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Friday, 20 February 2015
Junkyard Find: 1966 Rambler Classic 770 Coupe
I went back to Martin’s Salvage, located midway between Denver and Cheyenne, earlier this week. The last time I’d been there was in 2011, and the place is still full of so many staggeringly great 1930-1970 vehicles that I get overwhelmed and can’t shoot individual cars for this series. This trip, though, I held still long enough to shoot this crazy-rare example from the final years of the Rambler marque.
This Classic has the optional V8, but I’m not enough of an AMC expert to tell a 287 from a 327 at a glance.
I like the little orange ball used as the AM radio’s tuning indicator.
The interior has not benefited from years in the High Plains sun.
The Weather Eye name goes all the way back to prewar Nashes.
Keeping true to the penny-pinching nature of AMC buyers, this car’s last owner wasn’t the type to squander money on top-shelf hooch.
What better car is there for showing the benefits of “localized” fuel?
The 1966 Classic 770 hardtop coupe (yes, I know, this is an ad for the ’65) with 287-cubic-inch V8 engine and automatic transmission listed for $2,656. If you went across the street to your Chevy dealer, you could get a Malibu coupe with 283 V8 and Powerglide automatic for $2,668; the Ford salesman would put you in a Fairlane 500 coupe with 289 and Cruise-O-Matic automatic for an identical $2,668. With that kind of competition at roughly the same price, American Motors didn’t sell many Classic 770s.
