Build the Ultimate Combo?

K

Kenn Evans II

If you could do the Johnny Cash thing, "one piece at a time" using all of the classic and obscure coaches to build the ultimate hearse/ambulance combination what would you create. I was thinking a 37 Packard with a Carved panel insert 1959 Caddy rear quarter panels, gull-wing doors, wire wheels, open driver compartment, Bumbers in the front from a 57 Eldarado headlights from a 1924 Rolls and rear end of a DeSoto woody Suburban, cartopper luggage rack from a 2009 Yukon to strap a casket or flowers to for the open air aspect of transportation of a loved one to the cemetery. I though this could be fun and maybe a graphics artist can take all of those Kennedy Hearses and model one together. :thumb:
 
The scary thing is no matter what you come up with, it wil prolly look better than what the factories are producing today. :4_11_9:
 
93-96 fleetwood

We know what the 77-79 Caddy Fleetwood chassis looked like with an ambulance body. I wonder what a 93-96 Fleetwood or Roadmaster would have looked like with an ambulance body on it..... just wondering....:myopinion:
 
Stephen Mayfield said:
We know what the 77-79 Caddy Fleetwood chassis looked like with an ambulance body. I wonder what a 93-96 Fleetwood or Roadmaster would have looked like with an ambulance body on it..... just wondering....:myopinion:
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We have discussed the 93-96 ambulances before, not sure where the post is but here is a couple pics members photo shopped. Sorry, I dont know who did these so please identify these if they are yours.
The first is a 1996 S&S Masterpiece based, the second on a 1997 or 8 (not sure on coachbuilder).
1996 S&S Masterpiece Photoshop ambulance.jpg
 

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Wow!

Wow! That 96 masterpiece looks great! S&S/Superior should have built these-if it wasn't for those darned federal regulations from the late 70's! Great work guys! Thanks!:3some:
 
Stephen Mayfield said:
...I wonder what a 93-96 Fleetwood or Roadmaster would have looked like with an ambulance body on it..... just wondering....:myopinion:
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We almost got to find out once for real. In the early 2000's, I was talking to Bud Smock, president of PL Custom. Bud had every intention of building a professional-car-based ambulance. He was absolutely serious. Unfortunately, he died before it could be brought to fruition, and PL is not pursuing the idea.
 
I posed that question when we went down to tour the PL plant, as I disappeared from the tour group when I spotted that green Caddy out front. I said that I don't care how it drives, because I'm rarely the driver; I don't care what it looks like.. I just care how it rides. I explained it like so; they cut the roof off of a typical plumber-style van, and slap a high extension on it. Boom, an ambulance. Why can't they do that with a hearse, and market it as a smooth riding, transport vehicle. In some states the roof height would be a problem, I believe 62" is the lowest. The guy giving us the tour, which was the current president, didn't seem to catch on.

But, alas, they got our business anyway. And it's due here on Monday.

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we went threw the mine is bigger then yours plant during the meet at Mt laurel. I have always preferred the smaller vans for there ride ease of getting around and over all handling. you could of had two of them for the price of that one pl custom. I have seen a lot of well laid out vans in my time. I have never seen a well laid out idiot box.

but as for the ultimate custom combo. I got to say I love the 71-72 caddy's. put the new 6.0 letter multiport fuel injected with the 6 speed tyranny in one of them. make it a limo style add the volunteer roof. keep the body simple like a MM the center floor flat a cross like a life liner. add a removable wall so that you could load the church truck floral arrangement etc threw the center doors but keep the loading compartment separate for hearse mode. the wall would hide your medical cabinets and jump seat from the loading compartment. use a removable rack for the casket. that way when you pulled the rack out and the wall. all you would need to do is spin the holders down for the angle wings and the cot lock, pop off the removable panels (carved panels) and your back in ambulance mood. for lights I would have the LEDs cast flush with the body and they would go all around the top. you could switch from red white and blue to purple with a click the back boards and scoop could be in the roof like Pinner did. short board and other similar type stuff would be in the false floor accessed threw the centers door either side. liquid O2 would lay behind the passangers seat. the compartment would have a pass threw from the attendants seat to the drivers compartment like a criterion. the wheel wells could be padded and look alike but the right side would be the squad bench. attendants seat on the right would fold in the divider. med cabinet on the left would slide out so that it sat at the head of the gurney. paint the car gold with a black vinyl top. with your lights off they would disappear as they would just be a black band around the car. the removable carved panels would be black and cover the center glass and the rear glass. they could be custom for the Home. mine would have a aircraft flotilla on the left side the Iwo Jima memorial on the right. naval bombardment going on. but that's the kind of guy I'am. cast of the new light wight foam like mop boards are now days. they would be cheap enough to have a number of different sets to custom any funeral for the family. the LEDs could print out anythign you wanted on the sides. name of deceased, name of funeral home, menue for the lunchon after the service, what ever. now thats what I would do for a combo. but me I ain't got no imagination. most likly no class eather
 
I don't see how everything would fit in a van. Outside storage is a must when you can't count on mutual aid. We'd have to have a utility truck to follow the ambulance if it was smaller. Because we also carry a regional MCI kit which takes up the whole under the bench type deal. The only ppl w/ vans are the MICU services. That's probably the smallest ambo in the county. The next place down the road is gung ho on truck style. Our station is an old Miners Union hall; two stories, with a wooden apparatus floor, and only half of it has steel I beams which were just installed in the last twenty years. I cringe to think how it held a tanker, engine, ambulance AND two brush trucks before it had support beams. So its important to have a short chassis, otherwise it would probably collapse the building.
 
At the fire department our ambulances are on the larger chassis. We have a GMC 4500, and an International. When we are assigned to the "Rescue" which is our term for an ambulance, we are required to carry full turnout gear. These trucks also have extrication tools and 2 SCBA.
 
Well let's see, if I were to build the ultimate combo, Johnny Cash "one piece at a time" style, I think it would have a Packard grill, Volkswagen headlights, Chrysler turn signals, Ford Econoline bumpers, both Cadillac and Buick side doors, a Superior rear door, Eldorado taillights, a Superior rear interior, and I'd base it all on a Buick Riviera!

Oh, wait...I think that's already been done!! :D
 
Attila Bethlenfalvy said:
Additionally Patrick, your jump seats are '59-'64 Superior. ;)
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Well a pair of 1973 Superior combos were cannabalized in the making of the two cars, but I can't imagine there was much design change in something as basic as a combo seat. When I bought my car, one of the folding legs under a combo seat was broken, and I found a Miller-Meteor combo in a junkyard whose leg was a perfect match. Seems like there wasn't much difference in the basic hardware between different coachbuilders either.
 
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I'd rather have a Buick!

Since I'm a big fan of the 91-96 Buick Roadmaster's- lets take a 94-96 Roadmaster sedan( the sedan front clip looks better than the wagon front in my opinion) on the Roadmaster coachbuilder chassis with the awesome LT-1 engine and build it up to a 383 with about 400 horsepower,a strengthened 4L60-E trans,3.73 gears and a posi unit.Lets lower it an inch with the 94-96 Impala SS springs and sway bars.Add headers,cat delete,an H-pipe,and Flowmasters.It would have the correct gray trim on the sides,not the black trim from the wagon. Add the 17-inch Impala SS wheels and tires and.... you have a Buick Special built THE RIGHT WAY!!! Why didn't Eureka-M-M do this in the first place!!!

Perfect for funeral use or dragstrip use, and it would be great for ambulance use,like my above post. This car would absolutely flat haul the mail!!!:clap:
 
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