Hey all, After long running issues with my modern daily-driver (a POS Mitsubishi Magna/Diamante) I've finally had enough of new crap and I'm in negotiations to buy a '64 Rambler 330. Now, I'm from a Ford/Holden family and I know very little about AMC products, so if anyone can give me any advice I'd really appriciate it. This car will be a daily driver, but I plan to make it a mild custom while I'm driving it.
really not bad cars....same like body as the "American" or 440 or Rouge....the bad is the drive line/driveshaft was still in a tube...until maybe 1968/69...we had them in our family....
Only the big Ambassador had the torque tube drive and rear coils. The smaller models had open drive and leaf springs. Ramblers were known for being quiet comfortable riding cars, economical and durable but not much performance and excitement. 64 is one of the last that used the old generation of engines, they used their own make of engines with Warner transmissions, 3 speed manual or T35 auto. The same trans was used in lots of other cars including nearly all English cars that go auto boxes in the fifties and sixties. Parts are not too hard to come by at least in North America and there are a couple of dedicated owners clubs.
Look up Brootal here, he has had one forever (it was his grandfathers.) He lives in Perth and loves to talk about his taxi.
Thanks for the info Rusty. After dealing with an unreliable modern car for a year I'm glad to be back in something durable and economic. Mine has the 195ci and Auto. Parts might be a bit hard to come by, but I have 2 spare BW35s from a previous project if I run into trans trouble. Cheers X38, I'll look him up.
Keep oil in it and that engine will run until you are tired of looking at it.When I was a kid one of our auto shop instructors had that exact car with a modified 327 Chev and a 4 speed in it.That was a fun car!
Hi Mate, I too have an American, although mine is a 67, and I live just up the road from you on Sunny Coast, pm me and I can give you plenty of contacts regarding parts and advice for your car. I know that car, it came from up here, I can probably put you in touch with the previous owners, who owned it for years. Terry.
It could have a flathead in it, 1964 was the last year you could buy a Rambler with a flathead six in fact the last US built car to offer a flathead engine. The alternative was an OHV 6, basically the same engine modified for an OHV head. The original design dated back to 1941, the OHV version to 1956. There is a known weakness in the OHV 6 and that is head gaskets. The head bolts need to be checked every 4000 miles and retorqued every 8000 to avoid blowing a head gasket. This can be extended to 12,000 miles if a modern gasket is used. They also had a V8 since 1956, it was made in 287 and 327 cu in versions. From 1965 on they had brand new engines both six cylinder and V8.
I suggest a careful and very thorough undercoating of the whole car, including the inside tops of the front fenders and the inside bottoms of all the doors. They were known to be rust buckets. If you've got a solid one, do all you can to preserve it, and fix anything you find while you're sealing it up. I've had a couple of Ramblers, the 6 cylinder cars are super slow but they're otherwise a good car to use as a daily driver.
Cheers Terry. This one got sold out from under me, some rat-rodder from the Gold Coast turned up with cash and a trailer an hour before I was going to look at it. Luckily, I've found a '67 down in Sydney for the same price. I'll swing you a pm when I get home.
funny....we had a new 1964 American wagon - we drove to Carlsbad Caverns and a new 1964 American 4 door sedan in the family.....mom's last wagon was a 1966 American.....newest one in the drive way was a buddy of my bro's...a 1968 American wagon....still sure there was a torque tube in the 1966...
I taught Terry everything I know about '67 Ramblers. Didn't take long, right mate? Don't know much about those earlier ones anyway @X-F272 but the '67 I'm pretty familiar with. It'll be 30 years this year that I've had mine!
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