The other morning I received an e-mail pointing me to a post on Barnfinder!. It was titled "Take That, Car Geek: 1969 AMC Javelin SST 290".
I guess my love of the Javelin and most things AMC is getting well known. Barnfinder's author apparently shares this affection with me. Cool.
I would have loved to post another plain-jane Javelin, but I couldn't find one. In fact, I couldn't find anything to top Barnfinder's Javelin. Then, out of the blue, JaCG reader, Colin, sent me the link to this car. This is not a Javelin, but it's an AMC car, and these days it's a whole lot rarer than a Javelin...
This was AMC's top-of-the-line car. Like the big 3, AMC defined top-of-the-line as a big car with a V8 engine, soft suspension and fake wood on the dash. AMC was known for taking chances when it came to styling their cars. (Think about the Pacer, Marlin, Gremlin, etc.) They took no chances with the Ambassador. It's a stereotypical late 1960s / early 1970s large sedan. That's not to say that there aren't some nice touches to it; the rear end treatment is very nice and the grille (which usually has a chrome strip running through the center of it) looks aggressive. All-in-all though, it was a generic car that looked like it could have come from any American manufacturer. For the most part, the public, who had a choice of similar cars from better known names like Buick, Mercury and Chrysler, ignored the Ambassador.
Like most AMC products, the Ambassador would run forever, but small pieces fell off at an alarming rate. Like most 1960s / 1970s cars, they rusted badly.The seller calls this car a "clean, original, car". I don't know if that means it's unrestored or has been restored to original specs.
If I were asked to make a list of a few hundred cars I'd like to own before I die, an Ambassador sedan wouldn't be on it. It's just not my type of car. Still it's pretty cool to see a car like this - one that has been all but forgotten by the general public and ignored by car collectors - in this condition.
Located in West Branch, WI, click here to see the eBay listing. A big thanks to JaCG reader, Colin, for sending me the link to this car!
