1969 Rambler Scrambler

The 1969 SC/Rambler.

Few vehicles ever marketed by a North American automobile manufacturer caused folks to scratch their heads in wonderment as much as the 1969 SC/Rambler. 


Throughout the industry, and in the minds of the buying public, Rambler was a name that had been synonymous with thrift and economy for nearly two decades. American Motors had a well-earned reputation for building sensible cars—cars for grandparents and penny-pinching misers who drove their vehicles for a dozen years, repaired them with duct tape and fussed endlessly over gas mileage and tire wear. 

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The meek and mild little Rambler was finally given one last chance to shine when American Motors unleashed this extremely vicious, beefy little leave-‘em-eatin'-dust Mustang mauler, Camaro killer and Barracuda basher onto the market—and just to twist the knife a little--slapped the Rambler nameplate on the perpetrator's package.

The fastest Rambler ever to leave the factory floor was the 1969 SC/Rambler. A total of 1,512 of these pint-sized bullets were built in Kenosha, Wisconsin and Brampton, Ontario.

Oh! St. Brampton be praised! Yes, it was true. This would be Rambler's finest hour and its fastest, too. The public didn’t have a clue but inside American Motors it was well known that the Rambler name was about to be laid to rest forever. While it might soon be gone, Rambler would never be forgotten. The boys at American Motors would make sure the one-time king of economy compacts would go to automobile heaven in the biggest blaze of glory the company could give its pintsized automotive hero. Rambler would go racing. And win big.

Hurst and Rambler were the most unlikely automotive combination of the 1960s.

In a press release dated February 13, 1969, the SC/Rambler was announced. These special models started life as Rambler Rogue hardtops with AMC's thunderous 390-cubic inch V-8 engine stuffed into the engine bay. The package was enhanced by Hurst Performance. SC/Ramblers were painted in a distinctive red, white and blue scheme. According to the release, 500 of these pocket rockets would be built.

Folks got their first chance to meet SC/Ramblers at the Chicago Auto Show on March 8, 1969. Standard equipment was definitely un-Rambler like with an 8000-RPM tachometer, Dual Thrust Glass Pack mufflers and Goodyear Polyglas E70x14 redline tires attached to magnum 500 wheels finished in a wild blue paint scheme. 

Faster than greased lightening and meaner than Moon Dog Spot, many Camaro, Mustang and Barracuda owners only ever got to see the back side of the 1969 SC/Rambler on the track.

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SC/Ramblers or Scramblers ad they came to be called, rolled off the lines in Kenosha, Wisconsin and in Brampton, Ontario. There was enough demand for the roaring Ramblers that three lots of 500 units were built. The tri-colour paint scheme was varied from one group to the next. 

The late Jim Alexander worked in product planning at the time. He told this author that despite all the hoop-la about Hurst’s involvement in the project, the actual work was all done in-house by AMC employees. The only noticeable difference on the assembly line was that Hurst sent over a man to make sure the decals were applied correctly.

Advertising was minimal but what was printed was slick and to the point. “It only hurts the for 14 seconds!” the copy shrilled. The message was deadly accurate. The high-compression, 390-cubic inch V8 mill cranked out a mean 315 horsepower at 4000 RPM and belted out a walloping 425 lb-ft of torque at 3200 RPM. The manual transmission was Borg-Warner’s T-10 four-speed close-ratio, all synchromesh model with the legendary Hurst shifter. That kind of power and performance was absolutely phenomenal in a car that weighed only 3,160 pounds on the scale.  

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Interior and instrument panel of
the 1969 Rambler Scrambler
 was absolutely utilitarian.










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Long-haired dudes wearing peace symbols and bell-bottomed jeans began hanging around Rambler dealerships, checking out the Scramblers. Rambler salesmen weren’t in the habit of seeing anyone under forty wander through the showroom doors but then the kids weren’t used to seeing Scramblers, either.

Scrambler was unique with its huge Canada Post-like letterbox hood scoop and screaming loud paint job. The absolutely Spartan interior was shorn of any glamour, finished in charcoal vinyl upholstery and the tach was actually bolted onto the steering column. This was no cream puff front parlour queen; the Scrambler was built for one purpose and one purpose only: tearing up track. A lot of guys passed over the Scrambler in favour of the more sophisticated and seductive Javelin but that was fine with dealers. The Scrambler served as an important traffic builder—in dealer parlance—and they were a cinch to sell to race buffs at a measly $3,655 f.o.b. Brampton.

On the track that summer, seasoned race fanatics snickered openly at the Rambler econo-boxes. They quit laughing abruptly as the lightening-fast Scramblers proved their mettle by cleaning up on the competition with easy 14-second times. The  feisty SC/Rambler earned grudging respect as many a Camaro and Mustang owner ate Rambler dust that season.

Hollywood movie star James Garner ordered a Metric dozen Scramblers for his American International Race Team (AIR) and entered them in the 1969 Baja 500. Seven of his Scramblers finished the torturous race in less than 30 hours and one brought home a class trophy.

At the factory in Kenosha, two SC/Ramblers were fitted with four-wheel drive as engineers at American Motors explored the possibility of installing the feature on all its products. Vince Geraci worked for the company at that time and recalls that AMC was nearly ready to introduce four-wheel drive on its production passenger cars. The plan was nixed at the last minute when the company purchased Jeep from Kaiser in October of 1969. The company brass feared adding four-wheel drive to Ambassadors, Rebels, Javelins and the new Hornets would muddle product recognition in the minds of consumers.

The 1969 SC/Rambler was the swan song for Rambler.
AMC would replace it with the Hornet. 

When the run or racing Ramblers was tallied, a total of 1,512 Scramblers had been built. They did the nameplate proud as the Rambler name was laid to rest in North America. As scarce as hen’s teeth when new, today SC/Ramblers command very decent prices when they turn up on the auction block.

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 Copyright James C. Mays 2005 All rights reserved.

1963 Rambler

 The 1963 Rambler Ambassador 880 Cross-Country Wagon
 sold for $3,329 and weighed in at 3,275 pounds.

After five long years of uphill battle against its ever-increasing foreign and domestic competitors, Rambler Canada was ready with an assault of its own for 1963. It was an unforgettable attack; one that caught the entire auto industry by surprise. Rambler's shared Classic and Ambassador envelope was new from stem to stern. Prices were just right; all Ramblers were now domestically built, save the sassy little American 440 convertible.  Folks in the Brampton, Ontario head office rubbed their hands in the delicious anticipation of really knocking the socks off the competition.

At a special company picnic, the 1,200 employees and their families got to see a sneak preview of the new Ramblers before anyone else. The event was made even more memorable with a visit by Peter the Clown, a popular television personality, and none other than CBC newsreader-and Rambler spokesman-Earl Cameron. 

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AMC's  Metropolitan was discontinued at the end of the 1962
 selling season.

For the first time in American Motors’ history, there was no Metropolitan on the showroom floor. Manufacture of the tiny import had been discontinued in 1960 but it took two more years to clear out the backlog. Consumers took home 330 of them in 1961. In 1962, Marty Fine, a Rambler dealer in Calgary, cleaned out the last of the Metropolitan stock from head office and sold the lovable little rascals to his eager clients in Alberta. 

With the adorable Metropolitan gone and no replacement, American Motors simply abandoned that entire under-$2,000 segment of the market. For some 4,000 consumers who thought that the $2,184 Rambler American was too expensive, the rock bottom-priced Austin Mini, the DKW, the NSU Prinz, the Simca and the Skoda were all Metropolitan substitutes in 1963. 

1963 Austin Mini by BMC.

1963 Simca by Chrysler of France.

The only imported Rambler this year was the 440 American convertible. 

The 100-inch wheelbased American took the honours of being the smallest Rambler this year. It was on its third-year of the style cycle. Since the basic envelope was the same, much was made of the 45 important improvements to the vehicle, including “a wide selection of colour-coordinated interiors in rich vinyls and fabrics to satisfy the most exacting taste.” The least expensive of the tribe was the plain-Jane 220 two-door sedan. With its $2,184 price tag, it undercut the most bare-boned Studebaker, Chevy II, Ford Falcon and Valiant by a country kilometre. 

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For 1963 the six-cylinder Flying Scot was offered in
125-horsepower form for the Rambler American convertible.
Other Rambler Americans received the tried and true
90-horsepower L-head, first seen in the 1941 Nash 600.

Of course, the real competition for the smallest Rambler came from abroad. The rise of the Pound Sterling and other European currencies along with higher tariffs imposed by Ottawa meant that the Rambler American would now do battle with a whole host of European contenders including the Austin A40, the Morris 1100, the Fiat 1100, the Hillman 1600, the Triumph 1200 and the Renault R8. 

The Rambler Classic was a completely new vehicle. The guys at Track & Traffic tested a 660 four-door sedan. They described it as a “solid, functional machine” and noted that the interior dimensions were substantially larger as a result of the Scena-ramic curved side window glass. They waxed most enthusiastic about the cabin. “From a decorator’s point of view the interior of our test car was tastefully done, using a subtle combination of colours that would be easy to live with for extended periods. Long-wearing, simple to clean fabrics are used on the seats, the doors are covered with a moulded, two-tone vinyl, while the floors are covered with carpeting of exceptional beauty.” 

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Despite unabashed praise for the famed Weather Eye heater, the Dual-Safe brake system and the Airliner reclining seats, they deemed the Classic to be “conventional” and rated its qualities as “satisfying” while hoping for spectacular. They summed up their test experience with this remark: “After spending several enjoyable days with it, we concluded that the Rambler is the car we would like to give our Grandmother as a present. Easy to drive, completely dependable, sensibly sized and with ample interior space, Rambler suits the practical individual.”

With a list price of $2,734, the 1963 Rambler Classic 660 
represented value to thousands of Canadians.

Billed as the only homegrown passenger car with big-car room and comfort combined with small-car economy and handling ease, the Classic 550 two-door sedan listed for $2,538. It competed squarely against the domestically built Corvair, Chevy II, Falcon, Valiant, and Studebaker. It stood up most solidly against the imported Austin A60, the DKW 1000, the Envoy, the Hillman Super Minx, The Morris Oxford, the Renault Caravelle, the Vauxhall, the Volkswagen 1500 and Volvo’s PV 544. 

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 From the rear, Rambler Ambassador carried styling
cues that made it distinct from the Classic.

At the very apex of the Rambler summit shone the Rambler Ambassador. Heretofore, it had always been designated as Ambassador by Rambler. The wording of the name was a subtle nuance designed to elevate the luxurious Ambassador above its more economical kin. Management decided that was no longer necessary. For the first time since the marque debuted, every car on the dealer’s showroom floor carried the Rambler emblem. 

Like its sister Classic, the Ambassador was fresh from the ground up. With promises of delivering more style, more luxury and more V-8 performance, the Ambassador 880 four-door sedan listed for $2,978 and the 880 Cross-Country Wagon sold for $3,329. 

The Rambler Ambassador could be ordered with reclining
 bucket seats and a centre console in 1963.
The Twin-Stick semi-automatic transmission is shown.

Folks have always been willing to shell out a couple of bucks for extras. Popular add-ons for this year’s Ramblers included $7.50 for a block heater, $90.50 for the Weather Eye Heater--both practical for our long, harsh winters. One could write a cheque for  $31.95 for the Airliner reclining seats and $30.05 for headrests and $56.95 for five seat belts. It cost  $11.25 for windshield washers, $13.40 for backup lights, $212.00 for the Flash-O-Matic transmission, $15 for undercoating, $32.50 for two wheel rims (for snow tires), $20 for a set of full wheel covers and $15 for whitewall tires. 

 Airliner Reclining Seats made into Twin Travel Beds,
 saving frugal travellers bundles of money on the road. 

Rambler Canada's executives were more than happy with Track & Traffic’s evaluation of “satisfying” rather than “spectacular” when all was said and done. Motor Trend magazine had named Rambler as its Car of the Year. The Brampton factory had doubled in size during the year to keep up with the avalanche of orders. The company started exporting right-hand drive Ramblers to the UK in February, accounting for half of the Canadian-built automobiles imported by Britain that year. 

Rambler placed sixth in the domestic automotive sales chart for the calendar year with 27,019 sales according to Canadian Automotive Trade, (Ward’s Automotive Yearbook reported 28,602 sales) right behind fifth place Volkswagen and fourth place Valiant. Workers in Brampton built 30,167 Ramblers during the 1963 calendar year and a total of 27,411 units during the model year and the 1964 picture was only going to get brighter. 

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 Copyright James C. Mays 2005 All rights reserved.

1970 AMC Hornet

AMC's Hornet bowed in the fall of 1969 as a 1970 model. It was designed to replace the Rambler, the car that started the modern compact revolution.

Even as American Motors' president Roy D. Chapin stood before microphones to tell the press that the 1968 Rambler would be frozen in style and price for years to come, he had three styling teams busy as a barrel of monkeys secretly whipping up the Rambler’s successor.

Rambler was a sacred name in auto history—first gracing a line of bicycles in the 1890s and then on a line of fine automobiles from 1902 to 1912. The name was polished up and returned to work in 1950 with the advent of the modern Nash Rambler. Synonymous with compact-sized automobiles and outstanding value for the money, the moniker had been around for almost two decades.  Rambler was an automotive hero and like a hockey great, it was about to hang up its skates, its jersey retired forever. Any vehicle that would deign to replace such an icon would have to carefully crafted.

The result of a marriage between pioneer Nash and historic Hudson, American Motors had come into existence in Canada in January of 1956. The company built cars in Toronto and then later in Brampton, Ontario. As the smallest of the Big Four automakers, the folks at American Motors often did things on a shoestring budget.

To introduce Rambler’s successor, top brass earmarked a whopping $40 million and dedicated more than a million man hours to this project. There would be only one kick at the can and the company couldn’t afford to miss the mark. To do so would send the firm to automotive heaven where Studebaker had gone only two years earlier.

The 1970 AMC Hornet SST four-door sedan listed for $2,775 f.o.b. Brampton, Ontario. Vinyl tops were available in three colours at extra cost.

Stealing a page from its own history, the Hornet bowed as “the little rich car,” just as the Nash Rambler had two decades earlier. Like the small Nash, the Hornet was dressed to the nines in SST form. Unlike the Nash Rambler, the Hornet could also be ordered as a stripper.

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Sturdy unit-body construction was the secret of the 1970 AMC Hornet’s superior strength. This aircraft type of mass auto manufacturing was pioneered by predecessor Nash in 1940. 

What Hornet didn’t have was the Rambler name. Sadly, the marque had become tarnished in the North American market and come to be joked about as the fuddy-duddy car for Nana and Gramps. AMC decided to drop the time-honoured Rambler handle in a bid to spiff up its corporate image. Outside of Canada and the US, however, the Rambler name still stood for high quality, excellent value and longevity. Stylish new Rambler Hornets were sold in Europe, Central and South America, Asia, Australia and New Zealand where they were touted as, “kilo for kilo, this Rambler offers more luxury than any car in its class.”

With or without the Rambler nameplate behind it, Hornet was new from the ground up. Available only as a two- or four-door sedan, the whisper quiet, unit-body vehicle rode on a pert 2 734-millimetre (108-inch) wheelbase. Designed by in-house stylist Chuck Mashigan, the Hornet’s long hood, rear short deck and graceful roof profile was classic. No one knew it at the time but the versatile body shell would serve American Motors for the next twenty years.

The grille was exceptionally clean and simple with black horizontal ribs punctuated by single headlights at the outer edges. Those were snuggled up to by large, round inset turn/parking lamps. The rear quarter was equally clean boasting a pair of horizontally split taillights. A tasteful brightwork insert dressed up the  rear of SST models.

 Hornet could be powered by any one of three AMC-designed engines, the 3-litre (left), the 3.2-litre (centre) or the 5-litre  V8 (right). 

A trio of engines was available for power. The thrifty 3.2-litre (199-cubic-inch) six was the standard mill. The 3.2-litre (232-cubic-inch) was optional on base models but standard equipment on the upscale SST versions. For kicks, AMC’s 5-litre (304-cubic inch) V-8 engine was on tap and it promised to deliver zero-to-sixty in ten seconds flat. Horsepower made its way to the wheels courtesy of a three-speed manual transmission. A floor-mounted shifter was optional with the purchase of the V-8 engine or the Shift-Command automatic transmission.

Interior of the 1970 AMC Hornet was capacious. It is seen here with the optional Rattan Weave vinyl upholstery.

Colours for the cabins were scientifically selected. Seats were scientifically contoured to support the back, too. Interiors pledged to have plenty head room, hip room, shoulder room and legroom for five passengers, not four. Even the base models were nicely finished. Advertising bragged, “Everything about Hornet says unbridled luxury.”  The instrument panel featured a recessed strip running the width of the interior, interrupted only by a tasteful tier of controls vertically stacked at the centre. Circular gauges were easy for the driver to read.

The list of options was as carefully screened as nominees under consideration to receive the Order of Canada. They included automatic transmission, power steering, power brakes, air conditioning, tinted glass, vinyl roof and full wheel discs. One could order bumper guards all ‘round, a locking gas cap, an engine block heater, an AM push-button radio, a custom steering wheel, an electric washer and wiper setup, an electric clock, side scuff moulding, two-tone paint jobs and pinstripes.

Even though Jeep was added to the American Motors family, 1970 turned out to be a poor year for American Motors of Canada Limited. Only 18,181 passenger cars were sold during the calendar year. There was a changing of the guard as Bill Pickett became the new president of the Brampton-based company. He had his work cut out for him; The Big Three were not the only competitors these days: upstart imports Volkswagen, Datsun and Toyota and others were all vying for sales  with Hornet, competition in a market segment pioneered by Nash in 1950.

As seen from the rear, the AMC Hornet was striking. The 1970 base model sold for $3,374 f.o.b. Brampton. And weighed 1 207 kilos (2,662 pounds).

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Copyright 2007 to James C. Mays
All rights reserved