401 Powered! 1973 AMC Ambassador
If an AMC Ambassador isn’t 1970s-y enough for you, how about one painted Copper Tan, with patterned fabric seats, and a 401 under the hood? Perfect – that’s what we have here. This 1973 AMC Ambassador was sent to us by a Barn Finds reader who found it here on eBay in Lake Villa, Illinois. After 44 bids the current high bid is $8,467 and the reserve appears to have been met.
It may be hard to believe, but it’s true – the Ambassador had 8 official generations in just 17 model years. It was introduced in 1958 and discontinued after 1974. This 1973 model was the last year for the 7th generation. With the SST trim dropped after 1972, the Brougham trim was the lone option in 1973. There were very plain looking Ambassador 4-door sedans and station wagons, but this 2-door hardtop is a sharp look and the pick of the litter in my opinion.
The description on this one is limited, so we’ll have to largely depend on the pictures to interpret its condition. The, what I believe to be, Copper Tan paint looks presentable but a little dull. This Ambassador appears to have previously had a full vinyl top and looks to still be partially present, at least on the roof. The seller describes it as a super clean survivor.
I’m a fan of the patterned black cloth seat fabric. It’s faded, but I don’t see any rips. The balance of the interior is black and woodgrain. The carpet looks worn and faded and the steering wheel is covered in a (presumably) faux leather wrap, but other than that I’d say it fits the survivor description. The gauges are an interesting layout and I’d say the dash in general is uncharacteristically busy for the early 1970s.
What’s lurking under the hood is what makes this Amabassador special. The seller calls it “super rare” but I can’t find any production numbers for Ambassadors equipped with this 401 cubic-inch V8. Power is sent to the rear wheels by a column-shifted automatic transmission. The carburetor has recently been replaced, but there are no details on the running and driving condition.
Limited descriptions always give me pause, but the seller appears to be responding to questions. If you’re local to this car it may be worth a close inspection. This one is definitely a departure from the normal and I’m sure you’d be a standout at the cruise nights in it.
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Comments
Say what you will, you Big 3 followers, but this was/is one sharp car. If I may correct the author, the Ambassador name goes back to 1927, when it was Nash’s top of the line car. Fact is, I think, the Ambassador was the longest running name for a car. The 401 needs no explanation, it kept up with the best, and folks in Wisconsin were mighty proud of this car, AMC’s best offering, and did their best to make a quality product. Any car used as a police car should bolster that fact. And to ,,,( chuckle) think,,someone( chuckling louder) would pay $10g’s for a Suzuki Samari, or even more ridiculous, THIRTY GRAND for an old Power Wagon, and not consider this. I know, different market, but these were very nice cars.
Howard, good points and agreement here. I have ALWAYS been a huge fan of these Ambassadors but prefer the 4 door. This car is a great deal, with some performance potential, and a FAR better deal than that Suzuki.
Actually I’ve always liked the 2-door model better. The 4-door version has an unfortunate-looking kickup in the rear half that looks like it was tacked on by a committee. (The original 1967 design for the 4-door had a much smoother look. Wagons retained the original design to the end.) The dash and gauges date to 1967.
Totally agree with you Howard A. The car presents itself well. Reverse C pillar (chrysler 67-fasttop). Looks much better on this AMC.
That’s a certified beauty right there
It’s AMC day on Barn Finds .
I REALLY LIKE IT! These,to me,were always
cool looking cars.
I remember passing by one just West of Cave Junction,Oregon
many times,& always meant to stop & check it out.Of course it was gone
before I did.
the seams on the C pillars, I assume/hope this car had a vinyl top at one point? Not sure of the HP and torque #’s on that 401, but I like it.
Still does (same colr as the body) although a portion appears to have been torn away
The woodgrain background of the speedometer is possibly the most 1970s thing I’ve ever seen.
Nice ride, plenty of style and pop under the hood. Hey, it’s got the dual snorkel air cleaner, sharp. These were almost invisible when I became of driving age or even before where I came from(southern Cally), I would have been interested in them,,,, especially one like The Machine from the other day.
That air cleaner looks a lot like the ones found on 383 and 440 hi-po motors, doesn’t it?
Exactly what I was thinking , Dave. Always thought AMC had a bit cruder looking ones, for lack of a better description.
I’ve certainly never seen an air cleaner like that from the factory on an AMC car. Looks pretty good on this one though!
Is this built on the same platform as the Rebel Machine?
I would like to see a race between the 2 cars.
Surprising no hood insulation or cruise control.
I don’t think i ever seen a ’60s-’70’s brown or bronze car with grey seats – are those seat covers really original?, considering how the color grey has taken over too many jellybean & other modern cars inside in the last 30 years.
I’m willing to bet those seats were brown once.
Yes, under the skin the Rebel, Matador, and Ambassador are all the same car from 1967-on.
The Machine by a fender, Joe, maybe not the 360 swapped one here the other day but The Machine,,,,just sounds so right for a factory street racer doesn’t it!
Not sure about the color thing but the more I look at it the more I like it.
I don’t recall ever seeing one of these coupes, even back in the day. Great looking car, the design is very eye catching today, and would have been then as well. Very surprised that I have never noticed one before, and I have always been fond of AMCs. They must have sold very few.
This one deserves a closer look for sure. Anyone could pilot her with pride. Sharp.
Love the model, not the color combo. Holy low effort flip, when I see it’s not washed I wonder what else they decided wasn’t worth doing.
This looks like a winner, very unique. The 401 had compatible power to its bigger rivals. If I remember correctly, the early 70s Matadors with this engine were quite popular as police cruisers.
Although the Company offered police cars since Nash days they were rarely seen outside the region of the Kenosha factory and in the Superman TV show. However, after extensive testing versus the Big 3 competition, the LAPD selected the Matador for police car duty in 1972 and quite a few other police departments followed suit. You can see them in later seasons of the series “Adam-12” since that show featured realistic period police equipment.
https://www.imcdb.org/i048280.jpg
The 401 is a good performer but suffers from a drawback common to all AMC generation 2 and 3 V8 engines. For reasons known only to the designers, oil is fed to the top end of the engine before the bottom end. There is no problem in normal driving, but under severe high-speed, wide-open throttle conditions these engines tended to starve the main bearings for oil with catastrophic results. People who race AMC V8s have developed modifications to the oiling system to prevent this. The Alabama state police, which ran 401-equipped Javelins, simply put pipe cleaners in the pushrods to increase oil pressure to the mains!
https://www.hemmings.com/stories/article/alabama-hammah-amc-javelin
I disagree, the oiling system is fine and those oiling system mods with hoses or tubes cause more problems that they solve. All that is needed is to chase the oiling holes out with a drill.
Thank you AMC guy, that was educational. It sounds like the Ford y block oiling problem in reverse.
THIS is a rare car!!!! Anything less than $20,000 is a DEAL!!
This car would be perfect if it had buckets and console. Never was a fan of bench seats unless maybe on a land yacht. Having a 401 doesn’t hurt either except trying to pass gas stations!
No console/floor shift available on Ambassador after 1970.
And I believe that the Ambassador was the first car made in America the had A/C as standard equippment.
Correct
WHAT?!? No mention of the *GASP* vertical radio???? LOL!! :-)
Dad was a big AMC fan. I can remember him owning 4 different ones in the years I was at home. The last AMC dad owned was an Ambassador station wagon. I don’t remember the exact year but it could have been a ‘73. It had good lines and a very appealing blue paint. I like this car even more even if the seat upholstery seems a little out of whack with the rest of the car.
It sold for a high bid of $8,667. That seemed like a good deal.
I guess AMC fans didn’t see the value. I can’t imagine any other midsized domestic car, in similar condition, from that era with the highest performance engine available selling for so little.
Steve R
Exactly. Basically it sold for less than a rusted out Mopar, non running one of course. Great for buyers though.
A friend of mine back in the late 70’s had an AMC very similar to this. It was bright yellow with a black vinyl top. Believe it also had high back black cloth super comfortable bucket seats with console automatic. Cragars with 60’s all the way around. That car was cool and classy with AC and tinted glass too. Awesome!
Someone stole that