Peer pressure can be a very strong pull. Since the dawn of humanity, people have been doing things they didn’t plan or want to do because they were cajoled—explicitly or implicitly—by the voice or behavior of others. So, why did it take so long for American Motors Corporation to come up with a proper muscle car? Our Pick of the Day is the Johnny-come-lately from Kenosha, a 1970 AMC Rebel Machine. It is listed for sale on ClassicCars.com by a private seller in Cleveland.
When it comes to mid-size muscle, the 1964 Pontiac GTO was the first. Oldsmobile added a 400 to the 4-4-2 in 1965, the same year Buick had a 401 Skylark Gran Sport. Plymouth and Dodge had 383 and 426 B-bodies in 1965, but it wasn’t until 1967 that the two brands produced an “image” car. Aside of the 1965 Z16 Chevelle, Chevrolet joined en masse in 1966 with the SS 396, the same year Ford/Mercury debuted the Fairlane GT/Cyclone GT.
Meanwhile, American Motors talked about competing toe-to-toe with the Big Three, but that only resulted in several sporty hardtops, an ungainly mid-size fastback, a competitor to the Mustang, and a one-off compact supercar built with the assistance of Hurst. If you were an AMC performance fan needing seating for five or six, you were out of luck.
This was strange, as the performance segment was making manufacturers money. Why AMC didn’t take a Rebel, throw in a 390, and give enthusiasts another car to choose from is a head-scratcher. However, as far back as June 1967, the corporation mocked up a 1969 Rebel in flat black and sans wheel covers. AMC did not proceed with this concept until 1970, though with assistance from Hurst.
At the time, former Pontiac adman Jim Wangers was working for Hurst, and he was among the folks who helped evolve the concept into a red/white/blue Rebel SST. Similar to what happened with the GTO Judge, the signature paint scheme (mandatory on the first 1,000 built) gave way to all colors on the palette, so later Rebel Machines were available in any AMC color and featured a flat black hood (with silver accents) and flanks sans stripes, as well as the signature scheme.
The 340-horsepower 390 powering all Rebel Machines featured modified intake and exhaust manifolds for a 15-horsepower bump over the 390 available for the Javelin and AMX. Other standard features included four-speed, bucket seats, Handling Package, rear sway bar, HD cooling, power disc brakes, 15 x 7-inch “Machine” slotted wheels with E60 x 15 white-letter tires, and 3.54 gears.
By the end of the model year, 1,936 were built. AMC offered a “Machine” package for the 1971 Matador (the replacement for the Rebel), but it basically was a “Go Package” for 360- and 401-powered Matadors. Possibly fewer than 100 were built, all looking like basic Matadors without stripes or air induction.
This 1970 AMC Rebel Machine wears its trademark red/white/blue paint. “I’m selling my Rebel Machine after 14 years,” says the seller. “It starts and runs nicely. I just replaced the master cylinder and changed the oil this October, and I just replaced the battery in November.” It is mostly original, with the seller painstakingly finding most of the important missing original parts over the years. Transmission is a Borg Warner T-10 four-speed, with other features including power steering, Twin-Grip with 3.54s, Space Saver tire, and AM radio.
The seller is also including a host of OEM parts like rim-blow steering wheel, red stripe kit from the original dies, intake and exhaust manifolds, and several Group 19 parts like Edelbrock intake and valve covers. You can see this Machine looks nice as-is but needs a special touch to bring it up to the level it deserves. Are you the (wo)man for the job? We think there’s someone out there who can be peer-pressured to spend $55,000 (OBO).
Click here to view this Pick of the Day on ClassicCars.com