1969 AMC Hurst SC/Rambler

When tiny automotive manufacturer American Motors Corporation came out with the 1969 AMC Hurst SC/Rambler the world may not have been ready for a big block powerhouse in such a tiny package. Few people knew they had a muscle car department there at the old Nash plant in Kenosha, Wisconsin with some pretty smart engineers who desperately wanted to show the world that they could design muscle cars too. Of all the performance cars AMC produced in that era the one that made them proud was the 1969 AMC Hurst SC/Rambler, better known as the “Rambler Scrambler.”

This car has been SOLD.

The base car was a Rambler Roque. Only this was a Roque of a different color. About 1,200 Scramblers came with the full “Yankee Doodle” color scheme, i.e. applicance white with broad red bodysides, wild hood graphics and a blue dorsal stripe. Today these are known to collectors as having the A scheme paint style. Only about 324 were built with the simpler B scheme color package with only the side stripes.

The 1969 AMC Hurst SC/Rambler you see pictured here is one of 1,512 cars built and one of 324 “B” scheme cars. The current owner, from Dartmouth, Ontario, Canada, purchased the car in Reno, Nevada with 37,010 miles showing on the odometer. The car was fully restored using new or NOS parts where possible. He says the body was prepped and painted, and new rubber seals were installed along with a new windshield and rear window rubber seal. According to the ad copy he re-chromed the bumpers and installed NOS emblems and bullet mirrors. NOS matierials were used to reproduce stock appearing seats. The new carpet was installed and new plastic chrome dash trim pieces were purchased and installed. The Sun tach was rebuilt and installed. The owner says the restoration was completed with attention to detail and originality. He says there are less than 500 miles on the car since completion of the restoration. E70-14 Goodyear Redline Custom Wide Tread tires were purchased.

The Canadian owner tells us that the 390 ci big block motor was rebuilt and it has a new clutch. The front and rear brakes were rebuilt. Most important, new front suspension bushings and motor mounts were installed fresh.

He says the serial number and number under the steering box on the frame are correct.

This car was a terror at the race track with ET times of 14.2 in the quarter mile right off the showroom floor. But these cars were capable of leaving a GTO, Chevelle or Camaro in their rear view mirror. The heart of the beast was the AMC AMX’s 315-hp 390 ci four-barrel big block motor. It came with a Borg-Warner 4-speed with a Hurst shifter and a 3.54:1 limited-slip differential. AMC also encouraged ’69 SC/Rambler buyers to purchase the special Group 19 performance package. Group 19 parts included a special carburetor, intake manifold, camshaft, and rocker arm. The Group 19  headers, a dual-point ignition,  a 4.10 rear axle and wider rear wheels were also suggested, all considered Group 19 performance parts by AMC.

From the factory it would have come with heavy-duty shocks, an anti-sway bar and anti-hop rear links holding the car together. It even had staggered rear shock absorbers. AMC’s optional heavy-duty brakes with front discs were standard along with straight-through glass-pack mufflers and a vacuum-controlled “upturned”  hood scoop.  The interior included reclining buckets. Even from the factory an 8000-rpm Sun tach came attached to the steering column.

The AMC Rambler was the last AMC car to be marketed in both the U.S. and Canadian markets, 1958 through 1969. It was America’s lowest priced car during those years and an unlikely candidate to enter the muscle car market of the late ’60s.