David's Automotive Workshop

All things about cars-classic and otherwise

Menu
  • Automotive Home
    • Boat Building Home
    • Other Projects
    • Workshops Home
    • The New Workshop
  • AMC Marlin
  • 1966 AMC Marlin (II)
  • Ford Torino
  • Other Automotive Stuff
Menu

1966 AMC Marlin

Towanda Parade 2022

The Marlin’s story doesn’t have quite the legacy that the Torino has. I have only vague memories of the Marlin growing up. At age 9-10, I was just starting to appreciate cars so to me, this fast-back look was the same as the Plymouth Barracuda and the Dodge Charger. And even the Mustang.

So one day when I was out junkyard crawling for some hard-to-find badging for my Torino, I came across this grouping of Marlins.

CTC Auto Ranch, Denton, TX — April 2012

Recent Posts

July 31, 2023Iola Car Show
Check out this post on our companion blog Paddle Pedal and Coffee. We took a trip to Wisconsin and started it with a visit to …
June 23, 2023Wait, did that come on the car from the factory?
Is that a passenger door mirror. Yes, some Marlins came with the passenger side mirror as part of a trim package but this one didn't. …

Most were parts cars but it got me interested. So I spent the next 8 years looking for a Marlin. The restored cars were more than I wanted to spend and most others were rusted out and would require a lot of body work. So after a time I slowed my search. It was one those slow times in late 2019 that like the Torino search, it took a tv show to re-start my quest. TV and YouTube automotive personality Steve Magnante had a show on MotorTrend TV called JunkYard Gold. I love his tours and history lessons on cars.

So on one episode, he’s crawling through what turned out to be CTC Auto Ranch and there he is talking about the very cars that I had come across years earlier. That got me looking again and I found one for sale only two hours away at Heartland Classics in Effingham IL (they’ve since closed, I think). It was on it’s third paint job, the interior was almost completely trashed and it had a 6cyl and 3-speed on the column. But it ran and drove, and it was a complete car with very little rust. I later learned it spent most of it’s life in New Mexico.

Strapped in and ready to ride


I made a deal and trailered it home. So that’s where these posts start. I’ve got all kinds of grand plans for resto-modding it. We’ll see how that goes.

Older Posts

  • Bringing the Marlin home
    by David
    May 13, 2020
    Once I got the car home, it was time to really assess what I had. You can never get a good idea of what you…
  • Missing Parts Mystery
    by David
    June 1, 2020
    I started tracking parts that might be missing. The trunk was full of chrome and stainless, I assumed it was all the missing parts. A…
  • Clean-up on Bay 2 and other Forensics
    by David
    June 10, 2020
    As my digging through the car continued I decided that it would be best to gut the interior to get an idea of what I…
  • Delegating some of the repair
    by David
    June 15, 2020
    The car was running, driving, and stopping just fine but there were a number of issues that needed to be a dealt with. The gas…
  • Opening for the Headliner
    by David
    July 1, 2020
    Finding an intact headliner was a real bonus for the Marlin. Usually, headliners in old cars are ripped or have become a mouse-house. Or they…
  • Headlining the second act
    by David
    July 2, 2020
    This second part of the headliner repair was actually completed six months after I first got the car. The repaired liner went right back into…

3 thoughts on “1966 AMC Marlin”

  1. Joe zenewicz says:
    January 23, 2025 at 3:05 am

    So is the car finished if so are there some pictures of the car finish it would be neat to see him I have a 66 also restored kind of okie dokie

    Reply
    1. David says:
      March 6, 2025 at 7:01 pm

      Sorry Joe, I didn’t get notified of your post until now.

      No, it’s not finished. And other than what I’ve posted, it’s hardly started. I simply can not find anyone that is willing to do some of the heavier work like the rear end and four link. I’ve even contacted a number of shops and most don’t even return my call.
      The one that I did talk with turned me down.

      What’s really funny is that I haven’t talked money or labor rates with anyone yet. I guess everyone is so busy they can be choosy about the work.

      I’m considering a different path now that I’ve got the second Marlin for parts. If I can get the v-8 running, I might swap out the six cyl. But I’m just considering it for the moment.

      David

      Reply
      1. David says:
        March 7, 2025 at 3:17 am

        By all means, post a picture of your Marlin here.

        Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

The maximum upload file size: 32 MB. You can upload: image, audio, video, document, spreadsheet, interactive, text, archive, code, other. Links to YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and other services inserted in the comment text will be automatically embedded. Drop file here

Once you submit your post comment, please allow time for the comment to be approved before it appears on this page.

Posts by Categories

  • Marlin
  • Marlin II
  • Other car stuff
  • Torino
©2025 David's Automotive Workshop