Super-Rare Six-Cylinder 1969 Rebel SST Last Ran in 1989, Thinks Smoked Tires Taste Best

Don’t take this for granted, and double-check with the factual evidence presented by Dylan McCool, the entertaining YouTuber who’s always ready for a ‘Let’s rescue a classic American automobile’ adventure. This time, he got lucky—luckier than ever, given that it's his first AMC car featured on the channel.

Not just any AMC, but a Rebel - an SST Rebel from 1969, a two-door hardtop. It is not the greatest-looking piston-powered product ever to cross paths with his camera, but it is what it is. A survivor (barely, but still) who has seen the exhaust end of motoring in America (and that’s saying something). If you’re a melancholic type who is easy to frack emotionally, then turn your eyes elsewhere. This AMC is not for you.

The interior is mostly dilapidated (rodents used it as permanent living quarters for years, apparently), and the outside isn’t all that encouraging. Just look at the floor panels (or what’s left of them, anyway), and you judge the poor thing by its covers. However, there’s something about this old Rebel that hasn’t laid down its weapons: its patriotic, red-white-and-blue beating heart.

The engine under the hood is an old but solid and reliable inline six, the second smallest motor AMC offered in 1969. The 232 cubic inches of internal combustion power-making displacement (3.8 liters) aren’t the most confidence-inspiring piston arguments ever to drop from behind a cooling fan, but they get the job done (eventually).

 However, there’s only so much an AMC straight-six will be willing to accept in terms of mockery and humiliation. After some sweet-talking and warm hugs, the sturdy powerplant turns again. Not only that but after it comes back to its senses and clears the rusty mufflers, it shows why Jeeps of the AMC era were highly respected machines. The automatic transmission (the three-speed Shift-Command) is still strong enough to free-spin the back wheels into a cloud of rubber smoke.

This Rebel SST (Super Sport Touring) was born with the six-cylinder engine and the automatic tranny, but, except for power steering, its original buyer didn’t order anything on the car. Not even a radio. Only 1,709 examples were assembled in this configuration (232-cubic-inch I6) in 1969, making this beat-up survivor one of that year's rarest American Motors Corporation products. The small engine was not a powerhouse; the one-barrel carburetor and the low 8.5:1 compression could only go up to 145 hp and 215 lb-ft (SAE gross figures; roughly 147 PS and 292 Nm).

Yet, despite this shortcoming, the motor was offered as standard equipment on the Rambler Rogue, the Rebel, and the Javelin (!). It served as the alternative powerplant on the Rambler’s other two trims (basic and 440) instead of the regular 199 cubic-inch six (3.3 liters).

The rear gearing on this car could be either the 2.87:1 or the 3.15:1, as those were the only two diffs available for the Rebel. Whatever the number of splines, it can lay down parallel rubber markings and make the Rebel go down into the sunset (and a cloud of white smoke), even after a 35-year slumber.