Fellow Forum Members,
On March 23, 1965, I purchased my first car -- the 1947 Cadillac ambulance that had previously belonged to the Beechmont Dragway in Cincinnati, Ohio, where I was born and raised. I purchased it from the Zimmerman-&-Adler Blacktopping Company on Camargo Pike in Madeira, an eastern-Cincinnati suburb. I still have a copy of the title-transfer form, and can email a picture of it to anyone who needs it. Due to an unfortunate family circumstance, I only owned it for three days, and it went back to Zimmerman-&-Adler. It was subsequently sold to someone else, and I lost track of it. I would like to know if it is still around? Unfortunately, I do not have any pictures of it.
This ambulance was red with the rooftop bubble-gum-machine light and the front-fender mounted siren (I don't recall which fender). It also had the rear quarter windows that were etched with the "Beechmont Dragway" logo. It was powered by the 346 cid flathead V-8 engine, and had the LaSalle 3-speed manual-shift transmission.
I was told at one time that a real-estate development firm from Florida purchased it to convert to a vehicle for transporting clients to their various properties, but I could not verify this. I've seen online videos of old Beechmont drag races, but in these videos, the ambulance parked at the back of the pits was an older-model ambulance, and it was white. This was not my ambulance.
When I first bought it and went to pick it up, my friend who drove me to it had a WWII 1943 Ford Jeep, and even though the ambulance had a slipping clutch, I was able to out-accelerate him on the way home. The engine was strong, and didn't smoke. It also needed a master cylinder, so I had to carefully use the emergency brake for stopping. Interestingly, when Zimmerman-&-Adler came to pick it up, they winched it onto a semi low-boy rather than drive it back.
One more thing: I've been told that in the late-'40s, the vehicle Serial Number was stamped on the engine block instead of attached to the body, so if this is the case, and the ambulance has undergone an engine change, the Serial Number on the title-transfer form won't match anything on the car. The Serial Number of the ambulance is (was?) 3424892; Beechmont Dragway's office address was 7128 Montgomery Road in Montgomery, Ohio; the Hamilton County Tax Return Transfer Form Number was 315014769; and the purchase price was $100.00.
Any help in locating this ambulance will be greatly appreciated.
Respectfully,
Rod Rom
On March 23, 1965, I purchased my first car -- the 1947 Cadillac ambulance that had previously belonged to the Beechmont Dragway in Cincinnati, Ohio, where I was born and raised. I purchased it from the Zimmerman-&-Adler Blacktopping Company on Camargo Pike in Madeira, an eastern-Cincinnati suburb. I still have a copy of the title-transfer form, and can email a picture of it to anyone who needs it. Due to an unfortunate family circumstance, I only owned it for three days, and it went back to Zimmerman-&-Adler. It was subsequently sold to someone else, and I lost track of it. I would like to know if it is still around? Unfortunately, I do not have any pictures of it.
This ambulance was red with the rooftop bubble-gum-machine light and the front-fender mounted siren (I don't recall which fender). It also had the rear quarter windows that were etched with the "Beechmont Dragway" logo. It was powered by the 346 cid flathead V-8 engine, and had the LaSalle 3-speed manual-shift transmission.
I was told at one time that a real-estate development firm from Florida purchased it to convert to a vehicle for transporting clients to their various properties, but I could not verify this. I've seen online videos of old Beechmont drag races, but in these videos, the ambulance parked at the back of the pits was an older-model ambulance, and it was white. This was not my ambulance.
When I first bought it and went to pick it up, my friend who drove me to it had a WWII 1943 Ford Jeep, and even though the ambulance had a slipping clutch, I was able to out-accelerate him on the way home. The engine was strong, and didn't smoke. It also needed a master cylinder, so I had to carefully use the emergency brake for stopping. Interestingly, when Zimmerman-&-Adler came to pick it up, they winched it onto a semi low-boy rather than drive it back.
One more thing: I've been told that in the late-'40s, the vehicle Serial Number was stamped on the engine block instead of attached to the body, so if this is the case, and the ambulance has undergone an engine change, the Serial Number on the title-transfer form won't match anything on the car. The Serial Number of the ambulance is (was?) 3424892; Beechmont Dragway's office address was 7128 Montgomery Road in Montgomery, Ohio; the Hamilton County Tax Return Transfer Form Number was 315014769; and the purchase price was $100.00.
Any help in locating this ambulance will be greatly appreciated.
Respectfully,
Rod Rom