Lyle & Esther Brown's 1963 Rambler

October 2008

Lyle Brown is a retired hot rodder. One day a lady stopped by his shed and asked if he bought old cars. The answer was yes, and she told him she had an old Rambler - a sporty 440 H two-door hardtop.
She had recently inherited it from her uncle who bought it new. He had always taken meticulous care of it and always stored it indoors. Plus it only had 25k on the clock.
After buying it, Lyle quickly went through the brakes to get the car rolling, and the front coils were trimmed in order to get a lower stance, dropping the car 3.5", and lowering blocks were added to the rear. He also centered the wheels in the wheel openings by moving the axle back 1.25". He then bolted on a fresh set of 17" American Racing wheels on Kuhmo tires from Newstalgia Wheel.
With the ride height adjusted, Lyle and his painter buddy, John, began looking at the car. It was solid red, but the two felt it needed a little "pop." They decided to two-tone it in red and white. Lyle pulled all of the stainless trim and polished it while the car was down for paint.
The low mileage and high level of care made for a good running motor with years of service left on it. He treated the 196ci inline-six to a concourse-quality detailing. All of the car's seals, windows, and mechanical items like regulators and the Borg-Warner twin-stick progressive overdrive trans are original items. The red interior is also original.

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