1970 AMC Ambassador

The AMC Ambassador was part of the model lineup for many years, from 1957 through 1974, and produced over eight generations in a plethora of body styles including a station wagon, convertible, two-door hardtop, and two- and four-door sedan. It began life as a full-size vehicle, from 1957 to 1961, before moving to a mid-size platform from 1962 to 1966. In 1967, it received a two-inch longer 118-inch wheelbase and a complete restyling that was lower and wider than previous Ambassadors. The modern, rounded styling had sweeping rooflines, greater glass area, recessed grille, and 'coke-bottle' fenders.

The new SST trim line joined the Ambassador for 1968, along with the mid-line DPL trim package. The convertible and pillared coupe body styles were dropped due to slow sales, leaving the 990 hardtop coupe and sedan, DPL hardtop coupe, sedan, and wagon, and the new SST hardtop coupe and sedan.

The Ambassador gained four-inches in length and wheelbase in 1969, along with an increase in front and rear track size. The styling was revised with new quad headlight clusters positioned within a new molded blacked-out plastic grille with a chrome horizontal bar that connected the headlight clusters. The rectangular parking lights were mounted horizontally in recessed wells in the front bumper, located below the headlights. In the back were ribbed rectangular taillights mounted inboard the rearward thrusting fenders. On the trailing edge of each fender side were square ribbed market lights. The interiors had a new deeply hooded dashboard clustered instrumentation and controls in front of the driver. The base model two-door hardtop was no longer offered for 1969.

The attractive front-end styling introduced in 1969 continued into 1970 with the grille being updated with a new cross-hatch insert pattern. Hardtop coupe and sedans, and the intermediate 1970 AMC Rebel, were given an overhaul with a sloping roofline with upswept reverse-angle quarter windows, complemented by a loop-type rear bumper. The roofline on sedans received slimmer C-pillar, squared-off rear door windows, and new ribbed taillight lenses that traversed the entire width of the car, and included twin square white reverse light lenses in the center.

The 290 cubic-inch V8 was replaced for 1970 by a new 304 CID V8 with 210 horsepower at 4,400 RPM and 305 pound-feet of torque at 2,800 RPM. This engine was standard on all DPL and SST models. The 343 CID V8 was also replaced by a 360 CID V8 offered in both 2-barrel, regular gasoline, or high-output, 4-barrel, premium fuel versions. The four-barrel 390 CID V8 delivered 325 horsepower and 420 pound-feet of torque.

The base engine was an inline six-cylinder unit with seven main bearings, hydraulic valve lifters, 232 cubic inches of displacement, a Carter two-barrel carburetor, and offered 155 horsepower at 4,400 RPM. A three-speed manual transmission was standard, and an automatic was standard in DPL and SST trim levels. Shift-Command automatic transmission was optional on all models. Overdrive was no longer available.

The SST models had air conditioning, F78-14 Blackwall tires, individually adjustable reclining front seats, and a 55-amp alternator. The DPL models had the Shift-Command automatic with the 304 CID, 210 horsepower two-barrel V8, and full wheel discs. DPL station wagons came with a rooftop travel rack, Dual-Swing tailgate, and cargo area carpets. The SST station wagons had individually adjustable reclining front seats, wood-grained side and rear exterior paneling, and wood-grained inside door panels.

A total of 9,565 examples of the base four-door sedan was built having a factory price of just over $3,000. The DPL sedan, at $3,590, had 6,414 examples produced. 2,036 of the DPL hardtop coupe were built ($3,600) and 8,270 of the DPL Station Wagon ($3,950). Although at the top of the Ambassador price scale, the SST sedan ($3,720) proved to be the most popular with consumers, with 19,687 examples built. 8,255 of the hardtop coupe were produced ($3,740) and 5,714 of the $4,120 station wagon.

by Daniel Vaughan | Nov 2020