My mechanic's roll-up door did not roll-up far enough today

This is what's left of my beloved Criterion's beloved pristine 184 lens.

I just had the entire unit rebuilt by Joe Dorgan of Sirenman.com fame and, yes, one of the bulb holder things is now broken off, too.

I am too depressed to determine if the motor was damaged, so in the event one of you has a replacement (or knows where one is), I was going to just replace the lens, take the obligatory three months to get over the physiological shock of having this happen and deal with repairing/rebuilding the unit itself in the Spring.

In other news:

1. I need two new exhaust manifold gaskets (why I brought the thing in).
2. My tie rod bushings must have experienced jubilation because they are no longer present in or about the tie rods, and,
3. My awesome $60 exhaust band-aid of three months ago looks like it could have used more Elmer's. (How much is stainless?)

All right: please look around your garage for a spare red 184 lens. (Hint: it's in a box. Near your folded-up ping-pong table. You were planning never to sell it.)

If you do sell it to me, I will put a small plaque on the dash that reads "The red lens on the top of this ambulance was made possible by a grant from the [insert your name] Foundation." Which I think is true because those lenses are priceless, so the grant is the balance between what you'll accept and priceless. And I will send you a picture of the plaque.

Wait! As an added bonus, if I am able to track down a red 184 lens, I will overcome my laziness and mount my brand new, never been used B&M SuperChief on the roof between the recently re-chromed siren speakers. The value here is that I keep up with the Joneses of Rob Shepard's Criterion which has that same configuration.

(The difference, of course, is that Rob Shepard has Tunnel-Light-Envy, and, of course, I simply have Tunnel Lights.)

So there you have it: find me a lens. I pay cash money. AND will thereafter post a pic of the rig with its new lens and it's newly mounted Super-Chief.

Also, Ed, looks like Mookie got into your birthday present: bummer!

The good news is that you can replace the Federal 184 lens with a "generic" lens, and 99 44/100% of the people looking at it from the ground, will never know that it isn't an original Federal lens. The rest of the good news is that there is a 99 44/100% chance that the motor is fine, but there is a 100% probability that the shaft that the bulb holder mounts on, that turns the unit, is bent. I know this because the same thing happened to my 184, and I spoke to John Dorgan about it. He said that the shafts were no longer available, so I dropped mine off at a machine shop, and $20 later, they had straightened it perfectly. Unfortunately that shop is no longer around. I believe that the best course of action would be for you to contact Joe Dorgan for a new red lens, and to buy a light off of eBay for the parts to repair yours. Repairing them isn't that difficult, and you will have spare parts for the next time the door isn't fully up.
Now, to address the "tie rod bushings"... there are no bushings in the tie rods. Just the inner and outer tie rods, and they are connected by a threaded sleeve that is turned clockwise or counter clockwise to lengthen or shorten the tie rods. The tie rods are what you adjust to set the "toe in" of the tire. Think of the tire as the foot of a duck... each of the ducks feet are pointed outward. If you could install tie rods to the ducks feet, you could adjust the ducks feet to point straight ahead. OK... I am sure that you are either understanding this, or are scratching your head, wondering how a duck got into this discussion. Its late, I can't sleep, and this is the best example that I can think of. In summation, for those that don't know what a tie rod does, it pushes one front tire, and pull the other front tire as the steering wheel is turned right or left.

Dome

North American Signal nasig.com model 400XL

That is a pain in the butt, however it could have been worse.

Chris,
I do have a correct spare 184 lens (actually, a number of them). Here's my offer to you, since you have apparently been successful in at least one dealing with Joe Dorgan. If you can get him to ship me the 2-piece C6B base that he owes me and that I paid for over a year ago, I will sell you a correct Federal 184 dome in any color you want (red, blue, clear). Easy enough. Just let him know that Kurt in Iowa wants his C6B base.

I would strongly discourage anyone from dealing with Joe Dorgan, unless you are paying for your item after you receive it (he does not accept credit cards). I finally did receive my C6B shell (that I ordered and payed for a year ago) and an incorrect base a month or so ago. Joe did, initially, respond saying that "he should have re-read my e-mail and letter (from a year ago) prior to shipping" and that "he would get the correct 2-piece base shipped out immediately". It will probably take another year to receive the correct base, if I ever get it at all. I will NEVER deal with him again!!

When driving for Alert Ambulance in Flint I peeled a couple beacons off the roof as well when entering a garage with a door too low!

do not replace the gaskets again on the exhaust manifolds without taking them down to the local machine shop and and having them machined back flat. once the second set went out the writing is on the wall. you get them trimmed and you won't have any problems at all and no doubling the gasket doesn't work replacing it with the aluminium or steel will not do it either.

I have the bulb holder here off an old speaker siren but I'm sure the shaft will be different. as the 184 is gear driven and the the cj is belt driven. I'll swap you holders.

If your mechanic opened the door to an incorrect height & he was the one pulling the car into the shop, then he needs to step up and cover the damage. If you were driving & he was guiding you, he is still responsible. You should not have to shoulder the cost of the damage.

Kurt,

I'm on it!

thanks!

Chris

Rick,

This was the discussion I had with my mechanic: "Jimmy, not only am I glad that you bashed something I am as protective of as my own privates, but I am also hoping that you break something else. Let's see: you are a mechanic, you have more tools than GOD, seven bays, three employees and feel guilty as hell for what you did--I won't allow you to pay for this because I am going to shame in into always doing more work for me that you should for the remainder of your life."

I think I will come out ahead.

I do know how rare these authentic lenses are, and, Paul, Rob Shepard is my 0 & 56/100th %-er, who is going to speak in hushed tones and wag his head about my having the wrong lens so I am committed to the death to get the right one. And thank you for the suspension lesson. I know nothing about suspension. Or ducks.

Please, please, please, do not tell Rob about my plans to reupholster the rear seats/bench of the rig to factory ORANGE, as illustrated in the Criterion brochure most of you have seen. I think that will be the end of our friendship. Thanks for all the advice. Calling Joe Dorgan right now . . .

Kurt, just spoke to Joe!

Honestly!

He said he has one nearly ready to send out but that he is going to ship it quickly for me to get that lens! Let me know when you get it.

All right: here's a good Criterion story. Last Thanksgiving, my daughter said, "Hey, Dad! Let's go see Auntie Lizzie!"

"Auntie Lizzie?" I responded.

"Your sister?"

"What about her?"

"Let's go visit her?"

"She lives in Seattle!" [We live South of San Francisco.]

"Right! Let's jump in the ambulance and go see her!"

You guys: that's like 800 miles in winter. One-way. The good news about owning a coach, though, is that this is how you pack:

1. Open rear door.
2. Throw in all your stuff.
3. Add dog.
4. Close door.

I think I checked the air pressure in the tires. But that was it. We hit the road at 6 PM (always leave on long trips when you are tired.) As I was driving along in the dark I was thinking, "Hmm . . . isn't there a mountain between here and Seattle?" Chris, it's called a Mountain RANGE. A range means its not just one mountain. It's more mountains than you can count. You have to climb each one. They go on forever. Semi's congregate within them. There was no rain. But a fog descended in The Cascades so severe, I hit those tunnel lights a couple of times. I was too afraid at one point to keep up with the semi in front of me. ZERO visibility. I crawled through those mountains with my dog and daughter curled up in blankets in the back and thermal socks on my hands because who needs a heater?? (So many more neat things to spend your money on!) Terror kept me awake on the second scariest trip in that ambulance in my life. [You need to hear about the first one.] Somewhere around 3 AM, I couldn't take it anymore and pulled over. 60 minutes later all that caffeine caught up with me and I got up and powered on into Oregon, stopped for gas, bummed a nicotine ignition device (menthol) and just kept on going. 18 hours after we left (subtract one for slumber--a 17 hour drive), we pulled up to my sister's door just as she was leaving to go to her friend's house for Thanksgiving. Few days later, I got my oil changed. Pulled off the wheels to check the brakes and made that trip back just as easily. 1,700 miles roundtrip. Not a single backfire. No hesitation. Never a miss. NO CRACKED LENSES! Pure, smooth, professional driving. The reception we got on the ride back on the city streets in downtown Portland was pretty neat. I will remember that for a long time. The motor is not rebuilt but was torn down and cleaned up pretty well (very long story on that one--it would require a picture.) There's your Criterion story of the day. If I can dig up pictures of that trip, I will post them. It was pretty fun. And it's beautiful country. And people tend to get out of your way when you are driving an ambulance. But not mountains.

Kurt Arends said:

Chris,
I do have a correct spare 184 lens (actually, a number of them). Here's my offer to you, since you have apparently been successful in at least one dealing with Joe Dorgan. If you can get him to ship me the 2-piece C6B base that he owes me and that I paid for over a year ago, I will sell you a correct Federal 184 dome in any color you want (red, blue, clear). Easy enough. Just let him know that Kurt in Iowa wants his C6B base.

I would strongly discourage anyone from dealing with Joe Dorgan, unless you are paying for your item after you receive it (he does not accept credit cards). I finally did receive my C6B shell (that I ordered and payed for a year ago) and an incorrect base a month or so ago. Joe did, initially, respond saying that "he should have re-read my e-mail and letter (from a year ago) prior to shipping" and that "he would get the correct 2-piece base shipped out immediately". It will probably take another year to receive the correct base, if I ever get it at all. I will NEVER deal with him again!!

Click to expand...

You came to Seattle with a vintage ambulance and you didnt tell me?????

Rick, I swear I will let you know when I return to Seattle

It was not my idea to drive there. It was my daughter's. She called my bluff. It was a test of my manhood. I couldn't say no. She proposed the idea that morning and we left that night. I will post some pictures.

oh come on now I have been that rout a number of times. you skirt all the Mountains not crawl over them. barly get up on the shoulder of Shasta. but it was a trip. I remember the sent from phone shots. it ain't no fun owning one if you never drive it. that car handled will as I recall the you don't have to help put the motor in it trip. no sooner than we did that then we headed north with it. that was in the 35mm days as I recall

When I was at an ambulance service in PA, our Dodge van ambulances had two 184 beacons on the roof.

One night, I was listening to the scanner, and I heard one of our units (Unit 2) dispatched on a call. Shortly, they called responding.

A few moments later, I heard dispatch call back,

• "Unit 2"
• "Go ahead"
• "Charlie-1 (town police) advises you left your beacons on Pike St. in front of the ambulance garage."
• silence

Same problem, they didn't put the door all the way up. Sheared them both off. In the 1980s, the beacons were still available.

And when you pass through Portland next, stop, and I'll buy you lunch =)

Glad I am not a tillerman

I actually saw the results of a roll-up door at a firestation in downtown San Francisco after it came down BEFORE the tillerman could get out of the station atop a hook and ladder. Might have a picture of that somewhere. Took out the entire door.

First, Paul, it was the control arm bushings. Sorry. I know nothing about suspension except that I spend money on it.

Second: Ed, zero visibility means zero visibility even if you're parked in your driveway. I have climbed the Donner Pass in this rig a dozen times. That's 7,000 feet and named after people who ate other people in the snow because that pass is pretty unforgiving. I have crossed the Donner Pass in the snow, following a plow, with a leaking windshield, failing wipers and no heat and I am telling you that that was easier than driving through the Cascades with no visibility which means:

A. You can't see
B. Your speeds drops to 15 mph.
C. You hit your tunnel lights

Also, just do the math: Burlingame, Calif to Redmond, Wash in 17 hours exactly. That's 831 miles / 17 = 48 MPH on average (excluding a one hour stop and including two fill-ups.) Anyone with access to my driving record would conclude that something kept my speed that low for that long: Fog.

Here are some pics.
1. Can't read that sign but it's before we got to the mountains.
2. Catnap in Oregon.
3. My daughter riding shotgun.
4. Our Lady of The Electrical Tape
5. I forgot I put some foglights on with zip-ties for the ride back. They didn't do much but it was fun to turn them off and on: "activate FOG LIGHTS!'
6. My arrival in Redmond. Barely standing Thanksgiving Day.
7. I learned from Ed you need a tailgunner to watch for State Troopers. Mine does a pretty good job: no speeding tickets over six years.

nice pictures,

Chris very good ,our lady of the electrical tape,suppose to have a saint Christopher medal for travelling and for added insurance the patron saint for paramedics and police is St.Michael the archangel, can never have too much insurance But the tailgunner is priceless thanks for posting.

he is quite a dog. yes I'll agree with you on calf fog. made the run from LA to Redding a number of times when all you could see were 3 hash marks on the center line. then when it got bad you had to wait for the CHIP escort. but all I had was a Pinto.

Chances are that the upper control arm bushings are bad. They usually last about 35,000 miles, and then need to be replaced on all Cadillacs. I suggest that you have both upper and lower control arm bushings done, because chances are that the lowers have never been done before, and they are "tired", even though they may look goof from outward appearances. Also, new shocks are also probably in order, since they will have to come out to do the lowers. A good shop will carefully examine all the components of the front suspension, and replace any that are even suspect of going bad. You will actually save money, since an alignment is always required anytime that you do front suspension work other than replacing shock absorbers and strut rod bushings. Do it right the first time, and you won't have to deal with it again for many years to come.