I recently came across a small trove of junkyard Ramblers in a short period of time and have become completely smitten with them, especially in wagon format and even more so when of mid-’60s vintage, the designs are refreshingly different and the engineering interesting. This 1963 770 Cross Country wagon is part of the 1963 Rambler Classic line that was 1963’s Motor Trend Car Of The Year, featuring advanced build techniques such as unitized sides with larger stampings instead of dozens of little pieces spliced together. This particular one seems to be finished in Calais Coral Poly Metallic paint, at least the parts where it hasn’t all fallen off. Curiously the tail panel has Ambassador trim on it but the rest of the tailgate and the 770 lettering looks original judging by the rust patterns, perhaps a factory oversight in Kenosha? The 770 was the top of the Classic line with 550 and 660 below while the Amabassador always had a V-8 and was available in 880 and 990 trims.
This Classic Six obviously features an inline-6, and it appears to be the standard on the 770 trim aluminum block 127hp unit, (the cast iron version was a no-cost option, standard on the 550 and 660). There was also a 138hp version available optionally on either block in ’63 but I don’t know how to tell the difference. Inside this one has the bench seat and I can’t get enough of the WeatherEye climate control system with the goofy but charming dual levers, one for either side of the instrument cluster although this one doesn’t have the optional A/C. As always I’ll recede into the background while you take a look without me blathering on.
Lovely mid-sized wagon. Reminds me a lot of the 61 Plymouth my family had. About the same size, and roughly the same color. This one almost looks salvageable, although not for too much longer if someone doesn’t roll up the windows.
Great pics!
Whats the current market for a midsize,four door ,6cyli wagon with “3 on the tree” ?. Parts car at best….
Neat, neat car!
Sadly, I think this would be a car that could never recoup in price what it would cost to restore it, even if this western car doesn’t have any deep body rot. For you lovers of patina, this is the natural endpoint for that process. This has gone well beyond charming, now it’s just decrepit.
Factory freak is one answer, but I my first theory would be that the tailgate had to be replaced at some point and the donor was an Ambassador. I’m curious about the “towel rack” on the back of the rear seat. Was that original?
Actually, I see what you are saying better now. The 770 trim looks original. I would still say that it would be more likely the lower trim had to be replaced from an accident and they got it from an Ambassador. The tailgate paint also looks to be much less deteriorated than the rest of the car, which lends to the whole tailgate being replaced sometime theory. Or maybe the owner just had a subversive sense of humor and wanted Ambassador trim to throw off the general public (who would probably never notice).
The towel rack may have been original to the car. It could serve as a handle when pulling the seatback into the up-right position but more importantly as a stop to keep cargo from sliding forward when the seatback was down and making up part of the cargo space. AMC seemed to pay attention to small details like that but I am only speculating.
My great uncle drove military vehicles in Europe during WW II and worked for his home town’s natural gas company for many years after that. He probably drove many different brands of vehicles in his career but his personal cars where always Nash/AMC products. I do remember a 1963 American in his driveway at one time.
The brochure for the 1963 Rambler wagons does have at least one shot where the “towel rack” is partially in frame so yeah, it seems original.
It is, my ’64 had that.
Looks to be still decently intact and complete and fairly straight.
3 speed manual on the column as well judging by the three pedals.
That looks like it could be revived it seem to be all there albeit a bit rough around the edges, Ive never seen the wagon version in the metal.
These ’63s are awfully clean looking – I love those grilles. Quite an ambitious project here, but it looks fairly complete. You’d never get your money out of it, but I’m guessing that most people never do anyway.
Thanks for the excellent pictures. The underhood shot shows where AMC was ahead of the curve and behind the curve. Ahead: dual circuit brakes, not adopted by other makers until required in ’67. Behind: Vacuum wipers.
” dual circuit brakes, not adopted by other makers until required in ’67″
Cadillac and Studebaker were the exceptions, with both employing dual circuit brakes in 1963.
’62 for Cadillac, but who’s counting?
…and Rambler
Great find! I used to be quite critical of early 60’s AMC products and head stylist Ed Anderson, primarily due to the awful ’61-63 Rambler American. But I’ve realized over time
that he did his best with what he was given, just like his replacement Dick Teague. And the other ’63 models, to include this Classic, look as good, and even better, than some of their Big Three contemporaries.
When a cheapskate uncle’s 1947 Studebaker finally bit the dust, he bought one of these in 1963. An end of the year leftover, it was the lowly 550 version in a sickly mint green. 3 on the tree and oddly equipped, the only options being a radio, power tailgate window and Solex glass.
Nice old wagon, too bad it won’t get saved .
-Nate
The ultimate “Nerdmobile” of this era.
Usually purchased by people who did not like cars.
I remember riding often in a 1964 Classic Six 770 wagon that belonged to the parents of my best friend from elementary school. That car could easily seat six kids, plus the driver (none belted, as was the custom of the day), and though larger than our Dart wagon, still seemed much smaller than the Ford and GM vehicles that dominated our neighborhood. It was replaced by a 1969 Ford Country Sedan, which my friend’s mother heartily disliked, due to its size and lack of maneuverability compared to the Rambler.
The “towel rack” noted above was also on my friend’s car. We used it to hoist the rear seatback upright after clambering into the wayback through the rear passenger door.
What a nice wagon, doesn’t look too terrible, but just terrible enough that it’s not worth fixing. Looks like it’s been there a long time, maybe if I could have scooped it on the day it arrived…
It’ll go cross country no more.
Ramblers of this era were very popular and appealed to Americans who wanted an affordable well made car. Rambler appealed to today’s Hyundai and Kia buyers.
I have only fond memories of them growing up surrounded by Ramblers in our working class Chicago neighborhood. Most of them were driven until they broke, often as second or third kid-driven cars. As a new driver, the excitement of driving was easily offset by the lack of performance. Ramblers didn’t handle well. They got from Point A to Point B, but didn’t do it with much excitement.
If they made a Rambler today, I could find myself buying one. Hyundai and Kia are growing in popularity today. What those South Korean auto manufacturers had that AMC did not is bucket loads of cash to keep their products current.
Interesting that it might have an aluminum block. I didn’t know AMC had them.
AMC’s aluminum inline six was available 1961-1964. It was America’s first die-cast aluminum engine. Unfortunately between the metallurgy, antifreeze, and typical lack of maintenance back then they did not hold up well. I’m surprised to see it here since most were replaced with cast-iron engines pretty quickly. You’ll looking a a real unicorn.
Nice find, especially so in a high trim 770 version, which was somewhat uncommon back in the day.
The difference between the 127 hp and 138 hp versions is that the latter has a two-barrel carb. You’d have had to look for that to find out. I think the 138 hp version was relatively rare.
Great find, I owned one in gold and white briefly but never got it on the road as the motor was terminally stuck from a neglected head gasket. Iron block too. There was another one running around town in white and gold, the local auto parts place called me to figure out what motor it had as nothing they showed for a head gasket would fit. It was the aluminum jewel. I scrapped mine but the cigarette lighter soldiers on to this day filling the port in my 62 Dodge d200
This one turned up at the local wrecker, but had been picked over a bit more. Still had a nice dash pad in it!
Back View.
The 63 Classics are growing on me, particularly the wagons. This high-trim version is really pretty nice, but the 3 speed is an interesting quirk on such a version. My only request for one of these is that I would prefer to avoid the aluminum six.
That instrument panel area reminds me a lot of the one in my 59 Plymouth – ribbon speedo and guages/lights inside of the two diagonal wings. Mine had buttons on both side and a lever on the right for the heater temp. If Chrysler had been using the Park lever on the Torqueflite in 59 I would have had a matching lever on the left wing, I’m sure.
It looks from here like someone did to this one what every self-respecting owner of a pink-ish car did in the 70s, and had it resprayed brown.
Dad bought a powder blue 660 Cross Country new, but it had a V-8 and automatic. Since he typically bought new cars in the spring, the V-8 may have been available mid-year. He taught me to drive in this car. It had optional headrests and lap belts. He liked the safety features. Mom liked the separately reclining passenger seat and headrest.
The 1963 Classic/Ambassador and ’64 American were high points of AMC styling; it’s too bad the annual facelifts that were de rigueur back then watered down or ruined the original designs in later years. (I don’t like the “filled-in” grille of the ’64 Classic and Amby.)
My first Car was given to me by my Grandmother, her 63 Classic 770 Cross Country the V8 was clearly marked 327 ? I cannot find anywhere that it was equipped this way. it was purchased new in 63 and I travelled Cross Country to the midwest in it when I was 9. It was fall The Dodgers swept the Yankees.
According to the brochure for the ’63 Classic, a 287 V8 was an option (late intro?) instead of the six, but the 327 would have made it an Ambassador.
The 1963 Classic initially only offered six-cylinder engines. George Romney’s plan was to have customers move up to the Ambassador if they wanted a V-8. The V-8 was added as a midyear option to the Classic line by new AMC President Roy Abernethy.
These neat wagons were also assembled in Argentina and still remains plenty of documents, ad clips, TV commercials that proves their Latinamerican own existence .
After 1966 the Rambler Classic Cross Country change dramatically in size , here was called the ” 990 ” .
But is a bit intriguing why AMC in the USA later on 1967 launched sort of AMC Rogue Wagon which is essentially the same older 1963`s Cross Country shown here (with different grille of course )
The Rogue was an American with a trim package or the new 290 V8. The American was shorter and narrower than the Classic and Ambassador, though it used the same doors!
It still has the nice clean styling even in this sad condition. I would rather look at it all day than a shiny new and fugly SUV.
Speaking for Europe, 4 pedals inc. the parking brake always slightly intimidate – maybe they’re easier on a hill start than I suspect?
Looking forward to Jim’s detail review of a week’s regular usage…..
It was a 195.6 cu. in (3.2 liter) inline 6. These were cammed to have pretty strong torque right off idle, so it wasn’t as difficult to take off as with a smaller displacement high-revving engine typical of small cars elsewhere. Some parking brakes (by GM, others?) were released by pulling a handle. Now, I owned a ’66 Ambassador for a few years (as a mostly-unsentimental daily driver car). It had an automatic…. I seem to recall the parking brake was released by stepping down harder on it, so that would indeed be very difficult if you needed hill-holding help
4 pedals inc.
The one next to the kick panel looks like a parking brake pedal. I grew up around a 64 Classic. Sticks in my mind there was a fifth pedal: to operate the windshield washer pump.
I forgot to add that I would love to see that 30’s truck parked nearby. The short windows kind of say “Federal” to me.
Which one? The large one in front of it, the one next to the copper Ford in Mayflower Moving colors or the blue one behind it (which in an IH if I remember correctly)?
That big beastie right off the Rambler’s nose. Actually you have found a real treasure trove of classics there.
It wasn’t well exploited, but these had curved side glass.
Of course it’s ho-hum today, but then a nice feather in the cap for a low price leader.
Ditto dual (split) brake system.
A red ’63 Classic 550 station wagon, 6, manual shift was for sale in Oregon in the last year for $2,500! It was a fully drivable, serviceable car which was a great value for anyone looking to acquire an older collector car just to drive and enjoy without mortgaging the house.
AMC cars, other than the performance models, are a good basic values in older cars for daily enjoyment. Because of the large numbers sold, cars in good condition still turn up for sale frequently for reasonable prices.
The 1963-64 Rambler Classic and Ambassador are neatly sized and styled cars. The irony is that when Roy Abernethy took over as President of AMC, he immediately upsized and restyled these cars to compete directly with the Big Three – a strategy that brought AMC to the brink of bankruptcy by early 1967. Meanwhile, cars of this size and overall style became the hot ticket by 1973.