Gasser Rambler Wagon Renderings: It’s My Ride is Me

Posted by pikesan on Apr 18, 2010 in Art & Photography, Racing, Vintage Rides | 12 comments

You just read that title and said, ” a Gasser what?”

I admit, I ain’t right. I have strange tastes compared to some and I guess you could say I have a vivid imagination, too. How else can I imagine how nasty a 1961 Rambler American station wagon would look as a Gasser. I’ve got the idea in my head, but like alot of you, I can’t draw, much less make a rendering like this showing my crazy dream to perfection! That’s where artists like Joel Nelson from 1320designs.com comes in. (Click on the image above to see it full size. It’s a higher resoultion pic perfect for a desktop wallpaper)

Before continuing that story, let me back up. I dig wagons. I don’t know for-sure why, maybe it was because my dad drove us around in 1967 Ford Wagon when I was a kid. My brother and I’d drop the back seat down and slide around in back on the metal floor. This was the mid 70’s so seat belts weren’t the rage they are now. Looking back, we survived alot of things that have today’s parent’s gasping! So after my 1927 Roadster hit the road, I started looking for a wagon. I wanted a 60-63 Falcon wagon (I have one now, under construction, on hold while I work on MyRideisMe.com!) but… my wife, car lady she’s not,  said: “I like square.”

Square? Not knowing exactly what that meant, I thought I’d be better off buying a 1964-65 Falcon wagon with their “more square” body lines. Looking for a 64-65 then, I found this 1961 Rambler American wagon for sale on Ebay.  I think there’s a slight resemblance to the square bodied Falcons, but this Rambler’s got a style all to it’s own. Plus, I liked the fact that you’d rarely see another one.  I bought it for $400 as you see it above and towed it home.

Naturally, the ideas started flowing. How would I build this thing? I hit the net trying to find other Rambler wagons and found this 62 Rambler American built by Stoked Out Specialties. (their website’s down). I’d guess most people will compare this slammed and billet-wheel’d beauty to the funky, nose in the air gasser I’m showing above and be quite certain I’ve lost my mind. Maybe so, but that’s what My Ride is Me means, right? It’s me. It’s mine!

My next idea’s the one that won’t make sense to most people. Gasser! I want an A/FX styled, 60’s factory race car inspired, low buck noise maker! That’s what I’m going with.

Lucky for me, Joel from 1320designs also has an eye for 60’s drag style (and is a snappy dresser). Hechtspeed did a story about what makes Joel tick here: Hot Rod Concept Drawings. That story showed the first draft of my Rambler Gasser:

Look closely. Can you see what’s changed from the first drawing?

Obviously, we decided against the red windows. While on paper, they really make a statement, in reality, I couldn’t build it that way. Plus, driving it would probably drive me (more?) nuts!

After that, I asked Joel to throw on some old-style, chrome 5 spokes up front and to make sure the cheater slicks out back were on black-er steel wheels. The rears also needed to be poking out of the radiuse’d rear wheel well. For practical reasons, I’m not altering the wheelbase by moving the back wheels forward. The wheelbase is only 100″ to start and as you can see, the rear wheel well is already butted up against the back door. Yea, it’s a 4 door! I checked, 4 door drag race wagons were a real thing in the 60’s.

As it is now, doesn’t it hit the low-buck, 60’s inspired gasser look? I love it!

Finally, the name. “Ameripan”. That’s a combination of Rambler, “American” and “Japan” to make Ameripan. I didn’t come up with the name, my kids went to a Japanese school for American kids with that name. Why am I using it? I’m an engineer for Nissan so I want to put a 5.6L Titan V8 in my Rambler. THAT will finish-off baffling anyone who wasn’t already confused with my choice of rides. Perfect.

The CORR Racing Titan used the stock block, heads, bore, bearings and ignition units as the production Titan but goes nuts from there and makes 700+ ponies! That’s not my plan, but it’s  super-solid base to start with: All aluminum, over head cam and capable of big HP. You with me? (no Pike, you’ve completely lost it…)

Next step? Get a straight front axle kit from Speedway Motors and get busy!

I’d love to hear your reaction. If you’re also a Rambler or wagon fan, let us know and please sign-up here. MyRideisMe.com’s community… Become a part of it!