62 M-M Guardian Ambulance - Auction

Wow, I don't think I've ever seen a picture of the back of an M-M Guardian. After all that styling, smooth lines, and big rear overhang, do I see that the back door is really just....flat?

Interestingly, it has the same corner cut in the back door that a Eureka Hi-Boy of the same era does, too (see below). I guess to clear the overhang.

I agree, the M-M/Cadillac "Guardian" is surely lacking in style and elegance compared to the 1960-1964 Eureka-Cadillac "Hi-Boy" models. :p

The cut-out is to allow for a spotlight, just like on the "Hi-Boy." You can see the holes present on the one for sale, plus it pictured in the attached 1962 "Guardian" ad from Fire Engineering I purchased maybe a year ago on eBay.

P.S.: I'd be happy to trade the hard copy to a "Guardian" enthusiast for "Hi-Boy" literature. :)

Looks like someone was using it as a mini storage shed!

The combination lock would be awkward on a run though. Like I said hoarders are a different kind of people. He was after the unusual though. I would grab the pacer. Had a couple of then not bad cars

Not unheard of later in service life apparently - primary sources are king. Here's an article from 1977 detailing how a private service there used a 1966 ambulance with a similar setup.
 

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I took Barb out for breakfast in Norwalk this morning. On the way we went by the old Bargain Center property. A lot of the vehicles have been "staged" on the lot. The '62 Guardian is sitting right by the fence along Lais Rd., the front windows are down and the front area is exposed to the elements. Overall the car doesn't appear to be in terrible condition. The fender skirts are not on it.

As to everything else on the lot....the "newer" stuff is in fair shape, the "old" stuff is rough at best. They were unloading some vehicles from a trailer using a fork lift, kind of "manhandling" them if you will.

I did get a pretty good look at the Divco milk trucks a week or so ago. There are a total of 8, 2 of them are the short, slop backed models, the other 6 are bigger. Lots of surface rust, unable to get close enough to check overall condition better. Once again a lot of the vehicles at that lot are "rough".

I'm not sure how they're gonna stage all 700 vehicles on these lots. If any number of folks show up, parking is going to be a nightmare of monumental proportion!!!
 
You're right Russ... AND it's the SAME weekend as the "Blue Suede Cruise" at Norwalk's Summit Motorsports Park raceway which is a huge show car event!
 
If it is sitting outside and there is a lot of water leaking into it(windshield, roof vent, etc.), it is better to have the windows down a bit. Otherwise it would just turn into a big pressure cooker.
 
This rig is REALLY rough! Cabinet missing and rear floor cut out. Huge project and will take someone with really deep pockets!
 

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More photos.
 

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You're right Kurt based on these photos my calling it "not terrible" was probably pretty optimistic, sorry didn't mean to mislead anybody. Never got a look at the left side or interior.

Really "deep pockets" may be an understatement of significant proportions, more like "own a bank"!!!!
 
All of the missing interior components will be the biggest hurdle, especially if you are wanting it to be 100% correct. Coming up with the correct cabinet would be nearly impossible without having one to look at and duplicate. I see that it is missing some of the extruded aluminum interior trim including one of the original Vani-Shades(left quarter window). The exterior issues(metal work) are the least of its issues!
 
Never seen the inside of one or any pictures of inside. But most likely the divider cabinet would be standard MM for that year. The floor is a easy fix it some one would give it a bath and stack the parts laying in back do you could see what there is there.. it might be a good 500 dollar car. If it was running and moving under it's own power it would be worth a grand more. . I would be more concerned of mechanical problems sitting in one spot. For this long. You can bet on a number of things that just rotted away , seaze up and are in need of major overhaul. Or it will fire right up and run like a top. The worse case would be it goes cheap and some one drags it home to sit under the trees for years to come.
 
I am guessing that it will sell in the $5000 range, given its rarity. I don't think we will have to worry about it being parked under a tree to rot away. As I recall, the cabinet is unique to the Guardian. As with most Vanderbrink auctions, everything is sold As-Is, Where-Is and no attempt is made to get anything started or running.

We will find out in a 3 weeks!
 
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I am guessing that it will sell in the $5000 range, given its rarity. I don't think we will have to worry about it being parked under a tree to rot away. As I recall, the cabinet is unique to the Guardian. As with most Vanderbrink auctions, everything is sold As-Is, Where-Is and no attempt is made to get anything started or running.

We will find out in a 3 weeks!

For some reason I've always thought it would go for somewhere around $10,000 just because it's so rare. Then I've figured it would take another $25-30,000 to put, it, in pristine, condition. When all is said and done it would still be a very nice $12-15,000 car. Just my humble opinion.

As you said 3 weeks will give us our answer.
 
It would be a $25,000-$30,000 car, if properly restored. Key words being "properly restored".

However, I think you are light on your cost of getting it there. I would say closer to $50,000 in restoration cost. This rig is not going to go to someone who is going to slap it together, get bored with it in a year, and then expect to flip it for a profit.
 
I think that you both are light on the estimated cost of restoration. I can see this restoration if done by an experienced restoration shop that would be a first class job, would cost north of $100,000. Today, the going rate in a restoration shop is between $150 - 200 per hour, unless you can get a contract price. I doubt that any shop would give a contract price on a job such as this, since there is no way to know what you are going to be getting into, until you tear it apart. Even then, there can be "surprises" lurking just underneath that no one can ever see before hand.
 
The problem with money is if you got it some one else wants it. There is no end to the amount of money you can wast getting any project done. But body wise I see nothing to get excited about. Interier will provide some challenges and mechanically is unknown. But all your buying is a money pit. As we all know. It is strange to me that so few of these have lasted today. Mainly just a few snap shots.
 
Like so many cars of the past that were considered "ugly" during there time, and were not preserved, the few remaining examples are suddenly desirable. Many people want the rarity, rather than the common, for many personal reasons. Just watch the collector car auctions and you will find many examples of this in action. Two wealthy bidders are willing to go head to head, until one of them finally realizes that they have allowed their ego to cloud good judgment, and drops out of the bidding. The biggest problem that I see with the possible restoration of this vehicle, is that for the masses of the collector car hobby, professional car collectors represent only a very small percentage. Of that small percentage, there are realistically only a few that could afford to take on a project as expensive as this one is going to be. I can see people that would consider owning this vehicle, would consider it as a status symbol, since to my knowledge there is only one other left in existence, and from what I was told, it is in better condition than this one. If and when it will be offered for sale is a question that cannot be answered with any certainty.
Many years ago, there was a Guardian ambulance offered for sale by Desert Valley Auto Parts in Arizona, and it sold quickly, and never resurfaced again. I wonder if this might be that same car. Unfortunately, I lost the one picture that I had of it, however, one of our other members might have save the picture.
 
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