Nick Filippides doesn’t follow the conventional path when it comes to building project cars, this is the man who decided to stuff a Hellcat engine into a Toyota Prius. When Filippides was ready to start another project, he went down the path less traveled and built a 1964 AMC Rambler American. What makes this Rambler known as “The Great American” so cool is that Filippides kept it all AMC, and really cranked up the performance.

American Racing Headers, the company Filippides helped start, had been working on expanding its classic car offerings and just happened to have a bunch of AMCs come through the facility. Filippides had spent a lot of time looking at different Ramblers and fell in love with the looks of the car. After doing some research, Filippides was ready to start his own Rambler build.

“I found this car thanks to a friend of mine who saw it and the rest is history. I don’t like crossbreeding engines and chassis, so since this is an AMC it had to have an AMC engine. After doing some digging, I discovered you can make some real power with an AMC engine so that made this even more fun,” Filippides says.

There’s really only one word that you can use to describe Filippides Rambler and that’s immaculate. Eddie G’s Muscle Car Garage really worked some magic on this classic AMC and turned it into the show stopper you see. Tom Goldman Racecars took care of the chassis work, while Miller Place Upholstery created the Rambler’s interior. Filipides used a Control Freak front suspension in conjunction with a set of Viking shocks for the Rambler. Under the rear of the Rambler, you’ll find a highly modified AMC M20 rearend that’s filled with Mark Williams Enterprises parts, and it’s attached to the chassis thanks to a set of Calvert Racing leaf springs.

Doug Triplett at Race Engines Plus built the healthy 455 cubic-inch bullet that rests between the Rambler’s fenders. Filippides elected to use the best parts from Jesel, Cam Motion Camshafts, and Edelbrock to finish off the engine, but it’s the things you don’t see or notice that make it really special.  Marty Zimmerman built a custom intake that houses the engine’s fuel injectors and fuel rails. What you see on top of the engine that look like Holley carburetors are actually throttle bodies that bring all the air into the engine. A Terminator ECU from Holley controls the engine, and a set of American Racing Headers expel all the exhaust gasses.

“My favorite part of this build has been the finished product because it’s been so well received. The appeal of this car at PRI confirmed my attempt to do something different was the right thing to do. These cars have great lines and I think it’s one of the best looking cars of the era,” Filippides says.

Filippides Rambler is certainly a show stopper and got plenty of attention at PRI, but don’t let those pretty looks fool you for one second. This car was built as a driver so will see plenty of road miles, but it also will make an appearance at the drag strip when the time is right.

“I think when we’re done tuning the engine it will make around 700 horsepower. This is a six-speed car, so it will run bottom 10s with me granny shifting it since I don’t have a lot of seat time with a six-speed. I’ll probably get thrown out because there’s no cage, so we’ll see how that goes,” Filippides explains.

The time and effort that went into this build can’t be denied. Filippides is extremely grateful he had an army of amazing people help make his vision become a running vehicle.

“There are so many people that played a role in getting this car done, I can’t thank each of them enough. I really want to say how thankful I am for Eddie Gunder from Eddie G’s Muscle Car Garage in Long Island, New York. This build was his undertaking, he took it from a bare body to what is right now. I have to tip my hat to him for doing such a great job,” Filippides states.

Most people probably think Filippides’ Rambler is a Chevrolet Nova or Ford Falcon at first glance, but when they take a closer look they see what it really is. The cases of mistaken identity don’t phase Filippides one bit, he’s happy with his Rambler and looks forward to showing it off to the world at any car show or drag strip.