Introducing the 1962 C/B Ambulance

Paul Steinberg

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I am headed into the final stretch in the restoration of this 1962 Cotner Bevington Chevrolet Station Wagon Conversion Ambulance. Thanks to all that have helped me to secure the necessary missing parts, especially Ed Renstrom and Kurt Arends.
 

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Thanks to Doc Brown, Marty McFly, and their marvelous time-traveling DeLorean, I was able to get a copy of the Monroney sticker for the car.
 

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Thats great having a copy!!! The last six of the VIN stamped no computers then, $10.50 for seat belts. The government was not building cars then. I looked at the front fenders V emblems not the 327 flags did a little head scratching and I don't think the flags started till 63. The State Police cars here was Chevie in 62 stick Bel Airs (Birch Gray) 327 and the Turnpike and some other areas had Overdrive. They were coming off just when I started cop cars the shift linkage and column were a disaster thank god your rig has PG. I look forward to seeing it in person one day.
 
Great job on those front tunnel light housings and lenses. Were you able to find a set off an old C/B, or did you have them made up from scratch? Looks much better than those old torpedo lights that always seemed too close together.

Overall, very nicely done restoration!
 
They were cut off of an Oldsmobile that Kurt Arends found in Nebraska. I purchased the front roof section from the top of the windshield pillar back to the rear of the B pillar, and had it shipped to me. I also got the stainless steel roof moldings from the car prior to having the roof cut off.
Then the pods were removed from the roof panels by melting away the lead, and the steel pods were sandblasted, and prepared for grafting to the Chevrolet roof. Once welded onto the roof, they meticulously recreated the contour as it was done in lead, but this time they used modern materials. I was there to approve every step of the job, since I didn't want to gamble that it might not come out as expected. Once they were installed, the removed everything from the roof, and welded up the multitude of holes that had been drilled into the roof by a previous owner.
 

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Next came the installation of the roof stainless steel trim. This presented a problem, because along the way, I came to the conclusion that there were 2 people working on opposite sides the Oldsmobile while it was being built, and neither did the same operations the same as the other. This lead to one molding being about 3" longer that the other side, and the placement was also different side to side. This had to be corrected, and the stainless was trimmed so both sides would match. This caused additional problems, but after some trimming, welding, and polishing of the stainless, both sides now match.
 

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Not only did those tunnel light come off of C-B Olds, but they actually came off of a '62 SWB Olds ambulance.
 
This week I turned my attention to completing the heating and air conditioning systems. Heater hoses went smooth with no problems, except for one factory clip that seems to have shrunk since it was originally manufactured. I hope to have a replacement within a week or two.
Next up with to connect the air conditioning hoses to the compressor and the condenser. This would have been a lot easier if the old hose was still available, but today, all that is available is "barrier" hose, that keeps the Freon from leaking out through the hose wall. It is much more difficult to work with, since it is much stiffer, and more difficult to get onto the barbed fittings. After struggling with one hose for about an hour, I finally got both ends seated next to the ring on the barbed fitting that indicates it is properly seated. I wouldn't want to be the next person to have to work on this, because they are as difficult to get off as they are to get on. Today, all cars use hoses with threaded metal ends that screw on. In 1962, only expensive cars got those better connections.
 

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