The 1972 AMC Ambassador SST Sedan seen here is located in beautiful, historic Richmond, Virginia. This beautiful, historic Ambassador is listed on eBay with a current bid price of just over $600 and five days left on the auction.
This is a seventh-generation Ambassador and they were made from 1969 to 1973. The 1974 Ambassador was the eighth, and last-generation, and the last of its kind. The final Ambassador rolled off the assembly line in Kenosha, Wisconsin in June of 1974.
The seller says that the “odometer shows 23,772.” Could it possibly be a 23,772 mile car? They do mention that there are a few places where rust is rearing its ugly head. Not to mention that the vinyl top could use some help. But, “the floors and trunk are rust free.” It sure looks great on the exterior, and in most of the interior photos.
The interior also looks great, but there is a split in the seams on the passenger side. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a passenger seat area wear out before the driver’s side does.
This is AMC’s 304 V8 with 150 hp and 245 ft-lb of torque. The seller says that this car “runs and shifts great”, but the “A/C needs recharge.” 1972 was when AMC broke the rules and offered a 12-month/12,000 mile bumper-to-bumper warranty! It’s hard to believe that now, just like it’s hard to believe that we had to actually roll up our own windows back then; the horror! This looks like a nice car for a weekend cruiser with enough tinkering to do on it to make it interesting. Are there any AMC Ambassador fans out there?
Why did AMC break the rules with a 12 month/12k mile warranty? I think all cars had that and I seem to recall that at one point warranties were offered for 36 months/36k miles.
From what I read about the 1972 AMCs, they were the first to offer a 12-month or 12,000 mile bumper-to-bumper warranty.
Here’s an excerpt from the below NY times link about 1960’s car warranties: “Paradoxically, it was the escalating price of parts and labor that put an end to the last warranty war, touched off in the 1960’s when Chrysler introduced a free five‐year or 50,000‐mile guarantee on all of its cars. The other companies followed suit, and it was several years before costs prompted the auto makers to go back to 12‐mopth or 12,000‐mile protection.” I also seem to remember when there was 3 yr/36k miles but I don’t know if it was in the 60’s or not.
http://www.nytimes.com/1979/04/29/archives/new-jersey-weekly-about-cars-warranty-war-the-warranty-war.html?_r=0
They had what you call the buyer protection plan. They gave you a loaner car plus paid for your hotel room if your car failed out of town. Also I think it was 2/24. Don’t quote me.
The two year 24K mile warranty was available at extra cost on AMC.
“A/C needs recharge.” lol
the #1 ac statement on used cars….the stuff leaked out somehow, ac needs fixed. if you get a flat tire, filling it up with air does not fix the problem:) LOL I have a car over 30 years old, the ac still blows cold, freon does not just evaparate away.:)
Hi DAN, I know, I chuckle at that too. You must live in a warm climate and use your a/c often, as being from a colder climate, ( Wis.) I’ve found, it’s the lack of use that causes the problem. I’m no expert and I’m not sure where the stuff goes, compressor seals maybe, but older a/c systems were pretty unreliable in older cars, up north anyway, where you only used it a dozen times a year.
It could be a slow leak that took 44 years to totaly leak out ,unlike a tire
I’m not normally a fan of this type of land barge, but I actually like the clean, understated lines of this one.
Yeah it’s the old chestnut, the “recharge” business – I tell people ” it’s clicks when turned on – that’s the best I can say” – the reason I, they, and everybody else says that (or the ubiquous ” recharge”) is because they know what Mr a/c told the previous owner – “it’s gotta leak somewhere – gotta start diggin’ ” and everybody knows that = $$$$$$ – so we do the dance. Could not care less about a/c in an oldie – rather have a window down – new heaps, well that’s another story.
a/c repair for the do it your self er, is not hard.
just like a motor rebuild, you just need to learn how it’s done.
and get the right tools:) a set of hi/low gauges is a must to tell what is going on.
…..(r-r-u-)SST….
I love it for the vent windows alone. It does make one wonder how much the bidding will go. The car is a four door and of a decidedly unpopular make. Restoration costs would be out of the question if resale and profit are your goals.Flippers and greed have ruined the hobby.
Fortunately for AMC enthusiasts, Flippers and Profit Hounds will steer clear of this nice off-brand car.
No Adam-12 fans out there? ( I know, we’ve beat the Adam-12 thing to death) Scotty’s heard this story, but my old man had a car like this, only an ex-forest ranger car, that had all the pursuit package stuff ( except it was green, of course)390 AMX motor,( Adam-12 had 401’s) automatic, posi-traction, even the spotlight. That car was pretty plain, rubber mat floor, no trim, but we dubbed it “The Burnout King”. That car would lay 2 stripes for a block, no lie. Had it up to a hundred on the “speed run” once.( white knuckles with bias-ply tires) Dependable, but not the best. AMC already was starting to slide a little, ( except for the Gremlin, which was still a hot seller) but these were still very nice cars equipped like this. Very popular in Wis. but not around the country, as shown by the lack of interest here. No way on the mileage. The 2 and 3 are like a notch off, and that usually happens when the mileage is over 100 or has been turned back :O Still, a nice cheap car here.
Adam 12 was Matadors.
Thanks, Mark. Ambassador, Matador, what’s the difference? Slap a little more trim on a Matador and VOILA! Ambassador. Wait. Maybe it’s t’other way round. Take some trim off the Ambassador, and VOILA, Matador. I think the Adam-12 cars were ’73’s, and the last cruiser’s we would see them in. RIP Marty.
Recently I was foolish enough to charge the AC on a car that had non-working AC, it had some obvious leaking “O” rings. Yes, I did get it to blow cold. By the next day, the front seal on the compressor blew out and all the expensive gas went into the atmosphere. Ultimately, I bought a R134 conversion kit with a new compressor, etc.
Hi DH, thanks for helping deplete the ozone layer. Just kidding.( I think auto a/c system loss is a small portion of why the ozone layer is depleting. I knew a guy that worked in a factory that had “massive freon blowoffs”) I get a kick out of those “Walmart recharge kits”. I’m sure the makers of those things are shopping for a new mansions with what they make on that stuff. They rarely work, kind of like that “schlum gooey” you put in tires to seal them. Always a mess when you finally take them apart. ( because they still leak) I’d like to make the people that use that junk dismount the tires themselves,,,,as punishment for using that.
put new tires on my HD. rear mag was gouged(not me!) sanded as best i could.would hold up for 2wks.+ slimed it no leaks been 2yrs.put left over slime in my 10spds tubes.patches won’t hold to slimed tubes. had alien blood on my Tshirt! got me home from park 3miles away though.put other brand in leaky frnt. tube yrs. ago.your right! what a mess.
I always liked this series of the Ambassador. I even had a model car of the ’70 edition. As stated above, the clean lines always impressed me.
This era, for àll the brands, just bulged out past the wheels/tires. We didn’t notice it at the time, but generally speaking, 1965 was the last year for tight body lines.
Fairlanes, Chevelles, Skylarks etc, they all just got wide in the flanks àfter that. I don’t recall the cars being roomier inside, they just got wider. The wheels/tires of the day didn’t keep up. The cars, from that era, look like they’re on stilts.
Howard A, Ambassador/Matador the same plus or minus trim? Yes but.. The Ambassador was the top of the line AMC and came with more standard equipment then the lower priced Matador. At the time you were buying a name like Cadillac which even that has been replaced. Now it’s Camry.
It was the first car other then a Cadillac to offer a/c as standard equipment. In 1972 AMC offered the Buyer Protection Plan. 12 month 12,000 miles bumper to bumper. Their advertising was simply that We build them better and back them better. Also if you had to compete with the Big 3 What would you do? Very effective.
These were (and are) nice cars in their day. Clean examples of a sedan are not that hard to find with low miles. Same body between 1970-1978 In fact a friend purchased a 74 Matador one owner with 36,000 miles for only $1200. Beautiful interior, No rust only needing paint to be show worthy. Yeah I should have bought it. I would prefer the 360 engine to quickly get it to highway speed. Forget 390’s or 401’s. They were available but are rare.
These as well as the Matadors came in a more desirable two door hardtops. I saw a very nice one owner two door ht 72 Matador and sold for under $3000. They are out there.
As far as the Police pursuit Matadors I read an article about the LAPD police drivers training school. It related to the Best all around Cop cars. In the instructors words he said the Matadors were the best all around cars. In fact much better then the older Plymouth’s they replaced. In fact two Matadors were kept for training long after the fleet was replaced in around 1980. He said you could beat and beat on them and they would always perform.
This is a 71, not a 72. The grille pattern of the 72 has a defined cross hatch grille pattern.
72s also have a square speedometer cluster.