BEACH BOYS, DRIVE-IN is the name of the song

Talk about a piece of history! What back seat? LOL And that glove box could fit life jackets! I remember seeing a review of this and it said it drove like a boat, and sailed like a car... I also heard they rusted like crazy.

Hey, Jay. I'm really glad that you featured this Amphicar, as they are so interesting and rare.

Yes, the engine is Triumph, and was also used in the Triumph Spitfire and a couple of earlier cars. The extra door handle pulls the door extra tight into it's seals to keep water out. Same reason for the hood latches and special key. I'd guess that the extra floor lever engages the propellers. It's interesting trying to spot parts from other cars in it. The steering wheel looks very VW. The vent windows look very Triumph Herald, and so on. Cheers.

I believe it was 1967 and my family had taken our small boat out for a day trip. My Pop had the boat ready to launch on the ramp, but left me in the boat while they all went to the bathroom. A car pulls right up to the waters edge and stops. I'm watching from inside my spot inside our boat. After the two people move some things around, the car drives into the water and chugs away 😳 I'm freaking out when my family comes back to our boat and they think I'm having a heat stroke 🥵 They didn't believe me about the car until we saw it on the lake later that day! I was 7 years old and will never forget that cool 😎 car/boat 😃

I can remember the 1st time watching one of these enter the water. I was a little kid and thought they were going to sink. Was amazed to see it float as soon I would find out the car was built to do that! 🙂 Aaaaaa, good ol' childhood memories.....👍

When I was 12 years old a local car dealer brought one of these cars home which is in SE Ohio right along the Ohio River. One evening he offered me a ride in his car in the Ohio Riber, and me being a car nut, I jumped at the chance. The funny thing about this ride, there were three young girls in the back seat while I rode shotgun.This was 1965. In 1974 I married one of the girls that was in the back seat of this car and we are still married today.The car was neat, but the girl won my heart.

I've witnessed two Amphicars go from a road right into the river. They boated around in the river for a while until a boat wake threatened to swamp the Amphicars. It was fun to watch them in person. I heard they are not good boats and not good cars as well.

These cars are really special. Another huge problem with the Amphicar was rust issues. You never want to run these in salt water or they will rust before your eyes. LOL. Good show.

And, as I recall, Studebaker produced the M-29C, an amphibious version of the M-29 "Weasel" tracked personnel carrier. No propeller, no armor, but it could go just about anywhere.

I remember there was one apparently being used as a daily driver cruising through my neighborhood in the mid-sixties,

Good look at these "quirky-is-right" amphibians. There is quite a collectors community in San Diego, CA, so we see one on the streets every now and again. Thank you.

If I remember correctly, the original design was intended to use a VW air-cooled engine, but for amphibious use it had to use a liquid-cooled engine and it ras required to have positive containment for any engine oil leaks. Looks like a VW steering wheel complete with the castle without the wolf. And, according to _National Lampoon,_ If Teddy Kennedy had been driving a Volkswagen, he could have been President...

As a kid, I thought that the Amphicar was the coolest thing. As an adult I realize they’re very impractical. I live in a New England coastal town, I can only imagine what salt water would do to them.

WYR: Nobody asked, but a friend had a Datsun 510 with roof cross-bars, an aluminum john-boat, and a Johnson Five outboard motor. The combination was more capable as a boat and more comfortable on the road.

I'm from the Pepsi generation and I remember that commercial‼ Great job, Jay.👏What a strange machine. We would have loved to see you get in and out of that back seat. 💫

This just popped up in my feed, but I'd have gotten to it eventually anyway. I wonder how many of these (or what's left of them) are at the bottom of some lake or river? 😮 They were poor boats, being easily swamped which the bilge pump couldn't handle. You also needed a gentle slope like a boat ramp to enter or exit the water; the rear-wheel drive had to have traction to drive out of the water and the propellers couldn't push you out of the water on steeper inclines. Still who wouldn't want one just for occasional fun? 😁 I recall seeing somewhere that the last of the rubber door and body seals were made some time ago, and being critical to water operation, the chances of seeing one afloat today is slim to none ☹I'm old enough to remember the ads for these but I've never seen one IRL. The few which still exist are collectibles now, well out of my price range. With today's technology a much better version could be built, but meeting modern car safety requirements too would make it nearly impossible and an extremely expensive endeavor to attempt. I'd still like to see that happen though.

Glad to see that you found one, to do a video on. i bet i will be a great video.

Hey Jay, the Amphicar is definitely a unique vehicle!!! I didn't know that President Lyndon Johnson owned one of these!!! Thanks for the fun fact & for sharing this fun video!!! 👍👍🙂

Don't see too many in the northeast (US). I've seen 2 in my entire life. I love the Lyndon Johnson story. Makes me wonder how many folks bailed out before it hit the water!

Another great vid, Jay. Always a pleasure to view……

OK Cartman! Didn't hear enough to guess the tune. I worked with a guy who had access to one of these & we took it into the Potomac! Crazy car. I love the 58 Ford!

A cool car! I have seen them from time to time at car shows.

I was so fascinated by these when I was a kid. I'm sure probably the first place I ever saw one was in a movie, most likely at British film, or maybe a spy film. I do remember seeing one in action some years back at a car and antique boat show, it was really cool. I've never been crazy about being in a boat,or on the water, I've always had some strange fear of the water, so I definitely would never get in one on water. It is a cool looking little machine none the less!!😎 Cool excerpt 😊 tell me that's Cartman

Hi Justin, nice video! I have seen Amphicars at car shows and boat shows, but you told me about the cars origin that I did not know. I think that small lever on the floor is to engage the propellers. Bilge pump is pounced "bilj" pump. Please reply. Dave...

I have no idea why they get delayed so from now on I guess if I wanted to be at 4:30 it’s going to have to air at 4:25 right

Cool car , have seen 2 so-far , never been in one

Have you ever heard music from Paul Revere and the Raiders ? They were a popular band of the sixties .

The engine from this from British Leyland Triumph Herold

And that lever on the floor next to hear shift is The ejection seat maybe?

I'll bet you anything you like that with a 43hp engine and those tiny twin propellers, crossing a river on your way to work would have to be restricted to narrow trout streams near the headwaters of trout streams at 12,000 ft elevation in the Colorado Rockies. 😂 Rivers like the Monongahela, Hudson and Mississippi are just going to take you downstream whether you like it or not. Better have a phone, a bullhorn and a life raft with you! Anxious to see the Ranch Wagon!!

Jan and Dean - Bucket T A total guess

Hi Jay, as soon as I saw its interior, I thought it was a German car. It looks like the Borg-Wards, which I believe were German also. I wonder if the same guy had a hand is designing those as well?

These cars were never road legal in Denmark. Never fully understood as to why.

Your title is incorrect. The Amphicar is the quirkiest car of the 1960s, but it's NOT the "most" quirkiest. "Most" is implied by the superlative "quirkiEST", so the "most" is Not Necessary, and is just redundant.

Big Bird by The Flock

Pretty good car, not-so-good boat. Should've had 4wd and a hi-lo range box. Needs rudders too.

Well, it's kind of an ugly cute if you know what I mean. Still, it does seem like it would be fun to hang with. A bit like the short, nerdy, girl with glasses we all knew in school.

Good overview of the vehicle; but, damn, read the label: it's pronaunced like it's spelt; no "L" in the name: Am-FI-Car, not "Am- FLICK-Car; they weren't made by Bic! Pity a drive-demo wasn't possible; woulda been mast instructive re: the "user experience"... cheers.

Rear windows go down like my old VW convertible. 43 bhp not much more than a contemporary Beetle.

There's no L in the name, so why do you keep saying AMplicar??😊

Weird and very expensive.

It’s quirky and ugly.