'72 M-M Amb. In MN

I too am curious as to how much it will sell for. Not to rain on anyone's parade, here is my take on the car, and how I would look at it if I were going to be buying it.

I know from experience, that an engine manifold leak can be a cracked manifold, and that in order to replace the exhaust manifold gaskets and or the exhaust manifold, you have to first remove the intake manifold, and then the heads, after you take loose the engine exhaust Y pipe. The Y pipe is what connects the exhaust manifold to the exhaust system. If any of the exhaust manifold bolts break once you have the heads off, then you will need to send the heads to the machine shop to have them removed. On my 1969, more than half of the exhaust manifold bolts broke, and the machine shop charges by the bolt to remove them. In my case, I replaced all the manifold bolts, and the head bolts, and it cost just shy of $200 for the parts. Machine shop services were about $250 - $300, and labor was $450, so I estimate the total as just under $1000 to do this job. If I needed to buy an exhaust manifold(s) it is anyone's guess as to how much they would cost. On eBay, one is available for $289 including shipping, and a manifold gasket set including bolts is $70.
The next item is the windshield, with a cost of approximately $1500 buying it directly from Pilkington Glass, plus the cost of installation of $300. If the glass breaks during installation, then it is on you, since you supplied the glass. If the glass company supplies the glass, which will cost more than the $1500, and it breaks during installation, it is their problem, because the glass belongs to them. Sometimes saving money on the part, can bite you big time, and other times, you win. Just depends on how comfortable you are with taking the risk.
The air conditioning "needing a charge" is an open item. Refrigerant just doesn't disappear, there is a reason that it left the system. It can be a broken hose fitting, or as simple as a failed "O" ring. I just completed the task of replacing all the "O" rings on my 1969, and between doing that work, and I have about 5 hours invested in attempting to make my cars system "leak proof". I know that all the fittings are tight and leak proof, but I don't know about the hoses. Only time will tell if there is a leak. I checked my system with an electronic leak detector, and couldn't find any leaks, but with these large systems, it is difficult to check the lines going to the rear air conditioner. I was quoted $125 per hour to service my cars air conditioner, plus the cost of the refrigerant. To get a non working system back in working order, would be a difficult thing to estimate, but I would feel comfortable with estimating it at $1000 without any electrical troubleshooting.
Wiring the Federal Q siren, would be the cost of the wire, solenoid, switching, etc., and if you have the experience, you could do it for under $300, with your labor being free. If you have to pay someone else to do this, then figure 3 or 4 hours at most. Most electrical shops charge between $75 - $100 per hour for labor.
The seller doesn't make any comments about the mechanical condition of the vehicle other than the exhaust manifold leak, so I will assume that whomever the new owner is going to be, they will want the steering and braking systems carefully checked and or serviced. If either of them are going to need repairs, better put that into your budget, since it is an unknown. The same goes for the transmission.
Now, I will address the interior of the car. I always wonder why people don't clean things such as the headliner and the welting around the doors. Once again, looking back at my experience with my Miller Meteor, I know that MM used cotton thread to stich the headliner panels together, and that after 50 years, that stitching is starting to fail. The headliner definitely needs to be cleaned, and hopefully, it will not need to be replaced because the stitching of the panels and zippers have failed, but if they have, you are looking at a $1500 repair for replacement.
Not any one of these items is going to be the straw that breaks the camels back, but combined, can add a significant amount to the cost after the purchase, unless you are the type of person that just doesn't care, and will drive the car "as is". To me, I would have addressed all the mechanical issues prior to painting, because safety is more important to me, then a shiny car.
If I were going to buy this car, I would want a lot more pictures of the underneath, and the interior. Then I would decide how much I wanted to be as they say at the auction "all in", and start deducting for those items that I would want to fix. Keep in mind, that whenever we are estimating costs, most times we are guestimating, and the true costs will not be known until all the bills are added up. Usually, it is much more than we had originally thought it would be. I speak from experience, because once you start down that road, you never know what potholes you will experience before you reach your destination.
 
Plus $400 for a new set of tires! Who wants to look at those black-wall truck tires!

You would have to assume that the front fenders have a few pounds of bondo in them as well. I wish that you could zoom in on his photos! It looks like they put the rocker moldings back on it anyway.
 
I could be wrong, but aren't the snake around the flagpole emblems embossed all over the unit actually veterinarian emblems rather than EMS/medical?
 
Last edited:
man has glass gone up that much. the last one I bought for this set was 500 and 150 to ship. they would do 3 in a crate for the same money shipping.

but a pretty case some times has a rotten core and sometimes the 50 year old paint is a solid car. that is why you go look or get someone to do that for you
 
I could be wrong, but aren't the snake around the flagpole emblems embossed all over the unit actually veterinarian emblems rather than EMS/medical?

The Rod of Asclepius is the most common version that represents the medical profession. A single serpent about a staff. This is the version on the star of life and the Canadian Medical Association uses. The American Medical Association has gone modern.

The double version has been used by the US Army medical core, and the American Dental Association, where they apply a D on the staff.
 

Attachments

  • US_Army_Medical_Corps_Branch_Plaque.gif
    US_Army_Medical_Corps_Branch_Plaque.gif
    7.8 KB · Views: 270
  • staff.jpg
    staff.jpg
    9.2 KB · Views: 269
  • ama.jpg
    ama.jpg
    7.5 KB · Views: 268
I could be wrong, but aren't the snake around the flagpole emblems embossed all over the unit actually veterinarian emblems rather than EMS/medical?

To read more about this, follow this link.... click here


aHR0cDovL3d3dy5saXZlc2NpZW5jZS5jb20vaW1hZ2VzL2kvMDAwLzA0OC80MTIvb3JpZ2luYWwvbWVkaWNhbC1jYWR1Y2V1cy0wMi5qcGc=


Credit: sdcity.edu
The image of serpents wrapped around a staff is a familiar one in the medical field, decorating pharmaceutical packaging and hospitals alike. Snakes bites are generally bad news, and so the animal might seem ill-fitting as the symbol of the medical profession, but the ancient emblem actually has a quite a story behind it.
There are actually two versions of the symbol. The winged version is known as a caduceus, andthe stick is actually a staff that was carried by the Olympian god Hermes. In Greek mythology, Hermes was a messenger between the gods and humans (which explains the wings) and a guide to the underworld (which explains the staff). Hermes was also the patron of travelers, which makes his connection to medicine appropriate because, in the olden days, doctors had to travel great distances by foot in order to visit their patients.
The Veterinary symbol is a vector as show below. Very similar, but not quite the same..
 

Attachments

  • veterinary-symbol-vector-1027885.jpg
    veterinary-symbol-vector-1027885.jpg
    52.3 KB · Views: 247
It looks like the reserve price has been met at $10,000 which tells me that the seller is reasonable in his expectations. I see that this was a Nebraska rig. I wonder where it served? Someone in the PCS really needs to grab this one!
 
It looks like the reserve price has been met at $10,000 which tells me that the seller is reasonable in his expectations. I see that this was a Nebraska rig. I wonder where it served? Someone in the PCS really needs to grab this one!

A PT Barnum Special........:rolleyes:
 
Looks like someone pulled their bid and now its back down to $7300. At least we now know that the seller's reserve price is $10,000, which seems very reasonable for this rig.
 
Back
Top