a torque tube, but it was fine because the rear suspension wasn’t in charge of controlling it; it was bolted to the transaxle in the back and the engine in the front.
No neutral drops into reverse I guess with the cable-drive? Probably not a great system for getting out of a snow bank, but I like the idea of not having to do the yearly u-joint replacement. On second thought, my ’14 Ram has all its original u-joints with 120k miles. I must be getting old, or at least lighter footed….
I’d much rather replace conventional u-joints rather than have to deal with that torque-tube. (I’ve dealt with Rambler torque tube R&R several times over the years, most recently just last year, and it is not a lot of fun.)
Rambler had what for the time was very advanced unit body engineering but suspension and driveline were mostly refugees from the 1940s.
I drove a bunch of those AMC cars in high school. Either that or farm puck ups. I kept on tearing up my own cars. I only tore up one AMC. That was a 1968 Rebel with a 290 V8. I.guess those torque tube’s were stout enough for my abuse. I would buy this in a minute. I just don’t feel like sleeping in it. And she would make me.
Hey, with the reclining bench seat, it would be easy to sleep in. Don’t forget it just yet, Lol
The 1968 Rebel didn’t have torque tube drive, last year for it was 1966. I have a 1967 Rebel and it has a 4-link coil spring rear suspension with conventional open driveline. (However trunnions in the front suspension did not go away until 1970 and electric wipers did not become standard until 1972.)
Looks like a nice Rambler. While the ad has lots of pics, the dealer/seller has zero info about the car itself— just dealership boilerplate. Doing some googling, it’s at a dealer which looks to have mostly used work trucks, though their other vehicle of interest is a 1996 Bronco Eddie Bauer.
I always like to see the everyman cars of their day. There were some of these 60’s Ramblers in my growing-up small town. Those slanted numbers on the speedometer always looked odd to me.
I found that on Buicks if you needed to remove the transmission you just hooked a come-a-long from the rear end to the back frame member and you could get just enough room to pull the transmission. :)
This a beauty and sure beats paying $40K for a current daily driver.
nice car at a fair price. why post an ad on C/L only to describe your business practices and nothing about the car.
Guess the dealer reads BF. The last photo shows the engine. Was it recently added? This car seems like a good deal to me.
I saw that too and thought the same thing. Says the ad was just updated but the engine pic cost an extra $400.00! They also updated the price to $5900 from the BF mentioned $5500. 😝 at $5500, I was considering a road trip, now I’m not so sure. Too close to this months budget line with property taxes due too
That’s a good-looking dash with lots of single controls.
Hello, Dave! These mid-sixties Ramblers weren’t quite as “generic” as late 1970s/early 1980s Dodge Diplomats and Plymouth Gran Furys — but CLOSE. The price seems reasonable, but driving a 60-year-old car daily might prove expensive in unexpected repairs, I would tend to fear. The dashboard and steering-wheel are classic. Do I want to run all the way to Tennessee, to get this one? Wonder how the AMC radios were?
Hello, Dave! These mid-sixties Ramblers weren’t quite as “generic” as late 1970s/early 1980s Dodge Diplomats and Plymouth Gran Furys — but CLOSE. The price seems reasonable, but driving a 60-year-old car daily might prove expensive in unexpected repairs, I would tend to fear. The dashboard and steering-wheel are classic. Do I want to run all the way to Tennessee, to get this one? Wonder how the AMC radios were?
Harrison, if this runs as good as it looks it’s a winner. Also, white color is good as best “to be seen”, especially in low light. The radios were tube still in 1965 I think, at least the one that was supposed to be in my 66 F-100 is. As you know, they can be fine but likely one speaker with this model. There is a photo of the 232 6 engine on Facebook ad. This needs inspection but could be reliable, I think. On another note, I have been learning to work on and adjust the Edison player, thanks to your comments about the neglected 78’s in the attic! I’ve had a good time playing the Edison discs again. They do have a 78 record adaptor on eBay, that replaces the reproducer to play just 78’s, but costs about $150. So, the 78’s may come down before the heat returns.
Rambler radios went fully transistorized in the early 1960s. I used to have a 1964 Ambassador that had the factory all-transistor AM/FM radio with “Vibra-tone” reverb for the rear speaker, pretty much the ultimate offered at the time. (The much more common factory AM radios were also transistorized.) Those radios were pretty good, made by Motorola.
From Victoria Oz … in the late 1960s my father had a lovely dark green with light coloured upholstery Rambler Classic 660 which, as a young fella, I tried to drive as often as I could. My question is – was the 660 a basic model against the 770 higher quality finish? Thank you, Ken
The 660 was the mid-line model, Ken; the base model was the 550 and the 770 was the top-of-the-line Classic.
Thanks, Aaron … I’m 78 and it remains one of those cars I would like to have today. I’m a Jaguar nut, 1965 S-Type, 1974 XJ6 Series 2 and 1993 XJ40, but say no more! LOL
My uncle had a new 1966 Classic. It was an incredibly solid reliable car. My father bought a new 1966 Ford Fairlane and while it was a nice car, the Rambler was at least the equal of the Ford. The Rambler with it’s full coil spring suspension definitely rode more comfortably.
Howard, I’m surprised no one, including yourself, mentioned the factory installed reverb for that enhanced rear speaker sound. I have a few of those units rescued from the junkyards of yesteryear. I always thought they’d be worth something, but I guess not, or I wouldn’t still have any.
Hi, Dave! If they were mine, I would not play those 78s on your Edison with an adaptor — especially if any of them are newer than 1924. If you have a stereo system, what you need is a turntable with the 78 speed on it, along with a dedicated 78 pickup cartridge. If you are not prepared to go that far, yet you still want to play those 78s without harming them, then get one of these $79.99 portables, or an all-in-one tabletop unit with the same three-speed turntable, cassette player, CD player, for around $199.99. Then go on-line and purchase the 78 rpm 0.3 mil. replacement stylus, and play your 78s! The 0.07 stereo stylus which comes installed in those “cheapie” players will carve into the grooves of your 78s, permanently damaging them (even though sellers of those machines might ignorantly tell you otherwise, since they were born generations after 78s had vanished from the marketplace). 78s were replaced by 45s starting in 1949, though it took another ten years before the production of new 78s ended in the U.S. — and they held on only a little longer in Canada, England, and other places. If you truly want to get the best out of those 78s, and you have an existing stereo system of high quality, then getting a decent turntable would be the way to go — and I could guide you with that. A lot depends upon the age and condition of those 78s. Hope this helps… And, thanks to everyone else here who advised me about AMC factory radios!!! (SMILE, Everybody!)
Harrison, I think you are correct that I should not buy the adaptor for the Edison disc player to play my 78 records. Also, because a needle needs replacing each play. I do have several turntables in the attic that mostly require cartridges. I did read about needing the thicker 0.3 stylus for playing 78’s, also they say a simple rewiring at cartridge? I should go upstairs and make a list of what I have for turntables and 78 records. This is a good time of year for that. Last night I stayed up watching YouTube video instructions about improving sound quality for the Edison reproducer simply by cleaning with Q Tip around the stylus and small drop of watch oil at the pin pivot.
I was wrong about remembering the radios for 1965 cars. My 66 F-100 does have solid state. I have two in the garage that need repair. The previous owners butchered the radio opening in the dash to a large rectangle for modern radio. I have one below that works for FM but would prefer the original AM radio in place and working. They do sell a dash repair piece, or one could be fashioned as a patch. I did put in the original speaker and grille, no stereo.
Hello again, Dave! If your choice is a stand-alone three-speed turntable for your stereo system; I enthusiastically recommend an Ortofon 2M-mono-78. It will wire right into your stereo headshell, and is already internally bridged for mono. Installing it, therefore, is straightforward, just the same way that you would hook-up a stereo cartridge — same colour-codes — everything. Then balance the tonearm at zero, set the tracking for 1.9 grammes, and get ready to hear more from your 78s than you had any idea was there! If you’re not sure how to get the tracking-angle and overhang correct, then either get a special protractor designed specifically for that, or get an experienced turntable dealer to help you. Cheers!