Thread: 1965 Rambler pictures finally

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finally here are some pictures of my '65 Rambler American 330 that is really close to being my Daily driver. what do you think.. it is numbers matching, have original owners manual/ owners card and an assessory manual. and lots of new, used and NOS parts, lady still has more to give me but she has to find it all.

the 1/4's will be an easy fix as where they are deterorated, it is just a light curve, I could easilly replicate, there is no body line.

looks neat !

noW ... here is what I'm think'N ............ BB/2 speed ,drop it, tub it, and paint it red, leave the top white, & black out everything but the windsheild.

T L

I was eyeballing the crossmember kit to put a AMC V8 in it, $360 + $100 core for the old, so $460 cause I wouldn't give that up... for right now, I'll drive it as it sits, but in the future, I may go EFI 4.0 w/ a 258 crank, which makes a 4.5L engine that the EFI computer will still understand. the 196 is a decent motor but if it needs rebuilt at any time, pistion cost will make the rebuild a bit pricey.

Damn, I could swear that's the same car a friend had yrs ago except her's had the V8 in it. It was a great little cruiser...joe

The American wasn't offered w/ a V8, but it is easy to swap 1 in, cars that were offered w/ them were also offered w/ both varaitaions of 6cyls ( 196 and 232 ). I belive all it takes is a motormount swap to go to the older V8's like the 259.

Back in those days everthing in a company's line interchanged relaitvely easily amongst all of its vehicles, (a sad sigh) unlike today.

be glad at least your American is an overhead valve 196 my 61 is a flathead 196. . . i'm considering putting a v-8 in mine but its got a very tight engine compartment, the wheel wells come almost to the sides of the motor..... if i cut them out i could probably fit a 454 in next to the 196

my first car was 65 rambler with a six .that pic brings back alot of memories cool car!!!

Originally Posted by thesals

be glad at least your American is an overhead valve 196 my 61 is a flathead 196. . . i'm considering putting a v-8 in mine but its got a very tight engine compartment, the wheel wells come almost to the sides of the motor..... if i cut them out i could probably fit a 454 in next to the 196

If mine was the flathead, I probably would not have bought it. but both motors were prooven designes, as the flathead version dates back to 1934 and the OHV version is just a slight redesign to accept the OHV head.

yeah i was suprised when i saw that the 61 had a flathead, the ohv was optional on that model...... but i got a 61 convertable with all the interior options original R hubcaps and all, with a flattie and a 3 on the tree for $500 when i was 16..... push button am/fm yes FM radio still works with the rambler printer across the buttons.....the red paint is in perfect condition not even faded, the top is gone just the frame right now.... engine is at crower having some parts specialized for it, been there for like a year and a half now as a little side project..... i'll take some pictures of it next time im at my parents house.... i like your car though.... i've always liked the american look, its too bad rambler died right when they started competing for horsepower

Last year of the flattie was '63 I think. this car has the base engine. 196 OHV w/ the 1bbl Carter RBS carb. the "Powerpac" 196 had the 2bbl and the optional upgrade engine was the 232.

Mine has the AM radio which works. I'm building a 12v boom box of sorts, a cheap radio stuck in a plywood box, internal antenne inside box, 2 speakers on the outside of the box. I'll sit it on the floor or somthing.. the way the raido goes togther, using the basic 2 knob mount radios won't work I don't belive because rambler actually mounted the radios diffrent.

yeah i actually do have an FM radio that will fit your car i have a box full of rambler radios..... i think there was even one with a plug for an addon 8track which could probably be changed for a cd changer... i'm planning on addiding a low power amp to the speakers and changing the speakers out so i can get some nicer sound quality....

Matt- I'm keeping the flathead straight 8 in the Packard because it is unique. Why the hell would I want to stick a damned crate motor in it and be just like Moe, Larry and Shemp?

Originally Posted by Twitch

Matt- I'm keeping the flathead straight 8 in the Packard because it is unique. Why the hell would I want to stick a damned crate motor in it and be just like Moe, Larry and Shemp?

I bought the Rambler because it was unique. original 196 will stay unless somthing happens to it. with 58,000 miles on it, it still runs w/o a leak.