My Rambler (and parent AMC) cars, parts, systems, documentation, stories, how-to's, horror stories, photos, and anything related.
The AMC 195.6 OHV inline six engine, based upon a venerable Nash lineage, is ignored and unloved, but is capable of decent performance and reliability. It's major problem is ignorance, even amongst AMC/Rambler fans. Here is my attempt at dispelling some of the needless mystery. Most of the information below applies to the entire family of Nash engines, overhead and flathead, including the 172 and 184 cubic inch versions.
My current infatuation is with the "breadbox" American chassis, and it's un-loved engine, the 195.6 OHV. This car has Nash's fantastic quality, silly styling, and some attributes you'd never imagine, including good at-speed handling.
My 1963 Rambler Classic 550 Cross Country station wagon finally has it's own web page, here; odd since I've been driving this thing more or less daily for 21+ years, and it's been the most useful, fun, cheap, practical, reliable car I've ever owned. From daily commute to deep desert off-road to long distance road trips to camping and trailer hauling, this thing's done it all.
A few years back I bought at auction the remains of Barney Navarro's Indy 500 Rambler six project; a (likely) test mule engine in parts. It's still in pieces awaiting a suitable project, but it's damned interesting stuff, and Navarro was probably the first to exploit the crap out of this incredibly rugged but modest engine. 550hp from the single-turbo version (which I seem to have) then later 750hp from the twin turbo version. Remember this is in the dark ages of turboing, no computers in the car or in the shop!
Various cars I've owned in the past. The following is a list of cars I've owned, as best as I can recall, in chronological order. I initially lived in Massachusetts, rust-death state; moved to San Francisco, drove the 1979 Spirit AMX out there.
1965 Classic (rusted junker, barely ran, gave to me by my parents); 1962 Ambassador 400 (in great shape, I paid $125 for it!, first car I made nice. Drove it cross-country and back in 1976. Really wish I still had this car!); 1953 Studebaker Champion 1/2-ton pickup (paid $50, sat in a field 9 yrs, rotted out). Unfortunately this is the only photo of it I have, that tiny blue and yellow thing in the background.; 1976 Hornet Hatchback (bought it new from Torres AMC/Jeep, Falmouth MA!); 1959 Rambler American (paid $50, rust-bucket, wrecked interior, crossmember finally rusted off, had a lot of fun with this car); 1969 Hurst SC/Rambler (wrong car at wrong time); 1976 Hornet Sportabout (wrong car for me); 1977 Hornet Hatchback AMX (very, very nice, should have kept it); 1979 Spirit AMX (got a lot of use! I broke unibody, donor for next car); 1970 Hornet #1 (it got the AMX suspension, wheels, brakes, etc); 1963 Classic 550 Cross Country (it got above suspension/brakes, plus gigatons more, still have this car); 1975 Gremlin X (sold Aug 2001).; 1970 Hornet #2
And I mean these are the only cars I've owned, other than a 1996 Honda del Sol, a 1996 Honda Accord, and long ago, a 1955 Studebaker Champion truck. I don't have a "regular" car, Ramblers are my "regular" car, since 1974.