Until they rusted out or got hit in the ass end. Getting hit in the rear end would fold the whole rear end down hinging over the wheel arch. Happened to my brother. Twice.
Love Nick's comment, "this is how it was in the sixties". That's exactly right. Watching old Adam 12, or Dragnet TV shows, you'd wonder where all the Hemi Cudas and big block Chevelles came from. Most auction blocks, and car shows do not tell an exactly accurate tale of how it was in the sixties. (I was there too). Cars like the Rambler are a treasure. Good job Nick.
Fantastic Rambler, it was built to be a basic, dependable, decent quality, presentable, and functional family car. And it still is a beautiful car in great condition for a 1964 car.
Gday guy's. Steve from New Zealand 🇳🇿. Great 64 Rambler. There was a few of these great cars imported into New Zealand. Not a lot but they proved to be great and reliable. Ramblers Rock man !
Thanks nick for keeping these classic vehicles running for us younger folks to enjoy..i was born in 1973 and remember non electronic ignition cars..I never worked on a set of points myself tho
My first car was a '64 Rambler American 440, red inside and out. It was a hand-me-down from my grandmother. I started driving it in '74 with only 16k on the clock. It was crude even by 1970s standards but built like a tank. My brother was still driving it in the mid 80s.
Those old cars were as high tech as a hammer, but they got you down the road and were so simple you could fix just about anything alongside the road. Remember using a folded matchbook cover as a feeler gage to set the points on an old Chevy in a Safeway parking lot. Checked it with my dwell meter when I got home...got really close.
It really is true that most shops today don't know breaker points or carbs. We have had stuff come in that drove to another shop and had to get towed to our shop because the car wouldn't start after the tune up. They didn't teach this stuff when I went through 2 years of trade school to become a mechanic. I learned it on the family farm by keeping older equipment running. My boss knows this stuff well too, so we get to work on some pretty nice (and a few ugly) older cars when we aren't working on modern stuff. Helps keep things fun and interesting.
I owned a 1964 Rambler Classic 770 with a 287 V8. Yes that's 287. I always had a hell of a time getting parts, the auto parts stores wouldn't believe that a 287ci engine existed! Frickin good motor, 240,000 miles before it died for the final time.
ramblers always make me smile. almost had the wagon version of this car. another fish story about the one that got away. thanks for the effort and the sharing. nick is indeed a rare resource that needs to be preserved. thumbs up.
First rate mini-documentary ...BRAVO..! I only wish the work ethic of this great man could be taught to each and every child growing up today in North America. Nick is truly a huge inspiration to the working man. A million thank yous for another great video. Well done..!
Hey Nick, it was so good to see you get that Rambler Classic started. I had a '63 Classic 550 Wagon with the same engine and it ran so smoothly that I couldn't even feel any vibration at idle because of the 7 main bearings. It rode just like an expensive touring sedan. I loved it!
On a damp morning moisture can accumulate inside the distributor cap and cause misfire as well ! ( a file and a paper towel was handy in the glovebox ) ! Thank You Nick !
Was driving a 68 VW bug across the us in 1976 and it just stopped in the middle of the night. I had only a screwdriver. I didn't know what was wrong so i pulled off distibiter cap and points had come loose and closed. I used a book of matches and reset them with it. Away i went. Lucked out that night.
Remembering my father using a hair clip for points as we were in the middle of no where. They lasted long enough to get us to a station. In those days point plugs and wires were a staple for the small mechanic gas station.
Just did a few videos on points, condensers, coils and exactly how they work (not the common myths about how they work) and how to diagnose them, with or without old tune scope. That rambler may have a dodgy condenser, they deteriorate with age like the dialectic properties of coils and once the farad rating drops they will be out of tune with the inductance of the coil primary and secondary and will show a pitting to one side indicating the polarity of the oscillation bias. Likewise a real bad condenser can compromise a set of points in under a minute of running and reduce coil output too, sometimes causing idle so bad it shakes the carb enough to upset the float and cause severe flooding at idle. Seen it a few times, young mechanics in a hurry do a rebuild on carb to fix flooding thinking its the carb causing poor idle due to flooding. Replace points and bad condenser kills the new points in under 30 seconds and its rough idle followed by carb flooding again. Fit new points AND new condenser, fixed for good.
Thanks. Didn't know why I was having to file the points so often. Quibble: "Dielectric"- an insulator with capacitive qualities, iirc. "Dialectic" - about subculture or local language, or something like that.
Great video! I had a '63 Rambler 660 Classic that I loved obsessively and held on to for over 14 years. If I hadn't lost it in the Northridge quake, I would no doubt still be driving it today. (I really miss that old beast) You brought a smile to my morning, as well as giving me some hacks I hadn't known prior... Thanks!
no joke about most automotive techs having no idea about the carb and breaker points cars. I worked at a Ford dealer years ago and when we got a old Ford or other make with carburetor and with or without breaker points to be brought into the shop, the car porters could not even start them and cranked the engine until the battery was dead, I would go out with a jump box and start it right up. if a porter, particularly the guy that attempted to start the engine would be blown away over it. he would ask me how I got it started so fast, I would tell them about the Carburetor and you have to pump the pedal a bit then feather the throttle to keep it running if it was a cold engine with a poorly set up choke. I started my automotive career in 1986 when there were still lots of old school cars with points and carburetors on them. it is sadly a lost art working on these! the old cars were also my favorites to work on!
@@1575murray Had my 2001 car towed. It was flooded. Would have started if I'd have done what we used to do - hold the throttle wide open while cranking. Didn't occur to me that the computer controlled injected engine could get flooded. Flooded after 2 runs where only ran for a minute, and weather was cold.
I remember points well. Not much to the old ignition system, unlike today. That`s EXACTLY how we cleaned points back in the day. Thanks for bringing back my late teenage memories. My Dad had a `61 Rambler station wagon with the push button transmission and push button start. The good old days. Thanks again Nick!!
I am old enough to remember when cars had a carburetor for air fuel delivery to the engine. Also for the ignition system they had a simple points, condenser and distributor ignition system. This video brings back memories of these old style systems that came before the days of electronically controlled fuel injection systems and electronically controlled ignition systems with no distributor, instead most cars today have an ignition coil on top each spark plug. A lot of young people have never seen these old systems.
They still make them! Just put a new Holley carburetor on my '72 AMC Javelin last week. Simple and reliable, so you don't have to worry about the electronics breaking down on you in the middle of nowhere. I did replace the points with a maintenance free magnetic pickup system though.
Ramblers were the BEST riding cars...they had excellent suspension. My first car was a Rambler American 220 station wagon..best softest riding car I've ever been (except for a Citroën DS21)
These cars had coils at all 4 corners. The rear axle was bolted to the 'torque tube', a solid tube enclosing the driveshaft & that was also bolted to the transmission. Quelled engine noise & vibration, carried engine torque to the rear axle (& not through the car body and springs), carried the driving torque and force of the rear wheels to the front of the car, through the engine and transmission mounts. I owned a similar '66. Could barely hear or feel the big 6 running when it was idling.
Back in the 80 's I saw one that had fins like a old caddy , any ideas what year that one could have been? It was maybe from the 50's . It was clearly the most beautiful Rambler I have ever seen !
I used to see a lot of Ramblers when I was a kid. My Grandparents even had a 66 station wagon. They babied that thing and always kept it in the garage.
I remember at the age of 14, setting under the hood of a 1958 Oldsmobile changing points , rotor, & condenser . I was taught starting at age of 12 how to work on cars by my grandfather and his three sons, my uncles to fix it or walk I had very good mentors
Nice old Rambler! Glad to see it got worked on by someone who knows these old cars. This has the Borg Warner Flashomatic transmission. The first Drive position "D2" starts in second gear and shifts to third. It was meant for starting on slippery surfaces. The second position "D1" starts in first and shifts up to second and then third. This is the normal drive range to use. A lot of people don't know that today as it is a non-intuitive design and always use "D2" since it is the first drive position and end up starting in second gear all the time. A lot of '58 - '66 Ford/Mercury/Lincoln cars have this shift quadrant as well (and I think Studebakers too). In the mid '60s Fords, "D2" was a small white dot and "D1" was a larger green dot. On those, "white means snow and green means go"!
Fantastic! If you all think points are strange, a point file would even be stranger. Have one myself in a SK Wayne tune up socket set I inherited from my late Dad. Used the file to get my '66 Skylark running after setting for years. Love the old school, that's why these videos rock. Thank you Nick.
Great channel. I like working on the old cars then these new cars. I been fixing my cars since the 70's My dads 1st new car was the 1964 Rambler Green 4 door. Just like the one you showing here . I was 4 years old and when he went to pick it up the sales man gave me a model of the car . Same exact color as the new 1964 green Rambler my dad bought
No blind spots. That's something Jay Leno committed on also with those old 1960s cars. He said that you were safer in a wreck in modern cars but also more likely to be in a wreck because of all the blind spots.
Sometimes starting problems on old Ramblers was due to the Corporate way of buying parts from different OEM manufacturers, like Delco and Ford Motorcraft. Because of mix-ups, a Rambler could be running 12 volts to the coil all the time, due to whether the ballast resistor was present or not. Smart Rambler owners would keep a spare, dry coil in the glove box, and on rainy days the car would need the spare coil swapped in to be able to start. I've owned a few, from 1958 to 1965.
My first car in the U.K was a 55 Ford Popular. No heater, cable brakes, 6 volt electrics, vacuum windshield wipers, side valve engine. It took me all over the U.K. Price ?30 U.K pounds !
Groovin on the Rambler's air freshener, hahaha. Nice work with the points, Nick. Sometimes cleaning/servicing the old stuff and putting it back in tells you if you are on the right track. Then you can get the new parts and if they don't work, you know they're defective.
So the Nash held up the shops reputation. I'm just realizing there is so much more to this place. These kind of shops don't exist anymore... good show men!
This kind of gets me in the heart. My grandfather when he was old had little money. We took him out to look at new and used cars; not expensive in the early 60s. He decided they were too much money. About a month later there was an old stove bolt white 1959 Rambler American super bare bones 2 door coupe siting in is driveway. I don't know were he found it, probably from a nice friend. I remember he paid about $300. I remember sitting in the car, as a young man and feeling sorry for grandpa.
LOL! I'm from the old school Nick...I understand points...heck I thought back in the day I was the MAN because I got the first Mallory dual point distributer in my high school hot rod group...and plunked into my 69 Chevelle 396...I think now looking back that thing was probably more valuable than the car! But my Dad and I fixed her up and got her sweet looking and running..wish I still had that one! LOL!
In 1972 my next door neighbor was a GM service mechanic- he showed me how to set points with a dwell meter. you do it that way and the car will start with just a bump on the switch. My next trick was dual points on my 1970 Dart 340. I still own my dell meter
I bought a 77 fj40 that had 2800 dollars of recent repair receipts in the glove box. It was hard to start and if you did not keep the choke pulled out a bit(to get fast idle) it would die at idle. All the manuals came with it. I looked in the manual and found my land cruiser could have come with 3 different ignitions. Breaker point, Breaker point with spark pack, or Breaker point with magnetic impulse distributor. If it was the last it would have screws holding down the distributor cap. I looked and I had spring clips holding down the cap and a spark pack. Obviously I had number 2. I checked the receipts. They had changed everything except points. You can guess it. The original points were still there and the rubbing block had worn down so they barely opened. A nice new set of toyota points set to 16 thousandths/cam cleaned/lubed and varooom it ran great ever after.
I remember back in 1970..I was 14 at the time. My oldest brother (R.I.P. Tommy :-/) came home with a brand new Plymouth Barracuda "Gran Coupe" 383c.i./335h.p. Hurst pistol grip 4spd and it had a duel points distributor. in 1973 when I was 17 the motor dropped a valve and put a rod threw the block. He offered to sell it to me for $750 but MOM said NO..with a new motor it would be too fast for me lol. Wish I had that car today!! Tommy ended up getting a "junk yard" 383 from a Newport that my friend and I installed,and he ended up selling the car :-/
My first car: 64 Rambler Classic 550, straight 6, 3 on the tree. Tore up 3 shift tubes power shifting. Blew up the muffler once trying to make it backfire. Oh, I've filed several sets of points in my day.
Nick saves the day again, and with no money in parts! It's scary how hard it is to get points, condensors and even caps and rotors for the original ignitions. When I worked in a performance parts shop we would get all that stuff from Accel over 10 years ago, no problem. Since Holley bought them, they stopped production on alot of the old part numbers for points. Thankfully Pertronix has electronic conversions for most distributors.
Donald Burkard - This gets video in the heart. My grandfather when he was old had little money. We took him out to look at new and used cars; not expensive in the early 60s. He decided they were too much money. About a month later there was an old stove bolt white 1959 Rambler American super bare bones 2 door coupe siting in is driveway. I don't know were he found it, probably from a nice friend. I remember he paid about $300. I remember sitting in the car, as a young man and feeling sorry for grandpa.
Look at all the room to work in the engine compartment. The first car I had was a 1966 Mustang 200 inline 6 with a 3 speed manual transmission. I bought it used in 1970 when I was a senior in HS. Loved that car but a 289 would have been nice too.
AMC's were very rare here in NC. At least they were where i grew up. A few Gremlins and Hornets and Matadors but that was about it. And they were all used. I don't even remember where a dealership was.
Being one of those new mechanics who came from a old school background I love these kinds of videos. screw all the computerization I love just the basics. But I have to know both for the trade nowadays.
After two trips to the dealership Dodge dealership mind you I went to a very competent mechanic I would consider him a friend of Anger Management racing Tommy thank you he balanced my tires on a Hunter. no issues anymore thank you for your input I greatly appreciate it but Road Force balancing is dependent upon somebody who knows how to work the machine and the only somebody was Tommy who works at a Chevy dealership. He balanced my tires again I am grateful . I just don't understand why I needed to go somewhere outside Dodge to get this done. Thanks again Nick love the videos.
I cant vouch for the 64 but the 63 Rambler Classic is the stoutest built automobile ive ever tried to kill. Best friend scored his grandmothers MINT low mile, garaged example when he was 15 years old. Did I mention it was PINK? Did I mention were a bunch of farm kids with several years experience destroying cast off cars around the farm? The stupidity that car shrugged off impressed me. It was built like a tank.
My dad bought a 58 Rambler four door with the manual transmission and overdrive. You could go down the road at 55, engage that overdrive and the engine was almost idling. It could get 30 mpg with four of us in it.
Our family car when I was a kid was a '63 Rambler Classic. I was with my parents when they bought it new, and seven-year-old me was so excited that they bought it instead of the ugly Studebaker Lark they were considering. Stirred a lifelong fixation with me and I still have two AMC Javelins.
The 232 was a limited production in 64. This ones a 196. You can tell by the valve cover. Pull this one out, set aside all refreshed and drop in a 4.0. It would probably as fast as the 287 4 barrel option. Looks like the interior needs some serious work. Nick's feeler gauge. Snap-On was just a 5 minute drive down 30th Avenue from where the engine was built.
Nick is the man when it comes to old iron. I'm 75 years old, and once apon a time I was the guy friends came to about fixing "non computer equipped" cars. The 64 AMC, and fileing off its points really took me back to an older guy that taught me that trick. Nick rocks!
God bless old cots that know their stuff. I have a stock 1966 Rambler American 440 and i do all the work my self. YES that includes changing points,setting the timing and rebuilding the carb. ;)
Ah yes, points and condensers. I remember doing those on my '70 Duster and '74 Firebird. Still have the Craftsman points file and feeler gauge somewhere in my toolbox.
Had a 64 Classic 660 in the early to mid 70s. But it had a 287 V8 and a three speed. Biggest problem was the brakes, which were unboosted drums. If you hit the brakes at anything over 80mph (and it would do 110 or so) they faded away before you got to 70. But reliability wise, it was brilliant. It just went and went and went.
I've replaced a lot of points in the past. I have used a piece of the cardboard box the points came in to gap the points. It was a V-8 and the gap was 0.016". A 6 had a gap of 0.020", so I just made is a loose fit on the cardboard. My friend could gap the points just by looking at them. I used a dwell meter to check the dwell angle, and it read 32 degrees. Factory spec was 30 degree. Fantastic! Just looking at the points!!
A friend of mine has a 1966 Rambler Classic I just helped him in the spring time pull his Transmission to have it rebuilt it did not even have cooling lines on it and it had a torque tube instead of a regular driveshaft It's brown gold type color and it's clean too the interior is mint all original it also has a straight six in it
I was a amc mechanic these were rock solid transportation. Ran forever.
You’re revealing you age!😊
@@ckane510 So are you. Getting older sure beats the alternative
Thank for your service ...AMC is my favorite ..Ramblers are sweet
Until they rusted out or got hit in the ass end. Getting hit in the rear end would fold the whole rear end down hinging over the wheel arch. Happened to my brother. Twice.
So you are saying that they had good brakes then LOL@@mpetersen6
I traveled from Tucson, Arizona to Ypsilanti, Michigan with my family in 1967 in a 1964 Rambler station wagon. I love Ramblers and AMC!
Grampa had a 67 ambassador, thanks again Nick!
My late Dad had a 1965 Rambler 660 clasic for many years. It was the car I learned how to drive in.
Thanks Nick, for keeping my 4 door, 6 banger on the road too!
Love Nick's comment, "this is how it was in the sixties". That's exactly right. Watching old Adam 12, or Dragnet TV shows, you'd wonder where all the Hemi Cudas and big block Chevelles came from. Most auction blocks, and car shows do not tell an exactly accurate tale of how it was in the sixties. (I was there too). Cars like the Rambler are a treasure. Good job Nick.
Hi Kurt. You are fortunate to have such a sweet ride. I just love it, so original and tidy. Keep it cruzin mate. Steve from New Zealand 🇳🇿
Fantastic Rambler, it was built to be a basic, dependable, decent quality, presentable, and functional family car. And it still is a beautiful car in great condition for a 1964 car.
Love the 64 Rambler, had one in mid 70's ,
I love points, condensers & coils!
Another great show. Thanks Nick.
Gday guy's. Steve from New Zealand 🇳🇿. Great 64 Rambler. There was a few of these great cars imported into New Zealand. Not a lot but they proved to be great and reliable. Ramblers Rock man !
Thanks nick for keeping these classic vehicles running for us younger folks to enjoy..i was born in 1973 and remember non electronic ignition cars..I never worked on a set of points myself tho
My first car was a '64 Rambler American 440, red inside and out. It was a hand-me-down from my grandmother. I started driving it in '74 with only 16k on the clock. It was crude even by 1970s standards but built like a tank. My brother was still driving it in the mid 80s.
Real nice old Rambler, amazing condition very original. I knew a guy who had one just like it.
My Dad and Uncle were both mechanics at a Rambler Dealership in the 60s. Thanks Nick
Those old cars were as high tech as a hammer, but they got you down the road and were so simple you could fix just about anything alongside the road. Remember using a folded matchbook cover as a feeler gage to set the points on an old Chevy in a Safeway parking lot. Checked it with my dwell meter when I got home...got really close.
This is one of my favorite episodes of Nick's garage even the most simple car can be fixed very easily with a lot of know-how and a lot of love!
It really is true that most shops today don't know breaker points or carbs. We have had stuff come in that drove to another shop and had to get towed to our shop because the car wouldn't start after the tune up. They didn't teach this stuff when I went through 2 years of trade school to become a mechanic. I learned it on the family farm by keeping older equipment running. My boss knows this stuff well too, so we get to work on some pretty nice (and a few ugly) older cars when we aren't working on modern stuff. Helps keep things fun and interesting.
Dwell angle in that year was 32 deg. I remember them well Nick as I still have my Tack-Dwell.I am old past 65! And still racing!
dynodon. Good for you. Thanks for watching.
I owned a 1964 Rambler Classic 770 with a 287 V8. Yes that's 287. I always had a hell of a time getting parts, the auto parts stores wouldn't believe that a 287ci engine existed! Frickin good motor, 240,000 miles before it died for the final time.
Dan Forbess: The Classic with the 327 cubic inch V8 would be like an almost hot rod with either a 2 barrel or 4 barrel carburetor.
ramblers always make me smile. almost had the wagon version of this car. another fish story about the one that got away. thanks for the effort and the sharing. nick is indeed a rare resource that needs to be preserved. thumbs up.
The Rambler is amazing !
Only better if it's a three speed
First rate mini-documentary ...BRAVO..!
I only wish the work ethic of this great man could be taught to each and every child growing up today in North America.
Nick is truly a huge inspiration to the working man. A million thank yous for another great video. Well done..!
tejastiger61. THANKS !!!
Hey Nick, it was so good to see you get that Rambler Classic started. I had a '63 Classic 550 Wagon with the same engine and it ran so smoothly that I couldn't even feel any vibration at idle because of the 7 main bearings. It rode just like an expensive touring sedan. I loved it!
On a damp morning moisture can accumulate inside the distributor cap and cause misfire as well ! ( a file and a paper towel was handy in the glovebox ) ! Thank You Nick !
I did a lot of those in the 70s and 80s.Good show
Was driving a 68 VW bug across the us in 1976 and it just stopped in the middle of the night. I had only a screwdriver. I didn't know what was wrong so i pulled off distibiter cap and points had come loose and closed. I used a book of matches and reset them with it. Away i went. Lucked out that night.
Remembering my father using a hair clip for points as we were in the middle of no where. They lasted long enough to get us to a station. In those days point plugs and wires were a staple for the small mechanic gas station.
Don't forget the condenser
I had someone charge up a condenser and hand it to me once. It is a lesson I won't ever forget.
Boy does that ever bring back memories lol ! I remember yearly points change just to keep it in tune
Good old points. Always kept a set in my 66 Ford Falcon with a screwdriver and match book.
Just did a few videos on points, condensers, coils and exactly how they work (not the common myths about how they work) and how to diagnose them, with or without old tune scope. That rambler may have a dodgy condenser, they deteriorate with age like the dialectic properties of coils and once the farad rating drops they will be out of tune with the inductance of the coil primary and secondary and will show a pitting to one side indicating the polarity of the oscillation bias. Likewise a real bad condenser can compromise a set of points in under a minute of running and reduce coil output too, sometimes causing idle so bad it shakes the carb enough to upset the float and cause severe flooding at idle. Seen it a few times, young mechanics in a hurry do a rebuild on carb to fix flooding thinking its the carb causing poor idle due to flooding. Replace points and bad condenser kills the new points in under 30 seconds and its rough idle followed by carb flooding again. Fit new points AND new condenser, fixed for good.
Thanks. Didn't know why I was having to file the points so often. Quibble: "Dielectric"- an insulator with capacitive qualities, iirc. "Dialectic" - about subculture or local language, or something like that.
Great video! I had a '63 Rambler 660 Classic that I loved obsessively and held on to for over 14 years. If I hadn't lost it in the Northridge quake, I would no doubt still be driving it today. (I really miss that old beast) You brought a smile to my morning, as well as giving me some hacks I hadn't known prior... Thanks!
I remember when all you needed was a screwdriver, channel locks hammer and a test light . I love your videos.
no joke about most automotive techs having no idea about the carb and breaker points cars. I worked at a Ford dealer years ago and when we got a old Ford or other make with carburetor and with or without breaker points to be brought into the shop, the car porters could not even start them and cranked the engine until the battery was dead, I would go out with a jump box and start it right up. if a porter, particularly the guy that attempted to start the engine would be blown away over it. he would ask me how I got it started so fast, I would tell them about the Carburetor and you have to pump the pedal a bit then feather the throttle to keep it running if it was a cold engine with a poorly set up choke. I started my automotive career in 1986 when there were still lots of old school cars with points and carburetors on them. it is sadly a lost art working on these! the old cars were also my favorites to work on!
I don't really miss the old cars with carburetors and points the newer ones with EFI are much more reliable and plugs last a lot longer.
@@1575murray Had my 2001 car towed. It was flooded. Would have started if I'd have done what we used to do - hold the throttle wide open while cranking. Didn't occur to me that the computer controlled injected engine could get flooded. Flooded after 2 runs where only ran for a minute, and weather was cold.
Love your show Nick
I remember points well. Not much to the old ignition system, unlike today. That`s EXACTLY how we cleaned points back in the day. Thanks for bringing back my late teenage memories. My Dad had a `61 Rambler station wagon with the push button transmission and push button start. The good old days. Thanks again Nick!!
I am old enough to remember when cars had a carburetor for air fuel delivery to the engine. Also for the ignition system they had a simple points, condenser and distributor ignition system. This video brings back memories of these old style systems that came before the days of electronically controlled fuel injection systems and electronically controlled ignition systems with no distributor, instead most cars today have an ignition coil on top each spark plug. A lot of young people have never seen these old systems.
They still make them! Just put a new Holley carburetor on my '72 AMC Javelin last week. Simple and reliable, so you don't have to worry about the electronics breaking down on you in the middle of nowhere. I did replace the points with a maintenance free magnetic pickup system though.
Ramblers were the BEST riding cars...they had excellent suspension. My first car was a Rambler American 220 station wagon..best softest riding car I've ever been (except for a Citroën DS21)
These cars had coils at all 4 corners. The rear axle was bolted to the 'torque tube', a solid tube enclosing the driveshaft & that was also bolted to the transmission. Quelled engine noise & vibration, carried engine torque to the rear axle (& not through the car body and springs), carried the driving torque and force of the rear wheels to the front of the car, through the engine and transmission mounts. I owned a similar '66. Could barely hear or feel the big 6 running when it was idling.
Back in the 80 's I saw one that had fins like a old caddy , any ideas what year that one could have been? It was maybe from the 50's . It was clearly the most beautiful Rambler I have ever seen !
@@oldpolak5203 I believe fins were mainly 57/58 they got smaller until they were gone in 61 if I remember correctly.
That is the same condenser I just put in a 1965 1020 John deer yesterday!!! Lol
I used to see a lot of Ramblers when I was a kid. My Grandparents even had a 66 station wagon. They babied that thing and always kept it in the garage.
I remember at the age of 14, setting under the hood of a 1958 Oldsmobile changing points , rotor, & condenser . I was taught starting at age of 12 how to work on cars by my grandfather and his three sons, my uncles to fix it or walk I had very good mentors
Nice old Rambler! Glad to see it got worked on by someone who knows these old cars. This has the Borg Warner Flashomatic transmission. The first Drive position "D2" starts in second gear and shifts to third. It was meant for starting on slippery surfaces. The second position "D1" starts in first and shifts up to second and then third. This is the normal drive range to use. A lot of people don't know that today as it is a non-intuitive design and always use "D2" since it is the first drive position and end up starting in second gear all the time. A lot of '58 - '66 Ford/Mercury/Lincoln cars have this shift quadrant as well (and I think Studebakers too). In the mid '60s Fords, "D2" was a small white dot and "D1" was a larger green dot. On those, "white means snow and green means go"!
dnanestrau. I never knew that with the automatic transmission in those days. Nice to know, Thanks.
I didn't know that either.
I dearly love the Rambler!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fantastic! If you all think points are strange, a point file would even be stranger. Have one myself in a SK Wayne tune up socket set I inherited from my late Dad. Used the file to get my '66 Skylark running after setting for years. Love the old school, that's why these videos rock. Thank you Nick.
That bone steering wheel is awesome.
Great channel. I like working on the old cars then these new cars. I been fixing my cars since the 70's My dads 1st new car was the 1964 Rambler Green 4 door. Just like the one you showing here . I was 4 years old and when he went to pick it up the sales man gave me a model of the car . Same exact color as the new 1964 green Rambler my dad bought
Motorman. NICE, Ford also had little car models on display on their desks. Thanks for watching.
No blind spots. That's something Jay Leno committed on also with those old 1960s cars. He said that you were safer in a wreck in modern cars but also more likely to be in a wreck because of all the blind spots.
Incredible original condition for a Canada car. I bet the owner is very proud.
Maindrian Pace. The owner is very proud of his car. Thanks for watching.
Sometimes starting problems on old Ramblers was due to the Corporate way of buying parts from different OEM manufacturers, like Delco and Ford Motorcraft. Because of mix-ups, a Rambler could be running 12 volts to the coil all the time, due to whether the ballast resistor was present or not. Smart Rambler owners would keep a spare, dry coil in the glove box, and on rainy days the car would need the spare coil swapped in to be able to start. I've owned a few, from 1958 to 1965.
My first car in the U.K was a 55 Ford Popular. No heater, cable brakes, 6 volt electrics, vacuum windshield wipers, side valve engine. It took me all over the U.K. Price ?30 U.K pounds !
Groovin on the Rambler's air freshener, hahaha. Nice work with the points, Nick. Sometimes cleaning/servicing the old stuff and putting it back in tells you if you are on the right track. Then you can get the new parts and if they don't work, you know they're defective.
So the Nash held up the shops reputation. I'm just realizing there is so much more to this place. These kind of shops don't exist anymore... good show men!
9:52 to 10:05. Nick does improv comedy. "No blinds spots on these cars. Everywhere you look all you see is windows".
This kind of gets me in the heart. My grandfather when he was old had little money. We took him out to look at new and used cars; not expensive in the early 60s. He decided they were too much money. About a month later there was an old stove bolt white 1959 Rambler American super bare bones 2 door coupe siting in is driveway. I don't know were he found it, probably from a nice friend. I remember he paid about $300. I remember sitting in the car, as a young man and feeling sorry for grandpa.
LOL! I'm from the old school Nick...I understand points...heck I thought back in the day I was the MAN because I got the first Mallory dual point distributer in my high school hot rod group...and plunked into my 69 Chevelle 396...I think now looking back that thing was probably more valuable than the car! But my Dad and I fixed her up and got her sweet looking and running..wish I still had that one! LOL!
In 1972 my next door neighbor was a GM service mechanic- he showed me how to set points with a dwell meter. you do it that way and the car will start with just a bump on the switch. My next trick was dual points on my 1970 Dart 340. I still own my dell meter
Great job on the Rambler. My Dad had the opposite colors, white with red interior
I bought a 77 fj40 that had 2800 dollars of recent repair receipts in the glove box. It was hard to start and if you did not keep the choke pulled out a bit(to get fast idle) it would die at idle. All the manuals came with it. I looked in the manual and found my land cruiser could have come with 3 different ignitions. Breaker point, Breaker point with spark pack, or Breaker point with magnetic impulse distributor. If it was the last it would have screws holding down the distributor cap. I looked and I had spring clips holding down the cap and a spark pack. Obviously I had number 2. I checked the receipts. They had changed everything except points. You can guess it. The original points were still there and the rubbing block had worn down so they barely opened. A nice new set of toyota points set to 16 thousandths/cam cleaned/lubed and varooom it ran great ever after.
I remember back in 1970..I was 14 at the time. My oldest brother (R.I.P. Tommy :-/) came home with a brand new Plymouth Barracuda "Gran Coupe" 383c.i./335h.p. Hurst pistol grip 4spd and it had a duel points distributor. in 1973 when I was 17 the motor dropped a valve and put a rod threw the block. He offered to sell it to me for $750 but MOM said NO..with a new motor it would be too fast for me lol. Wish I had that car today!! Tommy ended up getting a "junk yard" 383 from a Newport that my friend and I installed,and he ended up selling the car :-/
+rockinrowdy13 Thanks for sharing. Let’s hope there are Plymouths where Tommy is today.
Very nice, my pappy always had new AMC cars to ride in
My first car: 64 Rambler Classic 550, straight 6, 3 on the tree. Tore up 3 shift tubes power shifting. Blew up the muffler once trying to make it backfire. Oh, I've filed several sets of points in my day.
That Rambler drives straight & true. Love where the oil filter is. Easy oil change.
That Rambler's steering wheel is beautiful
Just an FYI, the ohv 195.6 was rated at 127hp with a single barrel carb, and 138 with a 2bbl. The L-head version was 90hp
Hey Nick just grab a matchbook in a pinch to set the points. Lol! Matchbooks are gone too. The panorama view is awesome.
LOL...I used a cigarette pack....LOL
Nick saves the day again, and with no money in parts! It's scary how hard it is to get points, condensors and even caps and rotors for the original ignitions. When I worked in a performance parts shop we would get all that stuff from Accel over 10 years ago, no problem. Since Holley bought them, they stopped production on alot of the old part numbers for points. Thankfully Pertronix has electronic conversions for most distributors.
Had a sixties Rambler American as my first car, brings back memories.
Donald Burkard - This gets video in the heart. My grandfather when he was old had little money. We took him out to look at new and used cars; not expensive in the early 60s. He decided they were too much money. About a month later there was an old stove bolt white 1959 Rambler American super bare bones 2 door coupe siting in is driveway. I don't know were he found it, probably from a nice friend. I remember he paid about $300. I remember sitting in the car, as a young man and feeling sorry for grandpa.
64 Rambler
My very first car.
I was 12 years old.
Obviously I couldn't drive it (legally) just wanted it.
Thanks for the post.
Look at all the room to work in the engine compartment. The first car I had was a 1966 Mustang 200 inline 6 with a 3 speed manual transmission. I bought it used in 1970 when I was a senior in HS. Loved that car but a 289 would have been nice too.
My great uncle had a Rambler much like that, had it till the day he died, some thirty years after buying it when he retired.
I got a 51 Willis M 38 w points, 48 Ford 9n tractor w points a 66 F 100 sb w points, so I feel your pain, good show Nick thanks for sharing.
Matthew Mann. Points have been around for at least 100 years. And, were driven from coast to coast. Thanks for watching.
AMC's were very rare here in NC. At least they were where i grew up. A few Gremlins and Hornets and Matadors but that was about it. And they were all used. I don't even remember where a dealership was.
Being one of those new mechanics who came from a old school background I love these kinds of videos. screw all the computerization I love just the basics. But I have to know both for the trade nowadays.
Great video Nick, lots of fun to watch, keep them coming...thanks.. Frank
After two trips to the dealership Dodge dealership mind you I went to a very competent mechanic I would consider him a friend of Anger Management racing Tommy thank you he balanced my tires on a Hunter. no issues anymore thank you for your input I greatly appreciate it but Road Force balancing is dependent upon somebody who knows how to work the machine and the only somebody was Tommy who works at a Chevy dealership. He balanced my tires again I am grateful . I just don't understand why I needed to go somewhere outside Dodge to get this done. Thanks again Nick love the videos.
My last car that still had points was my 1970 Plymouth Fury. I wish I still had it. It was bad to the bone.
My 69 Dodge Dart Swinger 340cid had Mallory dual point ignition, loved that car.
My grandad and I used to ride in a car very much like this .....a 64 Rambler Classic 770
I cant vouch for the 64 but the 63 Rambler Classic is the stoutest built automobile ive ever tried to kill.
Best friend scored his grandmothers MINT low mile, garaged example when he was 15 years old.
Did I mention it was PINK? Did I mention were a bunch of farm kids with several years experience destroying cast off cars around the farm?
The stupidity that car shrugged off impressed me. It was built like a tank.
Love this Rambler. I had a 63 550 and it was a great car.
love your shop and videos
All Rambler engines were 100% internally balanced, that's why they just ran and ran forever!
My dad bought a 58 Rambler four door with the manual transmission and overdrive. You could go down the road at 55, engage that overdrive and the engine was almost idling. It could get 30 mpg with four of us in it.
Nick looked like he was enjoying the drive.
Bricklinsv1970. I sure did. Thanks for watching.
Nick . If they were all hemi's. Life would be boring. That's what makes it fun..
I just love Nicks passion, so cool keeping it old school
FANTASTIC EPISODE! THANK YOU!
Our family car when I was a kid was a '63 Rambler Classic. I was with my parents when they bought it new, and seven-year-old me was so excited that they bought it instead of the ugly Studebaker Lark they were considering. Stirred a lifelong fixation with me and I still have two AMC Javelins.
The 'new' AMC 6, introduced in '64. Pretty good engine. This one's a 232.
One of the best!
The 232 was a limited production in 64. This ones a 196. You can tell by the valve cover. Pull this one out, set aside all refreshed and drop in a 4.0. It would probably as fast as the 287 4 barrel option. Looks like the interior needs some serious work. Nick's feeler gauge. Snap-On was just a 5 minute drive down 30th Avenue from where the engine was built.
The advent of electronic ignition was a Milestone in automotive technology.
Im Brazil and i love American cars
Nick is the man when it comes to old iron.
I'm 75 years old, and once apon a time I was the guy friends came to about fixing "non computer equipped" cars.
The 64 AMC, and fileing off its points really took me back to an older guy that taught me that trick.
Nick rocks!
God bless old cots that know their stuff. I have a stock 1966 Rambler American 440 and i do all the work my self. YES that includes changing points,setting the timing and rebuilding the carb. ;)
Thank you for sharing, sir!
Ah yes, points and condensers. I remember doing those on my '70 Duster and '74 Firebird. Still have the Craftsman points file and feeler gauge somewhere in my toolbox.
We had one when I was a kid, and later a blue 69 two door. Overdrive too!!!!!!!
Had a 64 Classic 660 in the early to mid 70s. But it had a 287 V8 and a three speed. Biggest problem was the brakes, which were unboosted drums. If you hit the brakes at anything over 80mph (and it would do 110 or so) they faded away before you got to 70. But reliability wise, it was brilliant. It just went and went and went.
I've replaced a lot of points in the past. I have used a piece of the cardboard box the points came in to gap the points. It was a V-8 and the gap was 0.016". A 6 had a gap of 0.020", so I just made is a loose fit on the cardboard. My friend could gap the points just by looking at them. I used a dwell meter to check the dwell angle, and it read 32 degrees. Factory spec was 30 degree. Fantastic! Just looking at the points!!
Love those Ramblers..
Good job on the Rambler
A friend of mine has a 1966 Rambler Classic I just helped him in the spring time pull his Transmission to have it rebuilt it did not even have cooling lines on it and it had a torque tube instead of a regular driveshaft It's brown gold type color and it's clean too the interior is mint all original it also has a straight six in it