The Wedgister - Princess and Ambassador Records

[vulgalour]

4 hours ago, MorrisItalSLX said:

One of the known Australian Princesses has come up for sale, still in Western Australia (about as far away from me as possible) and with running issues. (any ideas @vulgalour ?)

https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/boddington/cars-vans-utes/austin-leyland-princess/1331498197

It goes without saying, but WOULD. It would make quite the collection caper.

This is one of my all time favs, just the best colour combo and wheel choice really.  I can quite legitimately say it's a shame it's so far away, for once.

[Peter C]

Get yourself a copy of the latest Classic & Sports Car magazine, there’s a nice article about Princess and Ambassador models.

[bunglebus]

Facebook pics, quite possibly on here already 

[SilverMachine]

loving that the ambassadors keep surfacing, although they do have the face of a sad dog- that probably makes no sense!

[doug]

Spotted on Copart.

[bunglebus]

The number of the beast!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/267214526164?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=YlHx3-LfT0i&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=X5RtjeAxSP-&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

[MorrisItalSLX]

An 1800 Base!

[lesapandre]

Nice relatively unmolested car. Let's hope it finds a good home.

Few things about the detailing.

The rear lights look almost off the shelf made to fit? Were these bespoke?

They don't quite line up with the panel seam or shut lines.

On the original clay model they look better integrated.

Likewise the rear trim does not quite fit. The original clay has no trim detail shown there - just a very cybertruck type fold with what looks like a badge far left.

Just a couple of design quirks that struck me.

Of course the name badge is in two different script faces too - one on the rear trim and one more elaborate on the c-pillar and grille.

That gutter end detail isn't too elegant either but probably unavoidable given the way the rear of the car is designed.

The Princess script is also differing slightly from the preceding Princess 1300 - but only slightly. They certainly settled on a very Baroque look for this detail given the modernity of the rest of the car.

Perhaps this all is indicative of a corporation in crisis or at least parts of the organisation in disagreement. Or maybe because it was just rushed to market.

[JMB]

On 21/11/2023 at 10:32, adw1977 said:

I don't think the car from John Shuttleworth's "Austin Ambassador Y reg" song has been mentioned in this thread. 

GPP649Y was a 1.7L and I was reminded about it in this Facebook post:

Which also illustrates XJU322Y, another one not on the list!

This car will be up or auction next week at mathewsons. We have owned the car for more than 15 years. But its rarely used now, so its time for someone else to enjoy. 
https://www.mathewsons.co.uk/auction/lot/lot-402---1982-austin-ambassador-17hl/?lot=44992&so=0&st=ambassador&sto=0&au=96&ef=&et=&ic=False&sd=0&pp=48&pn=1&g=1
 

[lesapandre]

That should be at one of the museums- iconic car and the song sums up a driving era.

[JMB]

56 minutes ago, lesapandre said:

That should be at one of the museums- iconic car and the song sums up a driving era.

Its been in our private collection for over a decade, and very few people know who or what unfortunately. Most people have heard the song "Gordon is a moron". But thats as close as they get. 

[dozeydustman]

As uploaded today by Alex

Given nature of her YT channel she’d be a good fit on this forum (if she’s not already here!). Decent mechanic and as crazy as a box of frogs

[cms206]

My mate has just purchased this.

[High Jetter]

Commiserations!

[cms206]

On 20/05/2025 at 22:56, cms206 said:

My mate has just purchased this.

On this subject and as a way of trying to get him to sign up here... are there any leads on exhaust parts for these @vulgalour? He needs a back box I think.

[SilverMachine]

2 hours ago, cms206 said:

On this subject and as a way of trying to get him to sign up here... are there any leads on exhaust parts for these @vulgalour? He needs a back box I think.

im pretty sure @vulgalour will have a side exit cherry bomb solution in mind already

[JMB]

On 13/05/2025 at 09:10, JMB said:

This car will be up or auction next week at mathewsons. We have owned the car for more than 15 years. But its rarely used now, so its time for someone else to enjoy. 
https://www.mathewsons.co.uk/auction/lot/lot-402---1982-austin-ambassador-17hl/?lot=44992&so=0&st=ambassador&sto=0&au=96&ef=&et=&ic=False&sd=0&pp=48&pn=1&g=1
 

I am please to say the car has found a new home.

[doug]

Spotted this.

[adw1977]

AROnline notes that this Torcars "estate" conversion of a 2200HLS sold on Ebay for £500 recently. 

Sadly this is the only picture and I can't find the Ebay listing. 

I also can't get the DVLA website to come up with a match for any of the possible registration numbers I tried.  I'm reading it as J or S followed by F or P, then T, followed by 3 or 9, then 47V.

[Dick Cheeseburger]

32 minutes ago, adw1977 said:

AROnline notes that this Torcars "estate" conversion of a 2200HLS sold on Ebay for £500 recently. 

Sadly this is the only picture and I can't find the Ebay listing. 

I also can't get the DVLA website to come up with a match for any of the possible registration numbers I tried.  I'm reading it as J or S followed by F or P, then T, followed by 3 or 9, then 47V.

SPT 547V

The seller also had a NOS bodyshell as well as a complete spares car. Cracking project for a BL licker.

Last v5 issued in 2002 - let's hope it's not destined to do a few laps. 

https://ebay.us/m/Ztc49L

 

 

[vulgalour]

On 11/04/2025 at 22:22, lesapandre said:

 

Few things about the detailing.

 

The rear lights are unique to the Princess, it's a shame the seam between the back panel and the rear wing wasn't smoothed out at the factory really.  The shape does make sense in the wider context of the car, there are trapezoids all over the design inside and out which someone decided was the theme for the car.  The Ambassador rear light treatment worked better and I think a Vauxhall Viva style wraparound rear light would have been much smarter on the Princess than what it ended up with.

Fonts on the Princess are a mess.  The fancy scrolling badge is in line with luxury 70s style and would have made sense on a more conservative offering, or as the theme throughout.  Instead, I suspect BL kept the script as a nod to both the history of the Princess name, and to the class aspirations of their prospective buyers without regarding the design as a whole.

Fit and finish on the trim wasn't as good as it should have been for a car in its class.  The boot lid trim had three iterations throughout production, starting with the pressed metal one on the early cars, anodised rectangular ones on the majority of the cars, and chunky plastic ones on the very late cars.  The font changed for all iterations of the boot trim and the Princess script badge remained.  Also of note is that earlier cars had the same enamelled crown emblem on the bonnet that was used on the earlier Princess models which was quite anachronistic.

As for the gutter trims, originally they're one of the bits of trim that was well done, the problem is the choice of material.  Originally, the trim covers the whole painted metal gutter with nicely rounded ends but, because it's made of plastic, over the last forty or so years they've gone brittle and shattered on the ends.  Replacements are sadly not available and intact trims are quite rare now.

For a car that was supposed to be forward looking, the core design really is and material choice aside, the early base model cars are some of the best for showing what the car should be.  Unfortunately, because of British Class Syndrome, Wolseley was inflicted on the Princess and we ended up with the ugliest front end treatment and a mess of chrome trim, overstuffed upholstery, and an air of misplaced superiority.  The biggest mistake they made, from a styling point of view, was insisting on shoving a wooden dashboard in the Princess, I would have much rather they developed the plastic one you got in the earlier cars that, while fragile, looked far more modern and in keeping with the rest of the car's design.

Obviously I still love them, warts and all, and my opinions are just that since I couldn't build a car let alone design one well.

 

[vulgalour]

On 28/05/2025 at 11:36, cms206 said:

On this subject and as a way of trying to get him to sign up here... are there any leads on exhaust parts for these @vulgalour? He needs a back box I think.

From memory, the backbox is the same proportions as a universal type backbox for a 60s car but Princess/Ambassador specific ones aren't readily available, I don't know anyone making them new.  There might be a lead through the Austin 1800 (Landcrab) forums/clubs since there's a lot of very similar construction going on between those and the wedge.

[Funkyferret]

5 hours ago, vulgalour said:

From memory, the backbox is the same proportions as a universal type backbox for a 60s car but Princess/Ambassador specific ones aren't readily available, I don't know anyone making them new.  There might be a lead through the Austin 1800 (Landcrab) forums/clubs since there's a lot of very similar construction going on between those and the wedge.

 

Or he can contact the Princess and Ambassador Enthusiasts Club as I've a contact that can make them in mild or stainless steel to order... now we are growing in numbers we can also do arch repair panels and sills to order  Make sure he brings it to Wedge50 in July!

 

[wesacosa]