[mathai]

. Would love to see it in black as in Lalettan's Lucifer. It would look hot on the streets. Especially cruising on a highway with a piece of good music to set the mood. In the end, it's an emotion can't express through words. Looking forward to seeing more photos especially a photoshoot.

Originally Posted by Kosfactor

Dear Friend, Please keep the classic amby looks, I would wish that you get inspired by the amby in Malayalam movie Lucifer, white wall tires , a metal dashboard, large thin steering wheel to go with it. (I think that was MK1)

Find a vintage roof carrier while you are at it. I'll attach a picture of an ambi I took a picture of from Kochi.
Best regards as always.
Attachment 1917111

[Tpsdhiraj]

Hi Aravind
Great to see that you are taking up the honours of resurrecting a legend. This reminds me of my grandfather's mark 2 Amby which he bought in 1960's and was with us for till 2007, it ultimately had to be scraped as the rust had gotten out of control and the rust on the chassis was beyond repair. Also it had two Isuzu engine diesel swaps in its lifetime.Hoping to get a mark 2 Amby someday.

Cheers
Tps

[aravind511]

Originally Posted by skyocean

As someone whose face is washed by many rains of the southwest monsoon, the tingly prickly sensation when one walks bare foot on that laterite soil I must congratulate on realizing a dream here. These very pictures reflect the nostalgia and reminds me of the glorious fading tales of a bygone era.

I'm eagerly waiting for your restoration to complete to know the story behind it. For me an ambassador car reminds me of my grandpa, and his floor shift Amby. I feel out of the many only two vehicles can instigate this sort of nostalgia in us, an old mahindra jeep and our good old Amby! All the best to you.

Wow. Loved those lines. Thank you Skyocean.

I think you should add Padmini also to the list for it to be completed. My grandfather used to own a Mahindra long chassis jeep (CJ560, if I remember the model name correctly) for 20+ years and exchanged it one day with a newer jeep while I was 18. I remember being upset with him for doing that. I am on the hunt to find the same jeep but haven't been successful yet.

Originally Posted by Kosfactor

Dear Friend, Please keep the classic amby looks, I would wish that you get inspired by the amby in Malayalam movie Lucifer, white wall tires , a metal dashboard, large thin steering wheel to go with it. (I think that was MK1)

Find a vintage roof carrier while you are at it. I'll attach a picture of an ambi I took a picture of from Kochi.
Best regards as always.
Attachment 1917111

Dear Kosfactor,
Sure. I will keep the original Mark 4 exterior looks. White wall tyres came in an era were Mark 1s and 2s were ruling the road hence I am not sure if it will suit a Mark 4. Also, I am in love with those alloy wheels which came with the car and white walls will look out of place on them. However, I am sourcing all the original parts of a Mark 4 including the wheels, dashboard and thin steering wheel during this phase of the restoration itself. But making the car completely stock will have to happen as a second phase of restoration.

This second phase, if it were to happen, will have to include changing the floor gear back to column shift, which may not be practical as the car has an Isuzu 5 speed box mated to a Matador engine. Also as the car is having a floor mounted gear, it will look better if it has a console. But the console would not look good along with a classic Amby dashboard. That's why I am planning to keep the fabricated dashboard that came with the car.

Many thanks to you for suggesting a roof carrier. I had never thought about it. Will try and source one. That Mark 2 on the pic you shared looks fabulous. It looks to be a re registered car as it has a newer number. My car is also registered at KL-07 (Ernakulam/Kochi).

Originally Posted by mathai

. Would love to see it in black as in Lalettan's Lucifer. It would look hot on the streets. Especially cruising on a highway with a piece of good music to set the mood. In the end, it's an emotion can't express through words. Looking forward to seeing more photos especially a photoshoot.

Hi Mathai,
Undoubtedly black is the colour that suits best on an Amby. But most of the Ambys that I see on the road these days are either black or white. Aditya, a friend and a fellow Ambassador owner has shared some period colours that came on a Mark 4. Many of those colours actually look interesting. If I can't find anything exciting enough among these colours then black will be the choice.


Aditya's Ambassador itself sports a beautiful green shade that came from the factory.

Originally Posted by Tpsdhiraj

Hi Aravind
Great to see that you are taking up the honours of resurrecting a legend. This reminds me of my grandfather's mark 2 Amby which he bought in 1960's and was with us for till 2007, it ultimately had to be scraped as the rust had gotten out of control and the rust on the chassis was beyond repair. Also it had two Isuzu engine diesel swaps in its lifetime.Hoping to get a mark 2 Amby someday.

Cheers
Tps

Thank you Tps,
Hats off to your grandpa for keeping the Amby in the family for 40+ years. I am sure there won't be many cars in the country which have had the luck to stay in the same hands for so long. Wishing you all the best to find a beautiful Mark 2. Those things are getting rarer day by day, so speed up.

[snan]

Keeping a close watch on this thread. Lovely to see the restoration and sad to see that the FNG disappeared overnight ! Amby is not a car - its a hotchpotch of childhood memories and dejavu.

[skyocean]

Originally Posted by aravind511

Wow. Loved those lines. Thank you Skyocean.

I think you should add Padmini also to the list for it to be completed. My grandfather used to own a Mahindra long chassis jeep (CJ560, if I remember the model name correctly) for 20+ years and exchanged it one day with a newer jeep while I was 18. I remember being upset with him for doing that. I am on the hunt to find the same jeep but haven't been successful yet.

Thank you Aravind, so true. Padmini is also a must in the list. I’m sure you would agree, The smell of the interiors of these vehicles after parking it outside on a hot summer afternoon, will still be fresh in our minds. Nostalgia again

[aravind511]

Originally Posted by snan

Keeping a close watch on this thread. Lovely to see the restoration and sad to see that the FNG disappeared overnight ! Amby is not a car - its a hotchpotch of childhood memories and dejavu.

True. Thank you Snan. The FNG is getting resurrected and hopefully will be ready by early October.

Originally Posted by skyocean

Thank you Aravind, so true. Padmini is also a must in the list. I’m sure you would agree, The smell of the interiors of these vehicles after parking it outside on a hot summer afternoon, will still be fresh in our minds. Nostalgia again

I dont know if you will believe me when I say this, but you have to. This car had that exact same smell inside when I picked it up, even though it was abandoned for two years. It had been years together since I got inside an Ambassador but this nostalgic smell and feeling was a special experience. I did not mention it earlier in this thread because I was not sure how to write about it and was doubtful whether people will recognise this smell even if I write about it. A million thanks for bringing it up here.

[aravind511]

As I said earlier, we had to find new sets of rear door and boot to complete the body fitments and alignment. Gopan chettan, as we friends call Mr. Gopan, had arranged with a couple of scrap dealers to contact him if any good pieces come up. On Friday he got a call from one of these guys saying that there are two Ambassadors that have turned up to be scrapped. We decided to take a look at both the cars.

We went there the very next day and saw a Mark 4 and a newer model one lying there. The dealer asked us to choose the parts that we are interested in from those cars and then go back and come on the next day to collect them. Meanwhile, his workers will dismantle these cars. Though we went there only for a door and a boot we ended up picking two rear doors, the boot and the steering wheel from the Mark 4 and both the front fenders and some other little bits from the other car. After choosing the required parts and further scanning the yard for another hour to find more parts we finally went home to come back the next day to collect them.


Organ donor 1 - The Mark 4


Organ donor 2


Nova type steering wheel with two horn switches. Picked this up just because I got it for literally peanuts!

The next day, we reached the yard by 10am and everything was ready to be picked up. I felt sorry seeing those beautiful cars I saw the previous day in a pitiful stripped down state. However, I soon realised that I can't rescue all of them and shifted my focus to the one I am trying to rescue. So I wished the cars peace and courage and collected all the parts and hired an Ape mini to transport them.


One of the cars after the removal of vital organs


Ready to be shipped


At Gopan Chettan's house

Now that the required body parts are all here, Gopan chettan will start with the alignment and fitment of the panels one of these days. Things have started moving pretty quick and I hope that we will be able to keep up the pace.

[joe angelo]

Originally Posted by Kosfactor

Dear Friend, Please keep the classic amby looks, I would wish that you get inspired by the amby in Malayalam movie Lucifer, white wall tires , a metal dashboard, large thin steering wheel to go with it. (I think that was MK1)

Find a vintage roof carrier while you are at it. I'll attach a picture of an ambi I took a picture of from Kochi.
Best regards as always.
Attachment 1917111

Yes. I too agree that looks should be kept original always.
There is a small correction, I think Lucifer doesnt drive in an Amby, its an old British car known as Vauxhall, its an 1951 model if I am not wrong.

[Sanidhya mukund]

Originally Posted by joe angelo

Yes. I too agree that looks should be kept original always.
There is a small correction, I think Lucifer doesnt drive in an Amby, its an old British car known as Vauxhall, its an 1951 model if I am not wrong.

The car in the movie is actually a Hindustan motors landmaster, the ambassador’s elder cousin

[aravind511]

Originally Posted by joe angelo

Yes. I too agree that looks should be kept original always.
There is a small correction, I think Lucifer doesnt drive in an Amby, its an old British car known as Vauxhall, its an 1951 model if I am not wrong.

The car used by Mohanlal in Lucifer is a Hindustan Landmaster, a predecessor to Ambassador Mark 1. The particular car used in the movie is actually owned by actor Nandhu and he has done a really good job of restoring it.


This is a picture from a Malayalam television channel program which covered the car after the movie released.

[joe angelo]

Originally Posted by Sanidhya mukund

The car in the movie is actually a Hindustan motors landmaster, the ambassador’s elder cousin

Thank you for the information.

Originally Posted by aravind511

The car used by Mohanlal in Lucifer is a Hindustan Landmaster, a predecessor to Ambassador Mark 1. The particular car used in the movie is actually owned by actor Nandhu and he has done a really good job of restoring it.

Attachment 1918522
This is a picture from a Malayalam television channel program which covered the car after the movie released.

Great! Same car only. I think Prithviraj bought this car after the runaway success of Lucifer movie, saw his name in the vehicle details site. May be for L2 release we will see this again.

[aravind511]

What has one little virus done to our species over the last 1.5 years!

Over this time period, the hierarchy of things in my priority list got jumbled and this car restoration lost quite a few spots. For a quick recap, we had completed most of the patchwork by December 2019 and we were getting quotes from various painters just before Covid-19 struck. The work came to a complete halt after this.

Once the lockdown was announced, we decided to cover the car up safely and leave it at the same spot till the situation turns better. It was left in the same place for 13 months. I was also not much worried about doing it, as the patch work guy had completed most of his work and as the vehicle has valid fitness till 2024.

In February, we removed the cover and have restarted the restoration process.


This is how the car looked once the covers were removed.

There was a little bit of surface rust over the exposed areas which was manageable, otherwise the car looked in good shape after being neglected for more than a year. I have finalised the painter and he has started the pre-preparation now.

Going forward I will try and keep this thread updated about the restoration as it progresses.

[RenuKumar]

Eagerly waiting to see the outcome as I am planning to restore one soon

[arun1100]

Originally Posted by aravind511

What has one little virus done to our species over the last 1.5 years!

Nice restoration thread! Please do update regularly as the Ambassador is being restored. BTW, sorry if missed, where is this Amby being restored?

Originally Posted by RenuKumar

Eagerly waiting to see the outcome as I am planning to restore one soon

Please post some pics.

[Retrogrease]

Originally Posted by aravind511

Thanks Anand. What a beautiful car you have got there. Even I have to get the paperwork done. But the car can be presented to the RTO only after some basic works. I had seen similar alloys as on my car listed on olx quite sometime back. Can't find it now though.

Getting my car back to stock will be tough ask as the entire interior has been upgraded over a period of time. I think a more logical thing to do now will be to spend for making it a reliable daily runner. However, I would like to get those square park lights and front indicators as those fitted on your car.

Will definitely PM you on WhatsApp. Kindly keep posting the pictures of your work.

Hi Aravind-

Wonderfull job on the car. I was wondering if you can help me source the mark 4 grill, and the square shaped parked lights for my Ambassador mark 4. The sellers in and around here in my area charge exorbitant rates. Can you help?

Thanks

Baiju