What car is this?

[peteski]

I was watching an old episode of the Andy Griffith Show and Goober (the local mechanic) has has taken apart a car he was working on and assembled it inside the police station.  That is a strange looking car.  It looks sort of European.  Does anybody know what brand/model car that is?

[The Junkman]

A Nash-Kelvinator?

[ChrisBcritter]

1960 Rambler American Deluxe (base model - rubber trim around windshield). The "American" script at the front of the fender IDs it as a '60; '58-'59 had it on the rear of the fender near the door.

[Zippi]

I think Chris is right as long as Google Photo is correct.  

[Ace-Garageguy]

4 hours ago, Zippi said:

I think Chris is right as long as Google Photo is correct.  

No question about it.

https://auto.howstuffworks.com/1958-1960-rambler-american.htm

[mr moto]

I'm old enough to remember those well. They were extremely popular at the time despite not being the kind of chromed barge that Detroit was selling at the time. Their runaway success is what inspired Detroit to start building compacts.

BTW, wouldn't one of those make a really cool gasser?

Edited April 18, 2022 by mr moto

[Ace-Garageguy]

9 minutes ago, mr moto said:

...BTW, wouldn't one of those make a really cool gasser?

     

      

[magicmustang]

Gasser, reminds me of the old "Flintstone Flyer" (it was a 1949 Packard ).

Edited April 18, 2022 by magicmustang

[keyser]

I like that Lark better than the bathtub. 
 

[TransAmMike]

Now those are some cool drag cars!!

[mr moto]

That Packard must be the world's heaviest gasser!

[peteski]

Thanks guys. This one did not look familiar to me.  I don't recall seeing one at the car shows I attended.  It still has a "European flavor" to me.

[Lunajammer]

47 minutes ago, peteski said:

It still has a "European flavor" to me.

Like maybe a '58 Peugeot.

[keyser]

13 minutes ago, Lunajammer said:

Like maybe a '58 Peugeot.

403. A more famous but ratty 403

[peteski]

Exactly!  . . . just one more thing  . . .

[keyser]

8 minutes ago, peteski said:

Exactly!  . . . just one more thing  . . .

Ok ?

[keyser]

Back on topic. Lol. 

[Mark]

The reason those Ramblers look a bit "old" compared to other 1960 cars, is that the design dates back to 1950.  They were built from 1950-55, dropped, then brought back in mid-1958.  I'm not aware of any other US manufacturer ever dropping a car for two and a half years, and then bringing it back.  Nameplates yes, but not the same actual car.  AMC did make some changes, like replacing the die cast grille with a stamped one (cheaper to make), opening up the wheel openings, and installing the taillights upside down to make them look different.  But, it was pretty much the 1950-55 car.

The '61-'63 American is again the same car, reskinned, but with the same inner body.  

I'm not positive about these cars, but some of the early Unibody Nash/AMC cars couldn't be put on a chassis lift.  The brakes had to be done one wheel at a time.

[Richard Bartrop]

12 hours ago, peteski said:

Thanks guys. This one did not look familiar to me.  I don't recall seeing one at the car shows I attended.  It still has a "European flavor" to me.

Pininfarina did have a hand in designing Nashes in the '50s, so that might be what you're seeing.

[lordairgtar]

On 4/19/2022 at 9:44 AM, Mark said:

The reason those Ramblers look a bit "old" compared to other 1960 cars, is that the design dates back to 1950.  They were built from 1950-55, dropped, then brought back in mid-1958.  I'm not aware of any other US manufacturer ever dropping a car for two and a half years, and then bringing it back.  Nameplates yes, but not the same actual car.  AMC did make some changes, like replacing the die cast grille with a stamped one (cheaper to make), opening up the wheel openings, and installing the taillights upside down to make them look different.  But, it was pretty much the 1950-55 car.

The '61-'63 American is again the same car, reskinned, but with the same inner body.  

I'm not positive about these cars, but some of the early Unibody Nash/AMC cars couldn't be put on a chassis lift.  The brakes had to be done one wheel at a time.

Here is what the 50 looked like. Note the weird wheel openings

Edited April 21, 2022 by lordairgtar

[ewetwo]

I loved this old Nash and Ramblers.

[Mark]

Someone around here has a '50 or '51 full size Nash, commonly called a "bathtub", with the small wheel openings front and rear.  I see it every so often when I go to the neighborhood restaurant for breakfast on Saturdays.  Those cars are from a way different time, when manufacturers weren't afraid to take a different approach.  Unit body (rare here at the time), Uniscope (gauge cluster built onto the steering column, unfortunately they ran the wiring through the skinny column!), seats that folded to form a bed...most of those features available only in a Nash...

[W Humble]

Those cars were unibody, oc, fairly light, but had a super-narrow (and cramped) engine bay.  The front wheel tubs were designed capacious because of the original layout's enclosed front wheels, eg, no cut-out radius.  Considered very chi-chi for a while, as were the inverted-bathtub shapes.  Any Nash-ette you see with a gasser engine has had a different suspension grafted on, often a beam axle.  Much suspension and 'frame' modding at rear, also.

Buddy and I were going to build a Stude Lark gas car, starting at the low end of the class spectrum, and hopefully adding goodies to move up.  We had a nice Lark 2-dr sedan located, and a free MoPar B-block with (ewg) A/T, but it 'ran out of gas (money)' before it happened.  Oh, also a Chrysler 'Industrial' hemi to escalate...

I built a curbside Rambler American gasser from a '62 (JoHan?) kit that looks okay back when; numerous Munster Coach and Double-Dragster parts on it.  I used the stock  1:25 six engine to fake a Ford 223-ohv 6 for a replica of my brother's second-0wner '56 F100 which looked almost identical!  Amazing likeness!  He still has both the model and 1:1 truck.

A gal I went to JC with dad bought her a new '63 for HS grad; it had the 'Twin Stick' floor controls for gears and the overdrive; kinda neat. Geneally, I'll pass on old Ramblers; too quirky!  Ask me about his first car, a '58 Rebel wagon!!

[Rocking Rodney Rat]

My father owned a couple of Ramblers. I remember going to the dealer to pick up our new '63 wagon in red. My father ordered it with the inside rear door handle delete option. An early form of a 'child lock'. You had to open the rear doors from the outside. My old man was ahead of his time.... -RRR

[Mark]

Someone brought an in-progress '63 to a local swap meet this past weekend.  It was a running/driving car with a Chevy 292 six cylinder engine (and yes, it was a 292).  It was a two-door sedan, body looked pretty good but I didn't look underneath.  The interior was gutted with seats stuck in from something newer.  The seller was asking $3,000...probably wave a bit less under his nose and get it.  A lot of people were looking, I left early and didn't see anyone getting serious though.

Some front suspension parts are supposedly hard to find, but this was claimed to be a low mileage car.  The AMC two piece front spindles would make a disc brake swap pretty easy, so I'm told.  Probably a good project for someone, though I'd want a later AMC six myself.