Junkyard Find: 1966 Rambler Classic 770 Coupe
I went back to Martin’s Salvage, located midway between Denver and Cheyenne, earlier this week. The last time I’d been there was in 2011, and the place is still full of so many staggeringly great 1930-1970 vehicles that I get overwhelmed and can’t shoot individual cars for this series. This trip, though, I held still long enough to shoot this crazy-rare example from the final years of the Rambler marque.
This Classic has the optional V8, but I’m not enough of an AMC expert to tell a 287 from a 327 at a glance.
I like the little orange ball used as the AM radio’s tuning indicator.
The interior has not benefited from years in the High Plains sun.
The Weather Eye name goes all the way back to prewar Nashes.
Keeping true to the penny-pinching nature of AMC buyers, this car’s last owner wasn’t the type to squander money on top-shelf hooch.
What better car is there for showing the benefits of “localized” fuel?
The 1966 Classic 770 hardtop coupe (yes, I know, this is an ad for the ’65) with 287-cubic-inch V8 engine and automatic transmission listed for $2,656. If you went across the street to your Chevy dealer, you could get a Malibu coupe with 283 V8 and Powerglide automatic for $2,668; the Ford salesman would put you in a Fairlane 500 coupe with 289 and Cruise-O-Matic automatic for an identical $2,668. With that kind of competition at roughly the same price, American Motors didn’t sell many Classic 770s.
Murilee Martin is the pen name of Phil Greden, a writer who has lived in Minnesota, California, Georgia and (now) Colorado. He has toiled at copywriting, technical writing, junkmail writing, fiction writing and now automotive writing. He has owned many terrible vehicles and some good ones. He spends a great deal of time in self-service junkyards. These days, he writes for publications including Autoweek, Autoblog, Hagerty, The Truth About Cars and Capital One.
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Compared to our 66 Citroen DS in Brussells at the time. This Rambler looks prehistoric.
My friend currently has the Rebel version of this car but oddly lacks the floor shifter and V8 of this example despite being a sportier model. It is a neat but miserable driving car, especially the fade after one stop non power disk brakes and the leaning onto it's sidewalls handling. The later 60's Comets and Nova's seem to drive much better in comparison. The replaced 232 six, that came out of a 1969 model, runs with it's characteristic lumpy rattly idle and water puddles sometimes stall it out in traffic despite a new cap and rotor and wires etc. This car truly defines the term "labor of love". The points require periodic adjustment and yearly replacement. The carburetor has been rebuilt umpteen times probably due to today's gas and finally last year an ethonal resistant kit became available. Both front springs have been replaced several times in the past 8 years and we fear the passenger side just broke again because she is leaning quite a bit on that side and clunks mercilessly on turns. The interior was decent when he got it 10 years ago but it pretty shot now due to use with ripped seat material, shot door seals and windows that rattle relentlessly. The radiator is also leaking again after several re-cores and weld repairs so that will probably need replacing. The exhaust loosens up on a monthly basis. When it rains out I cringe. Those rebuilt vacuum wipers barely keep up with the rain, especially in a downpour. We are always messing around with the brakes or have the hood popped for some reason or other. The 232 and Flashomatic are very unremarkable with 15 second 0-60 times and 17-18 overall MPG, even on highway trips. This setup is best when you ease it up to speed instead of expect a burst of power that isn't there. Worse the engine is racing when your doing 65 making for a noisy tiresome ride. The transmission is slowly losing 2nd gear and it takes a long time for it to shift to high gear. I know what we'll be doing this Summer. The best feature of this car- the seat recliners. But even those have a catch. The adjustments are few and far between meaning you are either sitting bolt upright or too reclined or flat into the back seat which does make spending the night at Hershey car show a lot cheaper than getting a hotel. This car reminds me why I don't care for AMC products and drive something from the 60's as a classic today. There is just not enough time in the day to keep up with it.