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In this Discussion
1963 Rambler- Should I take it?
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I'm 16 years old. And as my first car I've been offered a 1963 Rambler. I'm not very good with cars so I came here. Is this a good car? What kind of modern-day upgrades could I make (radio, stereo, etc.)? I like the look of the car I just don't know if its efficient enough for today's standards (gas prices and whatnot).
Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Eric -
You might want to put this inquiry on the "AMC" portion of this forum.
Also, which model of Rambler are you looking at? Some of them got very good gas mileage, better than the standard-sized cars of that era. Depends on the model, the engine size and whether it had overdrive, automatic transmission or whatever.
Generally, these cars were available with AM radio, heater, power steering and brakes, and possibly air conditioning (depending on the model) and you could possibly salvage these from similar models. It's questionnable whether you could find an authentic FM radio, and stereo, CD, tape players etc were unheard of back then, but you could install an aftermarket one.
I'd take a good hard look at the condition of the car first of all. You may be "offered" it, but if it's rusting away, the interior is shot, and the engine's blown, it may be no bargain. On the other hand if it's a low-mileage car in excellent condition, requiring just a bit of work to get it on the road, it could be something to be proud of.
If you do get it, you may want to join a club that caters to that brand of car, because through such a club you will more easily find parts, technical help, and a network of fellow owners who can help you out. For the AMC cars I think there are at least three different national clubs. -
as a rule cars that old are fairly easy to learn to work on them.
Check out eBay and other internet parts distributors and see what type of parts are available for that car.
Typically - those Ramblers (the way I recall) were okay on gas.
but what do I know - I drive a 20 foot Coup Deville Convertible that gets about the same mileage as my Ford Escape -
Having driven Ramblers for more years than I can remember, I'd tell you that if you want general transportation, a lot of fun, and can stand people giving you strange looks, I'd take the Rambler.
The ones I drove usually had 80,000 to 100,000 on them when I bought them for between $65 and $75, or $80. I drove the living hell out of them for 4, 5 years and junked them - not because the drive trains were bad, but the bodies went (I lived in Maine at the time).
I never really maintained them - added oil once in a while, fixed what needed to be fixed and drove them daily.
That said. Most of the ones I beat to death were 65-69's with the 232 engine, station wagons and American's. My theory is if you could get them over 20,000 miles they'd run forever. (Or until the body rotted out from underneath you.
I took a '69 wagon from Maine to Wichita, KS, back in 1990 - averaged around, oh, 55, (Thats AVERAGE) most of the time running 65 to 75 on the interstates (speed limits back then were 55). At the time that car had around 180,000 miles on it - was up to 250,000 when I sent it to the bone yard a couple years later.
They weren't much to look at, you either loved them or hated them, they had some bad press, but they were dependable and reliable. I was probably the only person in most of the places I worked when I had the Ramblers for daily transport that only called into work late one time when water pump failed.
I'd still be driving the cars, if I could find them and could work on them. I'm 70 now, and arthritis in my hands keeps me from turning wrenches.
That's just my experience with the cars. Never had one let me down (other than a dead battery now and again - in the middle of the winter at 20 below zero!!! I usually went out and bought a battery for a big V-8 (all the Ramblers I had were sixes) and so had little trouble with batteries.
I say take it and have a ball.
Hudsonly,
Alex Burr
HudsonTech
Memphis, TN -
I say take it as well.......for a couple of reasons:
1) It's free....why spend the $$ if someone is offering you a car that will get you from point A to point B as well as anything else? Don't laugh...
2) You will make many friends by going to local cruise nights and shows with the car, even if it is not in show condition. You cannot put a price on that.
3) There are AMC/Rambler clubs you can join where you will have access to parts and technical help from other club members who will gladly give you all the help you need. I think car guys from any marque will agree that we love to help each other out.
4) I can give you some club in info if you do decide to take the car....just drop me a PM.
- Mark -
Jon B wrote:You might want to put this inquiry on the "AMC" portion of this forum.
Also, which model of Rambler are you looking at? Some of them got very good gas mileage, better than the standard-sized cars of that era. Depends on the model, the engine size and whether it had overdrive, automatic transmission or whatever.
Generally, these cars were available with AM radio, heater, power steering and brakes, and possibly air conditioning truck part(depending on the model) and you could possibly salvage these from similar models. It's questionnable whether you could find an authentic FM radio, and stereo, CD, tape players etc were unheard of back then, but you could install an aftermarket one.
I'd take a good hard look at the condition of the car first of all. You may be "offered" it, but if it's rusting away, the interior is shot, and the engine's blown, it may be no bargain. On the other hand if it's a low-mileage car in excellent condition, requiring just a bit of work to get it on the road, it could be something to be proud of.
If you do get it, you may want to join a club that caters to that brand of car, because through such a club you will more easily find parts, technical help, and a network of fellow owners who can help you out. For the AMC cars I think there are at least three different national clubs.
thats easy mate... just google it and then you can find other car clubs -
Eric Lets go back in time for a few min.Im not sure what you are looking at but Way back when my first car was a rambler model 440 not by choice. Back in 1969 at the god old age of 17. and no $ in the bank. My dad purchased from a friend a 1963 rambler model 440 white ext red int. and said to me son its yours .Save up and just use this for now and maybe your mom will want it.When you are ready to move up. Im not sure to this day but I fell In love with a rambler model 440. At 17 when all my friends were going with 57 chevys. mustangs etc lets keep it short I was falling in love with my RAMBLER 22 gallon fuel tank.If I remembler correctly, well it worked for me sure wish I had it back but. If its looks YOU want. And all SOO MUCH more go 4 it
