1976, The Rambler,
two dogs and me.

Restoration begins

My dad bought this 1969 AMC Hurst SC/Rambler new on May 6, 1969 from French & Morrow Rambler Sales in Fort Worth Texas. It's been in our family ever since. I've always loved the car. In 1980, dad rebuilt the 390 V-8; however, in 1985 he decided to park the car when the brakes failed. In July 1999, when in route to watch the Craftsman Truck Series race in Bristol TN, we passed what at first I thought was another SC/Rambler (after reviewing the pictures I took, I realize it was just a fake). It made me begin thinking of dad's car and how I'd like to rebuild it.

After talking with my dad about what the car would need, I decided to go ahead and do it. In November 1999, I picked the car up from Texas and towed it to North Carolina.

Since obtaining the car, I've parked it in the garage and began restoring it. First, we cleaned it up and began disassembling it. In December we pulled the transmission out and rebuilt it in January 2000. In January, we pulled the motor and began rebuilding it. While the motor was at the machine shop (February to May), we pulled the rearend and springs and had them blasted, painting them before reinstalling. We've also done both front and rear brakes with help from Master Power Brakes. We painted the wheels in the original blue and have shod them with new rubber. The engine compartment has also been painted and all of the parts are going back in. In May 2000, the engine came back from the machine shop and by July we had it assembled and installed into the car.

Since spring, we’ve gutted the interior and are working to get it back together. The dash crash pad had new vinyl installed by Just Dashes and Mr. G’s rechromed the dash plastic. The seats were recovered by Gordy Chilson in Lawrenceburg PA (who, with his brother, has four SC/Ramblers as well as some other very nice AMC vehicles). The stainless was reconditioned by the Ole Chevy Store in Concord NC. A new windshield has been installed. The door panels, sun visors, and arm rests have returned from Just Dashes, and a new steering wheel obtained from Gordy Chilson.

In June 2002, we put it on the road. Drives like it's over 30 years old.... Looks like a front suspension bushing kit installation is in the works. Motor has LOTS of torque, and it's not even broken in yet! Next up, it's off to the body shop for some cancer fixing and paint (Winter 04-05?).

To see more photos of my restoration visit my home page :
www.69scrambler.com