Great Condition: 1972 AMC Ambassador Brougham
While American Motors was mostly known for smaller cars, let’s not forget they did have a full-size model called the Ambassador. Yet basically it was a stretched Matador with different front and rear treatment. When the full-size Ambassador was discontinued in 1974, it was one of the longest running model designations. Here is a 1972 AMC Ambassador Brougham 4 door sedan for sale here at East Coast Classic Cars in Lillington, North Carolina.
As hard as American Motors tried, they just couldn’t compete very well with the big three in the full-size field. In 1972, only 44,364 Ambassadors were produced while Chevrolet sold over 1 million of its full-size Chevrolets. The 1972 Ambassador received a mild update with a new grille. The rear shows full-width taillights broken by backup lights, much in the style of 1971 LTD and 1969 to 1971 Mercury Marquis.
This car is finished in Stardust Silver Metallic paint that is in great condition. This Ambassador includes a dark blue vinyl top in great condition as well. It has dual exhaust, power steering, and power brakes. It has a newer set of tires.
The interior of the Brougham features a nice pattern seat finished in blue custom cloth. The seats are equally divided and include infinitely individually adjustable front seats with recessed adjustable headrests. The dash is finished with simulated wood grain paneling and includes a vertically placed AM/FM Stereo radio. Air conditioning was standard. This car also includes a tilt steering wheel and driver’s side remote mirror.
This Ambassador is equipped with the optional 360 cubic inch V-8 that is mated with Torque-Command automatic transmission. A car this nice would appear to have low mileage, but the dealer does not let us know the mileage of the car. They are asking $10,995 which has been reduced from $12,000. Are you an American Motors fan? This may be the car for you.
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Comments
Can’t be too many of these left in any condition, much less like this. Yet another for the “period-correct movie car” list. Even car people might not know what this was, if they were raised on a steady diet of Barrett-Jackson.
And here I was thinking I had seen every model of domestic car produced in the 1970’s. First time seeing one of these. It’s a beautiful car! Almost looks like a 4 door 74 roadrunner. Which would basically be a 74 satellite I guess.
I had an Ambassador like this. As the sales figures indicate while you’d see them around these were not all that common even when they were new.
This car looks great but is ungainly when you really look at that wheelbase stretch ahead of the cowl. Under the skin the only major chassis difference between this and a 1967 Rambler Rebel is the full ball-joint front suspension that was adopted in 1970. Interior dimensions and even the dashboard are the same. A plus is that working vent windows and kick panel vents are retained from the 1960s design.
There were some notable improvements for the 1972 model year. Electric windshield wipers were made standard. The old Borg-Warner automatic trans was abandoned in favor of the far superior Chrysler Torqueflite. HVAC controls were updated to a modern (for the time), logical two-lever setup. Just the year before you’d have to manipulate a confusing array of 4 levers plus a control knob to operate heat and AC.
The master cylinder has equal-size dual chambers meaning this car was factory equipped with drum brakes, which were still standard for ’72. Swapping in front discs is straightforward either using parts from a disc-equipped AMC, or something like a Scarebird kit which adapts newer, more common pieces.
Would be nice to see some underside photos. If this was always a southern car it was probably not exposed to much road salt, but the unit bodies were vicious rusters so prospective buyers will want to check carefully.
My dad had a ’70 AMC Rebel, pretty much the same car but his had the 304 V8. Almost impossible to find Rebels around anymore, with the exception of the occasional Rebel Machine (which was pretty cool).
I can find a Rebel in my garage. :)
Showing my age here,how many remember that Reed and Malloy had one of these for a season or so on Adam 12?
Actually they drove a Matador, essentially the same car of course with a shorter wheelbase and different front styling.
In 1972, after extensive tests the LAPD chose the Matador over the offerings of the Big 3. Since Adam-12 strove for technical accuracy in portraying police equipment and procedures the series changed to the Matador as well.
I remember an early episode where where Officer Malloy was telling rookie Officer Reed the technical specifications of a 383 V-8 equipped Plymouth Satellite patrol car.
If you watched the police show Adam-12 in the 1970s, then you saw Kent McCord and Martin Milner riding around LA in a police version of one of these.
Really nice AMC Ambassador and has Rambler full length clear floor mats,(very cool) I haven’t seen those in a while. I really like the color, and the dual exhausts look nice. Good luck to the new owner.
These were fine highway cars. In 1974 I transferred from the AMC zone in Chicago to the St Louis zone. When I arrived the only car available in the lot was the zone curtesy car, a loaded black on black Ambassador (essentially the same car as this one). Within a day or two the word came down from Southfield that everyone stays in their current car until further notice! Normally we changed cars every 5k miles and I was driving 50 to 60k a year back then. So for most of the next year I drove that Ambassador covering the entire zone from Springfield, MO to Springfield, IL to Terre Haute, IN. Days of the CB radios and I cannot begin to say how many times I heard myself reported as a ‘bear’! Probably put 40 or 50k on that Ambassador, one of the nicest field cars I had.
Great to see this. Dad was a district manager in the Denver zone. Not a lot of you men left.
Geezers are us!
At Hertz we leased AMCs for 4-5-6 months to boost our fleets during heavy rental periods. We did the same with Chrysler products. It was important to have this latitude in Maine/NH when Maine’s population would triple in the summer with folks from MA, NY, NJ, etc. We’d ask a renter who needed a 4-door if he’d like a new Ambassador, and invariably the response would be “A Rambler? I think NOT!” It took a lot of promotion on the part of my rental reps to get renters to enjoy a nicely-developed vehicle. I used one frequently as I went to satellite agencies throughout the states as I could pull off the road when I was sleepy, lay the seat back and sleep just as though I were in a bed. I remembered them even more fondly after my first divorce when I was sleeping in an LL Bean sleeping bag in my 18′ Glastron until I found a place to live!
If this were a year older (1971) and had the 401 police pkg., I might consider it. as it is, it’s clean as a whistle, and I know ride on these is jet smooth. Seeing crank windows almost seems archaic. One less thing to break down though.
Awesome looking car. It looks brand new, or at least beautifully restored. I’ve always found the 1970-73 AMC Ambassador to be the most attractive car offered by American Motors at the time.
Not a fan of the AMX????
I love the 1967-69 AMX and 67-70 Javelin.
I briefly drove a 1971 Ambassador as a driver education car. The school switched to the 1972 Plymouth Fury III shortly after. The big AMC had great standard features for it’s time including air conditioning. My memory of the car is that the overhang bulk combined with sloppy handling/steering feel like Buicks of that era made it hard for a beginning driver to control. Despite my bias, the car for sale is a beautiful example of a great time in automotive history
Like other American domestic vehicles of the time, the driving experience can vary greatly depending on optional equipment. The LAPD as well as other road tests of the early 1970s Matador/Ambassador found that when equipped with 401 V8, heavy-duty suspension, and front disc brakes these cars outperformed the Big 3 in terms of acceleration, handling, braking, and gas mileage. That is quite an accomplishment given AMC’s lack of resources versus their competitors.
However within a few years time the Big 3 brought out new designs while AMC could not afford to follow suit. (Or at least they chose instead to spend their limited capital on the Matador coupe and Pacer which were both flops.)
The result was the last 1978 Matadors were, aside from cosmetic and regulatory changes, identical to the 1970 models, which in turn were almost identical to the 1967 models.
Glad to see there’s a lot of love for AMC cars here, I really liked my ’68 SST. In my experience, AMC’s more often had am/fm/stereo radios, split/reclining front bench seats, air conditioning, and really cool aluminum mag wheels vs the big three. This helped, but the suspension and steering always seemed a bit underwhelming…your explanation amc guy helps to understand why.
I’m selling a rusted out Yugo for $400. Reduced from $8000.
Anyone remember that the Air Force used Ambassador sedans and wagons
for a number of years ? Stood up well to the rigors of fleet use and lasted
forever.
Six cylinders, three on the tree, absolutely zero options.
My parents had a 72 Ambassador Brougham, brand new. 304 V8, Cordoba Brown, brown vinyl top.Great mileage with the small V8 and comfortable ride. Still shorter than the 71-72 Fords, Chevrolets and Plymouths, so easier to
handle.
First year of the AMC BPP [Buyer Protection Plan].
It was a beautiful car.
The prior year when they bought their Gremlin, there was a 71 Ambassador in the showroom just like this one, but in a frost green metallic with jade green interior, I have never forgotten that car.
I hope this one has better workmanship inside than the one we had.
Showroom car was identical to this one, though it is incorrectly listed as a 72. Look at the grille pattern
If I could, I definitely would…
I just found this 1968 model in Mexico.
The interior is very interesting.
He is asking $3400 USD so I might have to go look at it. It is very nice inside and out, although it has the 6 cylinder all AMCs had in Mexico and it also has an automatic.