1969 AMC Hurst SC/Rambler in Red White & Blue & Engine Start Up on My Car Story with Lou Costabile

On "My Car Story" we're at the American Motors Owners Association International Convention in Rockford IL on 7-30-16.

We're looking at a 1969 American Motors Corporation AMC Hurst SC/Rambler with a 390 CI engine in Red White & Blue Paint.

The car's Owners are Richard & Joanne Gregoire. Joanne shares she likes “The loud paint scheme, and it gets a lot of attention”. Richard shares the details of this car which has been restored to look just like it came from the factory.

ENJOY!

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[legmaker]

One of my favorite muscle cars because they are so rare. When I was a teen there was one driving around my town. A very quick car in it's day. Two miles from me there's a show quality Plymouth Superbird I see being driven once in a while. As rare as that is I haven't seen one of these in person on the road for over 40 years. Thanks for posting.

[REVNUMANEWBERN]

I was 14 when this car came out, I was a AMC fanatic when I started driving, I bought a 1972 304 3 speed Gremlin X, took a 390 with a 4 speed out of a Javelin & put it in the Gremlin, it was nearly identical in power balance as the SC, the Gremlin was just a inch or 2 different than the 2 seat AMX. I remember a fellow in a neighboring GA town who had 2 of the SC's he raced one of them & got killed street racing in one of them. After that both cars sat in the families woods for years, don't know what happened to them.

[sherrysetliff]

Amc, the scrambler, amx, and the machine, way under rated. All engine, no weight, very quick.

[MartinScreeton]

I remembering seeing the full page ads they ran on this in the magazines... I was blown away! Wow!

[HenauderTitzauf]

Thanks Lou, I had a hornet in for work, the head mechanic took me for a spin. What car, what a ride! Again, thanks for the ride along.

[VideoCallInShow]

I had a '65 Rambler American with reclining buckets, a Flash-O-Matic with center console and I miss that car.
I so want one of these. Great job on the resto.

[deonreddy]

Dang!!.... what a car!.... a true American muscle...!!!

[sporty]

When I was in high school (50 or so yrs. ago), I worked at a small family owned AMC
dealer in my hometown. The dealer had been in business since the early 1920s selling
Hudsons. When AMC ended Hudson production in 1957, they started selling Ramblers.
Working there was a wonderful experience and I was always treated like family. Over the
years I learned AMC was a feisty and determined auto maker...they always seemed to make
the most with the least. By 1969, the only car in AMC's lineup which wore the "Rambler" name,
was the "American". This was the final year for the "American" as the all new "Hornet" would
replace it that fall. Around since 1958, the Rambler American was a very inexpensive and
reliable basic car. Never much to look at, they were a steady seller and helped create traffic
in AMC dealer's showrooms. In 1964, the American was completely restyled (thanks to Richard
Teague) and was now an attractive and modern compact car. For the next 5 yrs., sales of the
American were solid if not spectacular. With the "horsepower war" raging and the new Hornet
about to arrive, AMC's marketing people decided that the 1969 Rambler (American) should
go out with a bang...a BIG bang. Working with several outside vendors (Hurst among them),
the SC/Rambler was a well thought out "budget" performance car...THAT ABSOLUTELY NOBODY
EXPECTED! The plan was to build approx. 500 cars and award them to dealers via lottery. Well,
as is often the case, word (and pictures) got out and AMC dealers coast to coast were begging
for these cars. AMC used up it's entire inventory of 1969 American 2dr. hardtops and ended up
building 1512 SC/Ramblers. I'm sure they would have been happy to build many more, but the
parts bins were empty and the assembly lines were now being readied for Hornet production.
Powering the SC/Rambler was the 390cid/315hp V8. The 315hp rating is more than a little mis-
leading...on a dyno, these engines (in stock form) would easily make 330-340hp. I'm sure the
lower hp rating was for insurance purposes...but I wonder if someone at AMC thought it would
add to the pain of the 396 Chevelle or 400 GTO owner, who'd just been smoked by some guy in
a funny looking Rambler...just a thought. As was always the case with AMC engines, these "second
generation" V8s (290/304, 340/360 and 390/401) were very well designed and extremely durable.
All these V8s share the same basic exterior dimensions. All are "small blocks" and are highly
sought after by racers and engine builders as they are "over built" and "under stressed". Like many
others, I miss AMC. While everyone in the car business was going "this" way, AMC would almost
always go "that" way. Never having the deep pockets of the big three, their focus never strayed...
always offering solid, dependable and innovative products. There was a good reason why nearly
everyone's grandmother drove a Rambler...she knew that a good car gets you where you want
to go (every time) and leaves you with enough money for a new hat and some sensible shoes.

[StvMcQueen]

Great presentation of a rare classic muscle machine, Lou. Thanks! We have a new member in our car club from New Mexico who used to work for AMC and is an aficionado of all their cars, especially the rare "hot" ones. Keep up the good work, and stay healthy! I featured a car just like this one today and he'll be seeing this. Thanks again. ---Jim

[johnfast]

Had a brown 68 rambler, really liked it, miss it now that I think about it. Very cool, quaint, and cute car,

[MrModelworx]

That is an awesome car Lou thanks for the vid.

[Oldcarlane]

I am going to paint my 64 rambler like this looks amazing!

[LynxStarAuto]

Wow I was going to say if only you could get a Machine... then I see recommended videos below 😂

You're killing it Lou.

[tidedownoutdoors]

2 of them, both color schemes on display at Summit Racing in McDonough GA right now!

[dansmusic]

I am glad someone pointed out that "AIR" stands for American International Racing (James Garners racing company), not air. American Motors put more into their muscle cars than most people are/were aware of. They were underrated in power (as were many other muscle cars) and could be wound up tight to produce unexpectedly fast times. 
They even made fun of themselves in their advertising, playing the underdog. So they must have known they would have a a tough time with street cred and designed the cars to be unexpectedly good to gain customer loyalty and pride. I wish an ex-employee would confirm this.
Obviously, I am an AM fan. 😇

[vmat]

Nice car, to say the least. Sweet to see her so involved and knowledgeable about the details. Especially since a girl i knew in the early '70s drove a standard (6) model.

[jeremythompson]

AMC made some really awesome high performance cars and doesn't get nearly the respect they deserve. Winning three Trans Am championships in 1971, 72, and 76 was an incredible feat considering how small of a company AMC was compared to the Big Three. Those red, white, and blue Javelin's kicked ass on the Trans Am road courses.

[ragincajun]

I live in southern Illinois. There used to be one of these SC/RAMBLER cars terrorizing the streets back on the 80s down here. Too bad the person that owned it didn't know what they had. Its long gone now. Probably a refrigerator or washing machine now. Always wanted this car because my very first car was a 66 Rambler American 2 door 6 cylinder.

[gregh]

I only saw 1 of these in san diego and it was in 1976. They were rare even back then. Even took a picture of it with a crappy polaroid. At the time i thought it was just a hopped up rambler that someone had done in their garage. My brother had just bought an amx and my dad bought a 64 american for the family car so i was familiar with amc's somewhat.

[gorillacookies]

Had a 67 Rogue . light car . Stuck a 390 and T10 4 speed in it . The car was insane