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Motor Cars
USA
1960s

AMC Rambler Marlin First generation 

(1965 to 1966)
AMC Rambler Marlin 1st generation history
Overview
Also calledRambler Marlin (1965)
AMC Marlin (1966)
Production1965–1966
14,874 built
Body and chassis
Classmid-size personal luxury car
RelatedRambler Classic
Powertrain
Engine232 cu in (3.8 L) 155 hp (116 kW; 157 PS) I6 2-bbl
287 cu in (4.7 L) 189 hp (141 kW; 192 PS) V8 2-bbl
327 cu in (5.4 L) 250 hp (186 kW; 253 PS) V8 2-bbl
327 cu in (5.4 L) 270 hp (201 kW; 274 PS) V8 4-bbl
Transmission3-speed manual
3-speed with overdrive
"Twin-Stick" on console (1965)
4-speed manual (1966)
3-speed automatic
3-speed "Shift-Command" on console
Dimensions
Wheelbase112 in (2,845 mm)
Length195 in (4,953 mm)
Width74.5 in (1,892 mm)
Height53 in (1,346 mm)
Curb weight2,992 lb (1,357 kg) V8


American Motors billed the Marlin as a new addition to the company's self-styled "Sensible Spectaculars" model line. Backed by extensive advertising and merchandising, the car was officially announced on 10 February 1965, and unveiled in Rambler dealer showrooms on 19 March.

New car introductions, more significant in the 1960s than today, were often accompanied by special invitations and heavy publicity. The Marlin was advertised in 2,400 newspapers on its launch day, and American Motors' news releases positioned it as aimed at buyers wanting a sporty fastback that was also roomy and comfortable. This contrasted it with the smaller Barracuda and Mustang fastbacks that had arrived a year earlier. AMC's first model following the muscle car launches of the 1960s, the Marlin was intended to outflank competitors as a product they did not offer - a strategy now called "niche marketing".

It followed signature design features of the Ford Galaxie "Sports Roof", the Plymouth Barracuda, the Mustang 2+2, and the 1965 fastback models from General Motors, including the Chevrolet Impala "Sport Coupe" versions. A book on American muscle cars says V8-powered Marlins provided appropriate performance for the streamlined appearance.

Designer reaction

Vincent Geraci (who became chief of product design and product identity at Chrysler after AMC's buyout), viewed the Marlin as "an exciting program ... We took a 1965 body design and turned it into a sportier version. But enlarging the car from its original concept [the Tarpon] and raising the roof produced an adverse effect on overall appearance."

Bob Nixon (who after AMC's buyout in 1987 became Jeep's design chief at Chrysler) dismissed the project as an "ugly embarrassment" and said that the assignment to create a sporty fastback on the Classic platform was "like trying to build a Corvette on a Buick sedan body. It just doesn't work."

Carl Cameron, designer of the original Dodge Charger, named the Marlin as the only competition for his 1966 car even though, he said, the Marlin lacked some of the Charger's features and it was "very different". Contrary to the view that the Charger was a "clone" of the Marlin, Cameron said that the starting-point for his design was the fastback 1949 Cadillac, and that any similarity to the Marlin was coincidental. He added that as a result of the exceptionally tall Abernathy's insistence on being able to sit in the Marlin's back seat, "those cars had big squared-off roofs" whereas the Charger's roof treatment was "rounded off, much more pleasing to the eye.

Vehicle appointments and options

Standard features, which focused on comfort and luxurious appearance, included deluxe exterior trim, individual reclining front seats, front and rear center armrests when bucket seats were selected, and interiors from AMC's two-door Ambassador model, including dashboard and instrument panel. On the Marlin, the dashboard was trimmed with engine-turned aluminum. Interior door panels were finished with carpeting and stainless steel trim, when many cars at the time had cheaper stamped vinyl glued to cardboard. Retractable front seatbelts where optional. The reclining bucket seats could be ordered with headrests. The Marlin was also one of the first American automobiles with front disc brakes (four-piston design, by Bendix) as standard. It had drum brakes without servo assistance on the rear.

A total of 2,005 Marlins were built with the smallest engine option, a 145 hp (108 kW; 147 PS) 232 I6. 

PERFORMANCE AMC Rambler Marlin :232 cu in

  • Engine capacity: 232 cu in, 3,801.78 cu cm
  • Fuel consumption: 20.8 m/imp gal, 17.3 m/US gal, 13.6 1 x 100 km
  • Max speed: 98 mph, 157.8 km/h
  • Max power (SAE): 145 hp at 4,300 rpm
  • Max torque (SAE): 215 1b ft, 29.7 kg m at 1,600 rpm
  • Max engine rpm: 4,800
  • Specific power: 38.1 hp/l
  • Power-weight ratio: 20.5 lb/hp, 9.3 kg/hp

The AMC-designed 270 hp (201 kW; 274 PS) 327 cu in (5.4 L) 4-barrel V8, often paired with an automatic transmission that had the shifter in a floor console, accounted for 42% of total production, while less than 6%, regardless of engine option, had the innovative "Twin-Stick" manual transmission (with overdrive). The center console-mounted controls offered one longer stick for the regular gears, with a second shorter lever for overdrive selection. It can be shifted as a 5-speed: from 1st to 2nd, to 2nd+OD, to 3rd, to 3rd+OD. Other options included "Solex" tinted glass (70% of production), power steering, heavy-duty suspension, "Twin-Grip" limited slip differential, air conditioning, adjustable steering wheel, power windows, and a choice of AM radio or an AM/FM monaural unit (50% of production) with "Duo Costic" rear speaker and "Vibra Tone" system to simulate stereophonic sound (stereo broadcasting was not yet widely available in the U.S.). Only 221 Marlins were built without a radio. Wide-ranging interior colors and upholstery choices were available, and options for the exterior, including accent colors for the roof and side window trim, enabled further customization.

Pricing and sales

The MSRP price was US$3,100 (US$23,199 in 2014 dollars), compared with $3,063 for a bench seat (six-passenger) version of the Rambler Classic 770 2-door hardtop, which did not have the extra features and luxurious interior of the Marlin. 10,327 Marlins were sold in the abbreviated first year of production.

1966

The Rambler Marlin became known as the AMC Marlin starting with the 1966 model year. All references to the historic Rambler brand name were removed from the car and promotional materials. This was part of Roy Abernethy's remake of AMC's corporate identity, divorcing the larger car lines from the Rambler brand and the economy compact car image. The other changes were minor (e.g. a slight modification to the extruded aluminum grille, a front sway bar made standard on six-cylinder models, and an optional black vinyl roof cover that continued over the trunk opening). New was an electronic tach on the top of the dash.

The year also saw the introduction of the fastback Dodge Charger, a derivative of the intermediate-sized Dodge Coronet, and a sporty model in direct response to the Marlin. Together, the Charger and Marlin were "unusual, distinctive and in a class by themselves." General Motors and Ford also positioned products similar to the Marlin as specialized "personal luxury" coupes and introduced 2-door fastback versions of their full- and intermediate-sized car lines.

AMC broadened the car's market appeal by lowering the base price to US$2,601 (US$18,906 in 2014 dollars) and offering more options. For example: high-level trim packages that had previously been standard, as well as the availability of a floor or center console mounted 4-speed manual transmission and a dash-mounted tachometer, affected small changes in pricing and equipment that paralleled the competition. By comparison, Chrysler did a similar thing with the pricing and content of its Dodge Charger from the 1966 to the 1967 model years. Despite these changes, Marlin production fell to 4,547 in 1966.

Popular Science magazine road test comparison of three 1966 sporty fastbacks (Ford Mustang, Plymouth Valiant, and AMC Rambler) highlighted the Marlin's quiet interior, high quality upholstery and positioned seats with adjustable backrests that "permit almost any driver to find an ideal seat-to-wheel-to-pedal relationship", as well as the "best-balanced ride on good roads and bad". The 287 cu in (4.7 L) two-barrel V8 engine with the three-speed automatic achieved 0 to 60 mph in 11.7 seconds, and was the quietest, but least responsive of the group. The test Marlin's standard drum brakes were criticized as inadequate, with the authors recommending the optional disk brakes. 

1964 AMC Rambler Tarpon Experimental car build.

1964-AMC-Rambler-Tarpon-Experimental-build
Related items
AMC Marlin | Vehicles launched in 1965 | AMC Rambler

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Technical

Service
  • AMC Rambler Marlin 1st gen Maintenance and Service Guide (1965-1966)

    Normal tyre pressure: front 24 psi, 1.7 atm, rear 24 psi, 1.7 atm.
    Width of rims: 5"
    Tyres: 7.35 x 14
    Fuel tank capacity: 15.8 imp gal, 19 US gal
    Carrying capacity: 882 1b, 400 kg
    Gearbox oil: 1.94 imp pt,2.25 US pt, 1.1 1, SAE 80
    Final drive oil: 3.34 imp pt, 4 US pt, 1.91, SAE 90
    Greasing: every 33,000 miles, 53,100 km

    232 cu in
    Fuel: 95 oct petrol
    Engine oil change: 6.69 imp pt, 8 US pt, 3.81, SAE 5W-20 (winter) 20W-30 (summer), change every 6,000 miles, 9,700 km
    Total lubricating system capacity: 8.27 imp pt, 10 US pt
    Cooling system capacity: 17.42 imp pt, 21 US pt,
    Valve timing: inlet opens 12°30' before tdc and closes 51°30' after bdc, exhaust opens 53°30' before bdc and closes 10°30' after tdc

    © Motor car History 

Technical
  • AMC Rambler Marlin 1st gen Technical details and specifications (1965-1966)

    TRANSMISSION
    driving wheels: rear
    clutch: single dry plate
    gearbox: mechanical; gears: 3+ reverse
    synchromesh gears: 2nd and 3rd
    gearbox ratios: 1st 2.610, 2nd 1.630, 3rd 1, rev 3.540
    (option) 3-speed mechanical gearbox (1st 2.490, 2nd 1.590, 3rd 1, rev 3.150)
    (option) 4-speed mechanical gearbox fully synchronized (1st 2.430, 2nd 1.760, 3rd 1.470, 4th 1, rev 2.490),
    (option) Flash-O-Matic automatic gearbox, hydraulic torque convertor and planetary gears
    3 ratios (1st 2.400, 2nd 1.470, 3rd 1, rev 2), possible manual selection
    gear lever location: steering column or central gear lever
    final drive: hypoid bevel
    axle ratios: 3.150. 3.540

    CHASSIS
    type integral
    front suspension: independent, wishbones, coil springs, anti-roll bar, telescopic dampers
    rear suspension: rigid axle, torque tube, coil springs, transverse linkage bar telescopic dampers.

    STEERING
    recirculating ball
    turns of steering wheel lock to lock: 6.
    turning circle (between walls): 39 ft, 11.9 m

    BRAKES
    232 cu in: drum area rubbed by linings: total 267.07 sq in, 1,722.60 sq cm.

    ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT
    voltage: 12 V
    battery: 50 Ah
    generator type: alternator, 35 Ah
    ignition distributor: Delco-Remy

    DIMENSIONS AND WEIGHT
    wheel base: 112 in, 2,845 mm
    front track: 58.20 in, 1,478 mm
    rear track: 57.35 in, 1,457 mm
    overall length: 195 in, 4,953 mm
    overall width: 74.50 in, 1,892 mm
    overall height: 54.16 in, 1,376 mm
    ground clearance: 6.10 in, 155 mm
    dry weight 232 cu in: 2,983 1b, 1,353 kg
    dry weight 278 cu in: 3,266 1b, 1,481 kg
    dry weight 327 cu in: 3,330 1b, 1,510 kg,
    distribution of weight: 51.8% front axle, 48.2% rear axle

    ENGINE: 232 cu in
    Location front, 4 stroke
    cylinders: 6, vertical, in line
    bore and stroke: 3.75 x 3.50 in, 95.2 x 88.9 mm
    engine capacity: 232 cu in, 3,801.78 cu cm
    compression ratio: 8.5
    cylinder block: cast iron
    cylinder head: cast iron
    crankshaft bearings: 7
    valves: 2 per cylinder, overhead, in line, slanted, push-rods and rockers, hydraulic tappets
    camshafts: 1, side
    lubrication: gear pump, full flow filter
    carburation: 1 Holley 1931-3253 downdraught single barrel carburettor
    fuel feed: mechanical pump
    cooling system: water

    © Motor car History

Manuals

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Media

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    vehicle body Variant types. AMC Rambler Marlin First generation from 1965 to 1966 AMC Rambler Marlin AMC Rambler Marlin AMC Rambler Marlin AMC Rambler Marlin
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