The Marlin Story….
From Concept to Reality
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From AMCRC Rambler Reader Vol 17
No 4 (1996)
Distinctive! Different! That
best describes the AMC Marlin. There certainly was nothing else like it on the
road when it debuted in 1965. How did the Marlin come to be? How did the design
concept begin? Viewing the Marlin in retrospect, we can see that it has proven
to be one of the most popular of all collectible AMCs.
So, let’s take a look at the history of this unique automobile.
In the beginning, the Marlin
was a different fish with a different name. Dick Teague was asked by AMC to
develop something similar to the Ford Mustang that had introduced
The Tarpon
The Tarpon
What Dick Teague came up with
was a fast-back Rambler American prototype that American Motors introduced at
the Society of Automotive Engineers national convention at
Having been built on a 1964
American chassis, it had a wheel base of 106 inches. However, the Tarpon was
only 52.5 inches high instead of 54.5 inches for the standard American hardtop,
making it much sleeker in appearance. It was slightly longer at 180 inches,
versus 177.25 for the American hardtop. Another dimensional difference was the
use of 13 inch aluminum wheels in place of the standard 14 inch steel wheels.
To further enhance the
impression of sleekness, the Tarpon had a deeply angled compound-curve
windshield. The side window openings were swept back to just above the center
of the rear wheels and ended in a semi-elliptical treatment. The modified
Tarpon grille reflected the 1964 American styling theme, but was distinctive
and handsome and the exterior was painted in deep, gold-flecked vermillion.
There was room for four
passengers in the “advanced-concept interior”, with specially-designed bucket
seats in black vinyl to match the roof-top vinyl panel. A flow-through console
with Twin-Stick transmission controls extended from the front to a contoured
package tray in the rear passenger compartment. The instrument panel had a
complete array of dial instruments beneath a deeply padded safety hood that ran
the width of the interior. Finishing off the interior was a steering wheel made
of spring aluminum with a deeply recessed hub for safety. The wheel rim was
trimmed in natural walnut wood, complementing the walnut accents on the inside
door panels.
The overall appearance of
the Tarpon was striking. It made you feel like jumping in and going for a
drive. Once again, Dick Teague and his staff had produced a highly unique and
pleasing styling concept, while using many “off-the-shelf” production items and
existing sheet metal.
The Tarpon was only a
concept car but, had it gone into production, certain refinements would have
been required. For instance, there was no trunk lid for access to luggage
space. Also, the final version of the Tarpon would probably have ridden on
standard size 14 inch wheels instead of the 13 inch aluminum wheels used on the
prototype.
Also if the Tarpon had gone
from design to production as conceived (that is, on the American sized chassis),
there is a good chance that the “Marlin” story would have been quite a bit
different.
Instead, the concept was
shifted from “pony car” to intermediate sports car by Roy Abernethy with Teague’s
acquiescence, which meant that the car would be built on the Classic chassis. Mr. Abernethy called for another change, but
this time Dick Teague was out of the country. The roof line was to be raised
one inch, a move Teague felt ruined the smooth flowing
fast-back styling.
The end result was another
kettle of fish altogether, and the name of this new car
would be…The Marlin.
What had brought Mr.
Abernethy to the conclusion that the American-based Tarpon should become a
Classic-based Marlin? In essence, it was his desire to move away from the
George Romney inspired image of a company which built compact, economical
automobiles for families and value shoppers. Mr. Abernethy wanted to take on
the Big Three car-for-car and feature-for-feature, with a view toward making
the Big Three into the Big Four. As part of this scheme, the keystone to AMC’s success
(the lowly station wagon), was among the fatalities. Mr. Abernethy saw the Marlin as a way to make
a big splash in the pond the Big Three had been playing in. A flashy, intermediate car would be just the
thing to help achieve this objective.
The 1965 Rambler Marlin was introduced to the press and the
public on February 10, 1965, a remarkably short time span between the Tarpon’s
initial showing at the Society of Automotive Engineers convention in January of
1964 and its transmogrification into a full sized fast-back sedan for six
people. This achievement demonstrates vividly how efficient and capable AMC’s
design and engineering departments were.
Besides the basic difference
of size, the Marlin differed from the Tarpon in other design aspects. The front
end of the Marlin was pure Classic, with the exception of the flying fish hood
ornament and Marlin script. (You recall that the Tarpon had a specially
designed grille that enhanced the car’s unique appearance and made it possible
to identify the Tarpon from the front.) On the other hand, the Marlin was
essentially just another Classic from the front.
However, the side view of
the Marlin presented basically the same overall contour as the Tarpon, with the
major exception being the treatment of the side window opening. In order to
retain the impression of lightness when viewing the roof structure from the
side, the window opening was more boomerang-shaped or spearhead-like. An
additional styling touch was added to give the desired effect - a matching
chrome-outlined contrasting-color panel surrounding the window opening from
front to rear was utilized. The overall effect was very attractive and lended the lightness desired. The interior of the Marlin
was not significantly different from the Classic, at least not to the extent
that the Tarpon had differed from its “parent car”, the American hardtop.
As AMC’s newest model, the
Marlin rated its very own sales brochure, and a handsome one it was. It was
touted as the brand new car for swingers who love fast lines, deep luxury, and
man-sized room for man-sized comfort. Marlin had more than just the look of
motion. It was the car for everyone, it had luxury and excitement, and it could
still carry six adults in comfort. All the bases were covered. And, for 1965,
Marlin owners were treated to their very own special Marlin Owner’s Manual !
Mechanically though, the
Marlin was really a Classic at heart. Once behind the wheel, you noticed that
the instrument cluster had two large circular pods housing all the instruments,
whereas the Classic had a large horizontal speedometer facia
that also contained ancillary gauges and indicator lights.
The only real drawback to
the new Marlin was its lack of convenient trunk space…well, trunk space,
period. But, that’s the price you pay for looking sleek and sexy.
Motor Trend Magazine tested
the new Marlin the first chance it got, which happened to be during the most
adverse and difficult conditions under which they had ever tested a car…a Wisconsin
winter. But they pressed on because of the importance of the Marlin’s
introduction. Motor Trend was very impressed with how the Marlin handled and
performed under these trying conditions and they gave especially high praise to
Marlin’s brakes, which they considered to be superb. All the usual performance
tests were made and, bad conditions notwithstanding, the Marlin turned in
excellent results. The zero to 60 mph time was 11.2 seconds with a 4 barrel 327
V-8.
When it came to the question
of how Motor Trend would equip a Marlin if they were to buy one, they chose the
232 6 cylinder engine over the 327 V-8! Why? They felt there was nothing wrong
with 155 hp and 222 pounds-feet of torque: the extra power of the V-B wouldn’t
be missed. For the transmission, they would have gone with the Twin-Stick
overdrive. Boy! Don’t these folks sound
like dyed-in-the-wool Rambler people?
There were 10,327 Marlins
sold in 1965. Of these, 2,005 were equipped with the 2326 cylinder engine,
2,309 with the 287 V-8, and 6,013 with 327 V-8s. Clearly, the performance crowd
prevailed, notwithstanding what Motor Trend would have done.
Taking a look at the total
number of Classics sold in 1965, we find that 204,016 found homes -- this is
almost twenty times the number of Marlins sold. It is obvious from this that
the typical Rambler buyer was more interested in a sensible car than a sporty
car. Roy Abernethy’s “pony car” had a lot of running to do if it was going to
become a sales success.
The 1966 Marlin
The 1966 AMC Marlin looked pretty much the same. Only the most
discerning eye could catch the nuances. The grille now had 13 very thin
aluminum vertical strips behind the large horizontal color bar. The name
Rambler was gone from immediately above the rear bumper. The upholstery trim
was different, too. Also available was a new exterior trim package consisting
of black vinyl covering on the roof, trunk lid, and tear-drop side window
surrounds. There were some handling improvements in
the suspension system, including the addition of a sway bar to Marlins equipped
with the 6 cylinder engine.
Once
again, Marlin had its own sales brochure, and a very nice one it was.
The big sales pitch was
aimed at the husband who wanted a sports-type car, and the wife who wanted a
family car big enough to carry all the kids and their “stuff”. Dad could get four
on the floor, and Mom could get six through the door. Everyone was happy.
Since the first Marlin came
out as a ”1965 ˝” MID-YEAR model, it did not have the
advantage of a FULL MODEL YEAR exposure. So to have sold 10,327 of these
Marlins in such a short time was not bad at all for a new model. When the 1966 Marlins were introduced on
October 7, 1965, they had a full model year for sales to develop, so their poor
showing of only 4,547 sales was undoubtedly a disappointment.
To keep the interest up on
the “warmed-over” Marlin for 1966, AMC fielded a show car called the
The
A second AMC designing
experiment in 1966 involved an Ambassador-based Marlin. This car was known as
the “Marlin II”. It was basically a 1966 “Classic” Marlin with a 1966
Ambassador front end. Dick Teague later wrote a letter to Dick Silber (AMCRC #1005 NY) about the car, saying that the car
had been made for his own personal use, and was subsequently sold in 1967. This
“Marlin II” was the only one built and unfortunately, it was lost in an
accident.
Dick Teague also said in this
letter that what he REALLY wanted was for the Tarpon to have been put into production
rather than the Classic-based Marlin. And he wanted the Marlin to be done on
the Ambassador body/chassis as a backup to the Tarpon. But, as he said, he lost
both fights. At least for 1965 and 1966. However he
would be vindicated in 1967.
The 1967 Marlin
For The 1967 Marlin Dick Teague got ONE of his wishes, the
Marlin was shifted to the Ambassador body/chassis. The result was a very
handsome and well-balanced design, certainly very different from the prior two
years’ models. Some thought that it was the Ambassador front end which made the
difference.
But, overall, there were
many differences. The all-new Marlin was longer, wider and lower than its 1966
counterpart. The elliptical side window treatment was carried over from
1965/66, but the color accent surround of the side windows was no longer
employed. The wheelbase was increased to 118 inches over the prior years’ 112
inch wheelbase, permitting an additional 6 1/2 inches in overall length - most
of which was up front. This new Marlin was 4 inches wider, significantly
improving interior space. And, now the Marlin shared the same engine options
which all Ambassador owners could select from. Of
special note was the completely new 343 cid V-8 engine. The trusty 327 and 287
cid V-8s were now gone, though the 232 6 cylinder was carried over. There was also a new 290 cid V-8 to consider.
For 1967 the Marlin lost its
exclusive sales brochure and now shared space in AMC’s Ambassador brochure. Owners of the 1967 Marlin also had to soldier
along with a joint Ambassador/Marlin Owner’s Manual.
The significant styling
differences between the Marlin and the Ambassador, besides the fastback body,
included a blacked out grille with driving lights just inboard of the stacked quad-head
tights, the Marlin script, the rear bumper and tail lights, and a red reflector
insert at the extreme rear end of the quarter panels, which served to
compensate for the speed bulge, which was no longer required because of the
special Marlin rear bumper.
The 1967 Marlin was a very
attractive automobile. Then why were there only 2,545 sold? Well, AMC wasn’t
alone in the fast-back lane. Dodge had introduced its Charger in 1966. But, it
was more likely that the fast-back fad had simply run its course. Too bad,
because the sleek appearance of a fast-back Marlin certainly set the driver
apart from the hurly-burly crowd of standard sedans.
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