So I found this car...

I've been looking for a classic to use as a cruiser and came across something, but would like to get some thoughts on if it's a decent deal or not.

First off, I'm into AMCs and Ramblers (and Hudson, Nash, etc.) and have a few other projects. All newer stuff (from a 69 to an 83), but I'm starting to get into the classics more. I'm getting rid of my newest car (the 83) and am getting a 65 Rambler American 2 door post in the next couple of weeks. But that's not the car I'm inquiring about.

A few months ago I found someone selling a 62 Rambler Classic 4 door that's been sitting for about 3 years. He wanted $700 for it, so I e-mailed to get some info on it. I then got busy and forgot about it. He e-mails me a few days ago and says he really wants to get rid of it to a good home and is open to offers. So I went out last night to check it out. When I saw the body, I was thinking "I'll take it!" as it seemed to have no rust. It was black and looked to be in nice shape. Under the hood is the 196 backed by a three-on-the-tree. The front seat was pretty trashed, but that's not a big deal. Then I started noticing the rust; in the front wheel-well at the front of the rocker, behind the kick panels inside... Then I noticed the BIG dent on the roof. Pretty much, the whole roof is U shaped a bit. Seems a big tree branch fell on it a little while ago. The roof looks pretty fixable, but the rust has me concerned. Otherwise, he said it was running and driving when he parked it, but it will obviously need some work from sitting. Oh, and he does have a title for it, too, which is big for a car to be registered in MA.

I asked him how much he wanted for it and he said $400, but it seemed like he'd go a bit lower if it went to a good home. The money definitely seems right, but I just don't know about the rust. He said the floors were solid (it was raining and a bit too wet to get on the ground) and it did look solid under the back (from what I could see). Now, I've seen rust in cars, lots of rust, but haven't tried really fixing any yet and I'm just not sure about this car. Could the cowl behind the dash be rusted? Would it be worth it to try to fix this car? I'm not looking at it from a monetary standpoint as I know that realistically a 4 door 62 Rambler is never going to be worth anything, but I don't want to dump 10 grand into something when I can buy a mint one for 2 grand.

If I made an offer, I'm not going to be a jerk and try to get it for $100, but I was thinking $250-$300 with him knowing I really care about the car and that it would be going to a good home.

Overall, I do like the car, but I'm afraid it's going to be a huuuuuge project. So, what are your thoughts? Good deal or pass on it?

 

We need some pictures. Black paint in the rain doesn't always look as nice when it is dry.

$300 or so isn't much but add in what it is going to take to get it road worthy. If you fix the rust yourself, probably not a big deal; if you hire it out, could get expensive vs. the value of the car.

Bottom line, how much do you love 4 door ramblers?

Neal

 

Pass. Sounds like a bottomless pit to me, with no hope of recovering your investment. Sorry.

 

after reading this whole thing, i really don't know what you're asking. do you want the car? then get it.

is it a good deal? no clue, there's no pictures-but it seems like a reasonable-ish dollar figure for an undesirable car. ($250?) is it a good deal to me? no, not personally-i'm not into those cars enough to buy a rusty and dented 4 door version and make it nice. but hey, you might be.

do what you want. seems like a hassle to me, but it's your car. (potentially)

 

Check out the Rambler thread that HAMBer Gerg put up to see how much rust his had hidden.

 

Is it a unibody? If so, it might not even be repairable.............

 

Yeah, I'm starting to think I'll pass. Might be more work than I want/need right now. I have other projects and could probably find something a little better for a bit more.

I'll probably change my mind tomorrow, though...

 

need pix . Iam not into ramblers . There is a mor-door here ,straight , no rust , turn key , real sweet , 1,000 buck-a-roos .
if ya want it .....buy it.

 

I might try to go back when the weather is better, crawl around it a bit more and get some pics. I don't think it's going anywhere soon.

 

$400 isn't much more than scrap price at this point - scrap is up - you might want to step in before the crusher does. I guarantee you can part it out if the unibody is toast - NO ONE repops parts for these things - and NO ONE really kept them in the junkyards either, the only place I ever went that had any, the guy had never crushed anything in 50 years and only took in what people would give him free.

 

Ramblers rust in weird places, look around, the good parts may be clean.
Nah, on second thought, save your money/energy for the 2 door.

 

I would try and check it out again when it was not raining, and crawl under the car and check the rust out. If it is repairable I think if you got it for $250 you would be doing good, especally if it has all the hard to get parts like chrome trim, etc. You don't see many early 60's Ramblers on the road...could be made into a 60's style mild custom, chrome wheels, thin whitewalls, white roof, etc....

 

mmm! east coast,unibody,rambler. pass!

 

Ran when parked. Gotta love that one.

If a car is bad enough, then even if you get it for free it's not a good deal.

 

Does it run? If it runs and you can drive it safely go for it. Don't get mad, but if it is a total POS and you get it for 300 or 350 you can most likely scrap it for that, if it's that far gone it just may be headed there anyway. Maybe you could pick up a few dimes selling some parts out of it. But if it runs good enough I would buy it for a driver, if its too bad to restore just run it til its done.

 

are you getting the 65 2 door from chuck in n.h. ??

 

I'm really new to this buying old car things, but I made the mistake of buying a car that has quite a bit of rusted panels and I'm looking to lose my wallet even if I learn how to weld and do it myself. I wouldn't waste the time on a rusted car if you can get a mint one for $2,000.

 

It will turn into a bottomless money pit. Stay away and save money for a better condition car.

 

forget saving for better condition save for a better car.

 

Why yes, yes I am. It's getting a 304 for now with a 5 speed behind it and some 3.54s. Then a bigger engine later on. I really like the 64-69 American body style. And it's a hell of a lot cheaper than a SC/Rambler!

Chuck is putting his small block setup into an 80 AMC Spirit.

 

Book says shipped weight on these was just shy 2900 lbs and they tend to run shy of what cars actually scale out to, so it's worth $300-$325 all day long at the scrapper, maybe more given I've heard some quotes of $210-$220 a ton.

 

Pass. You got a two door to work on. Even if you spend a thousand dollars fixing it up, you won't be able to make any money after selling it. I say look for the two door version, two door cars always go up in value when ever you work on 'em.

 

thanks fir the info!! that is a cool lil car. and chuck is a really good shit!! im glad it worked out for both of you.. i will now resume my hobby of bustin his balls about the amc!

 

For one thing, for 400(?) dollars for a 48-year old car, I wouldn´t be too surprised if it did have some rust in it...Anyone looking to play with cars that old will have to deal with rust and welding in order to repair it, period. What is workable for You in terms of putting something back on the road is of course up to You and Your resources. That´s where You´d do well by really inspecting this thing in dry daylight to see if it´s up to what You consider a right "project" car for You at this time. Since You obviously seem to be set on Ramblers anyway, and provided You have a way of storing it, I think You´d do well by picking this one up anyway. Even if You do choose to buy the "better" car later on, this one will come in handy, be it as a future project or a parts car. Like someone already mentioned, these are not the type of cars one can keep up/restore with a catalog in hand. Besides, what does 400(?) dollars buy You in the way of anything automotive these days?

 

Mate, if your a Rambler enthusiast then get it, you'l regret it later on if you don't. You don't have much to loose seeing as you could sell the parts off for quite a bit more than that. Don't scrap it, there's people out there that need the parts from it.

Will any parts swap to the 2 door? Could make a donor car.

Of course it could be restorable too, the rust could be not as bad as you think.

Thanks

Hayden

 

Hi, I had a 63 Rambler american that was really solid but the engine was stuck. It was garaged for about ten years. I got it for 100.00. Rebuilt the engine, repaired the left side quarter (small side swipe) and some minor rust through on the rocker. I used it as a daily driver. Then I needed shocks (no longer available) trans. bearing (Replaced same) front seat frame broke (had to weld it) exhaust system replaced same, new tires. Then the inevatable happened I started to see rust through around the top of the rear quarter and back window and a neighbor backed into the left rear quarter and the rot really showed up around the top of both rear quarters and around the rear windows. I was so discusted I had the car JUNKED. RIP.

 

The car that brought me home from the hospital was a '63 Rambler Classic. Dad LOVED that car! He almost cried the day he junked it because he couldn't find front suspension parts for it. It had over 200K miles on the 327, and it still ran good. Dad loved to brag about that engine never having anyhting done to it other than a few timing chains.

 

if you get it cheap, i don't think you'll be sorry if you buy it. $100 might be wishful thinking. like was said before, you'll prob be sorry later if you don't. if you can get it for scrap price or less what's the problem. it may have the only piece you need for the next rambler you buy.

 

If it's pics you want, it's pics you get.

I went back to the car today, poked around and took a crap-load of pictures. The body looks real decent (though the front fenders do have some rust), but there's definitely some rust underneath. The front frame-rails look really good as does the main part of the floor, but the floor where it meets the rocker and the rockers themselves are really rusty.

Here's a couple teaser pics, then check out the link for all 80+ pics (in no particular order) and see what you think. Things to note: how solid the body is, how rusty the underside is, the big dent on the roof, how good the front frame-rails look, the custom-made tow bar on the front of the car eek.

 

Like I said, go get it already