1960 Rambler Six

The American Motors Corporation (AMC) was formed in 1954 following the merger of Nash-Kelvinator and the Hudson Motor Car Company. The 1955 and 1956 Ramblers wore both Nash and Hudson badges with only minor differences between the two. In 1957, Rambler became a marque in its own right, and the Nash and Hudson marques continued as 'Senior' models through 1957, after which AMC consolidated its models under the Rambler umbrella, with the exception of the imported Metropolitan.

George Romney was the chairman and president of American Motors Corporation from 1954 to 1962, and he made the marketing decision to unify the models under the Rambler brand, a marque whose history dates back to 1897. Romeny reduced production costs, shared common components between the Ambassador and Classic models, and from 1962 forward, all 'senior' Rambler models rested on the same automobile platform with the same wheelbase and body parts, albeit with different trim and engines.

The 1960 Rambler model lineup included the American, Six, Rebel, and Ambassador. Within each model were 'Deluxe,' Super,' and 'Custom' trim levels adding additional trim, standard equipment, and accouterments. The American rested on a 100-inch wheelbase and was powered by a 195.6 cubic-inch L-head six-cylinder engine with a cast-iron block, a Carter one-barrel carburetor, four main bearings, solid valve lifters, and developed 90 horsepower at 3,800 RPM.

The Ambassador was the top-of-the-line model and rested on a 117-inch wheelbase platform powered by an eight-cylinder engine with a 327 cubic-inch displacement and offered 250 horsepower at 4,700 RPM. The Rebels had the same 108-inch wheelbase and similar styling as the Six but with a 250 cubic-inch eight-cylinder engine that produced 200 horsepower at 4,900 RPM.

The Rambler Six was above the American and below the Rebel, had a 108-inch wheelbase, an overall length of 189.5-inches, and was powered by an inline six-cylinder engine with a 195.6 cubic-inch displacement, overhead valves, a cast-iron block, solid valve lifters, a Holley one-barrel carburetor, and delivered 127 horsepower at 4,200 RPM. It was paired with a three-speed manual transmission and overdrive or Flash-O-Matic push-button transmission was optional.

The Rambler Six was launched on December 15th of 1955 and built through 1960, becoming the Rambler Classic Six in 1961. The requisite flared tailfins that arrived in 1958 were lower in 1960 and canted out slightly, resting on a convex lower rear fender contour. The C-pillar was narrower, creating even more 'greenhouse' space, with both a slanting windshield and rear window. The new split bumper design resulted in a decrease in overall length by 1.6 inches and rested below the redesigned grille. Between the round headlamps, above the grille, was the word Rambler in stand-up chrome letters. The word Rambler was also on the rear. The twin fin hood ornament did not make it out of the 1950s and was no longer part of the 1960 models.

The interior instrument panel incorporated all instrumentation within a large oval in front of the driver.

The Custom trim level had full-length trim moldings that widened into dual moldings between the wheel housings. The Super trim level had full-length side trim moldings and the Deluxe trim had no side trim. Custom, Super, and Deluxe script helped identify each trim level.

The DeLuxe line, which could be optioned with dual headlamps, was available as a sedan priced at $2,100 or a six-passenger station wagon at $2,425. A total of 37,666 examples were sedans and 24,001 were station wagons.

The Super line included a sedan priced at $2,270, a six-passenger station wagon at $2,560, and an eight-passenger station wagon at $2,690. The sedan was again the most popular with 88,004 examples built, followed by 59,491 of the six-passenger wagon and 8,456 of the eight-passenger versions.

The most popular Custom Line body style was the sedan with 38,003 examples built at a base price of $2,880. 32,092 were six-passenger station wagons ($2,675), 5,718 were eight-passenger wagons ($2,800), and 3,937 were hardtop sedans ($2,460).

by Daniel Vaughan | Jun 2022