Unwanted & forgotten? 1983 Austin Ambassador Vanden Plas! Can I give it a new life? Part One. 

Edit for those asking - the next episode might take a couple of weeks to get out, but it is going to be well worth waiting for. - enjoying reading the comments aswell some absolutely brilliant ones so far! Some very funny too. I hope you enjoy watching as much as I enjoyed doing! The whooping cough I got from the interior has now started to subside aswell so that's good.

So great seeing these cars again they was never as bad as people would say they are so comfortable it does deserve a restoration not many left now

Circa 1975 the Princess and Rover SD1 had only just been launched. As a postman I turned the corner to see a Princess sitting on one drive and a Rover SD1 sitting on the neighbours drive. They both looked so modern and futuristic, not unlike two alien craft sitting there. It was a kind of wow factor. When only four years before the Austin Cambridge/ Morris Oxford was discontinued. Hell of a difference in design. Strange how cars can bring memories flooding back.

Your comment, you aren't sure it left the factory with bits hanging off or not bolted on....I can assure you they did. Anything built in Cowley in the 80s was a disaster. I grew up near the factory and it was staffed by people who really didn't give a flip. Most left (or were fired) when BMW took over and they all joined Royal Mail in Cowley...and our post service turned into joke. I fondly remember the pressed steel works on the opposite side of the bypass, and car bodies going over the road on the conveyor. Seems like so long now..

Its friday evening and TastyClassics just put up a new 2hr revival video, my day couldn't get any better than this

What a find there, these are really rare, I remember them on the roads in the 80s when I was young, but they were short lived, only made for 2 years like the Triumph Acclaim, and they dissappeared from the roads quite quickly. I suppose they were not really that popular being simply a re-skin of the Princess, and the Rover SD1 was a much sleeker looking car for those that wanted a large luxury car. This being the Vanden Plas ( by the way, VP on the sides stands for Very Posh, lol) I was quite surprised how basic and plain it looks inside, not even a rev counter on the dash, nor any walnut trims either on the doors or the dash. In the early 80s, when I was about 10 years old, my grandad bought a brand new X reg end of line Austin Allegro Vanden Plas, and that had leather seats, walnut trims, walnut picnic tables in the rear of the front seats, and felt "very posh" indeed, but the Ambassador there seems to have been very short changed in the luxury department. Nevertheless, it was a nice surprise to see it start up like it did, a bit of fettling and that old SU carb brought itself back to life, and as you say, the sweet little 2 litre engine sounded like a sewing machine even though it looked a bit dwarfed in that massive engine bay. It was odd they never offered a 6 cylinder engine for the Ambassador, as it would have been better with a larger engine, but I suppose they wanted people to buy a Rover SD1 if they wanted a big engine. It's odd that you should find one of these, a while after Seaside Garage found a Princess to restore, so now we have a Princess on his channel and its sucessor on your own. He had problems with his hydragas suspension as well, needed a lot of repairs to rusted lines. I'm sure we all look forward to seeing this very rare car being saved - there are not very many of these left and as you said, they are long forgotten now, with yours being 40 years old in August, so you will get free road tax and MOT exemption later this year.

My mate use to pick me up every morning for work in the same colour princess in 1988 ,brings back memories

I would say, the best thing about that car was the starter motor, what a champ…bit like yourself. A testament to a well built British motor. Love em or hate em, this put a smile on my face😊. 👍

So glad you're doing another episode on it something you don't see much of definitely deserves some love I'm shocked how rust free it is nice to see an old Austin being saved great work 👍

My grandad had an ambassador like this in a lighter metallic blue if my memory serves me right, at the same time my mum (who we sadly lost last year) had a couple of princess’s both were beige with brown vinyl roofs, so many memories of family holidays in these cars so glad to see this car back running well done 👍🏻

Wow ! That was like a feature film .. over two hours on the Ambassador !

Brilliant to see an old car like this come back to life. It wants to live! Looks really solid and well worth saving. One thing confused me though - coolant in the suspension? I'm sure they need special hydrogas fluid which is bright green and stinks but hey ho, it seemed to work. Great job so far and looking forward to episode 2!

"Let's put some power to it and see what happens" lol. Love it. The options being 1, Sets on fire, 2, Nothing, 3, More likely something between 1 & 2. 😀

Very impressed how you figured out the adjustment of the ignition timing💙 and how patient you are

great to see an ambo getting some love,think you've struck lucky ere,looks bloody solid,my grandad had a 1700L back in the early 90's,beige with paprika interior,was so quiet n comfy. im doing a princess at the moment myself,all the running gear is off and just had the suspension displacers regased,good luck with it.

my old man had a austin princess one of the best cars he had back in the day always thought the back was huge to sit in lol

I watched this video all the way through last night, we use to have a family. Lots memories .

Another great video, Ben Cannot wait for the next episode.

Another blinding episode can’t wait for the next one😊

Yes mate, loving it. Strobe the timing. Same as an ital 2.0. It's worth the effort, most of them scrapped. Good luck to you. Maurice, expat in Namibia.

That was a great vid entertainment and very informative all in one brilliant

Fabulous! These cars get a lot of undeserved flack - and this example definitely wants to live again. Would love to see you get it cleaned up and Mot'd before you move it on. Vanden Plas spec was rare even when they were current. 41 years since the Ambassador was launched now and this car has the potential to be a really great survivor with some continued tlc. Love it!

It lives!!!!! What a pleasurable 2 hours! You are known as the resurrector! tidy her up and pass on to an enthusiast, ready for the next project! Looking forward the next one!

Brilliant stuff well done. great to see one again. looking forward to the next episode

Car from my time. what a great couple of hours 👍

Great video buddy. My uncle ted had one brand new The same colour. I can’t remember the reg, but brought back some happy memories cheers

Remember my dad having one of these. Great to watch it brought back to life!!

A very rare car the Austin ambassador great content once again ❤

Definitely needs saving and shouldn’t take too much to get it roadworthy 😀👍

Love these old euro cars!! keep m' coming dear sr.

Yes!! time to sit down with a few brews and a few snacks. I enjoy watching these uploads 👍

Awesome video...very entertaining! Thanks so much.

Wow, of all the cars I didn't expect an old Amby! Not many of these left. Excellent video as always! :)

Congratulations on a big win! Faced with all those issues, at some point, I would have given up and called in a professional - like you! That's the difference between a mechanic of necessity and a mechanic of conviction. And yes, I remember these on the road "first time around"!

Best channel on RU-vid at this moment,great keep em up.

My dad bought a Princess fase 2 new at the dealer, I think it had a 1700 or 1800 engine. The outside had the sand color and the inside was dark brown. I remember the long days we spend in the car to the south of France for holidays. It was a nice car to travel with. Only good memories for me 🤗

Love it, local undertaker had one, i used to love driving it, a very underrated car, but very comfortable... would love to see it at Boston classic car show in August..

Fantastic video. Wrote one of these off 34 years ago, built like a tank.

Well done that man, I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of that video, keep um coming Ben, and the ones in the record Shop as well.

Wonderful stuff! Loved this one. A great Sunday morning watch/listen. These great old barges need saving 💪👍

Cant wait till the next one get her cleaned up and maybe through the MOT .Fantastic video

Love your videos Ben, Glad the whooping cough has subsided ,very much looking forward to part two 👍

"I can feel the head lining molesting me!" Brilliant! I'm loving your channel.

When I originally guessed a Princess I didn't realise how close I was, my late step father gave me his Princess when I passed my test....the same colour as that as well. All my wheel arches were similar to that rear one. The memories are flooding back...I popped my cherry in the back of mine.

Man oh man what a survivor! And what a damn funny and superb machinist to fix her up! Always love your videos man you rock

I saw the car advertised on ebay and was so tempted to bid!! couldn't believe my luck when I saw that you were the proud owner and i get to see the refurb!!well done mate really enjoying the content!! keep it up!!

I past my test in my dad's ambassador, we towed a caravan with it. It was a good car.

That 's incredible , what a find , we really need to bring such home designed and built British simplicity and repairability back again .

Great video and I’m looking forward to the next instalment. Brought back some good memories of working on these and owning an Austin Princess for a few years. The car was given to me by an uncle of my Mam’s. A maroon coloured 1.7 HL. One memorable trip to Flamingo Land in North Yorkshire from our home in Gateshead, North East England when just as we approached the entrance the O/S suspension dropped. The rear displacer unit diaphragm had burst. We left the kids with my brother in law and his family who had travelled down in their car and turned round and headed back home up the A19. Got home mid afternoon, took a wander round to the local ‘scrapyard’ and returned with a replacement part. I had it fitted before the kids got back. Took it to a local garage with a Hydrolastic pump the next morning and was back on the road. Despite that event I loved that car: spacious, comfortable and mostly reliable. Cars were so much easier to work on back then: oh happy days. Thanks for the memories 😊

Well done!!!! Cannot believe how solid it is. 🎉

Watched this to the end now and this has Been a great watch Just love this car

My grandad had the princess so this brought back big happy memories and I love the channel can’t wait for the next upload

People will slag these cars off. BL managed to do a pretty decent job of extending the life of the Princess. The re tooling to make this a hatchback was quite an undertaking. As you have discovered, they were well built and solid cars with simple mechanics. I had a 2.0 HLS and converted it to a manual with a Princess as a donor car. Just a comfortable, reliable car which was a bit different. The VDP version is now very rare and well worth saving. You will have also realised how easy they are to work on. Access is brilliant in and around the engine. Nice one Ben.

When you said it would make a nice stew, I clicked subscribe.

I have just come across your channel, and what a great way to start! I love it.

I quite like those quirky cars. Well done getting it running.

a few years back i had a friend rebuild a allegro we called the xmas tree ! it had ALL the extra light you could get as a extra for it from the list of lux stuff, love the vid but it was a looong one

Enjoyed the video looking forward to the next one

This is now a very rare vehicle, apparently only 7 still registered with DVLA. Only 43000 were ever built and only in RHD form. Sadly this model didn't continue with the 6 cyl 2200 engine from the Previous Princess maodel, but used a version of the "0" series4 cyl 1.7 or 2.0L engine from the Morris Marina with only a 4 speed gearbox or Auto transmission. If it's reasonable it is definitely worth restoring if only for it's rarity value. If the egine has been regularly serviced 75k miles is good, I had a Sherpa 200 minibus with this "0" series engine and it was still running great at 185k miles. Regular oil /filter changes of course..

Was always of the opinion Leyland cars were no better or worse than anything else on the road. Love seeing this saved, hopefully a good home awaits. Can't be many left.

Two hours plus of pure enjoyment Thank you !

I know it's 100+ year technology, but it always brings a smile to my face to see and hear a combustion engine come back to life. It just seems magical to me.

love these cars along with the princess all credit to you, it deserves some love

Well done. It's got a good chance of being saved.

The only car i`ve ever owned where i could sit on the wing with both legs in the engine bay when working on it, brilliant cars, i`ve had both princess and bassy's.

What a fantastic video! My second ever car was a 1800 Austin Princess, in that colour! From 1978. Px’ed it for my first ever Porsche 924. Was a great old barge, and sold it for more than I paid for it back in the day.

You should give that starter a medal!

Nice!.... I get a strange Deja vu feeling watching this.... Im hooked!

What an awesome little car. Well done on getting the cheese and biscuits out of the engine 🤣 🤣 . Looking forward to the next instalment on this one.

I enjoyed this Video very much,I used to have back in the 80s the Austin Princess inline 6 and yes living in Germany was a Problem to get serviced but other wise a great car. Now ive I have a Rover 75 V6 she is my best friend in a way of saying.

I've restored 2 of these in the last 7 years, both VdP's. One was the last one ever built. The rear brake cylinders will have seized but easy to do, as is the cambelt. This car should have twin carbs, though and it needs them as it's 150kg heavier than the Princess.

My dad had two one new and one second hand They are lovely cars!

The Mbassador was the Eddie the Eagle of the BL range. We all wanted him to succeed but… Thanks for a great video. Lovin’ the way you turned a seemingly uninteresting job into a riveting watch!

Brilliant Video well done

What a treat! Thoroughly enjoyed the extended video. Loved your diagnostic process and taking us along with the discoverings. This is going to be a very useable classic. Looking forward to next one.

So glad you got it running! When we owned it, I only ever got the pleasure of pushing it about and oh boy its very heavy to push haha. Excellent to see it drive!! Woohoo

That note is awesome and sad (felt the same as you did!). Sad as it was someone’s dream car to restore and that was being ruined by some scrote! Great video, looking forward to seeing more!

New subscriber I have to say this was really good I really enjoyed it and the witty commentary. I like the Ambassador what Austin did to update it from the princess was a vast improvement including conversion from saloon to hatchback.. The car wants to live lol.

I learned to drive in my dad's Ambassador, and it was my main driver for the following 6 years. Not fast, but supremely comfortable driving, especially long distances. We only got rid of it because custom parts like the indicator glass were no longer available, and my dad was not one for trawling scrappies for spare parts

A full-size alloy spare! Joseph Lloyd would love this! (though not the diesel battery obviously).

just got to the end, great episode, hopefully this will be saved, to me horrible cars, but part of automotive history and cant be left to rot away!!

Great video..I have a Princess which had been off the road for many years, but never owned an Ambassador. The Kennedy's are the hydragas specialists.

Great watch mate would love to see you do a full restoration on it

My brother had one of these , 2 litre overhead cam O series engine with twin carburettors . It was lively to say the least ! I used to like driving it .

Your hard work is worth watching

I’m pretty sure the trouble had starting it is perfectly normal, I remember my neighbour’s language on cold mornings when I was 10 years old! Great video, can’t wait for the next one, these were very maligned but actually very good! Thanks, just found you and am a subscriber now!!😊

What a fantastic car! And a thoroughly enjoyable video too. I'd love to see you get her back on the road properly. Thanks as always for the great content 😁

Great video, I owned ambassador v-plas a reg with the plastic wooden trim .was a 1984 in silver , Lovery ride and comfortable , gearbox not great, I remember that mine was twin carbs with auto choke , it always ran rush so I fitted a Alexander manual choke kit which made it ran better, it also had quite nice alloys as standard , they were used on from lthe princess as an option on the princess.You done very well as that car completely solid,I wish all the best but I wish I had one now but I do have 2 princess and maxi . Regards mark

Love your content mate been watching since the Vauxhall rascal 👍🏻

Can't believe I spent over two hours watching that lol. Be nice to see her polished up as best you can and give her a service. I remember these cars when I was a kid. My stepfather had one as a company car and he hated every minute of it apparently. It tried to kill him once when he was crossing the A1 (before they built the flyovers) when he set off and the auto stuck in 3rd gear. He crawled across the two lanes with some truck bearing down on him blasting it's horn and smoking it's tyres. lol.

I look forward to seeing more progress on this

That was wonderful. I absolutely love these cars (as I do the Princess.) I wish I had the skill, time, patience, space and money to take on a project like that, I'd love to be swanning around in a pristine Ambassador. Subscribed.

Great episode 🙂 ❤️ & respect 👍

Can remember working on these back in the early 80s

A big thanks 🙏 would not take much to make it a winner.stay safe the old Welsh coal miner.

Just finished. Love these long videos, wanted you to finish the whole rebuild in one go 🤣..... that note made me sad, plus all the parts. Poor bloke (i know its a man, a woman wouldnt be stupid enough to even try) obviously spent a lot of money TRYING to diagnose the problem, but just didn't think to check for a blockage. I really hope you get this back on the road and mot'd. It deserves it. He deserves it.

Great video. Good find.. Looks like it has had a lot of Barrs 'stop leak' clogging the water pump.. Yeah, I think an oil change , fuel pump, wiper blades and a good clean will do do further wonders for this wedge.. Back in the day I had a 1.7 like this and a 6 cylinder 2.2 for a while. The latter went like the clappers. Nice car for its day, I don't know why they got so much stick..

The company I wrked for in the late 70s supplied 4 Ambasadors to the sales staff. We worked all over the UK and ran up almost 1million miles in the 4-5 years we had them. They were reliable, comfortable and had more than enough speed for any motorway. They replaced them for 4 cortina estates, horrible cars for sales travellers, they only lasted a couple of years before they became too expensive on repairs and breakdowns. This car brings back so many memories

Most enjoyable. Your patience is remarkable. Another 'wedge' saved for posterity.

Great video, enjoying the content and loving the humour! I look forward to many more