John Shuttleworth - Austin Ambassador Y reg

[bishop511800]

beiige is cool but i painted mine matt black and took it round the nurburgring.

and yes mine was A reg ,bought it from a pub in great malvern that had a fruiut machine playing rabbit!! great car and i still av it.

[jibjab351]

Most of the ones in the pics are 'A' reg?

[elswick15422]

Northern Monkeys love these

[DidaDragan]

As a child I thought the Austin Ambassador looked like a very posh expensive car.

[HughOxford]

I read about a man who had twenty Austin Princesses/Ambassadors. If I had twenty of these cars, I'd keep it a secret.

[badslabber]

THE CAR avoided by all but pedophiles ,and a bloke called bob hanna AMEN

[godfishgod]

I had one, beige it was, the brakes were binding and it would not go up Frindsbury hill.

[malcolmcog]

My Father-in-law worked on the Longbridge Assembly Line making Austin Ambassador Engines. In Y-reg times. I drove one, nice car, in brown.

[Stoory]

@malcolmcog

"In Y-reg times. I drove one, nice car, in brown"

---

Yes those were the daze ;) In winter-time, throughout the UK was the sound of car engines turning over - trying to start - but not quite starting.

I should know, I had a Triumph Spitfire soft-top.

[Feisty1967]

John Shuttleworth is legend!! I've just been in stitches!!

[cssquarepants]

a nice classic now.

[mrchristo68]

my step-dad went abroad with the grand idea of buying a car on the cheap and making a killing selling it in blighty,the year was 1982......guess what he came back with.....oof.....what a twat.

[timethatyoulove]

Ooft, don't take it on the Snake Pass, John.

[djchronica185]

@timethatyoulove ha ha ha! I drove along there for the first time the other week - in a Honda. It's a great drive.

[Feisty1967]

John Shuttleworth=Funniest man on the Planet!!!

[Anthrax2404]

Don't keep asking me why Reg....

[warmbunnet]

I heard, more than once, that John banged Joan Chitty in the back of his y-reg, with y-fronts at ankles, ooof poor Mary cried

[skiday]

My dad had one. If you've had one you'll know why BL went bust!

[malcolmcog]

My boss had an Austin Ambassador T reg. I looked up to him for his superior executive company car. It was a 2 litre !

[ZutaoPremiumDub]

Awesome Y-reg percussion

[stylophobia]

I have a Y Reg Vanden Plas which I drove to one of John`s shows (obviously). Very comfy and one of the roomiest hatchbacks still-mainly why I bought it. No rocket ( and the speed limit`s still 70 mph whether you drive this or an M3). Ultra-cheap and still gets more shocked stares than a De Tomaso.

[Richardichard]

Can anyone help me here, does the Y reg have sports seats and genuine imitation metal wheel covers as Im looking for a stylish yet classic family sports car in pea green or british brogue brown. Im prepared to negotiate a cash deal on this. Thankyou in advance

[RICHIE87622]

I seem to remember ambassadors have very comfy seats not that i own one.

[RICHARDTOMLEY10WHARF]

very strong cars

[trifelgeputinage]

Yes!

[HITHEREFOLKS]

was this actually a hit song ?

[HITHEREFOLKS]

was that actually a hit song ?

[Andyhinds]

@HITHEREFOLKS No.

[HITHEREFOLKS]

@Andyhinds just plain leyland publicity then ? thx 4 email p.s. i still own one here in italy, i think it's the only one left ! actually, it's a princess......

[tamsarian9]

Sublime.

[badslabber]

the favorite transport of geography teachers and pedo types

[mulbrogue]

hilarious, great memories, brings a tear to they eye. Stylistically it was way ahead of its time, mind....

[wp6265]

Its smaller cousin, the Austin Allegro could be lifted by the rear wheel arch you know.....ooompf!

[annapage]

I had one, too, and it was impossible to park; like a tank, but less stylish. I once heard a track 'Single mums welcome' by John - it was a desperado lonely hearts ad skit - was it ever released? It was very funny - the last line was something like, "She doesn't even having to be breathing, though that would be a plus"..

[mervyncloud]

It was a Brian Appleton song - available on his CD (see Shuttleworth's website shop)

[annapage]

Cheers, I'll take  a look!

[marshalllucky]

dont forget doreen melody`s campervan.

[Alembic25]

I had one of these. A low point in my life.....

[Vinsteroid]

You are brave to share this - I expect you can get some kind of counselling for this! ;p

[Alembic25]

It was maroon. Exactly the same colour as the one on the trailer in the video. It was a truly awful car. The sort of thing your Dad would buy and swear it was the best car ever built which is what the songs about really.

[Mounhas]

The weather is continually shite, fortunately John Shuttleworth brings a smile or two...

[yeahproductions]

Never heard of a Austin Ambassador before,a Rambler Ambassador yes. Plenty of Renault 16s

in Australia and a few A40's kicking around too.

My dad had a 1937 Austin 10, which he said was faster than his mid 50's Hillman.

[blueukulele]

brilliant

[racefaceec90]

my grandfather had a white austin princess,fantastic car!!!used to go out on trips with him in it,when i were a nipper!!!happy days!!!

[driveriwanttogetoff]

The stuff of genius... Beep-beep ... offf!

[ffluc]

my brother had a 1.7 hearing aid beige one like in the clip, fan belt slipped all the time and it was in the garage at regular interval, very comfortable though, Mate at work had a 2.3 and he swore by it becaucse he said the 1700 was a shit engine

[jonnyhead]

"hearing aid beige" excellent!! Must use that whenever i can.

[sharpegun]

One of John's classics, oof! Long live the Shuttleworths, and Ken of course.

[mgrh001]

don't forget Joan Chitty!

[LadyPuddleton]

And Peter Cornelius!

[mgrh001]

oopf! And Karen and Darren

[EVERTONIC]

hahahahah class

[mrspivvy]

I had one. not a bad car, but worse built than the princess, the interior door handles used to snap off

[jayekayetv2]

I had a drive in an Ambassador once. It was like driving a large pudding, sadly it was not a pleasant experience.

[grovevilla]

i had a Renault 16, does that make me abnormal?

[drewerz01]

yes

[7137666aeb]

No,grovevilla,it does not,quite a few people have had 1970s Renaults. That said,Renault 16s are a very rare sight in Britain;there cannot be more than a few hundred on UK roads,the reason being that most early Renaults rust like (beep) to be honest.

[TEEMAN75]

Nowt wrong wi' Morris Itals. I had an X-reg in silver with a vinyl roof. SE model. It had a handy clock, MW/LW radio and a single console-mounted speaker.

[bonobomerv]

Brilliant. John IS a legend.

[CharitableView]

£5,106? Am a made of bloody brass?

[stylophobia]

Don`t get a Morris Ital John. They really were rubbish, based on -unbelievably--the 1948 Morris Minor.The Ambassador was much better -the build quality let it down, not the inherent design.

[fnslr308]

Wasn't this a refined more modern version of the....Princess? Wish I'd kept my copy of Car magazing from the time which I recall praised the then new Ambassador for having "a better ride than a Rolls Royce". Agree that some good 'designs' like Maxi, Ital Estate, Metro etc but all sh*te Production Engineering.

[donkmeister]

Yes, the Princess was a saloon, the Ambassador was a more refined, newer version with a hatchback. We had the Princess in diarhea yellow, my grandfather had an Ambassador Vanden Plas automatic (posh!) in red. You never see any of either now, dunno if it's because of rust or if no-one was interested in hanging onto them, not very sexy cars!!!

[fnslr308]

I'm not a fan of top gear really but they do a BBC Book which is a great "Bloke Present", called My Dad Had One of Those.

And it's worth buying - such gems as the Allegro, Granada (Jack Reagan remember?) and the upwardly mobile Triumph 2.5pi -

Enjoy

[colt79sigma]

The vehicle details for GPP 649Y are: Date of Liability 01 09 1997  Date of First Registration 31 01 1983 Year of Manufacture 1983 Cylinder Capacity (cc) 1700CC CO2 Emissions Not Available Fuel Type Petrol Export Marker Not Applicable Vehicle Status Unlicensed Vehicle Colour CREAM Vehicle Type Approval null

[cosine303]

Vehicle Status Unlicensed = it ended up in the scrap yard and got crushed ? =/ ... I saw they did some brit cars on top gear.. jeez the build quality on em =/ ... although I own a bankrupt (rover) .. one day it might be a collectors item..

[colt79sigma]

Unlicensed means that it's road tax has not been renewed - its a legal reqirement to drive a vehicle on UK roads. It migh be lurking in a shed somewere....

[sneezymonkey]

John is a legend! Long live the Y-reg-meister ;)

[bellinivernon]

Exelente !! ;gracias ,desde argentina.

[daveofmoneyfields8]

i fucking love this song

don't get much better

pure tunageee

[Holygasoline]

Good vid lol - my fave is the Ambassador on the car trailer I imagine the place where the car feels most at home ...' ooooofff !

[stylophobia]

It`s true, you need to expect some problems...but they`re all solvable. About 400 Ambies left in the world now...

[newportgwentdragons]

mine was a 2 litre, A reg and was the worst car i ever had...apart from the others

[martinevans123]

hahaha

[stylophobia]

I really like Austin Ambassadors and John Shuttleworth, so I was over the moon to hear his song. I have the Vanden Plas model. No other car gives the same degree of comfort and practicality although the Maxi and Citroen GSA run it close.But the wedge always gets more looks than a ferrari at a hundredth the price.

[newportgwentdragons]

There was actually a Wedge Owners Club which catered for owners of Ambassadors and Princesses, these luxurious carriages for people of class and taste, who flew the flag for britain on the highways and byways. It was a sad day when BL released the Montego which replaced it...no it wasn,t, the Wedge was crap. Mine was anyway.

[teraq93]

great stuff except... from 0.49 til 1.05 isnt an ambassador. probably an a35 or a40.

[cluntslave]

..top banana!

[SD1LeeLee]

I had one too... Got a princess now. They might have been crap, I actually liked mine. Besides, they got more character than some of the Euroboxtupperwear cars around today.

[EagerBoy59]

Shit car (I had one) but great vid and terrific song! Thanks, Bigmanio and John. Five stars to both of you.

[mandrillfoden]

HELLYEAH THIS IS AWESOME

[verkaforever]

Thanks for uploading this! I love it!

[craigowler]

Ehhhhhhhhhhhhh!!! Real nostalgia....