History of American independents - American motors part 31

Since initially submitting that story, Rohan has added to his Rambler fleet with a very neat '64 Ambassador 990. The '66 Rambler has a very specific connection to JUST CARS, as Rohan purchased it out of the magazine back in 2002! His AMC connection goes back much further than that, though - four decades, in fact!

It was 1969, and I was 7 years old when my dad took my brother and I to Grant's of Burwood (Victoria). This was to trade our 15/60 Wolseley for a new, 1964 Rambler Classic 660 V8 sedan. I remember Dad driving home as my brother and I sat high on the back seat and was amazed at how smooth, quiet and powerful the Rambler was, especially after the Wolseley! I remember bragging to a friend that the Rambler had 198hp compared to his Dad's 160hp Valiant. After a week of ownership, my father had it back being serviced and checked to see if it was normal for it to use that much fuel as well as if the automatic should be driven in D1 or D2 for best economy.

Eleven years later, in 1980, I owned the Rambler, had my licence, and was taking it on trips to the snow, beach, university, as well as doing all the maintenance on the car. Although the mechanicals on the Rambler are conventional, maintenance requires patience, a workshop manual and money! All of these were in short supply then, but in spite of these limitations I managed to overhaul the engine, interior and bodywork over a couple of years. As I got married, had a family and changed jobs, I eventually parted ways with the Rambler.

Fast forward to 2002, my family and I were on Summer holidays and I was looking through all the car magazines, including JUST CARS (January, 2002, I think), as I always do on Summer holidays. I spotted a 1966 Rambler 770 convertible for sale near the front of the magazine. I knew this was a very rare car in Australia, and since it was only one hour's drive away, there was no harm in looking, right?! So, the family had to go for a Sunday afternoon drive - with a hidden agenda!

Once we arrived and met the owner, I started looking over the car and my memory of Ramblers started to come back. Slowly, mind you, as I had not looked at one in 16 years! I took it for a short drive and was totally shocked. It wouldn't go, the steering clunked, the auto didn't shift, and every part was worn or poorly repaired. But it was a 1966 Classic 770 convertible with V8 auto, bucket seats and electric top in a nice metallic blue. Well, there was no harm in putting in a low offer, was there? Two weeks later, we returned to pick up the Rambler and drove it - all 11 hours of it - back home.

Finally, in 2006, I got the car registered after overhauling all the mechanicals. This included engine, transmission, drive shaft, diff, brakes, suspension, steering and instrument panel. Now I drive it to work on fine days, as well as weekend trips. Over the same period, I've collected another seven Ramblers (two more out of JUST CARS) of similar vintage. A couple are parts cars, one a daily driver, with the remainder as future projects.

Some of you might wonder 'Why Ramblers?' Well, they are a nice size car (close to Falcon or Commodore size) with a quality build and ride. They are surprisingly responsive and easy to drive in today's traffic. Mechanical parts are still readily available from local and US suppliers at a reasonable cost. They are a brand that is different, with an interesting history, both here and in the USA.

Since initially submitting this story, Rohan has purchased another Rambler, a neat '64 model Ambassador 990 from Chicago. With its gold paint and superb trim levels inside and out, the car presented well, and seemed in very good, drivable condition. With that in mind, Rohan and his family decided to drive the car - via Route 66, of course - to LA for shipping back to Australia.

Sounds like a great trip, right? Hmmm, not quite!

Rohan told us the 3,600km journey took five days and was by no means incident-free. Problems included fuel vapour lock at altitude, starter motor failure, overheating, running out of fuel, dragging and ineffective brakes, plus rear shocks needing replacement, but they did make it! Our thanks to Rohan for his contribution. Look out for another '64 Rambler story next month.

Source: JUST CARS, October 2009, Collectors Issue #164