1969 AMC SC/Rambler Is a Rare Garage Queen in Patriotic Livery

2 weeks, 5 days ago - 1 March 2025, autoevolution

Formed in 1954 by the merger of Nash-Kelvinator and Hudson Motor Car Company, American Motors Corporation (AMC) was the country's fourth-largest automaker until it was purchased by Chrysler in 1988. The company left behind a solid legacy that includes many innovations, the Jeep brand, and a few underrated muscle cars. The 1969 SC/Rambler is one of those rigs.

The Rambler name dates back to the pre-AMC era. The nameplate was introduced by Nash in 1950. It was America's first compact car, pioneering the segment almost a decade before the Big Three joined it. The original Rambler was discontinued in 1955. AMC revived the vehicle in 1958 as the Rambler American.

The American soldiered on through 1969 as one of the company's bread-and-butter vehicles. The name is not associated with high performance, but the Rambler spawned a proper muscle car before it went into the history books. In 1969, AMC teamed up with Hurst Performance and created the SC/Rambler.

Developed with the NHRA F/Stock class in mind, the SC/Rambler was one of the most visually arresting vehicles of the late 1960s, thanks to a patriotic livery combining the colors of the American flag. A mailbox-type hood scoop also made it stand out.

The SC was the most potent Rambler ever produced thanks to a 390-cubic-inch (6.4-liter) V8 engine. Shared with the AMX, the unit sent 315 horsepower and 425 pound-feet (576 Nm) of torque to the rear wheels through a BorgWarner four-speed manual BorgWarner transmission with close gear ratios.

The "Twin-Grip" 3.54:1 limited-slip differential enabled the SC/Rambler to cover the quarter-mile in as low as 14.3 seconds right off the showroom floor. Simple bolt-on modifications turned the AMC into a 12-second race car.

The NHRA required a minimum of 500 vehicles to be produced and sold for homologation. AMC ended up making 1,512 units, split into two distinct paint schemes. The more colorful "A scheme" cars moved 1,215 examples, while the primarily white "B scheme" version found only 297 customers. Fewer have survived in one piece due to intense racing or being discarded into junkyards.

It's unclear how many are still around, but this "A scheme" version is one of only a few that have been restored to Concours-ready condition. Documented by classic car enthusiast Matt Gause, this SC/Rambler looks like it just rolled off the showroom floor more than 50 years ago and features the correct tri-color livery.

Still powered by the original 390-cubic-inch V8, this SC/Rambler appears to be a garage queen that doesn't get much time on the road. I guess we're lucky to see it flexing its high-compression engine while leaving our host's front lawn. Hit the play button below to hear it roar. You should also check out this blurb for more underrated AMC muscle cars.