> MY WISH COME TRUE
The car: 1967 AMC Ambassador 2-door hardtop.
The owner: Jodee Scott, Ontario division president of American Motors Owners Association (AMO), the international AMC club.
The story: My first car was a 1968 AMX which I only had for a year. It had been my wish to own another, but on my salary that wasn’t in the cards.
Late in 2008, I heard about a man who was trying to move some American Motors cars from Ada, Okla., to Carson City, Nev.
He had a 1967 Ambassador DPL, two 1970 Rebels and a 1985 Eagle station wagon.
I contacted him, explained who I was and that my brother-in-law and I could do the move for him. The deal was to move the cars and he would give one of them to us, for helping out. I was interested in the Ambassador.
Then I heard from him that the move had fallen through. But if I still wanted the Ambassador, he said, all I had to do was pick it up in Ada.
The big annual AMO convention was to take place not so far away in St. Louis, Mo. in 2009. My brother-inlaw was taking an AMC Spirit there in a closed trailer, to sell. We got the idea to leave the Spirit in St. Louis and carry on to Ada to pick up the Ambassador.
About an hour out of Ada, we contacted the gentleman as arranged, to get the code to the gates of the storage facility where the vehicle was kept. He said that if I decided I didn’t want the car, he would reimburse the cost of gas to and from St. Louis! We were overwhelmed by his generosity, but wondered whether we were picking up a decent car or a rust bucket.
Arriving, we were amazed to find a car that, other than a coat of dust and weather-baked corners on the front seats, was in great condition. We inflated the tires, poured some gas down the carburetor and into the gas tank, hooked up a battery and it fired up.
I have since repaired the seats, replaced the carpet and part of the dash. But in the main the car is as we found it.
I have had it at many shows including Ramblerama, held annually in Port Perry, Ont., by the Northern Ramblers car club. The car has won four trophies over the last six years. My brother-in-law and I have since moved the kind man’s Rebels for him.
I drove this car to the 2015 AMO International Convention in Cleveland in July. It performed perfectly, and was much commented on. This generous American American Motors collector made my wish come true, and I will be forever grateful.
Show us your candy: Got a cool custom or vintage car? Send us a picture of you and your family with your beauty, and tell us your story. And we like photos — the more the better — of the interior, trim, wheels, emblems, what you admire. Email
wheels@thestar.ca and be sure to use “Eye Candy” in the subject line.