Running through the 'INSTALL' file on a new Ubuntu 14.04 box:
root@rancid:~/code/rancid-git# automake --add-missing
configure.ac: error: no proper invocation of AM_INIT_AUTOMAKE was found.
configure.ac: You should verify that configure.ac invokes AM_INIT_AUTOMAKE,
configure.ac: that aclocal.m4 is present in the top-level directory,
configure.ac: and that aclocal.m4 was recently regenerated (using aclocal)
Makefile.am:41: error: MK_LCLSTATEDIR does not appear in AM_CONDITIONAL
/usr/share/automake-1.14/am/depend2.am: error: am__fastdepCC does not appear in AM_CONDITIONAL
/usr/share/automake-1.14/am/depend2.am: The usual way to define 'am__fastdepCC' is to add 'AC_PROG_CC'
/usr/share/automake-1.14/am/depend2.am: to 'configure.ac' and run 'aclocal' and 'autoconf' again
/usr/share/automake-1.14/am/depend2.am: error: AMDEP does not appear in AM_CONDITIONAL
/usr/share/automake-1.14/am/depend2.am: The usual way to define 'AMDEP' is to add one of the compiler tests
/usr/share/automake-1.14/am/depend2.am: AC_PROG_CC, AC_PROG_CXX, AC_PROG_OBJC, AC_PROG_OBJCXX,
/usr/share/automake-1.14/am/depend2.am: AM_PROG_AS, AM_PROG_GCJ, AM_PROG_UPC
/usr/share/automake-1.14/am/depend2.am: to 'configure.ac' and run 'aclocal' and 'autoconf' again
etc/Makefile.am:56: error: CONF_INSTALL does not appear in AM_CONDITIONAL
root@rancid:~/code/rancid-git#
This works if you do "autoreconf -fmi" -- have just tested. I've included configure files in the repo now, so it should build without needing automake.
Running through the 'INSTALL' file on a new Ubuntu 14.04 box: