Hindustan Ambassador - India's best loved classic car

[@eddiestevenson-kaatsch6306]

Oh my goodness! I used to work with Fullbore Motors, the UK importer of Hindustan Ambassadors way back when. Tim Bishop (Tatra, Connaught, etc) had the contract to put them through the Euro regs and I did the brake development. I believe our prototype was the only car that ever got the full system added, as Fullbore offered the car with the 'upgrade' of original carb setup, and everyone chose that! Suffice to say, at least one Hindustan lives out there with full sequential fuel injection, catalyst, a form of ABS and every other (then) modern technical feature, including the ability to top 100mph quite easily

[@thromboid]

Now that's what I call a hybrid! 😊

[@genespell4340]

I had an Isuzu Pup pickup. It had a 1.8 with a two barrel carburetor and a four speed transmission. It got about 30 mpg city and highway combined. At 1800 rpm it would be doing 55 mph. It would easily go way beyond 100 mph but I didn't want a speeding ticket so I never tried to get it that fast. If the Hindustan will only do 90 with a five speed, the rear end must be geared very low. I think the body style is very nice and would be glad to own one if I could afford it.

[@harindranathghosh1283]

reading this gives me goosebumps

[@RonBhattacharya]

Even the later version of the car in India could do 140 KMPH quite easily (I've ridden in one) on the highways. And I don't know why the one in the video doesn't, but Ambys (as they're called in upscale Indian circles) do have air conditioning.

[@ankurbamne7155]

I am yet to sit in a car as spacious and as comfortable as an ambassador. The Indian military has these ambassadors with a gloss black polish. And they look beautiful 😍

[@JohnSmith-pl2bk]

"Ranjit, you are on KP son... now get polishing the Major's car!"

[@E_Legal_Alien]

You've never sat in a late 80s Lincoln Town Car

[@captainnemo8072]

Even more with the front and rear bench seats models.

[@anighose1]

It’s now yellow taxis in Kolkata

[@urbo42]

Used to get a ride to school every day in an Ambassador when we lived in Bangalore in the 1960's. At the time it was practically the only thing you saw and we travelled all over southern India in it.

[@iceberg789]

wow. you must have been rich.

[@MoneyMuscleMastery38]

Rich guy😊

[@bucksman]

Yeah 😂. One had to be pretty rich to be getting dropped to school in one of those.

[@chrispenn715]

When they were first imported to the UK, one of the gimmicks was the two speed wipers described as: 1st speed for rain, 2nd for monsoon 😂

[@chennai9090]

😂

[@RonBhattacharya]

Hahaha! 😅

[@prakashtiwari8003]

😂😂

[@gslsm]

This was ( and in ways , still 'is' ) , the best car ever built for INDIA and Indian roads ... I wish , someone was still making these....they are absolutely great on the Indian roads (!)

[@gaufrid1956]

A Morris Oxford for the nineties, noughties, and early teenies. An amazingly long-lived vehicle.

[@RogerWarren-ec2ql]

Morris.oxford.provine.winner❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@robertkartechner5850]

Reminiscent of my dad's 1958 Morris Oxford. 45 HP and hauled a 12 ft Sprite caravan all over Europe when he was stationed in Germany. Such a great little car.

[@gaufrid1956]

@@robertkartechner5850 Certainly was! My late dad in Australia owned an Austin A40 when I was very small in the early sixties. We were pretty much a BMC family.

[@siddharthshekhar909]

​@@robertkartechner5850The Ambassador IS based on the Morris Oxford.

[@checkthetech9125]

It will be dream to drive a amby in those roads .we are even comfortable with amby with roads have 4*4 experience here in india😂

[@terraplane49]

The car equivalent of the Royal Enfield Bullet, and just as excellent. Great description and I wouldn't mind owning one.

[@ArupRatanMitra]

My father was a used car dealer in the early 2000s so I got to ride on a lot of different Ambassadors as a child, back then I'd be embarrassed to be seen on an Ambassador but today I'd pay good money for one in good condition

[@HardikPatel1992]

One of the grandfather in my village in India had exact same model. But after he died, I don't know what his sons did to his car. I wanted one like that but my father or grandfather didn't have money to afford one. I wanted to sit inside ambassador but unfortunately, I couldn't. I wish I could go back to 25 years ago to fulfill my wish.

[@ArupRatanMitra]

@@HardikPatel1992 Great to hear from you, I've been looking for a mk1 for while now but everything I've come accross till now is either in bad condition or is missing documents

[@OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOok]

Like 2 dollars for this shitbox?

[@BatashShakto]

Ekdom bhai. Chotobelay ghenna kortam (sorry Ambassador), ekhon etai kinbo bhabchi ☺️.

[@huguesgillet1967]

Hello from France ! Amazing mix between antics and modernity 😊

[@Śiśna3633]

Thats what India is still to date.

[@trraghunandan9726]

Have an Amby bought new by my parents in September, 1964. It has an unusual colour, a brownish pink shade termed as 'Autumn Russet' in the shade card. It's run all over India, 600,000 miles to be precise. It was my sole, daily use car till 2012. There are many active Amby enthusiast groups in India now and we argue a great deal about originality, modifications and driving these lovable beasts.

[@rahulgolikeri1187]

Do you still have it? Wondering if you would be interested in selling it...

[@RonBhattacharya]

When the modular Marutis came out in the early 90s, we were in high school... and there was a common joke among us that if you lose a nut in an Amby, you can just stick in a radish and make it to the next service station. 😅

[@andyf750]

When I travelled round India in the late 1980s this was literally the only make of car on the roads. I'd love one now! You look fab as always Steph! x

[@mrcringe-fg6zq]

That was because we were a communist dictatorship back then

[@PatDemitras]

As I watched this latest, terrific, episode, I am struck by how uneven UK roads are. Must be good for suspension parts suppliers! Thanks Steph!

[@JohnSmith-pl2bk]

If it was a stabilized camera not basically hard mounted to the body/window etc....the progress would look much smoother!

[@Happyfacehotwheels]

A solid axle with leaf springs makes it ride like a truck. Modern suspension as spoiled us just a little. 😁

[@krishm2478]

It was built rugged for typical Indian countryside roads. The suspension would outlast two sets of tyres 😄

[@ArupRatanMitra]

5:56 One little correction though, you'll mostly see Ambassador taxis in and around Kolkata, in the rest of India including the south Ambassadors are mostly used privately and they're getting increasingly rare

[@Mariazellerbahn]

The Ambassador is in many ways the equivalent of America's Checker Marathon.

[@nlpnt]

And/or the Ford Panther platform.

[@warmstrong5612]

@@nlpnt Sort of a mix of the two.

[@Davyfb75]

I think they stopped the Checker Marathon in 1982

[@danielhutchinson6604]

The influence of the Hillman Minx is unmistakable......

[@danielhutchinson6604]

@jonahwhale9047 The lines of the Car just looked like my Hillmans.

[@IanRosie1]

Talking of mysterious switches. Back in my youth, a friend in Alston had an old Moggie Traveller that he careered around the Northumberland moors in. My first time in it I noticed a rocker switch on the dash that had 'Switch' hand printed above it. I asked him, as he sawed away at the wheel, what it did. He looked at it for a moment, then replied "Well, if I flick it up, I get the smell of burning wiring. If I flick it down, I don't". Cheap motoring in the 1980s.

[@FMFGUF]

Hehe, I still use a 1970 one today for that reason.

[@JohnSmith-pl2bk]

I wonder if tht switch is the electric radio antennae mounted on the left rear quarter panel?

[@julesmarwell8023]

an utterly practical good motor car without a computer. just what we need today. Thank you greetings from OZ

[@stephenwestley1017]

That's how cars should be made, adaptable to any era id drive one around ❤

[@chennai9090]

Morris oxford in India Ambassador has seen transformation with unthinkable mods in India

[@shyamchabra5355]

Just what India needed, bright lights and a loud horn!

[@frimleyfrodo]

My father, who served his mechanics apprenticeship in the late fifties was a master at setting up drum brakes. When I had a mk2 Escort 1100 in the late eighties, he kept them on form for me and the only issue I ever had was one occurrence of brake fade coming down the Llangynidr mountain road in south Wales because I held the pedal down for far too long and overheated them. He passed away 9 years ago and I recently set about sorting the drums on the rear of my son’s Corsa with a wish that he was still about to advise me!

[@genespell4340]

My first two cars had drum brakes and I thought they worked quite well. I did all of the mechanical work on my vehicles including the brakes with the exception of a few oil changes. I got baptized in auto mechanics starting at nine years old. Just watch some KZbin videos on drum brakes and you won't have any problems.

[@neilfoster814]

It needs a tassel fringe at the top of the windscreen, and an statuette of Shiva or Ganesh on the dashboard! A nice, useable classic though. My classic has drum brakes all round, so I know what you mean.

[@redbaron18]

I'm speaking from Kolkata, India. Just a few miles from the city was where once HM had their ambassador unit. It's a shame that we couldn't go on with it. The Hindmotor factory complex today lies abandoned, and HM is out of the market. No ambassadors are produced anymore. Bengal lost one of it's glory. And now, we are planning to stop the tram services in the city, probably the oldest in Asia. Anyway, glad you made this video. Thanks.

[@dnapolren]

I am sorry but at this pace Kolkata is going end up like Detroit.. can't live in the past..

[@bineetgupta]

We ❌️ TMC party ✅️ TMC has ruined Bengal completely that 'we' includes those hordes of fools who vote for it, but it definitely does not include everyone

[@TraderQuant]

@@bineetgupta So sad to see people on a self-destruction path by electing first CPI(M) for decades and now TMC ....so for last 50 yrs they have turned "West Bengal" to "Waste Bengal"!

[@dawgydawg2232]

​​@@bineetgupta34 years of CPIM vs 13 years of TMC. who do you think did a greater damage?

[@bineetgupta]

@@dawgydawg2232 cpim shooed away many industries, TMC shooing away whatever is left after cpim 🤣 real estate mafia is the only industry here making substandard housing complexes in lands left vacant after factories shut down So CPIM made the coffin, TMC is driving the nails in the coffin, instead of making things better Choose whomever you think is doing greater damage 😂

[@GlamStacheessnostalgialounge]

The Ambassador is the Indian equivant of the Lada, but curiously westeners never think of critizing it for being old and obsolete... Either way, I really want one.

[@Yandex-y1p]

Lada is still going the boxy Lada was still in production until 2018 although only as an estate.

[@GlamStacheessnostalgialounge]

@@Yandex-y1p I thought it stopped in 2012 in Egypt? They're still making the Lada Niva though.

[@Yandex-y1p]

@@GlamStacheessnostalgialounge yes you're correct the Niva is still in production. There's also the Vista, Vesta and Largos although that's a rebadged Dacia.

[@clivefrankwhite4690]

You do talk rubbish they were a British based car nothing like a Lada all the tooling was British to make these cars

[@GlamStacheessnostalgialounge]

@@clivefrankwhite4690 Okay, so?

[@vetiarvind]

Ambassador, Maruti 800 and Premium Padmini were the iconic classics of India. My neighbour still has his dad's padmini and maintains it quite well. There was also the Contessa classic but i don't see many of them on the road.

[@stephenricketts7764]

Maybe it's me but the engine still sounds like a Morris Oxford from the back! It was the best thing Morris could have done at the time and I don't want to sound patronising in saying that. They could not have known it would have lasted so long but for India it has been a great car and still is. The BBC did a programme in the last year of production with the presenter travelling through India and it didn't miss a beat as far as I recall. This is a wonderful example and I would say it has many, many more years of motoring ahead of it. Thank you for the review Steph I hope one day you get your hands on one of these perhaps even with a mystery switch! 👍👍

[@RobertHaynes-kw2sk]

The dashboard style & format derived from the Vanden Plas Princess 1100 apparently, Steph. I also see that the radiator grille derived from the Humber Hawk that came out first in 1957 and was in production 10 years. The gauge circle on the right hand side of the steering column does come from a Triumph, the 1500 by my reckoning. Only 62 days and counting until the Classic Motor Show at the NEC, so I'll see you there along with Freddie & the team from HubNut.

[@evertonshorts9376]

It crossed my mind that it might've been a Rover P4, but I think you're right with tthe Vanden Plas Princess.

[@RobertSmith-jl4yw]

Yes, or the Allegro version. The clock is mounted in the original ash-tray hole. The triple gauge is 1/6 out of rotation anti-clockwise.

[@phillipevans9414]

I thought the "triple" gauge looked like the one from a mark 1 Cortina (Smiths gauges were common fitment on heaps of different makes/model back in the day)...but I could be wrong? Cheers!

[@robt2151]

Agreed on the VDP, especially the cracking on the glove box!

[@mirchshake50]

My dad had one of these in the 70s. It came with a column shift. This one is obviously a custom job. All the dials, dash, switches etc. were different. Even the wipers were opposing ones. Good memories

[@michaeltutty1540]

It is the master cylinder that is the important bit to make sure it is a dual system. I learned to drive on a 72 Dodge Dart with 4 wheel drum brakes without assist. Given a strong enough leg the brakes will lock up. The only benefit to discs is the heat factor and that can be mitigated with synthetic brake fluid. We went climbing the Rocky Mountains in the Dart with no problem and no special techniques. What a fantastic video. Good luck on the hunt for an Ambassador. Looks like great fun. You, as always, are looking fantastic. You always make these videos so great to watch. Well done.

[@CheerfulNE]

I do remember riding this car a few times when I was a kid, around 1996 or 97. The comfort is something that I still remember about this car and the seats were Bench Seats at the time.

[@westmus]

Drums can brake just as hard as discs. But discs have by design better cooling, meaning they are an better fit for hard use. But discs do also require an higher line pressure to give the same brake force as drums, since drums are self-energizing. So brake servo became an standard, as discs became the standard on cars. Discs without servo do usually need an somewhat high pedal pressure or have an long pedal travel (to get leverage).

[@genespell4340]

​​@@emjayayyou have to press the pedal a few times to dry out the shoes and drums and your brakes will be completely normal again.

[@bindefuni5407]

In the 2000s Peugeot ran a TV advert where one of these was transformed into a 206.

[@gazonatrike7005]

it'd be the other way round now 😆

[@martijnappeldoorn8686]

Funny commercial that was!, he even had an elephant sitting on it as I recall 😂

[@UnusSedLeo-w5l]

I still remember the music/song that went along with it.

[@montyhundal2968]

OMG I remember that advert. Think it came around 2002,2003. Was so funny .

[@JUPITER69966]

This car was the symbol of the power.

[@johnfh]

In 1961 or 1962 I drove my boss's 1955 Morris Oxford to have the windscreen replaced. I had a VW Beetle and my father had a Vauxhall Velox - the Oxford was horrible! But a few years later I travelled in a Hindustan taxi a few times in India, it was more in its place there.

[@impgt67]

Hi Steph, David here from Tasmania. That round gauge on the right hand side of the dash, looks like the same one fitted to just about every Hillman Minx, Sunbeam and many other Rootes family cars I have restored/worked on over the last 20 years

[@adarshbijumaya]

Sir/ma’am, the hillman minx can be associated with fiat padmini. It was the compact version of ambassador 😊

[@MrStinker101]

Thank you for uploading this great video

[@davidhinkson8856]

This car truly has a fascinating history and it's good that the manufacturers in India kept on updating it as the years went on to keep it relatively competitive against much newer cars. How many other cars have had such a long production run? The KZbin channel "Big Car" did the full rundown on the Hindustan Ambassador a couple of years ago, but it's nice to see one being driven. I suppose it's a homecoming of sorts, given that it originated in England. I guess you could call it a factory resto mod, and I'm impressed with the quality of the seats. Presumably if you own one it shouldn't be too hard to get parts for it since it was in production for so many years and I'm sure there are enthusiast clubs in India and among the Indian community in other countries catering for it.

[@academiareunido]

Thank you so much for this video. My birthplace is Calcutta and my city never got over Ambys... still you'll find many Amby cabs in the streets... still going strong... (touch wood)

[@PranayBansal_]

Genuinely my dream car. Been looking to buy one for a while now

[@Hankynopanky]

In India , you could get one with a bench seat in the front . I have memories of 3 passengers sitting in front 😂. What a great car the Amby is man , and that engine rumble was just so special and still is

[@yogesh41048]

😂😂 right.. the little 3rd seat is just behind the gearbox😂😂😂

[@UnknownPurush]

its a love of many india kid from 90s, sofa type seating, so comfortably safe

[@andywells397]

That Isuzu engine was indestructible..

[@jb6142]

Had that engine in my Bedford midi van 1986

[@stuartdavies5191]

Great video thanks Steph- looks like you had fun 🚗💨

[@Vince_uk]

Another great video and subject Steph.

[@abhijitkundu1879]

It was you all overseas who are very much keen into preservation and restoration of old vintage and cult cars 🌹❤️🌹❤️🙏🙏🙏thank you n lots of respect

[@nigelcharlton-wright1747]

Those seats would look at home in our Rover 75 Classic. Saw one of these in 1998 at the Enfield Pageant of Motoring, a wonderful car with a Japanese engine. Whats not to like.

[@philbaldwin7190]

Hi Enjoying your videos and especially the informed commentary. Found your KZbin from the interview you did with Tasty Classics. Keep up the good work. Thanks

[@allanmollison6971]

Very interesting car, never seen one before, Thanks for sharing Steph 😊👍

[@Yatri234]

I learnt driving on my father's ambassador car in 1976, that was a 1964 model petrol engine car with front bench seat, which was very comfortable, i don not know , why in modern cars, front bench seat vanished ? Thanks for this video.

[@gazonatrike7005]

lovely video, enhanced by me knowing the roads you're on which is always fun for some reason.

[@Scrubworks]

My dad investigated buying one of these when the Fullbore company was set up in the mid-80s to import them. He visited the dealers who were a bunch of sharkish businessmen operating out of some railway arches in Fulham. As you touched on, the promises made by the dealer were many but when it actually came to the sticker price he was put off. He ended up doing a Hubnut and buying a brand new 2CV Dolly.

[@davidking9707]

I adore those cars. Another great video well done.

[@princepinju]

LOVED OUR HAMBI ON BRITISH ROADS. GREAT REVIEW

[@bobwalsh172]

Nice to learn the history of the Hindustan Ambassador. British and American customisers have for ages been in the habit of re-engining old cars, usually with the aim of enhancing performance; but it's all frowned on by preservationists. Hindustan were effectively "modders" with a production line, which gave their mods a claim to authenticity. Incidentally, the most fascinating mod job I heard of involved the machinery from a crashed Marina TC going into a Morris Minor - complete with the original Minor wheels. It was reckoned to be easy to do, because the Marina was just a stretched Minor with new body panels. Result: bog standard looking Minor with 90 bhp...!!

[@scroggins100]

Amazing how much decoration the average Indian Taxi. Chinz everywhere, tassels and more of your average 50s front parlour.

[@nyctophilecat]

So I am sure now my phone listens to me. Just yesterday I was saying that I want to buy an used ambassador and my mother strongly opposed my idea based on how old they are now. Today this video pops up. Lovely video❤❤.

[@JacobTJ1]

That Engine sound is very soothing and nostalgic

[@confusedbuddy5156]

Hi I am the grandson of Hindustan Motors chief engineer and maintenance manager 😊

[@joyid]

Show ADHAAR

[@confusedbuddy5156]

@@joyid why 🙄?

[@ExcitedHiker-ro7ku]

He didn't have any name?

[@scroll.withmohit]

​@@confusedbuddy5156bcz ur fake

[@confusedbuddy5156]

@@ExcitedHiker-ro7ku yes he have if require I will mention 🙄

[@timhughes8386]

Hi Stephanie, I think that the Hindustan dashboard is taken from a Triumph Toledo, or the like, but definitely looks Triumphesque to me.God Bless you, Tim from Sandhurst ❤❤

[@davidquinn5906]

I think that's one imported as a 'Fullbore Mk10' One of the changes they made on import was to add that wood dash. I believe the Indian market car had a horrible horrible plastic dash.

[@timhughes8386]

Ah thank you, I thought that seemed odd or irregular

[@zarkocambier2124]

SINCERLY I LOVE THIS INDIAN CAR. BRAVO.

[@richardshiggins704]

I used to see many of them in India (2016) and still used as Govt. cars . They were frequently white in colour .

[@ethelmini]

That'll be the air conditioning.

[@srinathiyengar.mudgal]

So nice to see this, my uncle had one of these in the 80's. Very very dependable and no nonsense vehicle. Thanks for refreshing the memories.

[@ShubhoBose]

This car was produced very close to my hometown in India; and are very commonly still used as taxis in a yellow paint scheme there. Leather seats are not that much preferred in India as leather gets really hot in summer.

[@dhall4363]

Ahh serious bumper bars. Like how the rear one has had bits welded to it. Interesting car that could do with some bringing back to original state.

[@stuartrudrum779]

Lovely Video Steph, lovely car and gorgeous scenery. I live in County Durham, love it ( originally from Norwich City, Norfolk ). I have had many classic cars. over the years, Inc. a Humber Sceptre to name but one.

[@GunnarMiller]

I was on a business trip to Singapore in the 1990s, and on the road in from the airport I saw a completely beaten-up Bedford truck humping it in the oncoming lane. I thought to myself "rule Brittania!"

[@pradeepKarInd]

Nostalgic car. As a kid during 80s-90s from a middle-class Indian family, a car meant only 2 makes: Ambassador and Premier Padmini (Fiat).

[@lanternsown3525]

I'd love to own one those Ambassadors.

[@ambassadorcarclub]

I also have the 2006 model, this car is the best car in India

[@michaelmccann4706]

Hi Steph, Ambassador is cool, thanks for reviewing it.

[@GavinMellon]

I'd love one of these.

[@pauldavies6037]

Another gem Steph what an improvement and modern upgrades the Indians have made to the old Morris Oxford I'm impressed

[@roygeorge1386]

Morris Mainer Mark III is HM Ambassador.. still i have it and doing well, 1961 model . valuable road vehicle it is .. no other one in the history same as it ..

[@gokulkrishna4456]

Our family still owns on from the 1957 , one of the first model company rolled out. It has a trafficators. Children used to slam the door harder to make those things pop up.

[@RonaldThomas-j9g]

what a wonderful car and I think that the dashboard look's like a mix of Triumph and Vanden Plas.

[@jb3222]

I agree - VDP was my first thought!

[@grumpytorque8905]

Been in them when I worked in Mumbai as beaten up taxis. However that is a great example.

[@Aniketshyam]

the one you have ridden in mumbai was probably a Premier Padmini derived from the Fiat 1100D

[@williamalmquest3082]

I would have liked to own a taxi version. I have an Austin FX3, and a Fairway, London taxis. Nice to see younger people enjoying older cars. I passed my car driving test when I was 17, in 1971. By the time I was 21, I had owned 25 cars. Everything from a Trojan (Heinkel) bubble car, to a Daimler Majestic Major. Ford Consul, Mk 3 Zodiac, MGZB, Sunbeam Alpine sports, etc. Enjoyed the video, thanks and well done

[@ganeshshenoy1102]

... i learned driving on one of these steph in the early 80's...that brought back a lot of memories... thanks for the upload... Cheers❤🎉

[@RogerWhittle-z3w]

Love your reviews, and this one was great. I remember the original Oxford, which was a far better car than its successor. I have wanted one of these for a long time and want one even more now. Thank you so much

[@adoreslaurel]

In Australia in the 1950s the Yellow cab company dropped using basic Dodge type vehicles [plymouth, de soto ] and they went over to the Morris Oxford with the 1500 cc B series engine.

[@arianbardez7149]

I owned and drove an Ambassador from 1975 to 1985. It surely was spacious and rugged.

[@amitmitra6487]

Brilliant presentation...loved it👍👍

[@glmm2001]

The car lasted so much due to the closed Indian auto market. The fact there was little to no competition keep Hindustan building obsolete vehicles with the absolute minimum upgrades. This changed as the Indian economy opened and newer cars became available. Hindustan Motors tried to modernize their steed with little success as sale began to crash and the general obsolescence of the car finally killed it in 2014

[@spodface12]

Once again Steph. lovely pattern on the dress !

[@lovinthumper]

Your knowledge of the Ambassdoor and the Indian automotive landscape is fairlly accurate - An Indian from the south indian state of Kerala (Owned Ambassdoor Nova)

[@simonc858]

Fabulous car! My parents neighbour had one and I actually had a ride in the back once! Sadly it rotted away. Happy Sunday.

[@martiniv8924]

Been in a few of those in different cities in India over the years, with the older original engines too …..and survived ! 😅

[@timelwell7002]

Great review - thanks Steph. The Hindustan Ambassador has really stood the test of time, and I've always loved the look of them. Although in the unlikely event that I were to buy one, I'd ask my garage to replace the drum brakes with disk brakes, not because I'd have a problem adjusting to the drums, but I do like to be able to stop quickly in an emergency.

[@JohnSmith-pl2bk]

In-line vacuum-assist power-brake booster e.g. VH44 as available in NZ and Australia. Can confirm their efficacy in bringing near disc brake performance to drum brakes. Fitting this means there is no need to calculate the performance criteria for a brake proportioning valve which you need for every disc/drum vehicle...plus a load proportioning valve as well for many load carrying vehicles.. Fitted this VH44 booster under the floorboards next to the frame rail after my near-disastrous test drive in 1977 of a 1967 JO Bedford truck that almost went up the freckle of a town bus....because I had only driven disc braked vehicles. No problems with it's braking after that.

[@ExIndianArmy1965]

Sister your voice is so cute. Glad to see our 'Official Car' in England..

[@Rahul_Singh100]

Ambassadors are in use as Yellow Taxis in city of Kolkata, West Bengal which is in Eastern India, not Southern. The last factory of Ambassador was also running in the state of West Bengal which is in East India. And it was Ambassador which was the vehicle for govt officials, diplomats apart from taxis and use by public. It was much like how LADA was in Soviet Russia which may have been due to a similar situation as well since India was a nationalised socialist economy that prevailed in India till 1990 economic liberalisation.

[@dharmarajanmadathiparambil5381]

Body from Oxford car, engine from Mersedes, German , use for power generator, after second world war. I saw a Oxford car in Cyprus, but width was little less.

[@antaripbiswas1569]

Back in the 1970s, my grandfather had two of them, and we lived very close to Uttarpara, a small suburb of Kolkata (erstwhile Calcutta), India, where this car was made. When I was born in the late 1990s, both cars were still around and well-maintained, although my grandfather had passed away a decade ago. I remember my childhood traveling around Kolkata in them! One was painted in light green and the other was sky blue.

[@SAM-zt2uy]

There was one at the Cai Dai Museum in North Wales on a P reg, I've seen an Indian Restaurant in Nottingham with a couple of Morris Oxfords sat outside done up very smart with flags and decorations.

[@captaindelta43]

Absolute God tier childhood OG car . As legendary as it , its so painstakingly manual which was actually the joy of driving it

[@lesklower7281]

I actually do like lndian built vehicles we own one a Suzuki Baleno getting back to the Hindustan Ambassador what an interesting mix of classic and new l do like the dash board and the wood rimmed steering wheel and those seats front and rear so nice and of course the quarter windows (lights) l have them in my 1997 Toyota Hilux they are a touch of class also the lack of black plastic that looks so good and rear leaf springs so simple also the Hindustan Ambassador was around until 2014 and are still driving around India as Taxis just goes to show you how well built they are

[@Dave-cn2fo]

Another great video Steph! Cadence braking = "Poor man's ABS" in Aus! Came across a couple of these imported and used as film props but unfortunately a bit too far gone bodywise and mechanically for me to buy one!

[@Alexanderstive]

Wow I really appreciate your love with ambassador I can't believe it the Indian famous car in European roads thanks for sharing mam

[@virtuosowins]

My grandfather had a mark 3 Ambassador when I was a kid. As he lived 350 KM away, I would visit only on holidays and this car was a holiday companion. It had, what I'd presume a BMC petrol engine and hand gear. Fond memories.

[@michaelcope856]

Heresy it might be, but I would love to see one of these restomodded. Great video, Steph.

[@keithfernandes7350]

After the landmaster it was Mark 2, Mark 3 and Mark 4 The Contessa was a repeat of the Vauxhall but never really succeeded unfortunately Having lived with an Ambassador it was and always will be an iconic part of growing up

[@wilburytwist6683]

Thanks for this. Its a bit of a different one ! The dashboard reminded me of my Vanden Plas Princess. I had the 1300 but the style looks identical if maybe a bit larger. The switch panel was in the same place. The chrome cup holders in the glove box lid are similar too. The towbar welded to the bumper worries me though ! 😱

[@JohnSmith-pl2bk]

If you look closely there is a bar going forward under the boot...that does the majority of the strain carrying while towing.

[@sarathyj]

This is car I learnt to drive back in the day....and also on Premier Padmini (which was based off of Fiat 1100 Delight)