Post by oldchopperguy on Feb 28, 2015 1:17:03 GMT -5
hey leo, mine was the rambler rebel with the 290 which was a ford 289 block. great fuel mileage and great car. the two 401 engines i had were in buicks . one was a '60 model and the other a '62. either would get 18 miles a gallon and i remember a lady and i traveling from idaho to missouri and when i got tired she drove. i set the "mileage minder" on 115 mph cause it wouldn't go any higher. she kept waking me up with the danged clanger bell that said we were exceeding 115 mph. the rambler i liked was the '50 model with the front "clicker" seat that would lay down flat and turn the whole interior into a great bed. i used to "camp" in that parked in front of the house in town. wasn't being 8 years old and feeling safe , wonderful?
lotsa miles and smiles to ya
ken
Ken,
Those old Ramblers were the bomb alright! My first Rambler was a mid-sixties coupe with the largest six... No V8 available yet in the Rambler, but it was a great runner!
I didn't know the small-block was a Ford design. I know the Hornet and Gremlin used a copy of the Ford Torino front-end suspension. When I got out of the Army, I ordered the FIRST V8 Hornet off the assembly line, figuring it would become a collectible. Sadly, it was the ONLY bad AMC car I ever got. It was an "early-production nightmare"... a true lemon. Live and learn.
Remember the AMC muscle cars? The "Big Bad" colors... and the wild "SC Rambler" American... the "Rambler Scrambler". BIG motor, LITTLE car... Great combination! Probably the same basic car as your Rebel.
Great memories attached to all of them. The first car I remember my Dad having was a 1950 Nash with those full-fold-down seats. People DID camp in them. And then, there was the Nash Healy... A genuine Brit-style 2-seat roadster that according to the auto magazines of the day, compared favorably with the Jaguar. Only weird feature was the accelerator being in-between the clutch and brake! THAT would take some getting used to. And hey, CLARK KENT drove one... Any car good enough for SUPERMAN is good enough for anybody!
And don't get me started on HUDSONS... Always wanted one, never got one! Hudsons were SO cool (dual-carb FLATHEAD SIX that dominated NASCAR over the big overhead-valve V8's!). and I hoped when the marque joined Nash, then AMC it might survive. Sadly, not...
Lots of great things back in the day... and more affordable than today's neat stuff!
Stay warm,
Leo
