My '64 Rambler Classic

I decided to start a post on restoring my Rambler.  As those of you who have seen my post in the pics section know, it's in pretty good shape, at least on the surface.  It's got several leaks, a missing gas pedal, the sound system has been completely removed, the trans shift linkage is out of adjustment, it needs a new heater core, the chassis electrical system is almost completely non-functional, and the suspension is in sad shape too.

On top of all that, I want to check it out thoroughly for hidden rust.  The headliner has water stains, and the anchor points of that gas pedal had to rust out somehow.  Maybe the sources have been dealt with, maybe not.

Anyway, it's alot of little to moderate things and a few big things.  It'll probably be fairly slow going too. I've got a really bad back and neck.  On a good day, I can do an hour or two of work.  One step at a time gets the job done eventually though.


Today was a little bit of detective work and the start of chasing down leaks.  Going thru the receipts, I found out the car was painted and the seats reupholstered in 2016.  I also found out that a previous owner was a AMCRC member.  His name is Gerald Clark (maybe somebody here knows him).   Got a stack of AMCRC Rambler Readers and a 1997 AMCRC calendar.




As for the leaks, I went for the likely easiest fix of the bunch first; the power steering.  Most of a can of Berryman B12 all around the steering gear box and lines, AND getting the horn out of the way let me find that somebody doesn't know how to install hose clamps:




Replaced the clamp, cleaned up everything even more (which pretty much killed the can of B12) and tested the system.  No visible leaks with the engine running and the wheels turned hard over.  Looks like the problem is solved.  I'll know for sure after a real road test.


Oh, and here's the last remaining piece of the sound system:




Dusty and missing a button, but it appears in decent shape.  Still have to test to see if it's working at all.

Oddly enough, the OEM steel wheels are missing (I think the guy that sold it to me kept them), BUT I have 4 OEM 14" hubcaps in great shape in the trunk.

Thanks, Joe.  I'll keep that in mind, but I'm actually kind of liking the look of the Cragar smoothies that somebody put on the car.  I'm going to hang onto the hubcaps though, just in case I decide to go with a more stock look on the car at some point.

Keep up a positive attitude, they are all a "can of worms"...
slow steady progress is better than none.......

Having AMC Fun,
Ollie

So, my first update in a few days...

I wasn't able to do anything meaningful to the car in the last few days due to tweaking my elbow somehow while I was sleeping.  However, the replacement parts pile is still growing.

Today I also managed to find a DIY garage in town that's still open too!  Miracle of miracles.  I always thought they were a neat concept, but that today's lawsuit happy society made them a liability nightmare.  Anyway, I'm trying to arrange space there so that I can pull the engine and do the gaskets properly.  If it works out as hoped, I plan on dropping the tank to check on a suspected float issue also, and maybe pull the fenders and interior to do a thorough rust inspection.  Bothers me that the gas pedal I found had the connecting tabs rusted out.  Then again, I'm assuming that actually came from this car AND rusted out while on the car...

Anyway, if all works out, I plan to hit the ground running hard and fast to get the car done and out of there.  Time costs money after all, LOL.  But if all goes according to plan, I should have lots of pics to post in the next few weeks.

OK, so nothing posted in a week...  Primarily because I've been jerked around by the car club where I was supposed to be doing the work on the Rambler.  I made a separate post ranting about THAT.

About the only thing I have been able to do was get the Rambler up on their lift for an underside inspection.  Good and bad news there; NO rust visible at all, but more leaks than I thought.

Power Steering is still a mess, and I have no idea how much is extra leaks and how much is running down from above








The torque tube has leaks at both the diff and tranny ends too:






AND most of the tranny is a leaky mess:




I got a look at the back side of what I presume is my scarebird front brake system also:




I didn't get a chance to pull the wheels though, and I doubt I'm even going to try to do anything with the Rambler until the BS with the club gets straightened out.  At this point, moving the contents of our home garage into storage and doing the work at home is sounding better and better.