Featured Customs 1963 Rambler Classic 770 build

Well after 18 months of looking for just the right HAMB friendly car to replace the 1952 Catalina, which replaced the 1959 Nomad wagon...
I decide to buy a 1963 Rambler classic 770 4 door, since it is 5 weeks until Back To The 50's and it will be roadworthy by then.
The plan then will be to gradually "fix-up" all of the things that are in need of attention.
First on the list are some new tires, as the ones on it are pre-2000 (no date codes) and a thorough safety inspection.
It's good to be back with a compliant car.

 

Great looking "orphan" car. Plus it looks like a front-row cream puff!

And it's essentially a blank canvas. Some wheels, maybe a bit of simple paint work and a little altitude adjustment should get you some attention.

 

Wheels and tires and some pin stripes and you got it!

 

*ehem* (see you there ) https://www.visitkenosha.com/events/annual-events/kenosha-homecoming-car-show/

 

Motor Trend's car of the year.

 

Yep that must have been a Rambler thing! My friends Marlin would do that. But he would never let me borrow it on Saturday night!




Bones

 

The kid Greenblade on here has a nice one he put a ton of work into.

 

I believe you could order an optional factory condom dispenser that mounted to the B pillar.

 

I have been conversing with the owner since it was listed in November trying to see the car. it was listed by his nephew; the car was stored in northern MN and the owner was a snowbird. was finally able to work out a time to see it Monday, after 6 months of conversing every 3-4 weeks, a good test of my patience. I almost purchased a few other cars, but they were not nearly as good as the looked in the listings. Glad this one worked out.
Not 100% sure if the milage is correct but at this point it was time to get a new project and it will be fun.
it will be dropped off tomorrow

 

~800-mile round trip might be pushing it for this year

 

Be careful. Ramblers stick to you. I bought mine when I was 13. Still driving it at 47.

 

Looks very clean! I know there are Rambler spinner hubcaps that seem to be fairly common, would look nice on there, even just to add the spinners to these caps. I too am working on a Rambler, but a '54 and with "high mileage" (37,000). Odd cars for someone to have saved and preserved so carefully, but I'm glad they did, they're real unique on the road today.

 

Looks like a clean car Bruce!

 

It is pretty clean, especially compared to what we tend to see in Minnesota
Will know more in a week or two once there is a chance to dig into it a bit.

 

Update 1
rather than say much about safety checks and fix it list items,,, decided to deal with the thing that was the ugliest, that would be the dash pad. I hoped the dash under the pad would have fairly decent paint and unfortunately a few holes.
with that being the case i needed a way to cover the holes. Dug out some trim that at one point was going to use on the rear floor of my 59 Nomad, took the worst one and cut it down to serve as the prototype. Pretty sure there are some leftover trim hardware that can be modified.
Oh and I managed to get the title transferred at the DMV and applied for a custom plate, it was a interesting 2 hours

 

Nothing like registering an old car at DMV. My Ford had a Colorado title and I'm in NY.

The Witches of Eastwick disappeared behind closed doors with the title for 40 minutes. I had cold sweat running into my ass crack.

They come back with MORE info than what was on the title, challenged the weight by 75 more lbs in their favor, but came up with the factory color combo somehow.

 

Nice to find the one that needs you.
Looks like you can do right by preserving it.
My father was a fan, for practical reasons.
Stepdad would act like they were a plague to be avoided
Your patience will pay off.
Thanks for sharing, we'll be watching.

 

Thanks Tom,
I think you have a good point and for some reason this car was sort of waiting for me
The trim that will cover the dash pad holes was almost tossed several times as I didn't have a use for it......until now and it will be just fine. no need to scour the internet to find a new one in a box for some obscene price

 

Dash pad delete molding looks like it'll be just right once it's worked over and buffed out.

 

Actually have 5 or 6 of these and this was the worst and it is the prototype.

 

Those old Ramblers were great cars. They share a lot of engine and brake parts with the Ford Falcon line.

The Achilles heel with those was the trunnion front ends, maintenance on those was key to keep up with.

 

Update 2
Lots of time checking out all the main parts and systems
Need a Sending unit for the gas and a part for the horn
Installed the final version of the dash trim to cover the holes from
the pad

 

I miss my '65 Rambler all the time... They're great cars.

 

Update 3
Did a full clean-up of the carpet and carpet clean. Found thar the front seats pull off the frames which revealed a few odd items. decide it would be good to check under the back seat, which reviled an old mouse nest.
Cheryl helped with the carpet cleaner which improved the overall appearance, but the passenger's side is still badly discolored so for now (as in at least until after BTT50'S) a set of $20 floor mats will have to be good enough. the universal mats no longer assume the gas pedal is attached to the floor and there is a dimmer switch. 
Still waiting on the white wall tires to show up, will now be following up frequently as its been 9 days. 

 

Bonus update
Long ago i got some rambler rocker trim in good shape with the thought of using it on the 1959 Nomad. it just didn't fit right and after lots of consideration, was not willing to try and chop it up
Fast forward 12-14 years.... turns out is a rare option for the Rambler
It will likely be on the winter list; glad that it is still here
Here is a picture of a pair today on Ebay

 

Well, decided to snap up a set that gave been sitting in a pole barn for 35 years. since it was close to 60 miles away a asked the gut to clean a section of one up a bit and he sent me the picture. They are defiantly decent and fine for what I have in mind

 

Looking better all the time. Makes me want to get to work doing some of the same stuff on my 56.

 

My first father in law had a similar one back in the late 70's or early 80's, it was a stick with a 327? I think, he said his grandkids drove it too fast when they went fishing

 

Nice! Looking forward to seeing what it looks like with the spinner caps.