RE: SOTW: Austin Ambassador/Princess
Discussion
Stick em in the skip, Nasty pices of English Junk 
In 1986 and at the age of 21 I went in search of a new car. Back in the 80s it was much harder to flick through and find a car like it is today! Exchange and Mart only really catered for major areas and not backwaters of Suffolk and you really had to either know someone selling or head for the local (dodgy) car dealer who was either a chap from the scrap yard selling via the back door or some geezer from a car lot.
My old Vauxhall victor was getting a bit long in the tooth, so I found two cars I could have had. One being a Rover 3500 and the other was a Princess. I did not quite have enough for the Rover so I plunged for the other option. Its quite funny to think that back in those days NOONE really cared what anything did to the gallon or what engine size it was.
The Princess was an OK stopgap for me. Size was ideal and I mainly used it for a passion wagon as the seats went totally flat basically making a double bed - What car does that these days? And over the crazy days of 86-87 we used it for late night 'fun'. In-fact we camped out for a week in the car, popping home now and again for provisions.
Anyhow back to the car. The gearbox was vague and that really seemed to be a case of most Rover/Bl/Austin cars. And thats what I always liked about the early Fords, great 'boxes.
Lights were good compared to the Vauxhall and worked better with 100w/55w 'rally' (off road only) lights.
I also added some driving lights, plus a sunroof. For a laugh removed the entire exhaust system and replaced it with a twin Pico hanging out of the drivers side. I lost this doing *cough* MPH on the Bungay straight - And anyone who knows this local fabled bit of road will know that it was a challenge to get a max MPH as you could out of your jalopy and proceed to boast about it to your mates at the pub (Sad and jovenile I know).
I always wished it was a hatchback and later found out that the Ambassador was given that.
Crap? Yes. But it was more plush than most other cars of the period within my price range. Only major problem I found with it was the 'O' seal at the end of the engine to the gearbox and it pissed oil everywhere and this put me off this engine forever. Used in other cars of the time. Maxi etc.
I did purchase a goldseal engine but by that time I had moved to Croydon and was given a company car so I scrapped it.
My old Vauxhall victor was getting a bit long in the tooth, so I found two cars I could have had. One being a Rover 3500 and the other was a Princess. I did not quite have enough for the Rover so I plunged for the other option. Its quite funny to think that back in those days NOONE really cared what anything did to the gallon or what engine size it was.
The Princess was an OK stopgap for me. Size was ideal and I mainly used it for a passion wagon as the seats went totally flat basically making a double bed - What car does that these days? And over the crazy days of 86-87 we used it for late night 'fun'. In-fact we camped out for a week in the car, popping home now and again for provisions.
Anyhow back to the car. The gearbox was vague and that really seemed to be a case of most Rover/Bl/Austin cars. And thats what I always liked about the early Fords, great 'boxes.
Lights were good compared to the Vauxhall and worked better with 100w/55w 'rally' (off road only) lights.
I also added some driving lights, plus a sunroof. For a laugh removed the entire exhaust system and replaced it with a twin Pico hanging out of the drivers side. I lost this doing *cough* MPH on the Bungay straight - And anyone who knows this local fabled bit of road will know that it was a challenge to get a max MPH as you could out of your jalopy and proceed to boast about it to your mates at the pub (Sad and jovenile I know).
I always wished it was a hatchback and later found out that the Ambassador was given that.
Crap? Yes. But it was more plush than most other cars of the period within my price range. Only major problem I found with it was the 'O' seal at the end of the engine to the gearbox and it pissed oil everywhere and this put me off this engine forever. Used in other cars of the time. Maxi etc.
I did purchase a goldseal engine but by that time I had moved to Croydon and was given a company car so I scrapped it.
LewisR said:
The Santana was an awesome car; well with the 5 pot petrol. A friend had one years ago and it sounded glorious. It also had very nice interior!
Plus it donated its rear lights (shared with the Sirtocco) to the original AM Virage.
Still made in China!Plus it donated its rear lights (shared with the Sirtocco) to the original AM Virage.
Edited by LewisR on Friday 5th August 19:16
Had a beige Princess 1700 as a runabout back in 1990 ,
had the brown vinyl seat in it which were huge , when i sold it i went over the interior
with back to black , drove it after doing that and almost ended up in the passenger footwell
at the first roundabout as the seat were now so slippery i just slid straight off the seat ,
anyway , got £300 for it in the end.
had the brown vinyl seat in it which were huge , when i sold it i went over the interior
with back to black , drove it after doing that and almost ended up in the passenger footwell
at the first roundabout as the seat were now so slippery i just slid straight off the seat ,
anyway , got £300 for it in the end.
stegt4 said:
anything fast said:
leghorn said:
Thanks for reminding me why the British Motor industry died.
The Brtitish motor industry dies because no one invested any money in new cars or reaearch and developmentpeople actually bought these and they are okish cars! it was the turds like metros and montegos that nailed the coffin shut.. shame
nickythesaint said:
A little bit of sick just came into my mouth. Hateful machine.
How the hell would you know, with a comment like that i would assume your 12 years old....soon.jrchannon said:
I am unable to have any affection WHATSOEVER for one of the cars responsible for the death of the UK car industry.
If there's a few hundred left then that's a few hundred too many in my book.
It's a scar - destroy it.
How on earth do you work that one out?If there's a few hundred left then that's a few hundred too many in my book.
It's a scar - destroy it.
J4CKO said:
"Kill it, its British", listen to yourselves ffs !
Thn go an get back in your German/Japanese car whilst pondering where we went wrong, it wasn't all down to the cars or the workforce.
I agree, this 'it's BL so it's crap' is a very poor attitude of some fools on here, as usual.Thn go an get back in your German/Japanese car whilst pondering where we went wrong, it wasn't all down to the cars or the workforce.
urquattro said:
Zumbruk said:
Please, someone buy these and burn them.
Very uncharitable statement, there is lots more crap (politicians and bankers)deserve the flames before these two functioning old cars deserve that fate, BL stuff was not all rubbish, BL management and unions deserve that accolade in my opinion.LuS1fer said:
CDP said:
Also 70's Japanese cars rusted like Fiats. One of my father's colleagues bought a brand new Toyota, everybody was impressed by the finish and what you got for the money. A year or so latter it didn't look such a good purchase. Having said that somebody else had a Maxi that kept breaking door handles...
Not to mention the fact the Civic was a Golf/Allegro rival. Honda's first big car was the Montego based Legend.
What? The Legend wasn't Montego based. The Legend was a Legend and was a joint venture with the Rover 800. The Princess was really a Cortina AND Granada rival, the Rover was meant to be a premium product following on from the SD1.Not to mention the fact the Civic was a Golf/Allegro rival. Honda's first big car was the Montego based Legend.
Typical of some of the anti BL rubbish posted on this thread!
My father owned two, both were good cars in their day.
I think a lot of the people posting the daft comments are kids with a vey narrow base of knowledge. I'm not a BL enthusiast but I remember them as competent new cars and treat them fairly. Maybe that makes me an car enthusiast rather than a one make fanboy.
Edited by dbdb on Monday 8th August 12:51
dbdb said:
I think a lot of the people posting the daft comments are kids with a vey narrow base of knowledge. I'm not a BL enthusiast but I remember them as competent new cars and treat them fairly. Maybe that makes me an car enthusiast rather than a one make fanboy.
I'd agree with that and some of the other posters who have said you need to compare them with what else was avaliable at the time and not against more modern stuff.I hope a few of every car made get saved - I haven't seen either a Princess or Ambassador on the road for years so it makes me happy that they are about and I'll still see them in car shows of the future.
LuS1fer said:
fatboy18 said:
J4CKO said:
"Fatboy", does that monicker suggest a Harley Davidson in your ownership ?
Er Yes. 
I can also say its the most reliable bike Ive Ever owned, have ridden it down to Majorca and back with absolutely not one problem. Unlike my 1977 Triumph Bonneville 
(that's English Too) 
dbdb said:
It wasn't LuS1fer whose door handles broke, but I guess a door handle can break on any car.
I think a lot of the people posting the daft comments are kids with a vey narrow base of knowledge. I'm not a BL enthusiast but I remember them as competent new cars and treat them fairly. Maybe that makes me an car enthusiast rather than a one make fanboy.
I think a lot of the people posting the daft comments are kids with a vey narrow base of knowledge. I'm not a BL enthusiast but I remember them as competent new cars and treat them fairly. Maybe that makes me an car enthusiast rather than a one make fanboy.
Edited by dbdb on Monday 8th August 12:51
LuS1fer said:
stegt4 said:
Further to LuS1fers comment, The Maxi was not a door handle breaker.
Typical of some of the anti BL rubbish posted on this thread!
My father owned two, both were good cars in their day.
CDP's comment...Typical of some of the anti BL rubbish posted on this thread!
My father owned two, both were good cars in their day.
I quite like B.L. cars from the 70's, mainly Triumph's because i have fond memories of the cars my father owned but i also like cars from other manufacturers including Ford, BMW, Jaguar, Land Rover and Mercedes Benz.
I think one point that has been missed is that the Princess 1 was the original 18/22 series using the B-series 4 and E-series 6. It was received in a lukewarm fashion which resulted in the much-improved Princess II which used the O-series 1700/2000 engines and retained an improved 2.2 six.
Comtemporaneous group tests of the Princess II actually rated it quite highly in revised guise. As for build quality, you see just as many princesses as you do contemporaneous Fords and Vauxhalls ie not that many.
Comtemporaneous group tests of the Princess II actually rated it quite highly in revised guise. As for build quality, you see just as many princesses as you do contemporaneous Fords and Vauxhalls ie not that many.
J4CKO said:
What's a Caravelair ?
If you mean a Cavalier, they didn't appear until 1975 and spawned the Manta, Manta 400, Ascona etc.
Shed is about generating interest, you don't need to want it, it wouldn't be much of a feature if it were just crowd pleasers, and at a grand you would run out pretty soon, it is about motoring heritage as much as anything, this is a thirty five year old car and to me it seems churlish to slag it off now, its like having a go at a Pensioner for not being good at break dancing.
The holy grail of caravans!If you mean a Cavalier, they didn't appear until 1975 and spawned the Manta, Manta 400, Ascona etc.
Shed is about generating interest, you don't need to want it, it wouldn't be much of a feature if it were just crowd pleasers, and at a grand you would run out pretty soon, it is about motoring heritage as much as anything, this is a thirty five year old car and to me it seems churlish to slag it off now, its like having a go at a Pensioner for not being good at break dancing.
http://classic-caravans.co.uk/index.php?/Classic-C...
I think I specifically made the point that the fact that it generated so much conversation makes it a worthwhile subject before saying why I think the car's rubbish. I'm not that much of a moody g%t!
And surely, it will never be too churlish to slag off a BL.
Splendid stuff! A Princess 2 (1.7HL) was the first car I ever drove - which perhaps explains my subsequent fearlessness when manouevering large cars! It was my dad's car which he ran for 3 years from new. Though far from perfect I have given it the benefit of the doubt and remember it with some affection. I wonder what happened to HSP 30W. It was replaced with an Ambassador 2.0 HLS with the twin-carb O-series engine and fripperies like powered windows, locks and steering! This was actually quite a weapon in it's day and while nowhere like as quick as say, a 2.0 Sierra, unlike the Ford it was a substantial car - at the cost of 22mpg . OSR 388Y was sold in 1985.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff