Nicholas Studer
PCS Elected Director 2022-2025
Had to have another project lined up for after the 1970 Cotner/Bevington-Oldsmobile "Cotington 48." It's a 1963 Christopher-GMC RES-Q Rescue/Ambulance/Squad Car. As far as I can tell, looks like maybe 1 other of this manufacturer of Carryall's exists(ed), on 1963 Chevy chassis formerly owned by Lloyd Ray. http://www.professionalcarsociety.org/forums/showthread.php?t=11470 A very unusual manufacturer with mysterious history. http://www.coachbuilt.com/bui/c/christopher/christopher.htm
The vehicle was sold by Norfolk and became a utility vehicle for the nearby Concord, NE Fire Dept. They sold it in the late 2000s. After exchanging hands several times between private interests, the vehicle was purchased by a PCS Member who initiated a restoration but was unable to complete it. The vehicle sat for the last 3 years in a retired chicken coop wrapped in plastic (pictured here), until we purchased it. Our plan is to bring it back to the way it was in the 1963 photo, equipment and all. It now rests inside enclosed/covered awaiting its turn. We've been in touch with the Norfolk FD and the Nebraska Fire Museum, who are interested in displaying it up there at some point. They were kind enough to send some additional photos of the ambulance - plus a newspaper story you can see below! It's amazing to think of the lives our vehicles touched when in active service...
Mechanically, it's doing well. The exterior was cleaned, sandblasted, and primed. There is no rust I could find. While it appears we're almost to the point it could be just painted - I suspect we may wish to be more aggressive with it. As one can see from our ongoing C/B project - I am no fan of corrosion.
I'm very excited about this carryall - it's surely different from our other two car-based ambulances and a "secret project." I also love the red cross on the side. Despite my ill-conceived notions prior to getting into the hobby - it appears very rare even in the old days before an upset ARC ended the idea of the Omaha Orange cross. Also, turns out the unusual "Emergency - Rescue" text is simply stolen from Christopher advertising. (Ad attached) My only disappointment is that Norfolk didn't pony up for the 4-in-1 FAPA that also had a reel line and water tank for firefighting.
One key point is the equipment complement with the vehicle in the below photo. I'm having a hard time identifying a few of the items. The type/brand of generator eludes me at the moment. I have a bigger/higher-res photo from the Museum I can supply if anyone's got a knack for identifying old rescue gear.
One more question for the hive mind - is that a Model 30 cot or just a single-level Model 21 cot? It's hard for me to tell if the raising X-frame is present from either the news story or the layout. It looks like it has the upper "pegs" from the Model 30, as there aren't perfectly centered upright extensions on top of the wheels (that the Model 21 would have) in the news photo. Anyone got any good ideas on that? http://www.emsmuseum.org/virtual-museum/equipment/articles/398495-Ambulance-Cots-Yesterday-to-Today
The vehicle was sold by Norfolk and became a utility vehicle for the nearby Concord, NE Fire Dept. They sold it in the late 2000s. After exchanging hands several times between private interests, the vehicle was purchased by a PCS Member who initiated a restoration but was unable to complete it. The vehicle sat for the last 3 years in a retired chicken coop wrapped in plastic (pictured here), until we purchased it. Our plan is to bring it back to the way it was in the 1963 photo, equipment and all. It now rests inside enclosed/covered awaiting its turn. We've been in touch with the Norfolk FD and the Nebraska Fire Museum, who are interested in displaying it up there at some point. They were kind enough to send some additional photos of the ambulance - plus a newspaper story you can see below! It's amazing to think of the lives our vehicles touched when in active service...
Mechanically, it's doing well. The exterior was cleaned, sandblasted, and primed. There is no rust I could find. While it appears we're almost to the point it could be just painted - I suspect we may wish to be more aggressive with it. As one can see from our ongoing C/B project - I am no fan of corrosion.
I'm very excited about this carryall - it's surely different from our other two car-based ambulances and a "secret project." I also love the red cross on the side. Despite my ill-conceived notions prior to getting into the hobby - it appears very rare even in the old days before an upset ARC ended the idea of the Omaha Orange cross. Also, turns out the unusual "Emergency - Rescue" text is simply stolen from Christopher advertising. (Ad attached) My only disappointment is that Norfolk didn't pony up for the 4-in-1 FAPA that also had a reel line and water tank for firefighting. One key point is the equipment complement with the vehicle in the below photo. I'm having a hard time identifying a few of the items. The type/brand of generator eludes me at the moment. I have a bigger/higher-res photo from the Museum I can supply if anyone's got a knack for identifying old rescue gear.
One more question for the hive mind - is that a Model 30 cot or just a single-level Model 21 cot? It's hard for me to tell if the raising X-frame is present from either the news story or the layout. It looks like it has the upper "pegs" from the Model 30, as there aren't perfectly centered upright extensions on top of the wheels (that the Model 21 would have) in the news photo. Anyone got any good ideas on that? http://www.emsmuseum.org/virtual-museum/equipment/articles/398495-Ambulance-Cots-Yesterday-to-Today
