Beautiful old Buicks

[Steve Loftin]

Here are examples of the first four years of the Flxette series:

1959 limousine (combination?) - Ivey Bros.
1960 limousine ambulance - McRae
1961 landau ambulance - ?
1962 landau (endloader?) - Day

If any of you know where these cars served, please let us know. I found one Ivey Bros. firm in Atlanta, GA. I found three McRae firms; one in Boaz, AL and two in FL...Tampa and St. Petersburg.

[Ron Devies]

I never get tired of looking at those pics. There is something about those beautiful cars that look so good in black and white.

[Steve Loftin]

1-3. 1947, 1949, and 1951 (Baltimore F.D.) Flxible factory postcards

4. This blotter from the Cleveland A.S. in OH shows their '47 model.

[Steve Loftin]

Folks, please feel free to add your BUICK procar photos to this thread.

[Daniel Scully]

This came from Mullens Coach and I sold it to a PCS member here in So Cal.

[Steve Loftin]

This came from Mullens Coach and I sold it to a PCS member here in So Cal.

Is this the one that came from Concordia, KS?

[Daniel Scully]

Is this the one that came from Concordia, KS?


I had no history on it when I bought it , but John Mullens coulld fill in the blanks.

[Todd Merrifield]

From Goodguys Blue Suede Cruise 2009:

http://www.auto-mosaics.com/bsc09/saturday/images/bsc090486.jpg

[Terry Lange]

Here's my contribution:

'62 Flxette - Crestview Ambulance, Winnipeg, Manitoba
'61 Flxette - Greencastle, FL
'64 Flxette - Paul Nix collection, Arleta, CA
'62 Flxible LWB - Paul Nix, formerly Rose Hills Mortuary, Whittier, CA

[Josh Gentry]

Heres a couple I have. In order, a 39, 41, 42, 46, & 49.

Josh

[Steve Loftin]

Heres a couple I have. In order, a 39, 41, 42, 46, & 49.

Josh

Any idea where the '49 is from?

[Josh Gentry]

Any idea where the '49 is from?No I don't, sorry. I wouldn't mind knowing myself, its a very unique looking car.

Josh

[John ED Renstrom]

that 49 was one of the set I gave Josh. no idea were it served. when I started saving pictures the idea of saving the information with them was second to having a shot of the car. now of course I know different. here is two pictures of the us navy receiving the shipment in Baltimore Md from Flexable. first is 37 the other 40 these were one of the you give me a dollar I send you big file pictures deals.

[Cary Livingston]

212 pics of Buicks....not updated in years,,,
http://www.grovestreet.com/jsp/picview.jsp?p=10&album=83615&view=thumbs&sort=date_added&ord=desc&showtrash=1

[Mike Stevens]

Josh,
Great pictures. You might want to remark that 39 without a grille. From the tall grille opening and the divits in the hubcaps it is a 36. The 39 Buick had a low wide grille.
Thanks for adding to the Buick pics here.
Mike

:my2cents:

[Steve Loftin]

212 pics of Buicks....not updated in years,,,
http://www.grovestreet.com/jsp/picview.jsp?p=10&album=83615&view=thumbs&sort=date_added&ord=desc&showtrash=1

That '58 National is magnificent...there's no other word for it!

[Josh Gentry]

That '58 National is magnificent...there's no other word for it!Yes it is, and so is the red 64 National.

Josh

[John ED Renstrom]

Josh,
Great pictures. You might want to remark that 39 without a grille. From the tall grille opening and the divits in the hubcaps it is a 36. The 39 Buick had a low wide grille.
Thanks for adding to the Buick pics here.
Mike

:my2cents:

got that one off e-bay. strange how people don't know what they are selling.
one more I'm thinking this is a factory picture of a fleet order in 1962

[Brady D Smith]

That 58 National Buick was owned by a 58 Buick collector in Pennsylvania for years. He used it to haul his swap meet offerings to Buick meets. We had a mutual friend in the Buick club who introduced us when he brought the ambulance to a Buick National Meet here in Flint some years back. He wasn't interested in selling the car at the time, but promised that if he ever did he would call me first. True to his word he called me about five years later and told be he was moving and had decided to sell the car. He wanted $50,000.00 for it. That was way to rich for my blood and so I just didn't pursue it. I suspect he sold it for far less than that. If I had it to do over I would have worked harder to get a deal. It is a fabulous automobile.

[Jon VanDermark]

Went to a haunted corn maze this weekend in Elmira, NY. To my delight, they had an early 60's (1962?) Buick combination parked out front. It had the expected Halloween paint scheme, but looked relatively solid. The owner said he starts and drives it twice a year. Once to put it out for Halloween and once to put it away. I offered to buy it on the spot, but he declined.

I'll post pics as soon as I get the camera back from my wife.

[Richard Vyse]

Since he posts for no one, I have been told (requested) to post a picture of his 1964 Buick ambulance.

[John ED Renstrom]

here is the much talked about 58 national in Denver

[Steve Loftin]

Here, from my collection, is a fleet shot from New Kensington, PA in 1963. (Note their MoPar preference with the Plymouth, Dodge, and DeSoto [yes, that's Steve #2's car!] station wagons.)

The '58 Buicks are a mystery; they are definitely Nationals, but the bodywork is different from the one seen at the PA and CO meets (car originally from MN; see Lichtman photo below). The roofline on the NK cars appears to be slightly lower than the one from MN; each version has a different upper front door treatment; and the stretch between the side doors and wheel well is shorter on the NK cars.

National built at least one more of these, a combination for the Butcher Mortuary right there in Knightstown. Cary, do you have a shot of this car to post?

[Steve Loftin]

Since he posts for no one, I have been told (requested) to post a picture of his 1964 Buick ambulance.

Is this actually an ambulance, or a combination outfitted to look like one?

[John ED Renstrom]

the story I have is it's a combo that was only used as a ambulance. in reference to Bill's car.

[Brady D Smith]

I never could prove it, but I always suspected that National made more than one 58 Buick ambulance. What a great photo.

[Steve Loftin]

I never could prove it, but I always suspected that National made more than one 58 Buick ambulance. What a great photo.

My pleasure, sir! We now know of three ambulances and at least one combination. The Butcher car and the white over blue one seen in Cary's photo pages could be the same car...can anyone here say for sure?

[Richard Vyse]

Here's a nice Buick!

[John Royark JR]

I have taken a few beautiful old buick pix over the years, but out of all the procar chassis for some reason I have not owned one yet. To see my pix you need to attend an Iowa Hawkeye Chapter event.
I know by now you are tired of reading this, but hey, you do really need to attend one.:soapbox:

[Steve Loftin]

To my knowledge, there were only three long-wheelbase Buicks built by C/B in 1960...the lowtop ambulance in MN, the combination in IL, and this hightop that went to a well-known CA ambulance operator (attached).

The late Maury Baier, owner of the IL car, said he was told that by C/B in the early 1970s when he tried to buy a replacement tailpipe for his car.

(I have the original 8x10 factory negative. The borders weren't straight on this contact print, so I straightened out the car itself as best I could.)

[John ED Renstrom]

one more of them. this one was offered on e-bay a few years back.

[Steve Loftin]

one more of them. this one was offered on e-bay a few years back.

Ex-Mason F.H.; Shattuck, Oklahoma

[Steve Loftin]

What it lacks in beauty, it makes up for in rarity:

Knapp Creek, NY
1968 Trinity/Buick Royal ambulance

(SL collection)

[Tom Hoczyk]

Terry Lange's photo showing the '50's GM Civil Defense Sedan Delivery brought back a distant memory. When I was VERY young, my father was a member of the New Britain (CT) Civil Defense. He was asked to drive a very similar Sedan Delivery truck in the local Memorial Day parade. I went with him to pick the truck up, at downtown fire station #1, the evening before.

Not having driven the truck before, dad pondered just how to start it. There were two buttons, one on the dash, one on the floor next to the accelerator. Dad chose the button on the dash to "start" the truck, but instead the mighty Federal siren started screaming, bringing all the firemen to the garage, most of them laughing at dad's mistake. He was thoroughly embarrassed, but I loved the sound, so I thought it was cooool. I also thought it was neat riding with dad, driving such a "big" truck. This may have planted the seed of my interest in big trucks, fire trucks included. Tom

[Steve Lichtman]

Our '60 Flxible Buick ambulance:
http://images8.fotki.com/v107/photos/1/14152/1329050/1960BuickFlxible-vi.jpg

[Steve Loftin]

Very nice 1959 Barnett/Buick...needs whitewalls and curtains!

(factory photo)

[John ED Renstrom]

thanks for that one See people Barnett did copy the Economy logo almost.

[Steve Loftin]

Brown F.H. (Tulsa, OK)
1959 Comet/Buick

One of my favorite pictures, this girl was caught on a run in 1963 by a Tulsa newspaper photographer. Sold in 1966 to the then-new Butler F.H. (also in Tulsa), it was soon replaced by a 1967 Plymouth wagon. All three beacons and the whistle were moved over to the Plymouth.

(SL collection)

Butler's sold the Buick to a firm in Iola, KS, where a Q2B and a single #17 were installed. The second photo shows how I found her in 1993, sitting behind a house in rural Woodson County, KS.

(SL photo)

[Steve Loftin]

When I visited the Sheffield F.H. (Port Neches, TX) in 1989, they were all but out of business. None of the cars in their garage had been started in a long time; none of them would the day I was there, either. The funeral cars were a 1969 Fleetwood 75 and a 1964 Royale Limousine combination. Their ambulances were these 1962 and 1963 Flxette combinations. A few years after I took these pictures they were purchased by ambulance operator/PCS member Steve Diamond, who later traded them in to an ambulance dealer. The last I heard, they had been sold to a theme park near Mansfield.

(SL photos)

[Bruce Oliphant]

When I visited the Sheffield F.H. (Port Neches, TX) in 1989, they were all but out of business. None of the cars in their garage had been started in a long time; none of them would the day I was there, either. The funeral cars were a 1969 Fleetwood 75 and a 1964 Royale Limousine combination. Their ambulances were these 1962 and 1963 Flxette combinations. A few years after I took these pictures they were purchased by ambulance operator/PCS member Steve Diamond, who later traded them in to an ambulance dealer. The last I heard, they had been sold to a theme park near Mansfield.

(SL photos)


My dad grew up in Port Neches and told this story many times; He was born and raised in a small house just a couple of blocks away from Sheffield's FH. One day when he was in his late teens he heard the Sheffield ambulance coming down the street and went out in the front yard. Mrs. Sheffield was driving and was alone in the rig. Upon seeing my dad by the street she slammed on the brakes, stopped and hollered for him to come over to the car. She told him to jump in because she was by herself and had a patient that she needed help unloading when they got to the hospital. When my dad got in he asked where Mr. Sheffield was. Just as he finished speaking Mr. Sheffield raised up off of the cot in the back and slurred out "here I am boy" and soon passed out again. Seems Mr. Sheffield had partaken of the spirits a little too much and bloodied his melon in a tumble.

That was the end of my dad's ambulance career. My dad passed away last year and I miss him greatly but that story always brings around a smile. :o

[Steve Loftin]

Rio Vista, CA
1965 National/Buick

Based on their popularity in California, I'm guessing the beacons are Supers. Note the siren mounting on top of the dash. Imagine the damage that could've been done to a front seat passenger's face if they had been thrown forward.

This is a VERY nice looking car. National did a great job with the old Flxible tooling, such as on the '66 Chevy posted by the other Steve L. in that thread.

(SL collection)

[Anthony J. Rzucidlo]

Nice looking unit, nice color scheme and nice utilization of emergency warning equipment. It does not have the busy look.

[Mike McDonald]

Nice looking unit, nice color scheme and nice utilization of emergency warning equipment. It does not have the busy look.

Anthony: The CHP at the time and even now inspects and issues Operator Permits for Code-3 Operations and Equipment, both for public agencies and private operators. Although now they seem to have slacked off some in current years with allowing "the sky's the limit"... it lighting... back then, it was pretty much to their tested and proven standards that were very conservative including the must for at least one STEADY RED and a Flashing Rear Amber. They considered more lighting than necessary as potentially distracting to the motoring public. To this day no CA state ownd vehicle uses strobes for instance, only LED's.

A good example of this is the hauling Oversize Loads in CA... other states allow signs that say: "Oversize Load"... in CA they can only say "OVERSIZE" in 10" X 1" minimum stroke lettering... their theory is that is takes too long to read the extra wording, or that you can't see it well enough in inclement weather because of the additional or smaller lettering. MM

[Tony Karsnia]

Since this car is 20 years old already (!) I guess it is appropriate to include it here. This is a 1990 S&S Buick commercial glass Victoria that I shot just after delivery to Jones-Behrens FH in Park Rapids, MN. I always thought these were beautifully styled cars; a nice change from the "converted wagon" look of the cars coming from Lima.

(Karsnia photos)

[Steve Loftin]

Since this car is 20 years old already (!) I guess it is appropriate to include it here. This is a 1990 S&S Buick commercial glass Victoria that I shot just after delivery to Jones-Behrens FH in Park Rapids, MN. I always thought these were beautifully styled cars; a nice change from the "converted wagon" look of the cars coming from Lima.


These Buicks looked great with commercial glass, but even better with the full-length side door and no "dog leg."

[Steve Loftin]

1959 Premier
The '59 models are my favorite Buicks. Removable landau panels were introduced by Flxible in 1959.

Branam F.H. (Homestead, FL)
1962 Premier
This firm, although now reduced to national chain ownership, is still in business: http://www.branamfuneralhome.com/dm20/en_US/locations/43/4351/history.page

(factory photos)

[Steve Loftin]

McDonald F.H. (?, ?)
1947 Premier

1950 Premier
Flxible's upper-end Premier models for 1950, based on Buick's Roadmaster series, featured the 152-hp Fireball straight-eight engine as standard equipment. The Dynaflow automatic transmission, introduced in 1948, was also standard on all Roadmasters. The "ambulance" inserts and whitewall tires were extra-cost options.

(factory photos)

The '50 models are my second-favorite year of Buick; in fact, I always fancied myself owning a '50 Jetback or Sedanet fastback one day (but probably not this color): http://rackandruin.blogspot.com/2009/01/gratuitous-buick-shot.html

[Steve Loftin]

To my knowledge, there were only three long-wheelbase Buicks built by C/B in 1960...the lowtop ambulance in MN, the combination in IL, and this hightop that went to a well-known CA ambulance operator (attached).

The late Maury Baier, owner of the IL car, said he was told that by C/B in the early 1970s when he tried to buy a replacement tailpipe for his car.


Mr. Baier, then owner of the Ford-Baier F.H. in Paxton, IL, acquired this car with the funeral home he bought in nearby Buckley (around 1970):

(SL photo)

[Jerry Jacobson]

Photos taken from a chapter meet in Loudenville, Ohio.

[Steve Loftin]

Photos taken from a chapter meet in Loudenville, Ohio.

Very nice; owned by...?

[Keith Snyder]

McDonald F.H. (?, ?)
1947 Premier

That particular car (a B23-747 Premier Combination Car) went to the McDonald Funeral Home of Picayune, Mississippi.

[Keith Snyder]

That 1964 Premier combination car (model FB61-64) is owned by the Byerly-Lindsey Funeral Home which is located at 123 N. Market Steet in Loudonville. This was formerly the Banks Funeral Home in front of which many Flxible factory photos were taken. Those photos must have been taken some time ago. I was down there wityh a friend last summer and the car has been completely restored and looks like new. It was even displayed at the Ohio Funeral Directors Convention. It has a green and white vinyl interior (almost all original) and is equipped with built-in rear compartment air-conditioning as well.

[Steve Loftin]

Here's a 1918-ish model; body builder unknown. Because it looks much like a hearse, I'm guessing it's a combination with removable AMBULANCE plates.

(SL collection)

[Keith Snyder]

Weigand was a pretty loyal user of Buick-based equipment. I have seen a number of photos of Weigand owned Flxible-Buicks over the years. The ambulance in this 1918 ad could very well be a Galion, Ohio built Kunkle. There are some Kunkle styling characteristics evident in this nice example.

[Steve Loftin]

Trevose Heights Fire Co. (Richboro, PA)
1951 Premier

A note on the back says this photo was taken in September, 1953 in Rockledge, PA (I assume at a parade). Visible factory options include an automatic transmission, dual spotlights, C6 sirenlight, tunnel lights, and flashers below the headlights. The bell appears to have been installed locally.

(SL collection)

[Jerry Jacobson]

Here's one I always liked.

[Keith Snyder]

According to McPherson - who checked the Flxible delivery records - that particular 1951 Premier ambulance (FB22-751) was delivered to the Trevose Heights Volunteer Fire Company of Trevose Heights, Pennsylvania on March 3, 1952, was Flxible body number 17187, had frame number 16134718 and engine number 63388997. He said the records do not indicate who sold the vehicle to them. He also noted that, for some unknown reason, there were a fair number of these '51 cars that did not get delivered until the early part of 1952.

[Terry Lange]

This Trinity Buick was part of the Snyder Ambulance fleet out of Los Angeles. When I took these photos many years ago up in the Palmdale CA area, it was owned by Bobb Kosoff. He is the same person who at one time owned the infamous '63 Pontiac military ambulance that ran through Barrett-Jackson last year.

[Keith Snyder]

Now....that is interesting. I'd never seen or even heard of a high headroom Trinity-Buick. Thanks for posting these images.

[Steve Loftin]

I'd never seen or even heard of a high headroom Trinity-Buick.

To my knowledge this was the only one built.

[Steve Loftin]

South Hempstead, NY
1934 Flxible

Williston Park, NY
1937 Flxible

(SL collection)

[Dave Hopping]

here is the much talked about 58 national in Denver

I took these 2 at the Denver meet.

[Terry Lange]

I shot this '59 Flxible Buick Premier at a Northland Chapter PCS meet back in the late '80's. It was owned by Dale Niewoehner, a funeral director in Rugby, ND. I don't recall if it was a combo or funeral coach.

Terry

[Steve Loftin]

I don't recall if it was a combo or funeral coach.


She's a combination.

[Steve Loftin]

I took these 2 at the Denver meet.

This car is magnificently spectacular.

[Keith Snyder]

Just a quick note to Mr. Loftin regarding that photo of the South Hempstead, NY Flxible-Buick. The vehicle in the photo is a 1935 not a 1934. While almost identical, the 1935 Flxible-Buicks had a one-piece stamped steel roof while the 1934 models had the fabric insert in the roof. It's an easy mistake to make but, inspecting your image closely will reveal that this car had an all-steel roof with no insert making it a 1935. Thanks for posting the image.

[Steve Loftin]

Here, from my collection, is a fleet shot from New Kensington, PA in 1963.

Here's a better shot of one of the Buicks, also taken in 1963. Love that '54 Federal/General pumper, too!

(Ed Saliba collection)

[Brady D Smith]

For several years that red and white '58 belonged to a Buick collector/vendor in Pennsylvania. He used it to haul his parts to swap meets all over creation including the Buick National Meet in Flint a couple times. I had bugged him about that car for years. When he finally decided to sell it he called me up and he gave me the first chance to buy it........the asking price a whopping $75,000.00!! I was so peeved by that price that I never talked to the guy again. When I heard a year later that the car had sold for a fairly reasonable (but still high) price I was just sick that I didn't follow up on it and try to buy it. What a great car!!!! I shouldn't have let that guy get my goat.

[Brady D Smith]

I thought the only thing that came out of Texas was bondo sculptures, but that High headroom car looks pretty good.

[Attila Bethlenfalvy]

That 58 National Buick was owned by a 58 Buick collector in Pennsylvania for years. /snip/ He wanted $50,000.00 for it. That was way to rich for my blood and so I just didn't pursue it.

For several years that red and white '58 belonged to a Buick collector/vendor in Pennsylvania. /snip/ When he finally decided to sell it he called me up and he gave me the first chance to buy it........the asking price a whopping $75,000.00!! I was so peeved by that price that I never talked to the guy again.

Hey Brady - What's a phantom $25k between senile friends? :p

Onto some Dutch Ponchos.

'55 Smit-Joure Roadmaster ambulance #1 (note partition curtain):

http://img706.imageshack.us/img706/3123/55buicksmitjoure4.jpg
http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/8827/55buicksmitjoure5.jpg

With '50 Packard and '47 Buick (also both Smit-Joure):

http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/1166/55buicksmitjoure3.jpg

'55 Smit-Joure Roadmaster ambulance #2:

http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/2884/55buicksmitjoure2.jpg
http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/2462/55buicksmitjoure.jpg

'56 Smit-Joure Roadmaster ambulance:

http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/4185/56buicksmitjoure.jpg

With '50 Packard (again) and '55 #2:

http://img838.imageshack.us/img838/2584/55buicksmitjoure57buick.jpg

Boy am I a sucker for that '56 front curved roof glass.

[Brady D Smith]

I said it was fifty, she said it was 75 and when I thought about it.....she was right as usual.

[Attila Bethlenfalvy]

Happened across a partial ambulance shot from Sept. 30, '55 - James Dean's accident scene. That led to searching for more. Resolution isn't the greatest but reasonably sure this is a '52 Flxible Sterling ambulance, making it 1 of 132 made before Flxible took hiatus from producing procars.

http://img684.imageshack.us/img684/5882/52flxible2.jpg
http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/1755/52flxible2b.jpg
http://img715.imageshack.us/img715/6175/52flxible2c.jpg

While looking for more of the above, this previously unseen to me '52 Flxible Premiere survivor in Sweden appeared.

http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/3613/52flxible3.jpg
http://img33.imageshack.us/img33/4395/52flxible3b.jpg

[Mike McDonald]

Kind of odd for the era having a CA Ambulance as well equipped as ths one was with no markings? Does anyone have any additional information as to whose it was at the time and if it's still sitting where the last picture was taken? THX-MM

[John ED Renstrom]

now that's a sharp car. my kind of ambulance. lot of lines and style

[John Royark JR]

As ED said the lines on this year is very cool. I bet that had to be a challenge to make the body lines match so well.

[Keith Snyder]

Attila.....You are correct. That is a 1952 Flxible-Buick Sterling ambulance. I sent this straight away to Tom McPherson to see if he could shed some light on the vehicle. His reply was that there was only one Sterling straight ambulance sold in the state of California in 1952 and it went to a Stanely Bennett of Paso Robles, California. It was a model B22-552 (Sterling Ambulance) that bore body number 17503 and was delivered to Bennett on July 10, 1952. From what I've read on the internet regarding this accident, Dean was in the Paso Robles vicinity (about 60 miles away) when the accident happened so....it's logical to deduce that this was the car. I've not been able to find a Bennett funeral home in the area so...this could have been owned by a private ambulance operator.

[Jay Maynard]

Somebody needs to get this, restore it and then auction it off with Barrett-Jackson once it was authenticated and all the documentation secured. Then the PCS would have the last laugh on BJ once and for all.

[Keith Snyder]

Just got a message from Tom regarding Flxible ambulances for 1952. He says: "Flxible produced 132 Buick-based professional cars in 1952. Of these, 32 were straight ambulances. Broken down, these amounted to 28 on the Seres 70 Roadmaster chassis and only 4 on the Series 50 Buick Super chassis". There you have it folks. The James Dean ambulance was one of only four Sterlings built in 1952 and the only one that went to California. Wish we had the serial plate information on that Premier ambulance that is supposedly in Sweden. It would be interesting to kow where that went when new.

[Adam Borkat]

I had done some research on the James Dean ambulance some years ago along with a James Dean historian. Unfortunately I lost it along with some great later photos of the ambulance, but as I recall...

Paul Moreno was one of the attendants removing Dean from the accident. At the time of the accident, it belonged to Mr. Moreno, who also owned an auto repair shop in Cholame. While carrying Dean and while on the way to the hospital, the Buick was actually sideswiped, leaving minor damage to the front fender and door. It ended up in Moreno's garage, which was also storing Dean's Porsche and Turnupseed's Ford.

In some of the pictures I had, you could see all the cars stored together, and later pictures of the ambulance after it was repaired.

[Steve Loftin]

Paul Moreno was one of the attendants removing Dean from the accident. At the time of the accident, it belonged to Mr. Moreno, who also owned an auto repair shop in Cholame. While carrying Dean and while on the way to the hospital, the Buick was actually sideswiped, leaving minor damage to the front fender and door. It ended up in Moreno's garage, which was also storing Dean's Porsche and Turnupseed's Ford.

Lots more information, speculation, and photos here:

http://nunesfireandice.com/james_dean.html

http://deadwrite.wordpress.com/tag/james-dean/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_sj5HNKX0A&feature=player_embedded#!

[Attila Bethlenfalvy]

Wish we had the serial plate information on that Premier ambulance that is supposedly in Sweden. It would be interesting to kow where that went when new.

Poking around for some time I located physical address in Fårö (an island in Baltic Sea with a population of less than 600), then name & phone number, then active email address - and sent an inquiry off. Let's hope my rusty Swedish from dating an ex gels with Fårö's own dialect... :thumb:

[Tim Cenowa]

The two ambulances don't seem to be the same vehicle. The one at the accident scene has three port holes while the other has four.

[Attila Bethlenfalvy]

As written Tim, they're not the same ambulance.

Did you also happen to notice that the portholes themselves are different shapes between small and large bodied '52 Buicks? Roadmaster has dubious distinction of having center, horizontal design element that extends beyond the circle.

http://img833.imageshack.us/img833/5764/dsc02476n.jpg

These are hard to find in junkyards and sought after in the custom car community.

[Pat Post]

http://www.professionalcarsociety.org/forums/picture.php?albumid=170&pictureid=1895
My '86 Superior. Purchased new by Thompson-Brown Funeral Home Pen Yan, NY. Sold to Trahan Mortuary, Pensacola, FL in 1997. Purchased by me August 2004.
http://www.professionalcarsociety.org/forums/picture.php?albumid=170&pictureid=1896
At the El Paso Cemetery, Derby, KS with "Silent Siren" headlamps on.

[Attila Bethlenfalvy]

'41 Flxible Buick ambulance stationed at Ben Bow chromite mine in Stillwater County, Montana from Sept '42. Russell Lee photographer, courtesy Library of Congress.

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/service/pnp/fsa/8d08000/8d08800/8d08852v.jpg

[Attila Bethlenfalvy]

T.J. Richards Ltd of Keswick converted a horse drawn, mounting on a new '25 Buick. Delivery to Taylor & Forgie FH took place 12/2/25. It remained at the FH until 5/50.

Clarrie Forgie driver.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7123/7124611811_0f01a68688_b.jpg

[Skip Goulet]

here is the much talked about 58 national in Denver

This one showed up at Lancaster in '99 and stole the show. Sad thing is, the light and sound show had just ended as they drove up. Sweeet car!

[Skip Goulet]

I shot this '59 Flxible Buick Premier at a Northland Chapter PCS meet back in the late '80's. It was owned by Dale Niewoehner, a funeral director in Rugby, ND. I don't recall if it was a combo or funeral coach.

Terry

Got any good shots of that hightop Dodge rig, Terry? Nice. Steve's a Mopar fan,too.

[Skip Goulet]

Lots more information, speculation, and photos here:

http://nunesfireandice.com/james_dean.html

http://deadwrite.wordpress.com/tag/james-dean/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_sj5HNKX0A&feature=player_embedded#!

I had just turned 10 the month before James Dean's fatal car crash. I was only slightly familiar with him at the time, although I had seen a couple of his movies. When the news came out about the fatal wreck, I had mistakenly thought at first that they were talking about the late-Jimmy Dean, actor and sausage king who was from Plainview, TX. I was quickly corrected and had it explained that there were two Deans with similar names.

[Terry Lange]

Got any good shots of that hightop Dodge rig, Terry? Nice. Steve's a Mopar fan,too.

Skip, I posted 3 pictures of the National Dodge on the "Mopar Procars" thread. It is post #6.

[Skip Goulet]

Skip, I posted 3 pictures of the National Dodge on the "Mopar Procars" thread. It is post #6.

I found the link to the Mopar post, Terry. Thanks. There was also a post of that neat red Memphian Dodge. I've seen pix of it in Gregg Merksamer's book and elsewhere. But those were the first closeups I've seen. Check my post at the end of that thread.