Vintage Air Custom Rod of the Year Finalist 1958 Rambler American
An ancient proverb says, “You can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.” Hot rod and custom car builders have been disproving that adage for years by turning old, unattractive vehicles into beautiful and exciting mechanical pieces of art.
Mark Morehouse described the discovery that led to his silk purse. “On a trip to Arizona, while riding my Harley I spotted the car [a 1958 Rambler American] at a salvage yard,” Mark says. “I stopped the bike and bought it on the spot! My wife, Barb, and friends thought I was crazy. They all lacked vision.”
They saw only the sow’s ear.
Morehouse immediately called Dane Macik, told him he’d just bought a ’58 Rambler and asked, “What can you do with it?” Dane, who owns Macik’s Paintin’ Place, says, “I went online, found a picture of a ’58 Rambler two-door sedan, made some changes in Photoshop and sent it back to him.” Mark replied, “When can you start?”
It’s not that the Rambler design was bad. Just old. By 1958 the car world had moved on to quad headlights and tailfins on Ford Galaxies, Chevy Impalas, and Plymouth Furys. The Rambler’s styling had been introduced on the 1954 models. The compact was put on the back burner after 1955 while the newly merged Nash and Hudson companies were busy reimagining themselves as American Motors and introducing new, larger models. AMC reintroduced the economy sedan in 1958 as the Rambler American. It was the least-expensive U.S.-built auto, with a bargain basement price starting at $1,789. The company sold 30,000 that year.
Having built a ’63 Impala station wagon and ’67 Bel Air custom for Mark in the 20 years they’ve been acquainted, Dane had a vision of what Mark might want from the Rambler, and what the car could be. He saw a sleek, low, exciting hardtop coupe lurking under the surface of the rather stodgy two-door family sedan. Once it was in his shop and completely blown apart, he mounted the boy shell on his build table and got out the tape measure.
Measurements, specifications, and sketches were sent to Scott’s Hotrods ’N Customs to build a Super Slam chassis with IFS, a 9-inch rearend, and air springs. Rack-and-pinion steering and 14-inch Wilwood disc brakes were fitted, and the rolling stock competed with Michelin rubber on 18×8- and 20×12-inch Schott Velocity wheels.
When the chassis was shipped back to Dane’s shop, a 6.2-liter Chevrolet Performance LSA crate engine and 4L80E transmission were installed. Fuel-injected and supercharged, the engine makes 565 horsepower and sends it to 3.70 gears in the rearend.
While the mechanical work was being done, Dane was performing major surgery on the Rambler body. “The two-door sedan was converted into a hardtop by removing the window and door frames and installing curved side glass,” he explains. The rear of the roof was shortened and reshaped, the rear glass leaned forward, and the deck lid was lengthened to fill the gap.
Newly fashioned taillights modernize the original style, and the left one pivots to access the fuel filler. Dane crafted wheelhouse openings that flow into the lower body character line and rolled pans that tie the front and rear into a smooth, handsome package.
The hood was converted to open from the rear and a clearance bump added, suggesting to observers that there’s more underneath than the original flathead six-cylinder. Stock headlights were frenched, a blackout grill mesh inserted into the stock chrome frame, and slim chromed bumper bars fashioned for the front and rear. Dane finished the completed package in a PPG hue named Anaconda Green.
Bucket seats started coming into vogue in 1958, and now this ’58 Rambler has them — two in front and two in back with a custom console between. Even better than a ’58 Thunderbird. Jason Winden at Premier Upholstery covered the modified Dodge Intepid seats and interior panels in Whiskey-colored Italian leather with plaid fabric accents. A Classic Instruments Six-Pack assembly is fitted into the original instrument cluster above an Ididit steering column and Con2R wheel.
After an incredible reimagining, this stylish Rambler has coupe has become a great example of a smooth silk purse, and a fitting finalist for the Vintage Air Custom Rod of the Year honor.
Congratulations to Mark Morehouse for being named a Finalist for Goodguys 2026 Vintage Air Custom Rod of the Year with his 1958 Rambler American built by Macik’s Paintin’ Place!
Photos: John Jackson
