1963-64 Rambler Classic and American
By Paul Niedermeyer
March 24, 2009
What makes a car
a true classic? Being one of the handsomest and most enduring designs
of its time? Staying in production for twenty years? Having a
long-stroke in-line engine with a classic OHC hemi-head? Winning a big
race at the ’Ring? Having illustrious heads of state as loyal owners?
Or just slapping a chrome “Classic” badge on its flanks? How does this
Rambler stack up? Has it earned its chops, or is it an impostor?
In 1963, a professor in Iowa City bought a Classic 2dr sedan like this
for his wife. As I walked by it every day on my trudge to school, I
gave the Rambler a whole lot more eyeball time than average.
1963 Rambler Classic Sedan
This Classic challenged all my constructs about Ramblers: they just
weren’t cool, period. Popular enough with the thrifty folks in the
Midwest, their styling was atrocious. The 1961-1963 Rambler American
takes the cake as one of the all-time stinkers. And I’ll never forget
the shock of going to the dealer and lifting a hood on a ’63 American:
it still had a flathead six, with only 90 hp! It was the last flathead
engine still being made.
But that all began to change in 1963. Ed Anderson faced a momentous challenge: how to replace both the
compact American and the mid/full size Classic and Ambassador with
AMC’s limited budget. The answer was a brilliant two-in-one deal. The
dramatically clean and handsome Classic/Ambassador sedans and wagons arrived in 1963, (rightfully) winning Motor Trend’s
COTY.
1964 Rambler Classic Hard Top
Dick Teague cleaned up the Classic/Ambo even more for ’64, and added this
particularly attractive hardtop coupe. Compared
to the bloated and often fussy competition with their huge front and
rear overhangs, this Classic was almost European in size, trimness, and
cleanness of line.
1964 Rambler Classic
Teague’s Act II was the compact ’64 American.
By simply narrowing and shortening the unibody Classic platform, the
American recycled the same doors, roof line, and many other body parts. Rambler pioneered then
what Audi “(re)invented” for its current range: a single set of
platform components to cover their compact (A4), midsize (A6), and
full-size (A8).
The only thing that spoiled the 63 carswas the engines. The
six was an OHV conversion of the old Nash
flathead 6. The 287 cubic inch V8, a small-bore version of
the heavy AMC 327, created a sentence of
terminal understeer to the handling. But even with its Flash-O-Matic
slushbox, the V8 Classic was reasonably lively in its day. For
1964 the fresh 232 OHV six came along, a new modern six introduced in
the limited edition Rambler Classic Typhoon, adding pep in a light well
styled package.
In production for twenty years? Not here in ADD-afflicted America,
no thank you, the Classic was restyled again for 1965. However
the dies for the American were bought by Kaiser’s Argentinean
operation, IKA where they made a few changes, and wella, a
Torino. In production until 1982, it became
quite the legend.
1976 IKA Torino
Renault bought
IKA in 1975, so Renault was actually building AMC-designed cars in
Argentina five years before they bought AMC. When Kaiser bought the American from AMC, it came sans engine. So
Kaiser rummaged through its US warehouse and found just the thing for
the Torino: the Kaiser Tornado straight six.
Back when Kaiser still owned Jeep, before selling it to AMC in
1970 (is it just me or is this getting complicated), it needed something fresher than its ancient old
Continental-designed flathead six for the all-new 1963 Wagoneer. On a
tiny budget, Kaiser’s Italian chief engineer designed a classic
European-style OHC hemi-head named the Tornado. But under that new alloy head sat the old
flathead block. But who knew?
America’s first main-stream OHC engine, the Tornado something of a
(brief) sensation, until it started leaking and burning oil,
overheating, and warping its beautiful aluminum cylinder heads. So in
1966, the Tornado was given a one-way ticket to Argentina, and
Kaiser/Jeep started buying engines from . . . AMC!
But the Argentineans welcomed the Tornado with open arms, and began
a steady development program that ended up with the 380W. Sporting
three horizontally-mounted Webers, it cranked out over 300 hp (220
net). The Torino with the Tornado engine installed was the GTO/Hemi ’Cuda of Argentina. And so it went
racing.
In 1969 three Torinos were sent to the 84 hour endurance race at
Nurburgring. Amazingly, they won their class, and were a threat to the
overall winner. Not bad, for an engine running a huge 4.38″ stroke in
its antediluvian cylinder block.
The Latinized American earned quite a rep from its racing successes
and developed a cult following. Among devoted Torino buyers were such
global luminaries as Fidel Castro, Leonid Brezhnev and Muammar Gaddafi.
You know these guys wouldn’t have anything less than a genuine classic
in their collections.
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