Real Road Test: Ambassador vs Princess Pt2: Ambassador time! 

My grandfather, a manager in the foundry at Leyland motors, had a long string of 'BL' vehicles and bought a cream A reg ambassador vandem plas with a cream interior to replace an Ital estate. My family owned an A reg metro 1.0L, but we borrowed the ambassador with attached caravan on a yearly basis. My father never stopped talking about the wizardry which was the automatic choke. My other grandfather owned a white Y reg ambassador with burgundy interior I traveled in frequently also. What a time it was to be alive

A very well informed chap this , in regard to 1970s and 80s cars , and certainly an enthusiast . I've only been watching for a few weeks , but I really like his videos !

The first sight of the front mud flaps takes me back to when I thought I'd guaged a hole in the door of my Dad's Ambassador when reversing onto a drive. I was releived to discover I had just ripped off a front mudflap reversing up a full height curb. I learnt to drive in one of these. Happy days.

Well done for rescuing these two cars from the scrap yard. They were built during a troubled times for British Leyland, so although not the greatest example of automotive engineering, they nonetheless should be preserved. Thanks for not dropping a piano on them!

The car is 40 years old so it is always going to be prone to trim rattles. I ran a 1.7 litre Ambassador for four years and was never bothered with any such noises, never found the manual gearchange any worse than any other FWD car and found the car to quiet, comfortable, held the road well, was extremely reliable and handled far better than anything Ford had at the time. In 50+ years of motoring it still ranks as one of the best most unforgettable cars I've ever owned.

I've now got John Shuttleworth's song stuck in my head!

What a lovely inviting interior, so bright and airy.

My family were so loyal to BL for years. But the last British car that my Dad had was a Maestro. Every time you closed the door the dashboard popped up and down. He got a Datsun Cherry after that.

Yet again an informative, interesting and fun video. Most importantly for me though is that every HubNut video makes me feel at home, no matter where in the world I am. Thanks Ian.

It’s funny,but when I first saw a Princess in the mid 70’s on my way to the paper shop with my Dad to get the Sunday Papers and my pick of one Matchbox toy Car in a small cardboard box, one drove past and as a six year old I thought it was the most fantastic looking car i’d ever seen. It’s the kind of stupid thing you think of when your six living on a 1970’s Council Estate 🤷‍♂️

This car was right next to where I used to work. Always wanted to buy it. Did knock and ask more than once. So glad to see it like this.

A pleasure to spend time with you. Glad I didn’t work for BL/Austin Rover, it must have been terribly frustrating!

I love seeing old family cars which have been cherished. Good to see both the Princess and Ambassador. Excellent video again :-)

YES!!!! I had a friend (back in the day) who owned a Princess & replaced it with a brown Ambassador. It was a perfect for him - he was a market trader and the hatchback was like a dream come true!

A piece of Leyland history saved, is better than one that is graved. A very difficult historic comparison, but made easier Hubnut style. Absolutely top notch Sir 👍 Tam.

Winter is Coming, no knees and leaves on the ground. A refilm and two shoots in this one. What a man. Thank you. Shame no one mixed the "best" of one with the best of the other. I have to admit I did think about purchasing a Princess with a hatch conversion. It was very expensive. Ended up with a Dolomite. Note the Princess had a lower lip on the hatchback

I love how you get a car that’s rare, then, then you get us a second one, how do you do it??? Brilliant.

The most eagerly-awaited Hubnut video, yet.... IN THE WOOOORLD.

I had an early Sierra 2.0 GL auto, Y reg, bought 3 years old. Loved it. One of the best cars I have owned. However, it also had only 3 gears (the 4 speed auto came a bit later). And that was it's only weakness. For a fairly high spec model the revs at cruising speed were a bit high. (So the problem was not unique to the Ambassador). Interestingly, about the same time (83 model year I believe) Ford released a new 3 speed auto for the FWD Escort, which later I also owned. With that they gave it a very high final drive ratio. It made top gear like an overdrive. Lovely quiet cruising. But to achieve that, there was yawningly wide gaps in the ratios. I got on well with it though. Including 2 trips to Italy. I also towed my 4.8m caravan extensively around the UK. Interesting different approaches to engineering a 3 speed auto.

I had one of these at age 17 in 1993 was like a rolls to a new driver back then.

Well researched and well presented , as always. Lovely to see those fine survivors, trim rattles and all. Thank you HubNut.

"A symphony of crap plastic" Brilliant!

It is AMAZING Ian, that throughout the 60s and 70s, Britain held to these strange little 4cyl, overtaking them with bigger bodies etc. I was lucky enough to grow up with 6 and 8cyl vehicles here in Australia. Mind you, Holden hung on to their 6cyl in various forms from 64 to85/86? Ford Australia however had the "Grandpa's axe" theory with their 6cyl starting in the early 60s till 2016!

Interesting, amusing and informative video for car enthusiasts, keep up the good work, and we love your commentary. Really pleased people look after, or preserve any car - these cars included. Kudos. Many thanks Ian.

Well worth the wait , thanks for going to all the trouble mr Hubnut! Nice to see inside one of these properly. I remember them being about (in various states of decreptitude) when I was a lad (always the car nerd), but sadly by the time I was tall enough to look in they had all disappeared. But im afraid the wolseley has it for me, ghost light on the grille? nuff said!

glad you were able to get this one to us, we never had these and the Ambassador we had was made by American Motors (Nash, Rambler)...and it was huge.

Thanks buddy enjoyed pt2 too. No worries on the mitakes, you're only human driving an inhumane thing! cheers fella!

Ahhh finally part 2, reminds me of eagerly awaiting for sequels to films i liked back in the day.. Nice example in good nick,looks bigger than i remember and really like the simple clean dash binnacle layout and comfy seats.

Definitely prefer the Wolseley Princess... I never liked the front end on the Ambassador. The ideal would have just been to do a Princess with a hatchback and rear quarterlights.

The long awaited second part. Goody.

If that was the Vanden Plas spec, I shudder to think what the base model was like. The cheap plastic VP badge on the steering wheel was monstrous and said a lot about BL.

Great to see the comparisons. A friend of mine was on the design team for the Ambassador and he was teling me quite recently that he remembers they had some great ideas for the car and it would have been much better had it not been for the management coming along saying no. no, no and definately not! Being less than perfect makes for a more interesting car, thank you.

"You seen Bob's torque wrench, Bob?" "No, Bob." (Very obscure reference for those who know!)

Monsieur, with zis Ambassadors, you are really spoiling us!

Finally ! Part 2 ! - I've been waiting weeks for this !

Big cars like this need a sweet 6 under the bonnet. Just feels luxurious. The Princess also has nicer seats.

They did a very good job on the restoration, I like how clean the engine compartment is. I think it’s a very cool looking car.

Bought back many happy memories. Dad bought both. A princess 1800 hl in sandglow. PYV 738 R followed by a 1700L ambassador in red with spotlights built into the grille. UBL 813 Y. At one point we had 4 BL products on the drive at the same time.

A friend of a friend was a designer at BL. Apparently they were all 'gung ho' to do major work and designs but were only given tiny trim changes to do. They wanted to keep the designers but god forbid if they actually did any real work. Sounds more like management cowardice than anything else.

This has got to be one of your best video,s ,information overload ! Great stuff matey !😀

When I was young I considered this to be the most hideous car in existence. With today's cars, it's roughly middling. It's got nothing on a Nissan Puke.

have to say I love them both, wish modern cars had a soft ride and plush seats

I had a1.7 hl back in 1986, and to be honest, I loved it. I drove it often from Ipswich to KLB in Sutherland with the wife 3 kids 2 dogs and while I kept it to about 60 mph, it never rattled like the one in your video. I have to say it was under powered ( tried towing a caravan once ) it got you where you wanted to go, and it was comfortable. I whish I still had it, as it proved to be more reliable than my BMW E91 ( timing chain issue ).

Owned two Ambassadors and loved them both. One was written off when hit by a lorry, the other let me down when the suspension collapsed in Port Glasgow

'Don't keep asking me why, Reg, it just happens to be that year . . '

14:52 "If only there were a magic cable to make it pop back up again" Ian! You missed the classic opportunity to run the "tape" backwards and we could have watched the seat magically go back into the upright position...

This is a super informative, enjoyable vid. Thank you HN!

Great video, full on Hubnut material here. I remember both Princess and Ambassador and whilst pretty poor in their day, they have a certain charm now. Oh dear Mr HubNut, every video sees me heading off to eBay to see whether any of your wondrous choices survive and are affordable! PS - calendar arrived today - ITS ACE!

From that angle at the end the white one looks a little bit like an early Nissan bluebird. The big difference being that the Bluebird was reliable and it had a 5-speed box

A great video Ian! I love wedges such a lot

Cannot help think that a late Maxi 1750 top spec would be just as good if not better. We had the use of one a few years back with twin SU carbs. I really loved that car.

KWAK I like the number plate...and an 'AWK. Ducks and so on. Or a new super hero for the auto Ambassador 'Awk Boy. This was such a brilliant bit of motoring journalism. I really was in that car with you and enjoyed the ride very much. Thanks HubNut.

I really like the looks of the ambassador now,yet when I was a youngen I would have been critical . I liked the princess as a friends mum had one and it was very comfortable

Oh, my goodness! I didn't think we would ever see this, due to technical difficulties, but this may well be the best premiere on RU-vid ever. Not only do we have two Austin Ambassadors, both with Austin Rover fleet registrations, but one of them is a Y-Reg and the John Shuttleworth song was actually quoted. Does it get any better than this?

Great come back! I live in Burton on Trent and I’ve never seen that car kicking about🙁 I shall certainly keep an eye out for it from now on... 0 to 60 didn’t seem too shabby! I do rather like the Ambassador despite its evident short comings. I’m also delighted that the great Hubnut has graced the very streets I frequent daily (even if those streets aren’t the most pleasant in the country😂)

The memories my dad had a blue A reg in the early 90s. Thanks ian fantastic video.

Thank you so much for the two wedge tests! :-) I prefer the 6 cylinder sound of the original 2200 wedge from the 1970s :-)

Oh Ambassador, you are spoiling us. ; -)

Worth the wait. That feature of the folding seat handle in the boot in recent years has re appeared. The seats are also slightly under tension so that when you pull the handle they flip without assistance.

Brilliant...great video. Thanks for doing this!👍

Always really liked those alloys.

Always loved the styling of the Ambassador, it looked like a solid motorway cruiser of pure luxury from the outside, only today I realise it was fairly gutless with minimal trimmings. I don't understand the specification it clearly needed to be more powerful than it was with a bigger engine and 5 speed box. I loved so many of the British Leyland and Austin Rover cars but this one is a bit harder to love. I can see some charm in it but its annoyingly flawed in concept. Still very enjoyable to see one taken for a spin, very nostalgic.

Your videos are such a delight. Wonderful gentle entertainment, in the very best possible sense. Thank you.

I love this channel. Another fantastic video!

The first car I drove after passing my test was a Morris Princess 2200 auto. I can remember the lovely comfy seats, the smooth 6 cylinder engine and the pretty poor fuel economy. It was one of a fleet of ex-Wimbledon cars used to ferry players around. I think the Princess has aged better than the Ambassador!

Austin Ambassador Y Reg is the car that I revere...

That is the car I used to drive past everyday going to and from home. It was about 200 yards from where I lived in Tovil in Maidstone back in the early 2000's. Can't believe that it has so much history. I remember wishing I had the cash to buy it. I recall him having a Morris Ital estate there at some point as well.

This is my preference out of the two of them and much more comfortable and handling. When you get back from your jollies I’ll get in touch about road testing my Reno’s etc. Great video as always.

Oh Joy! So good to see this Ian. You are a star. Thing is, you've made me reassess my opinion of this car now. I fully intended to make some quip about 80's BL junk. After some more thought (which takes a while for me these days) I have decided that pehaps I shouldn't be so disingenuous towards that poor thing. After all, none of choose our parents, do we? We all know tha BL and all its other iterations were a disaster. However, some of the cars could have been very nice given a better chance at life. I think that the Princess/Ambassador range is possibly one of the most "misunderstood" models of all. The shape could be said to be ugly or just plain daft but maybe the designers were being daring in trying to give us something different in a contemporary sea of dull. OK, the Wolesley was a bit ungainly at the front but the lesser models weren't so bad. When the body was redesigned as the Ambassador It looked a whole lot better with the adoption of the rear quarter glasss and it should have been a hatchback from the start really. The problem is that it just looked bland when compared to the Princess with the details being so plain as to be almost invisible. Look at the grille, plain is an understatement. The intreior was very comfortable and spacious. With the sseats folded you had a pretty good van. I used ours to help move house. The build quality was junk of course. Bits constantly fell off or stopped working. I can't count how many times I had to reattach the plastic around the heater controls. The seats were very nice but, again, I was always fiddilinig with the runners to be able to move the seat backwards and forwards. The suspension worked very well. It had a very good ride compared to my father's Hunter or the Cavalier that followed. It rolled around a bit in corners but it was never meant to be a sports car. On a good A road or motorway it was great. Even around town it smotthed the worst surfaces well. We had the lowest of the low, 1.7L with no extras. The biggest problem was the lack of power steering. It was SO heavy when parking that my wife could not reverse out of a space herself. And she is a good driver so no comments please. I was speaking to a salesman at a BL (Rover) dealer a few years after we sold the car, and he told me that they inflated the front tyres to about 40 PSI so that anyone test driving that model could at least turn the steering wheel! Eeek! Was it a bad car or just a car that was poorly developed and put toghether by a workforce who, by that time, couldn't give a damn about the company or its products? The basic elements were absolutely there. Yes, it needed a batter engine and a five speed box without doubt. Most of all, it needed a lot more money, or at least some money, spent on the development and tooling. I kind of feel sorry for the poor Ambassador. Maybe it should have a party to celebrate it's differences. Just bring chocolates.

Practicality is not king, Spen is king.

Brings back memories, I owned a Pricess 2.0HL then also had a couple of Ambassadors a 2.0HL then a 2.0VP in the same red colour you have.. Not sure about the HLS versions but the VP had twin carbs vs single in the L & HL if I recall. Chrome strip on bonnet and the wooden capping in the interiors were actually very nice.

Im really loving your vids! riding along with you via the camera reminds me of the days when you only had the one mate with a car and you would stick 3 quid the tank and drive around,love it!

I've been looking forward to this since I watched the Princess review. Lovely motors these, I can't remember when I last saw one. Re the grille badge, I'm fairly sure this denotes Austin-Morris and was used in adverts from around the second half of the 1970s. I think the Austin-Rover badge has 2 extra green ticks and was used from 1987. How many were replaced on grilles upside down!

I like the interiors of those Ambassadors. Simple dash layout. Reminds me of the Tagora.

Love the Ambassador. All we were missing was the Terry and June soundtrack.

The video we've all been waiting for.

I love a beige dash. Especially in SD1s.

I refuse to be a number 2 primed and ready!

I have fond memories of my Grandad's Y plate Ambassador 1.7 L, that he bought when it was 3 years old, it didn't rattle, it was quiet, and it was good on the motorway, now I know not all BL cars are well put together, I've owned several, but my Grandad must have bought a good one. Anyway, he sold it to my Mum's husband, who then wrote it off! Sad end to a good car, well good to me and my Grandad. By the way, really loved this video, thanks for sharing it with us.👍👍

Glad you managed to recover the footage Ian, another excellent video! Safe travels for New Zealand (when you go).

It’s actually an appealing shape, also it looks more modern in white, a colour that I think really suits this car!!!.

Old man had the 2.0 HLS, Thought it was great, huge room in the back,

Brilliant video as always.

Great review absolutely enjoyed it.👍

The front end of the Ambassador looks like a Mk3 Ford escort

At one point i thought it sounded like there was an old Perkings diesel lurking under the bonnet.

Hooray ! you made it. We got the Ambassador video. As you went over the outside and then the inside, it seemed like these were nice cars. Then you went for a drive...

Thanks Hubnut that was a joy to watch - my dad had a princess then an ambassador 🤔

I'd like to see you review the Ford Cortina mk4/5 from the same era. My dad had a 2.0 Ghia KUU954X (long since gone to the scrapyard I believe) but I seem to recall it was a much smoother car than the Ambassador seems to have been. Both cars from the era of deep velour trim and auto gearboxes where 3 gears were deemed to be more than enough. (My current car has 8 and I see there's a 10 speed auto in some new vehicles.... more than my first bike!)

I beg to differ young hubnut, my auris hybrid has remote seat release levers by the tailgate, so some manufacturers still do it and yes very handy 😊

Lovely rare vehicle - so pleased it's been preserved.

A splendid video Ian, worth the wait.

Great video I think prefer the princess though.

I actually thought the Ambassador was a lot more graceful than the Princess when it came out. Mind you, I loved the Morris Ital, so who am I :-)

Hope he saved the old radio. I actually put back my original radio on my '65 Corvair. Needs a speaker. Also my compact Ford Tempo from 1985 was similar to the Mondao, but based on the Escort. Had a dinosaur pushrod 2.3 litter 4 cyl. It had a wonderful 5 speed manual sourced from France. Most cars had auto chokes by 1960 in the U.S. They seemed to work well. By the mid '80's fuel injection was becoming common. Had to meet the solution regulations with a carburetor by then. Fun video. I love your wiper comments!

Thanks for another great video. Back in the eighties, I had the opportunity to buy an immaculate second-hand low-mileage Ambassador, and foolishly, I chose to buy another car - if only I had a time machine I'd go back and buy it..!

Mazda does the easy drop rear seats arrangement. Fold 'em from boot or rear passenger space. AR certainly got ahead of itself with some features.

The Ambassador's reception was bad because you didn't have any Ferrero Rocher :-)

I am glad someone is saving these cars, I read an article long ago and from what was written there was only a few of these cars on the roads of England. That is a shame, these cars were nice looking and yes there are the usual quality issues, but these problems could be fixed, even if it means restoration of the vehicle to fix these issues. Personally as for Martin's Ambassador, if he could live with the quality issues then he should leave the vehicle as it is, but if I owned it I would have to fix the issues and restore it. All in all these cars should be kept, its a piece of your British motor history and it tells a story of why England Auto industry is almost gone, but not forgotten. Great videos

Just rewatched the Princess video, can’t believe how much better the older car is, dash easier to operate, love the armrest mechanism, why wasn’t the lower boot sill carried over to the Ambassador. Easy to see why it all went wrong for British Leyland.