Professional automotive

Five years after Pontiac invented the muscle car formula by wedging a huge engine into its smallest car, American Motors followed suit in a big way, shoehorning the 390-cubic-inch V-8 from its AMX performance flagship into the company's entry-level car, the Rambler (née Rambler American). The result was the fabled Hurst SC/Rambler. To help the car gain its SC (for "super car") prefix, the Hurst corporation provided one of its famous T-handle shifters - and the car's middle name - along with direction for the modifications made at AMC's factory in Kenosha, Wisconsin. In addition to the 390 V-8 and the Hurst-shifted four-speed manual gearbox, the list of SC/Rambler-specific upgrades included power front disc brakes, quick-ratio steering, a limited-slip differential, straight-through glass-pack mufflers, a vacuum-controlled "mailbox" hood scoop, and a Sun tachometer, as well as heavy-duty suspension, clutch, and cooling-system components. A few less-than-subtle patriotic cosmetic touches completed the two-door-hardtop Rambler Rogue's transformation from grandma's church chariot.

AMC planned to build 500 of these steroidal Ramblers as a publicity ploy in mid-1969, but demand was so strong that the company hurried to build more. AMC eventually cranked out 1512 copies - in the "A" paint scheme that you see here on Rick Jones's SC/Rambler and a more conservative, less common "B" scheme in which the red and blue accents were splashed only below the car's beltline. AMC charged a mere $2998 for what turned out to be the quickest car that the corporation ever produced, aside from fifty-two Hurst-built 1969 Super Stock AMXs, which were essentially factory race cars.