The standard picture for an AMC Rebel with “The Machine” package is pretty standard across the board: AMC’s somehow not a full-size midsize two-door hardtop, with the trademark red, white and blue paint job, sitting on American Motors’ “Machine” mag wheels. Occasionally, you can find solid colors, but in 1968, that wasn’t what American Motors intended for their upcoming muscle car.
In the second half of 1968 a preproduction 1969 Rebel hardtop was shown. Painted in a dark color, with black steel wheels and minimal chrome and ornamentation, the prototype “The Machine” wasn’t the star-spangled muscle car it sold as, but really looked like the kind of car that you’d expect an extra-violent vigilante to be driving. For whatever reason, AMC decided to not pursue the stripped taxicab style and that’s a shame, because if they had managed to provide Road Runner performance while undercutting the popular Plymouth’s price, AMC might have had something going for itself!
But if you look at this particular 1969 Rebel, you start to wonder if AMC and Chrysler were sharing more than just automatic transmission. From certain angles, you’d swear that AMC was using the Chrysler B-body hardtop under license with minimal changes added. This isn’t a Machine, and it isn’t really a hot Rambler, either: a 290 V8 sits underhood, and combined with an automatic make this base-model Rebel just an interesting old car. But look on the outside and squint…think about what a wicked 401 could do in this black beauty! A little bit of interior work and you’d have yourself a stomping set of wheels that would leave tons of people wondering…just what kind of car is that?
eBay Link: 1969 AMC Rebel SST
Great looking Rebel. Never owned one but I did own a 69 Road Runner back in H.S. Being both a MOPAR and AMC nut allowed me to call the cars “Road Rebels” since they damn near look alike. This gentleman’s Rebel deserves a year specific 390 with SST trim, Everything you need for the job is right there
Though it a good looking car, just wondering how much body work is hiding under the paint. Being from a rust belt area there will be issues.
Mad Max’s Mom’s car!
That’s the sinister black one by the way….
The exact same body lines as my dad’s 69 Ambassador SST coupe. I don’t know if the two cars really were that close in size, or if they just look the same.
Our car had the 390, factory dual exhausts, and the sticker on the air cleaner said “AMX 390” (stickers really impress kids, but I don’t know if that one added any horsepower!).
That car would really move, but with four wheel drum brakes, it was scary to stop it from speed.