1961 AMC Rambler - Early Iron

Until 1972, this 1961 AMC Rambler convertible belonged to the wife of the local Rambler dealer. She sold it to Gary Hoffman's brother-in-law, who drove it for a while, then parked it. When Gary became the third owner, the car was in good condition, with only 35,000 on the odometer. With a new ignition and fuel pump, the Rambler was driveable, but Gary had bigger plans. Nothing radical, just some freshening up, an altitude adjustment, and a creature comfort or two.

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The body was nosed and decked, emblems were removed, and a custom billet grille insert was added. The '85 Corvette taillights replace the stockers. Gary and his wife, Joan, picked Orange Blast, a Dodge Neon color, for the paint, which Gary sprayed.

Cut front coils and 1-inch lowering blocks at the rear leafs drop the car just enough. BFGoodrich radials roll on 17-inch Eagle Alloys five-spokes. The factory inline-six engine was cleaned up and repainted, treated to fresh gaskets, and topped with a single-throat Holley carburetor.

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The dash and everything in it is stock, except for an aftermarket tach and the Eclipse CD stereo mounted in place of the factory AM unit. The door panels are dyed to match the buckskin vinyl covering the factory bench seat.

The end result is a cool little street cruiser. By keeping it simple, Gary can take pride in the fact that most of the work on the Rambler is his own—while giving credit to Mike Wolverton, Glenn Hatcher, and Dave Taylor, who helped with the project.

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Classic Instruments Tech Tip If your gauges are operating erratically, the problem may be caused by electrical interference on the power being supplied to them. The speedometer is especially susceptible to this if you are using an SN16 pulse signal generator or other powered signal source. The signal being sent to the speedometer comes from pulsing the 12V being supplied to the sender. If there is interference on the 12V, the speedometer will interpret it as another signal and will act erratically. To fix this, a DC power line filter can be used in-line with the power going to the gauges. The power filter will eliminate any interference from the power and supply a "clean" 12V to your gauges. This will also help guarantee "clean" signals to your gauges so they will operate smoothly. DC power filters can most easily be found at businesses that install car audio devices, because audio equipment is also susceptible to power interference and filters are used to ensure you don't hear a whine in your speakers while you are driving.