Author Topic: Horseless Carriages and Iron Ponies.  (Read 86858 times)

Offline Delmonico

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Horseless Carriages and Iron Ponies.
« on: July 28, 2009, 06:00:57 PM »
Well we got one one planes, got one on mostly tractors, why not. ;D
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Offline Texas Lawdog

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Re: Horseless Carriages and Iron Ponies.
« Reply #1 on: July 28, 2009, 06:09:25 PM »
Sounds good to me!
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Offline Delmonico

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Re: Horseless Carriages and Iron Ponies.
« Reply #2 on: July 28, 2009, 06:19:08 PM »
When the tractor thread got to "Ramblin" I ran across something, I knew, but was lost in the back of my mind. ::)

Who made the fastest sedan in America in 1957?

Wern't Ford, wern't Chevy, wern't a Mopar, it was a
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Rambler

The 1957 Rebel. :o



That's what Motor Trend said.


Rambler Measures Up

Motor Trend magazine tested an array of offerings from American companies that year and came up with the following performance numbers showing how the Rambler measures up to the competition:

Car
 0-60 mph, sec.
 
Rambler Rebel (w/manual transmission)
 7.5
 
Chrysler 300-C (w/manual transmission)
 7.6
 
Plymouth Fury(w/manual transmission)
 8.0
 
Ford Thunderbird (supercharged w/man. transmission)
 8.0
 
Studebaker Golden Hawk (w/manual transmission)
 8.7
 
Dodge D-500 (w/manual transmission)
 8.8
 
Chevrolet (fuel injected)
 9.0 (approx.)
 

According to Motor Trend's test numbers, the Rambler Rebel was the fastest stock American sedan for 1957. Only a fuel-injected Chevrolet Cor­vette sports car was faster overall at seven seconds flat to 60.


Car
 0-60 mph, sec.
 
Rambler Rebel (w/manual transmission)
 7.5
 
Chrysler 300-C (w/manual transmission)
 7.6
 
Plymouth Fury(w/manual transmission)
 8.0
 
Ford Thunderbird (supercharged w/man. transmission)
 8.0
 
Studebaker Golden Hawk (w/manual transmission)
 8.7
 
Dodge D-500 (w/manual transmission)
 8.8
 
Chevrolet (fuel injected)
 9.0 (approx.)
 


When he took over as chairman of American Motors in October 1954, George Romney had big plans for the Rambler. Romney wanted to continue the course set by his late predecessor, George Mason, but with some fine-tuning.

Instead of just two automotive brands, eventually there would be four: Hudson and Nash would continue as producers of big cars, while the Metropolitan and Ram­bler would become separate makes on their own. In Romney's view, Rambler was the brand that deserved the greatest attention because it offered the best chance of earning a large share of the volume-car market dominated by Ford, Chevrolet, and Plymouth.

Ac­cord­ingly, resources were allocated so that an all-new Rambler originally slated for the 1957 model year could be brought to market a full year early. The new Rambler became the hope of the struggling company.

But in 1956, as was the case since 1950, Rambler offered only six-cylinder models. Meanwhile, both Chevy and Ply­mouth began offering V-8s in 1955 -- and they were selling at a surprisingly good rate. Ford, of course, had offered a V-8 for almost 25 years.

Romney realized that in order to compete with the Big Three makes, Rambler, too, would have to offer an eight-cylinder engine. A large-displacement V-8 was being developed for the Nash and Hudson senior lines, so the program was expanded to also include a smaller-displacement version of that engine. It would be available in the 1957 Rambler, although the engine actually debuted in March 1956 in the Nash Ambassador Special and Hudson Hornet Special. Concurrently for '57, Ram­bler would shed the Nash and Hudson badges it had worn previously, becoming a separate make.

Thus, when the new 1957 cars were announced in autumn 1956, Rambler dealers for the first time had a product they could offer to people who desired the sensible size and advanced styling of the Rambler, but who wanted a V-8 engine under the hood. With base prices starting at $2,253 for a Super four-door sedan, the Rambler V-8 offered very good value. The big Kenosha drive away got a large number of cars out to dealerships quickly.

AMC's new V-8 engine came in two versions for 1957. Big Nash and Hudson models were equipped with a 327-cubic-inch version; with a standard four-barrel carburetor, 9.0:1 compression ratio, and hydraulic lifters, it generated 255 horsepower. Rambler V-8 models came with the 250-cubic-inch job first used on the short-lived Ambassa­dor/Hor­net Spe­cials. It was the smallest V-8 offered in an American car in 1957, but it was surprisingly powerful for its size. With a two-barrel carb and 8.1:1 compression (some sources list it as 8.0:1), it produced 190 horses -- the same rating as the 272-cubic-inch V-8 in that year's Ford and more than the 265- or base 283-cubic-inch V-8s in the '57 Chevy.

No doubt the standard dual exhausts helped boost the Rambler's power. In addition, because it was designed around a unitized body/chassis rather than an old-fashioned body on frame, the Rambler weighed significantly less than the others, providing a more favorable pounds-per-horsepower ratio. (Of course, the Rambler was also at least seven inches shorter in wheelbase and about a foot shorter overall than the aforementioned competitors.) Rambler's torque rating was 240 pound-feet at 2,500 rpm.

The Rambler V-8 model line wasn't identical to that of the sixes. Both series offered four-door sedans and station wagons in Super and Custom trim. But the Rambler Six also offered those models in stripped Deluxe trim (although the Deluxe wagon was available for fleets only) not offered in the V-8 line. The V-8 series included a four-door hardtop station wagon not available this year in the six-cylinder line. And while both series offered a four-door hardtop, the six-cylinder version came only in midlevel Super trim, while the V-8 was available strictly as a top-line Custom.

In December 1956, AMC unveiled a third Rambler series: the awesome Rebel. At first glance, the Rebel seemed like nothing more than a very fancy Ram­bler V-8 hardtop sedan. But nestled under its hood was a block of dynamite -- the big AMC four-barrel 327-cubic-inch V-8 producing 255 horsepower and 345 pound-feet of torque. (For the Rebel, this engine was fitted with mechanical lifters and got a compression boost to 9.5:1.) This potent mill turned the lightweight Rambler into a veritable supercar.

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Re: Horseless Carriages and Iron Ponies.
« Reply #3 on: Today at 09:35:25 PM »

Offline Four-Eyed Buck

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Re: Horseless Carriages and Iron Ponies.
« Reply #3 on: July 29, 2009, 08:27:48 AM »
There's a mid '60's Rambler sitting up town on my way to Wally............Buck 8)
I might be slow, but I'm mostly accurate.....

Offline Delmonico

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Re: Horseless Carriages and Iron Ponies.
« Reply #4 on: July 29, 2009, 08:52:37 AM »
Seen that pink and white 59 Classic Wagon for sale out garage saleing a while back. ;D
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Offline Texas Lawdog

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Re: Horseless Carriages and Iron Ponies.
« Reply #5 on: July 29, 2009, 09:08:31 AM »
That picture looks like it was taken on the beach at Daytona, they were still racing on the beach in 57. They didn't open the speedway until 59.
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Offline Delmonico

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Re: Horseless Carriages and Iron Ponies.
« Reply #6 on: July 29, 2009, 09:20:45 AM »
Tom Machill (sp) who used to test for Mechanic's Illustrated used the Speedway to test and also had a lot of car shots taken on the beach till he passed in the early 70's.  He articles were fantastic.
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Offline Texas Lawdog

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Re: Horseless Carriages and Iron Ponies.
« Reply #7 on: July 29, 2009, 09:49:53 AM »
Yep, My Dad always had a subscription to MI and Popular Mechanics. Old Tom's articles was always interesting.
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Offline Arcey

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Re: Horseless Carriages and Iron Ponies.
« Reply #8 on: July 29, 2009, 09:57:54 AM »
McCahill once wrote a car he tested handled like an eel caught inna vice. At the time, the dumb assed southerners what made stock car racin’ what it is didn’t quite know what he meant ‘n quit payin’ attention ta him. He was just too smart for the boys whut built winnin’ cars under the shade trees in the south east.

The review of the Rebel had about as much of an impact. No one entered one in the beach races in the last years of the course before the track was built.

Rambler, or AMC, had limited success in the NHRA. Bobby Allison won a couple three NASCAR races in a Matador. Mark Donahue, rest ‘im, was the last much hyped road course ‘ringer’ to win in what is now Sprint Cup racin’. Mark drove a Penske Matador to the win in Riverside in ’73.
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Re: Horseless Carriages and Iron Ponies.
« Reply #9 on: July 29, 2009, 10:07:29 AM »
When Penske quit NASCAR, Bobby bought Penske's Matador stuff and campaigned it for a couple of years as an independent. When they started using Matadors on "Adam 12" a bunch of PD's went to them. Dallas PD had some them in about 74.
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Offline Delmonico

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Re: Horseless Carriages and Iron Ponies.
« Reply #10 on: July 29, 2009, 10:30:35 AM »
Used to be one of these around town, the Ford, GM and Mopar guys hated him. ;)



http://musclecars.howstuffworks.com/classic-muscle-cars/1969-amc-hurst-sc-rambler.htm

They had traction problems but they made Gremlins with a 401 and a 4 speed. :o
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Offline Arcey

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Re: Horseless Carriages and Iron Ponies.
« Reply #11 on: July 29, 2009, 10:42:59 AM »
Allison ran his own stuff all of ’73. Chevrolets with Coke sponsorship.

The most part of ’74 he ran his own Chevrolets ‘n finished the year drivin’ for Penske in the Ramblers. Again, with Coke.

All the races he entered in ’75 he drove for Penske in the Ramblers. When they got caught with an illegal motor he threw Penske under the bus. ‘Mr. Penske brings the cars, I bring the helmet’. I was there when he won both Darlington races.

’76 Penske switched to Mercury with Allison drivin’. The only Rambler start was the first race on a road course with a year old Rambler. Coke was gone.

’77 Allison bought the worn out Penske Ramblers. No wins. Never a factor for the championship.

’78 – ’80 he went with Bud Moore with Fords ‘n won 14. Never would own his own again.
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Re: Horseless Carriages and Iron Ponies.
« Reply #12 on: July 29, 2009, 11:36:16 AM »
I remember those blue Camaros sponsored by Sunoco that Mark Donahue drove in the Trans Am series for Penske.
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Offline Marshal Will Wingam

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Re: Horseless Carriages and Iron Ponies.
« Reply #13 on: July 29, 2009, 12:29:41 PM »
Anyone remember the 1965 Dodge Dart Charger? I wouldn't have known about them except that I had one. Not new, of course, but picked up some 30 years later. It was a lot of fun but by then, parts were getting hard to get. It was a real sled, though.

http://www.moparmusclemagazine.com/featuredvehicles/b_body/1965_dart_charger_273/index.html

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Offline Delmonico

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Re: Horseless Carriages and Iron Ponies.
« Reply #14 on: July 29, 2009, 12:41:05 PM »
I 'member it was some around when I was in HS, were 10 years old or less when I got out.
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Offline Arcey

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Re: Horseless Carriages and Iron Ponies.
« Reply #15 on: July 29, 2009, 12:47:54 PM »
First I remember bein’ a Charger was ’66 when the fight between Ford ‘n Chrysler in NASCAR was beginnin’ to escalate.

Ole boy ‘cross the street bought one. Kindah a pinkish burgundy, looked faded brand new, with a milk white interior. ’66 Coronet with the ‘fast-back’ roof on it was all.
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Offline Delmonico

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Re: Horseless Carriages and Iron Ponies.
« Reply #16 on: July 29, 2009, 12:50:22 PM »
For the most part, them muscle cars were just warmed over sedans to one degree or another, but an interestin' part of auto history.
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Offline Leo Tanner

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Re: Horseless Carriages and Iron Ponies.
« Reply #17 on: July 29, 2009, 12:51:45 PM »
Ya all mentioned AMC.  Let's not ferget the mighty Pacer er the Gremlin.  I'll take a Javelin.
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Re: Horseless Carriages and Iron Ponies.
« Reply #18 on: July 29, 2009, 01:12:49 PM »
The Alabama State Patrol got some AMX's one year. There's one of them at the Museum at Talledega all decked out and also a Mustang  Alabama State Patrol car.
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Offline Delmonico

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Re: Horseless Carriages and Iron Ponies.
« Reply #19 on: July 29, 2009, 01:20:47 PM »
Ya all mentioned AMC.  Let's not ferget the mighty Pacer er the Gremlin.  I'll take a Javelin.

I had a Pacer for several years till it went up in flames.  Plenty of room for me, had a six and a three on the tree, got it real cheap cause it was an AMC. ;D
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Always get the water for the coffee upstream from the herd.

Ab Ovo Usque ad Mala

The time has passed so quick, the years all run together now.

 

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