I know what you’re thinking. An American tank on the cover of NZ Performance Car? Don’t worry; we’ve been there too. But here at NZPC we like to think we have a broad taste when it comes feature cars. Even so, it was a strange moment for us when Perry Whiteman flicked through an email to tell us a little bit about his four-and-a-half-year labour of automotive love. Always open to a potential feature car, we were intrigued. A 1966 Rambler Classic? Honestly, I didn’t even know what the hell that was. However, we clicked on the video link Perry sent through and proceeded to watch as we were given a walk around tour. After completing a lap of the car, Perry came to the bonnet of the ’66, unlatching it to reveal to an impeccably detailed and de-loomed Nissan RB25DET with a big single turbo perched between the uprights. Damn!

While I had to scour the internet to learn about the Rambler, Perry is a man very familiar with the Classic. “I had a ’65 [Classic] that I sold because I needed the cash,” Perry reveals. “I regretted doing that, and then I heard that someone else had one, so I went down and checked it out and picked it up for $1600.”

What Perry picked up wasn’t a car sitting tucked away under hay bails in the back of a farm shed. As hard as it is to believe looking at it now, this ’66 variant was sitting beside the shed in a paddock, left for dead. Unfazed, Perry handed over the cash and took the car home with him, planning to create a simple streeter. As with most builds we see, there were no grand intentions for the Rambler to wind up the way it has. “Put some wheels on it, get the engine going and drive it,” was the sum total of Perry’s vision. Uh-huh.

After two months of it sitting in his shed, Perry went all gung-ho and elected to slot some J-side technology between the struts. Given that Perry has no real history with Japanese imports, it was an odd decision. “A friend of mine had an RB20DET in a VL Commodore, and at the time I was considering putting a 13B in a BMW I owned,” Perry explains. “[My friend] suggested an RB20DET, but I didn’t really know much about them as I’d never owned a Nissan turbo. But after a few drifts and donuts I had a lot more respect for their drivability and power. At around the same time an acquaintance was selling a reasonably priced 25DET; I didn’t know what they went like but guessed if a 2-litre impressed then a 2.5 surely would be good,” he says with a certain logic.

Once he came to know and love the Nissan mill, he was convinced he’d chosen wisely. “I honestly didn’t think any other engine would have been right to push the car along.”

Knowing what direction he was heading engine-wise, Perry then turned his efforts towards producing an exterior-correct version of the Classic. Surprisingly, despite a long stay in a paddock the shell wasn’t too battered, with the bulk of the factory trim needing nothing more than a few licks of chrome polish to bring it back to life. Add a couple of additional pieces of trim finished in chrome and the Ford Falcon BA Acid Rush paint job by the guys at Colour FX, and Perry had himself a rather desirable street cruiser. At least in his eyes. Evidently, a few older folk at the annual Whangamata Beach Hop didn’t share the same enthusiasm for Perry’s take on the Classic. Grumpy buggers.

So how hard was it to undertake the engine conversion? According to Perry, not that hard. “It didn’t require any chassis or tunnel modifications,” he says. “We had to cut the floor for the [gear] lever, but the biggest thing was modifying the sump to allow the steering arms to get full travel. Aside from that, everything else fits in quite nice.”

For the first couple of years this package remained factory standard. That was until the usually strong RB25 let go, leaving Perry with two options: fix it how it was, or do it how he always wanted to build it. “I originally planned to do all that I have done now, but I got way too eager and impatient and ended up rushing it as I wanted to drive it,” he admits.

“Now I’ve gone the long and expensive way around, buying the stuff I should have in the first place.”

It’s plain to see that what Perry has achieved with his second shot at the Rambler is the very reason this car is sitting where it is today. Perry’s engine bay isn’t just shiny, it’s got award-winner written all over it. While internally standard, he has created an exterior masterpiece, de-looming the hole and slapping everything with either the Acid Rush or chrome stick. Nestled on top of the beautifully crafted Sinco Customs exhaust manifold is one of Garrett’s finer turbos: a GT3082R. Combined with another Sinco-built intake plenum, the large RIPS 80mm throttle body and the Link G3 engine management system, Perry has seen numbers as high as 273kW at the wheels on Te Rapa Automotive’s dyno. “I think it surprises most people with the way it drives,” Perry says. I’d tend to agree, having taking a short but swift ride around the streets of Perry’s hometown, Otorohanga.

Perry tells us that it took him four sets of rims to settle on the current ones, a pair of 20-inch Verde Helix wheels up front and a larger pair of 22-inch matching items out back. Apparently the last set was ditched after he spotted a car in a nearby town rolling on the same shoes.

While the Classic looks in every way perfect, it hasn’t come as easily as Perry may have originally hoped. “Basically, I’ve had problems every step of the way, including the time a bull jumped the fence and attacked; it wrecking all the paint.” You don’t hear that very often. “For everything I’ve done, something else has popped up. And as no one else has done anything like this before, I’ve really had no one to ask.”

That said, Perry admits he probably could have gone about the entire project with a little more foresight. “If I was going to do it again, I’d probably make a plan of what I was going to do and do more research, and not go about it the way I have where I’ve had to backtrack and do sh*t twice.”

Is the Rambler finished? “You can always change stuff,” Perry laughs. “I want to change the interior a little bit and get a proper console made up as I made this one myself. I rushed it at first, so would definitely like to change that. Aside from that, I’m probably going to drive it until it dies. And then rebuild it again!”

1966 Rambler Classic – Specifications

Engine: Nissan RB25DET 2.5-litre DOHC 24V inline-6, factory cylinder head/block, HKS Super Power Flow air filter, RIPS 80mm billet throttle body, Sinco Customs intake plenum, Garrett GT3082R turbocharger, Blitz blow-off valve, Tial 38mm wastegate, Sinco Customs exhaust manifold, Carter lift pump, Bosch external fuel pump, surge tank, custom 3-inch exhaust, Link G3 engine management system, HKS EVC boost controller, turbo timer, de-loomed engine bay, custom oil catch can
Driveline: RB25DET 5-speed gearbox, up-rated factory clutch, Toyota Hilux differential, custom drive shaft
Suspension/Brakes: Factory front suspension, Monroe gas — rear, Lovells springs, Superpro castor bushes, Toyota Scepter discs, callipers, pads — front, Toyota Hilux drums — rear
Wheels/Tyres: Front — 20×9-inch Verde Helix wheels, 225/30R20 Hankook tyres, Rear — 22×9.5-inch Verde Helix wheels, 245/30R22 Hankook tyres
Exterior: Factory exterior, re-chromed exterior trim, headlight surrounds, fuel cap, chromed wiper surround, Ford Falcon BA Acid Rush paint
Interior: Factory reupholstered interior, modified front bench seat, Momo steering wheel, Momo gearknob, AutoGauge smoke series RPM, oil pressure, water temperature, boost gauges, JVC EXAD head unit, JVC 6×9-inch speakers
Performance: Dyno Power — 273kW at the wheels @ 12psi

Perry Whiteman – Owner Profile

Age: 27
Occupation: Tyre fitter
Previously owned cars: ’72 Mercedes-Benz, Mazda RX-7 S1, KE20 Toyota Corolla, Ford Cortina Mk3, Mazda Familia BFMR
Build time: 4.5 years
Length of ownership: 4.5 years
Perry thanks: Craig @ Chaffey’s Panelbeaters, Mick @ Taleb Tyres, Mike @ Sinco Customs, John @ Otorohanga Auto Electricks, CH Allen Upholstery, Te Rapa Automotive, Kevin Redshaw @ R.E.D, Pete @ Colour FX, Jaide, Breckin, Ashton, Ami, mum and dad, Hamish my boss and all my mates in New Zealand and Australia

Words: Gray Lynsky Photos: Adam Croy

This article is from Performance Car issue 152. Click here to check it out.