Mid-Engined 1969 AMC Rebel Has a V8 Inside the Cabin, It's Not a Hoot to Drive

This 1969 Rebel may look like a plain jane, somewhat derelict car on the outside, but it hides a mid-engined layout under the gray shell. Wait, what? Is this some sort of experimental factory car that surfaced many decades later? Sadly, the answer is no.

This thing was put together long after the Rebel left the American Motors Corporation assembly line. And we actually don't know much about it, but it's an interesting build that adds a new twist to the term "muscle car."

But before you get all hyped up, you should know that this Rebel isn't a regular mid-engined car. As in the mill is not located behind the front seats. Instead, the V8 was pushed from under the hood to where the seats should be. As a result, the front seats were moved further back, where the rear bench should be.

It's a rather unorthodox layout for a road car, but I've seen similar configurations in vintage dragsters and some custom hot rods. Okay okay, not with the entire engine inside the cabin, but you get the point.

Back to the Rebel in question, I've seen it in action for the first time in early 2021, when it was featured on YouTube's "OffTheRanch." Almost one year later, the mid-engined AMC changed a few owners before it ended up with "Vice Grip Garage."

And here's the really crazy thing, he flew to Florida to pick it up, hoping that he would be able to drive it back to Tennessee for 800 miles (1,287 km). The V8 was not running upon purchase, but as it turned out, getting it to fire up wasn't the biggest issue.

Having a big V8 inside the cabin not only makes things extremely hot, noisy, and uncomfortable, but in this Rebel's case, it also results in having to deal with fumes and oil leaks. To make matters worse, the engine also sprays oil on the passenger seat and the headliner.

The owner needs to stop several times to fix a long list of new or recurring issues and it all becomes an incredibly frustrating experience. With the floor flooded by oil and with the engine spewing way too much smoke inside the cabin, he gives up about a little more than 500 miles.

Apparently, there's a second part underway, but this AMC won't hit the road again anytime soon, as the plan is to haul it back to Tennessee. But hopefully, it will get a second chance at some point because this Rebel might actually become a cool ride with a few proper adjustments.