1958 AMC Ambassador

Thomas B. Jeffery of Chicago, Illinois was a builder of the Rambler bicycle and constructed his first prototype automobile around 1897. Commercially mass-produced automobiles followed in 1902 and by the close of the year, Jeffery had produced 1,500 motorcars, making the Thomas B. Jeffery Company the second-largest auto manufacturer at the time, second only to Oldsmobile.

Charles W. Nash acquired the Thomas B. Jeffery Company in 1916 and a year later became the Nash Motors Company. Following the merger with a major appliance maker, it became the Nash-Kelvinator Corporation in 1937 with George W. Mason, a former Chrysler works manager, serving as president.

In the immediate post-World War II era, Nash offered the 600 resting on a 112-inch wheelbase, powered by an L-head six-cylinder engine, and wearing pre-war styling. The upmarket Ambassador had a 121-inch wheelbase and was powered by an engine with overhead valves and a 234.8 cubic-inch displacement. The Ambassador employed body-on-frame construction with semi-elliptic springs at the rear while the smaller 600 had unitized construction and coil springs all around.

One of George Mason's goals was to unite all of the independent auto manufacturers under one banner, and this dream was realized shortly before his death in 1954. Nash and Hudson merged in May of 1954, forming American Motors, and was led by George Romney. Their product was a two-door sedan version of the Rambler American, along with a four-door sedan.

After several years, Nash and Hudson's operations were fully integrated under the AMC nameplate, but until that point, both Nash and Hudson products were distributed to separate showrooms and each wore the same basic Nash body but with several styling distinctions. The Hudson was essentially a 'badge-engineered' Rambler.

A new type of Rambler was introduced in the spring of 1956, based on the 1954 four-door model's 108-inch wheelbase, and equipped with a new overhead-valve six-cylinder engine, available with an optional Hydra-Matic, and finished in two-tone exterior sweep panel treatments.

By 1957, production of the Detroit-based Hudson vehicles had ceased completely and nearly all AMC production was being performed at the Nash facilities in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

By 1958, both Nash and Hudson nameplates had disappeared. AMC introduced America's first 'compact car,' the Rambler American, which was essentially the 1950 Nash Rambler but with modern styling. The American rested on a 100-inch wheelbase, the Rambler and Rebel employed a 108-inch platform, and the Ambassador measured 117-inches at its wheelbase. An L-head six-cylinder engine with a 195.6 cubic-inch displacement provided power for the Rambler American. The Rambler Six also had a 195.6 cubic-inch displacement but with overhead valves, four main bearings, solid valve lifters, a Carter one-barrel carburetor, and delivered 127 horsepower, 37 more horsepower than the engine in the Rambler American.

The 1958 Rambler Rebel had styling similar to the Rambler Six, differentiated by its 250 cubic-inch V8 engine with overhead valves, solid valve lifters, five main bearings, a Holley four-barrel carburetor, and delivered 215 horsepower at 4,900 RPM.

The 1958 Ambassador used the Rambler's chassis but with nine additional inches. Since the dropping of the Nash and Hudson nameplates was a last-minute decision for the 1958 model year, some of the early Ambassador vehicles wore Nash or Hudson emblems, and some of the early advertising displays the car with those nameplates.

Styling was similar to the Rambler Six but stretched to accommodate the larger footprint. The brightwork was elegant and tasteful, with model identification located above the grille, on front fenders, and on the rear deck lid. Dual jet-stream moldings traversed the body side and were painted a contrasting color. Trim levels included the 'base' Super offered as a sedan and station wagon, and the higher-level Custom Line offered as a sedan, hardtop sedan, hardtop wagon, and six-passenger station wagon. The Custom Line received a silver aluminum side trim inside the moldings on Custom models, three bright metal wind splits on the rear window pillars of hardtops and sedans, and on the wide pillars of station wagons.

The sedan on the Super Line was priced at $2,590 and 2,774 examples were built, and the station wagon listed for $2,880 and 1,051 examples constructed.

The Custom four-door sedan listed for $2,730 and 6,369 examples built, followed by 2,742 of the station wagon ($3030), 1,340 of the hardtop sedan ($2,820), and 294 of the hardtop wagon ($3,115). The pillarless hardtop Cross Country station wagon was exclusive to the Ambassador line.

The Ambassador was powered by a 327 cubic-inch (the same displacement as Chevrolet's small-block, but AMC's was introduced six years earlier), overhead-valve V8 with hydraulic valve lifters, a Holley four-barrel carburetor, five main bearings, and delivering 270 horsepower at 4,700 RPM. The engine was backed by a three-speed automatic transmission, with a Push-button Flash-O-Matic being optional.

Luxury amenities included twin front and rear ashtrays, an electric clock, and Nash's 'deep coil' spring suspension in the front and rear. The interior was done in upscale fabrics, and the split-back reclining front seats could fold down into a bed.

The public associated the Rambler name with small economy cars, but management worked to distance the Ambassador for its economical sibling, however, the Rambler was popular, successful, and well-known, and something management wanted to capitalize upon. So when the Ambassador was introduced, it was marketed as the Ambassador V-8 by Rambler, showing its association with the Rambler but giving it an air of exclusivity, highlighting its eight-cylinder engine. The cars, however, wore 'Rambler Ambassador' badges on their front fenders.

Most buyers selected the smaller and more affordable Rambler Six, selling for approximately $500 less than its larger Ambassador sibling. The 14,570 examples of the 1958 Ambassador represented approximately nine percent of the company's overall production, compared to the 106,916 units of the Rambler Six. The Rambler American was also popular with approximately 30,000 units built. The Rambler American was priced from $1,775 to $1,875, while the Rambler Six ranged from $2,050 to $2,620. The Rambler Rebel listed for $2,175 to $2,530.

Styling updates were applied to the 1959 Ambassador, and all-new sheet metal was applied to the 1960 Ambassador. The design would be carried through to 1961, and although AMC rested comfortably in third place in industry sales (behind Chevrolet and Ford), sales of the Ambassador had declined. For 1962, the Ambassador moved to a smaller 108-inch wheelbase, received new styling, and was marketed as a Rambler Ambassador. For 1963, the Ambassador returned to a larger platform - with a wheelbase of 112-inches - and was completely redesigned by Dick Teague. The Ambassador would remain part of the lineup through 1974.

by Daniel Vaughan | Apr 2021