RAMBLING WITH STEFAN

A picture folio of my prized possession.

***Clicking on any picture will maximize for full effect.***

(Recommend that you maximize your browser to fill your desktop screen, so as better appreciate the essence of “Rambling”.)

This first, lengthy series, is my collection of photos intended to both give a good overall depiction of the Rambler,  and,  also to isolate various aspects of its’

design I find striking:

This ‘sticker’ is not for my car, but is representative of the format of AMC window stickers of 1962. The “no extra cost” features listed on the right are mostly unique to AMC for that model year.

The ‘vent windows’ are particularly effective, in conjunction with the left and right floor vents, in providing comfort and more than adequate ventilation on summer days.

The ‘holy grail’ of classic auto driving: A ‘suicide knob’, enabling steering while shifting the manual transmission; a ‘Magnetic Mary’ circa 1952; and ‘fuzzy dice’, (these are not some purchase from WalMart or a ‘Dollar’ store, but were actually purchased by my mother-in-law in 1959. I like everything to be “period correct”….

The one on the right has “Soul” on the outside; the one on the left carries its’ ‘soul’ under the hood.

A 1926 Nash. Six-cylinder, overhead valves, with a red rocker arm cover remarkably similar to my 1962 Classic Custom….

This overhead-valve engine was technologically advanced for 1926. Most cars in its[ price range were the less-refined “Flat-head”, or ‘valve-in-block’ design, which limited compression ratio, and thus, overall power. Valve adjustment was also simplified, as it did not require removing the entire cylinder head to accomplish.

They used to call these cars “lay-down” Ramblers, as the individually adjustable reclining seat-backs folded into a bed. The feature was used by Rambler and Nash, back to the 1930’s

A still from a video talking about the original dealership where my Rambler was purchased and delivered in Syracuse, NY.
My owner’s manual, on the ‘delivery’ page describing the date of delivery, miles at delivery, and the VIN number, bears the signature, not of just some salesperson, but Mr. Burdick himself. Pretty cool….

Not all that different from 1926 Nashes. In fact, remarkably similar, down to the two screws holding down the valve cover. No need to crawl underneath to change the oil filter, either. (Note the white cylinder next to the air cleaner….that’s the oil filter.

I was going to remove this sticker, until I found out that, it too, is an ‘antique’, having since been supplanted by stickers deleting the ‘Rambler’, leaving only the ‘AMC’ to signify club membership.

Evening in “the ‘hood'”……

If you see this image in your rear-view mirror, be cautious……that car may be “stuck in 2nd gear”…..

Just a quick post to alert subscribers and other regular visitors about my new page, (accessible via a new ‘tab’ in the banner above):  A compendium of photos featuring the Rambler; its features; and its’ beauty.

Many of the photos will have captions containing factoids and trivia regarding Nash; Rambler; American Motors; and the culture of vintage cars in general.

This post will be incorporated into the new page.  I’m not going to artificially inflate my ‘post-count’  with a new post for each addition, so check the new page frequently.

Enjoy!

This series of pictures is of the cruise-ins; car shows; and other auto related events I’ve been attending since acquiring the Rambler.  I enjoy the camaraderie of other vintage auto owners as much as I do poking around under the hoods of their rides.

Perfect posture and decorum here…….”Look, but do NOT touch!!”

A 1916 Rambler at a recent show I attended on July 4th. This car is never trailered, but always driven to any show or event it graces.

A 1959 Rambler American. Basically, a reintroduction of the same body which introduced “Rambler” in 1950 as a small economy car. ( If it ain’t broke….)

I think those other vehicles are something called “Chevrolets”….(you can never account for taste, can you?)

This car looks great on the grass……

Next to a 1963 Rambler Classic 550. I’ve owned one of these, and I loved it…..

The ’63 Classic was the first Rambler to finally replace the 1957 and up uni-body found on my Rambler The’63 brought Rambler into the ‘sixties’ and finally out of the ‘fifties’ as far as design went.

Wherever I park at one of these events, I always seem to attract almost all of the other ‘performance’ cars…..

Even at AMC -sponsored events, the Nashes and Ramblers are always vastly outnumbered by Javelins: Gremlins; Pacers; Matadors; Hornets, and the like. This show was unique in that regard…..

A 1962 Studebaker. Another “orphan make” of car, in today’s parlance. These two were the only ones to remain at this “cruise-in” when it began to rain. These are daily-drivers, NOT “trailer-queens”..The Chevelles and Mustangs lit out at the first drop of rain like roaches when you turn the lights on…..

An internet search for advertising media for the 1962 Ramblers revealed some neat stuff from the AMC factory archives which underline the strength of this brand.

“Big Car Room;  Small Car Economy!!”  …The Rambler was still a force to be reckoned with in ’62.  The third best-selling marque in 1960, Rambler was still going strong in 1962.  It’s appeal of value through economy; reliability and safety was not lost on “the Big Three”.  Beginning in late 1959, General Motors; Ford; and Chrysler Corp had hurriedly introduced “compacts”:  The Corvair and Chevy II Nova from Chevrolet, with corporate Buick, Pontiac and Oldsmobile ‘clones’  (Special ; Tempest; and F-85, respectively);  the Ford Falcon and Mercury Comet’; the Dodge Lancer and Plymouth Valiant,  were all rushed out in the span of two years  to fill out the new American auto niche of “compact” cars. ( The Rambler American, still popular with the public for its economy, evidenced in constant victories and accolades in fuel-economy competitions, was predominant as ‘the’ American compact, though it’s design was already almost ten years old).

The ‘big’ Ramblers, the Rebels and the Classics, were so popular, especially in the station wagon market, that the Big Three drained their coffers further by also introducing another niche of American automobile: the “midsize car”.  Notable among these were the Chevrolet Chevelle (1964); the Buick Skylark; a bigger Pontiac Tempest; the Oldsmobile Cutlass; the Ford Fairlane;  the Mercury Meteor; the Dodge Coronet (1965); and the Plymouth Belvedere.  Even Studebaker, which would eventually pack up and head to Canada in 1965, brought out a compact Lark in 1959, and a larger, more ‘intermediate’ Daytona coupe and Cruiser sedan.

That so immense an investment in design; tooling; and marketing of a cascade of new models in so short a time span is a tribute to George Romney’s coining of the term ‘compact’ in the mid 1950’s, and to his championing of  sensible transportation as a logical reaction to the gas-guzzling, finned “dinosaurs” that American cars had become.

My ’62 Classic feels big on the inside.  I owned a full-sized, bat-winged Ford with less front leg-room.  I was surprised in preparing this post, however, that, in fact, my Classic is actually smaller on the outside than many of the above-mentioned ‘mid-sized’ or ‘intermediate’ cars.

Some factory photos I came across are illustrative, due, I think, to their  two-dimensional starkness:

The uni-body construction of these cars, in which the frame of the car was not  a ladder onto which an assembled body was dropped on the production line, but integrated with the body, a cage to which the panels were affixed.  Savings in weight improved economy.  The rigidity of  the ‘cage’ minimized rattles and squeaks.  Safety was enhanced when the roof was part of the frame. Interior room was enhanced by not having to seat passengers between massive frame rails on each side of the car.

The only draw-back, to a manufacturer marketing in a culture of yearly styling re-designs, was that the tooling costs of a ‘cage’ were prohibitive compared to the “dinosaurs”, where the same frame could be used for a decade, and a new body ‘dropped on’ each year.   Hence the remarkable similarity of the Ramblers from 1956 through 1962, especially in the roof-line.  (See “Walking the Annals…A Brief History of the Rambler”).

Money saved in re-tooling, however, could be spent to other ends, however.   The ’62 Ramblers introduced a ‘dual master cylinder’,in the brake system, then offered only on Cadillac and Roll-Royce as standard equipment on all of their models.  The ‘Big Three’ did not adopt this life-saving feature until the mid to late sixties, and then only when required to do so by the federal government.  (Why “life-saving”?   The single master cylinder then in use on all other cars linked the brakes at all four wheels to one master cylinder, meaning that a failure or leak in any brake line or cylinder  would result in a complete failure of the braking system.  With the dual system, a leak or failure would affect the front brakes or the rear brakes only….leaving at least two wheels with the ability to bring the car to a safe stop.)

Yes, there is more to ‘value’ than fins or chrome…..

The size and roominess was not lost on the Europeans.  Renault marketed the Rambler Classic in Europe, and in fact assembled them in Belgium and marketed them in Algeria, Austria, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg to fill a void for a larger car in their model lineup.

There is even a Rambler which Renault designed for use as a limousine for President Charles De Gaulle.  (He refused to use it, and opted for a slightly less roomy Citroen.  Patriotism or xenophobia?  Who can say?)

The Rambler was also built by manufacturers in Argentina; Australia; New Zealand and Mexico.

Driving this car, then, is not only safe, but also a statement that one can be stylish yet sensible; frugal yet fashionable; daring yet dignified.

Refined,…..and reclined.

“That’s the way we roll. ….er, Ramble”