Every time I see a photo like this, I wonder how many nice old vehicles are still hidden away, there must be thousands of them just waiting for someone to come along and make them an offer they can’t refuse. This 1969 AMC Ambassador SST sedan is listed here on eBay in Edgemoor, South Carolina, there is no reserve, and the current bid price is $5,995 with five days left on the auction.
Here we go! For anyone who was worried about this car being a faded and rusty junkbomb, you can see that it doesn’t appear to be, now at least. There is an issue under the vinyl top, however, and that will be a fairly big job to remedy that rust and reskin this roof. The seller says that the opening photo was taken in 2016 after the car was taken out of its hiding spot where it had been since 2001. The original owner had the car restored in the early-1990s, according to the seller, and that did include some rust repairs. They say that the front-end bushings should be replaced if the next owner will be doing a lot of driving.
The seller is the third owner and the original owner of this car traded in their 1966 Ambassador to buy it. The fifth-generation (1965-’66) is my personal favorite AMC Ambassador, but as with pool or pond, there is no bad choice. 1969 was the first year for the seven-generation Ambassador and by then, AMC offered “free” air-conditioning on these cars, or “standard”, I should say because I’m sure the price was built in somehow. The Ambassador was and still is a very nice car, and was known as a Kenosha Cadillac by more than a few. AMC even did print ads showing the Ambassador along with a Rolls-Royce, listing all of their similar features but with a $16,682 price difference, which is $137,200 today.
The seller says that these are the original gray velour seats, and vinyl or brocade fabric would have been the other choices. We don’t often see cars from the 1960s with velour seats so it’s interesting to see them here. The back seat looks similar and just as nice. The trunk could use some detailing to bring it up to car show quality like the rest of the car. This one has a Borg Warner three-speed automatic transmission with a column selector.
The engine was the top dog for AMC in this car, their 390-cu.in. OHV V8 – only available in the AMX, the Javelin SST, and the Ambassador SST – and would have been factory-rated at 315 horsepower and 425 lb-ft of torque when new. The seller says that they think it’s original and hasn’t been rebuilt, and it does have a few drips here and there and burns some oil, but runs great. The air-conditioning works for a couple of weeks but then warms up again so something is leaking there, too. Someone stole the original air cleaner, but maybe one could be found on car-part.com. It looks like there’s one in Connecticut but it’s for a 348 343 (sorry, typo, thanks for catching that, Howard!) V8 or somewhere else online. Any thoughts on this nice-looking Ambassador SST?
My 69′ AMX Go Pak had both this 390ci engine and 3 speed borg-warner automatic. My block was actually a Cleveland and aluminum. Looks like the original Carter Carberator which is awful. Looks like rust in the engine compartment, look to the pullys. That’s a good value.. I say 5-8k. This was the height of AMC before their demise.
Not to shabby for an old Rambler..
jv-smash palace
A Cleveland aluminum block in an AMC? Are you sure you’re not daydreaming about a Ford in your past?
Where’s Wisconsin Howards .02 ?
Nice
Cool car.Don’t see these that often especially a 390 sst.I’d just do a vinyl fix the rust under it and touch the rockers up.Paint the trunk after taking care of the surface rust too.Go thru the usuals and suspension.This would make a nice driver.Don’t know what these go for but I’d guess 10-15 k being a more door which I like.glwts.
Simply can’t resist. This was, in a highly optioned form, the same car as the old mans ex-forest ranger car, essentially, a green cop car. The AMX 390, was used in pursuit cars, and had plenty of steam. Some sites say the AMX 390 put out 325 hp. Only the 401 was a tick higher at 330hp. That car could lay 2 strips of rubber for a block. I bet one of Fritzs nephews found THAT out. We called it the “burnout king”, although the old man couldn’t understand why the back tires wore so fast. We put them on the front and said , “gee dad, must be an alignment issue”..He never figured it out.
Once again here, Uncle Fritz and Auntie Ethels car. No kids. My analogy of AMC/Rambler being a midwest car, holds water here, and most of these buyers were repeat buyers, as mentioned. It certainly looks nice for 143K, if so, Fritz and Ethel made a few trips out east.
Couple things, ( I HATE correcting this guy, he’s forgotten more than I know), but the moniker was also “Kenosha”K”adillac( the “K” for Cadillac was the joke), and it was 343 V8, not 348. Forgive me, my friend, nice car and by all rights should be in Scottys garage!
Wow! This car cleaned up nicely! I think so many flippers could see a real boost in profit/interest by giving their vehicles a good detailing like this seller did.
I’ve driven this car. I almost bought it at a nationals last year.
My mom and dad had a 68 Rebel SST with a 390. Dad special ordered it. Mom shut down many of Bowties and FOMOCO with it. 66 Lincoln T-Boned it after running a red light.
Seems like a great buy, even with the roof rust. I would try to repair the roof before resorting to reskinning it. With fresh vinyl to cover it up, nobody would know it was repaired with POR-15 and fiberglass.
I don’t believe AMC ever promoted the A/C as “free.” They promoted it as “standard” or “no extra cost,” and it could be deleted for credit.
This is a real clean AMC. My Granparents had them (Rambler, Ambassador, Rebels and a Matadoor and we had Rebels and a Hornet, so this brings back fond memories. The interior in this is amazing. Theirs had cloth seats but with patterns. This looks much nicer and has AC? I hope it goes to a good home.
Looks like it cleaned up nice. To me bidding has already hit its value under $6k I hope the new owner enjoys it
Could we get a smokey burnout video please?
Remember looking at these in 1970 at our local amc dealer.. Started my career at IBM in April 70… Was still driving a 63 Mercury comet s22 convertible my brother had given me… Ended up at another local import dealer and got a used 69 ah sprite.. Liked the amc line back then
Nice, the ’69 sedans weren’t hit with the ugly stick that came later giving the car a much more pronounced and unfortunate kickup at the rear doors. However the wheelbase was extended ahead of the cowl to make the car “larger”. Looking at a side view you’d almost think it had a straight eight under the hood!
I see this car was ordered with the optional electric wipers – a Prestolite setup for which parts are scarce. This car still has the upper trunnion front suspension, the last year. For 1970 the Company went to twin ball joints on all models.
All in all, looks like a great find!
Ultimate Kenosha Cadillac! Parents had a ‘70 Ambassador DPL wagon, wasn’t anywhere near as classy as this.
Gosh – the paint on this car looks really nice! The seats have been redone with velour, it appears, rather than grey vinyl – but that should be more comfortable. Overall – really nice! Good find! How often do you even see one of these??
That’s what I thought, S, but they’re original velour fabric. AMC offered velour in this car, believe it or not. I didn’t think they did but they’re shown in this brochure:
https://www.lov2xlr8.no/brochures/amc/69amc/bilder/4.jpg
Looks like a really clean car. I find 4 door big block cars interesting. Could be a fun sleeper. For the price I would go for it.
Brian, no ‘big block’ AMCs…
I had a ’71 4dr with a 401 police engine.
As Sam stated, it would beat many; and
particularly unsuspecting 340 Darts and
Dusters. Its only drawback was the FMX
automatic; heavy and breakable… But it
seemed to never run out of power!
I’m about 99.9% positive this is a friend of mine’s father’s car. He [the father] was the original owner. I keep telling my friend he should buy it but alas, no garage space… Maybe he could shed some light on it’s history. His dad lived in Massachusetts.
Love that color!
I would rebuild the engine,sounds like it needs it,maybe the trans too and a little front end work and thats it.hard to find any of these AMCs anymore,much less in this condition.there are no resto parts catalogs for AMCs.This car is a real jewel.
my friend reached out today. It is his dads car. I believe it was sold to an acquaintance of the family, then to the current owner. Not being a car guy he couldn’t add much…
Velour seats not common. The add says front end bushings are bad but can be fixed since it is the same as a Rebel Machine. The front end can be repaired, but it is not the same as a Rebel Machine or any other 1970 AMC.
Just over 17,000 390 motors installed in 1969. With probably about 15,000 installed in AMXs, Javelins & SC/Ramblers, that leaves about 2,000 in Ambassadors. A very rare car.
I know the seller and he is well know in the AMC community. This car was at the AMO nationals last year and I had a good look at it. If you’re looking for one, you can be sure that this one is as good or better than how the seller is presenting it.
SOLD for $6,999.
Thanks, PRA4SNW!