CarDomain Obscure Muscle Car parking Lot – The 1969 AMC Hurst SC/Rambler

By Jim Brennan

UDMan

Welcome to the CarDomain Obscure Muscle Car Parking Lot, a regular feature which aims to expand the notion of what a muscle car is, and to re-discover true performance machinery while doing so. 1969 was close to the pinnacle of the Muscle Car Era. Almost every car company in America had at least one “muscle” car. And they were offered in all sizes, from compact to full-sized, to everything in between. With Chevy alone offering the Chevy II SS, Chevelle SS, Impala SS, and even an SS version of the El Camino car based pickup, it was no wonder that the number four car maker, AMC, felt they needed to get into this lucrative market. After tasting success with the AMX and Javelin performance cars, they decided to expand into the budget-muscle arena, with the help of a famous performance parts supplier. Introducing the AMC Hurst SC/Rambler.

AMC being what they were in the late ’60s, had very little advertising budget in which to promote specialty vehicles, as this one year only performance bargain turned out to be. This is the big reason why you see AMC Muscle Cars of this era wear outlandish paint jobs…. they were in fact rolling billboards. However, if you didn’t take the message seriously, you could be surprised at the performance capabilities of this bombshell; it was that good. To make the car cost effective, AMC teamed up with Hurst Performance Products, to make a “Halo” car that would get press in the enthusiast magazines of the day, and to generate showroom traffic.

All SC/Ramblers started out as white hardtops, with two tone sport wheels, basic dark gray vinyl bench seat, racing mirrors, and a blacked out grill, and tail light panel. Unlike some of the collaborative efforts Hurst had with other car companies at the time, the SC/Rambler was built entirely at the AMC Kenosha facility. Hurst takes the credit for pitching the idea to AMC, and it followed the mantra of getting the most from the least. The most included stuffing a 315HP, 390-cid under the hood of the lightest AMC car then available. Other items installed included a Borg-Warner 4 Speed transmission, with the obligatory Hurst Shifter; 3.54 ratio limited-slip rear; Heavy duty shocks; Rear anti-sway bar, with anti-hop rear links to fortify the rear suspension; and heavy-duty brakes with front discs.

Appearance wise, there wasn’t anything quite like it. The functional hood scoop was unique with an up-turned snout, but was conventional in operation. The dark gray vinyl seats received tri-colored head restraints. And then we get to the paint job, in what has been described by Car & Driver Magazine as a “tri-colored nickelodeon”. There were two different versions offered; the “A” scheme, in which there is a prominent red side panels, and an arresting blue hood, roof and tail stripe, that matched those blue styled wheels. The hood scoop advertised the size of the engine under it, along with “air” graphics, just in case you still didn’t understand what it was for. There was also a toned down “B” scheme, that did away with most of the red.

Performance was nothing short of amazing, with 0-60 time of 6.3 seconds, and quarter mile times of around 14 seconds, at close to 100 MPH. Road & Track magazines stated in their road test of the SC/Rambler, “This sort of acceleration is going to show the Hurst emblem on the back to a few GTO’s, Cobra Jets, Road Runners and Mach 1s.” These were produced and offered at the retail price of just under $3,000, and made their introduction during the later half of the 1969 model year. Production numbers were quite low with only 1,512 produced, with just a little over 500 in the more sedate “B” color scheme.

CarDomain Member Rides

There are only a couple of AMC Hurst SC/Ramblers within the CarDomain Community, and so here they are. This is Terry Wood’s example of the “A” scheme SC/Rambler, and he’s from Trenton, Ontario. The ride is awesome.

Here is Matt’s SC/Rambler in the “B” color scheme, from somewhere in Pennsylvania. He has a very elaborate ride page, so why not check it out, and leave a comment or two.

Here is (or should I say was) Ed’s SC/Rambler from Rochester, MN. It looks like he sold it, and he’s sorry he did. Come on guys, would you have sold this car if you didn’t have to? Check out the ride page, leave a comment, and try and console ED on his regrettable decision.

There you have it, the swan song for the Rambler American body, in what has to be one of the ballsiest moves in a long time for little AMC. Of course this thing is a Muscle Car, but is it obscure enough for our parking lot? Do you really think that anyone who knows Muscle Cars doesn’t remember this little rocket? I think it’s obscure, and maybe you will too, but let me know what you think.