Recommendations on where to get some item

John Zicha

PCS Member / EMT / PARAMEDIC
Sorry to keep bothering everyone, but since I'm focusing my energy on our squad's 1970 Cadillac Superior Ambulance, I'm trying to find out where is a good place to source some items.

1. Driver and passenger interior compartment headliner. It was completely dry rotted and splitting. Would I be able to just get one for a Deville Fleetwood etc.? I would assume they are all the same. It was white.

2. Rear interior compartment (stretcher area) headliner. Some was good and some was bad so we ripped out the entire thing. It was white.

3. Rear interior curtains for the doors and all of the windows in the back area.

4. New seat covers for a commercial chassis bench seat. Ours is a solid bottom and split back with no arm rest. It's red and white.

Thanks again for any direction you can point me in.
John
 
Sorry to keep bothering everyone, but since I'm focusing my energy on our squad's 1970 Cadillac Superior Ambulance, I'm trying to find out where is a good place to source some items.

1. Driver and passenger interior compartment headliner. It was completely dry rotted and splitting. Would I be able to just get one for a Deville Fleetwood etc.? I would assume they are all the same. It was white.

It isn't the same as a car body. Has to be custom made by an automobile upholstery shop. Good thing it is there, because the old one will be the pattern for the new one. If it is missing, it will cost more, because they need to do a lot of measuring.

2. Rear interior compartment (stretcher area) headliner. Some was good and some was bad so we ripped out the entire thing. It was white.

See above. I hope that you didn't throw away the metal bows, because they are proprietary to the year, make and model of the ambulance. They will also need to know where all the zippers will have to go, and without the old headliner, they don't have the luxury of knowing how to duplicate how the zippers are sewn into the headliner.
I can't begin to count the number of times, that I have said in these threads, DON'T THROW ANYTHING AWAY, UNTIL THE NEW ITEM IS IN PLACE. If it is a mechanical item, keep for future rebuilding.

3. Rear interior curtains for the doors and all of the windows in the back area.

Any good custom curtain shop can make them if you have all the hardware installed, so they can take the measurements.

4. New seat covers for a commercial chassis bench seat. Ours is a solid bottom and split back with no arm rest. It's red and white.

Same shop that the headliner can handle this project. Make sure to get the identical vinyl as the door panels, so the seat will match the rest of the interior.

Thanks again for any direction you can point me in.
John

My estimate of cost, based on what I had done on my 1963 & my 1969 for similar work, you are looking at between $2000 - $2500. Just don't want you to have sticker shock.
 
My estimate of cost, based on what I had done on my 1963 & my 1969 for similar work, you are looking at between $2000 - $2500. Just don't want you to have sticker shock.

I saved all the rods because i figured they would be important. They are still on the roof. I did throw away most of the headliner. There's a few small chunks here and there. If i can get it all done for what you said I'd be thrilled. Now to find a shop.
 
John, when I had our EMS Foundation car headliners redone a local auto/boat upholstery shop did front and rear. Excellent result and the price was very reasonable.
 
John, you need to have an upholstery shop make and install the headliners. The same shop can reupholster your front seat. I use Falls Automotive in Little Falls, NJ 973 890 0268 ask for Jeff and tell him I sent you. These are nice guys, clean shop, finish work in a timely manner and they have supported a couple of car events, so I am happy to recommend them to you. They did a fabulous job on the front seat in my 68 Superior, they also installed a new rubber mat on the floor.
 

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Door panels

If you want to spend the money SMS can duplicate door panels with all the embossing. They did a set for my 64 wagon and are excellent.
 

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I dont know if this is the case with full-fledged ambulances, but my 68 combination's headliner has a zipper to access the light assembly, so if that is the case for yours then you might need to account for that.
 
Now im not sure how much luck you will have with headliners and seatcovers with this method, but one thing I learned here is a valuable resource is to scope out salvage yards. To my understanding from the dash forward you can take alot of parts off fleetwoods and maybe devilles.

You may even get lucky and find another hearse to grab some coach items
 
Every combination coach and ambulance had zippers to access the emergency lighting and associated wiring. They all used a coarse brass zipper, and placement of the zippers and proper installation of the zippers is paramount. Never assume that the shop is going to do it right, unless you give them very specific instructions, and diagrams as to how the zippers are going to be installed. Even then, you might not get exactly what you want, because the person doing the work is lazy, and takes short cuts at your expense. Even the weight of the headliner material is different than a passenger car headliner. Many upholsters don't want to work with this heavier material, because it is more time consuming and difficult to work with.
 
John, you need to have an upholstery shop make and install the headliners. The same shop can reupholster your front seat. I use Falls Automotive in Little Falls, NJ 973 890 0268 ask for Jeff and tell him I sent you. These are nice guys, clean shop, finish work in a timely manner and they have supported a couple of car events, so I am happy to recommend them to you. They did a fabulous job on the front seat in my 68 Superior, they also installed a new rubber mat on the floor.

Why did they use green material in a blue vehicle? The work looks great, however, I would have picked a blue color for the seats, to complement the blue exterior.
 
I'm also having trouble finding a new windshield wiper control console. Not the switch but the black plastic housing. I've typed in 70 Cadillac and 2 come up but not one with the mounting screws.
 

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That part was molded by the body builder, and you are going to need to find one based on who built your car. Not a standard Cadillac part, except for the switch itself.
 
WHAT?

Why did they use green material in a blue vehicle? The work looks great, however, I would have picked a blue color for the seats, to complement the blue exterior.

Paul, the original interior colors on my Pontiac are an olive green and Parchmint 'pearl white" since it was new. Now, I have no doubt that sometimes the exterior looks blue, but it is actually Meridian Turquoise, which is a 1968 Pontiac color. The fact is the original color when it was new, was sort of a pastel green. later changed to Omaha Orange and when I bought it, it was Meridian Turquise and we kept it that color. Very few people comment negatively about the color combination either, maybe because they both are good looking, even if they don't actually go together. I don't know, but people seem to think its a good looking ambulance and it ends there. See attached picture of the jump seat, it is original, same colors are also on the door panels.
 

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thanks for the explanation. It also might be how the colors show up on my monitor.

I still like the car, and you have done a great job with it...
 
there is a product called quick bond. you can get it at the parts store. Rapid fix is another version like it . with it and a little imagination you can repair any plastic part. living were I do you learn you have to fix things rather then wait for them to surface years latter. that would be a superior only piece they used it for 2 or three years. as the door is superior with only enough gm frame to marry up to the cowl. most of them look just like the one you are holding.
 
there is a product called quick bond. you can get it at the parts store. Rapid fix is another version like it . with it and a little imagination you can repair any plastic part. living were I do you learn you have to fix things rather then wait for them to surface years latter. that would be a superior only piece they used it for 2 or three years. as the door is superior with only enough gm frame to marry up to the cowl. most of them look just like the one you are holding.

Just my luck lol. I'm going to "fix" it so it''s usable and works until I find a better one. I'm sure I'll come across it eventually. Now I know why it's been so hard to locate.
 
With little thought and patience you can fix it better then new. The products use a combination of super glue and a power to bond the parts back together. Using tape you can bridge holes reforming the missing edges and eyelets. The product sets fast and hard can be sanded and painted. Once set it is harder then the origional. So far i have not found a plastic you can't fix with it. The only thing you can't do is match the texture the original past was cast in.
 
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