What is the oldest ambulance that you have worked in?

Kent,just a strange coincidence,our first rig,when we started Professional Ambulance,was car #805.It was a 1971 ford club wagon which we converted ourselves,with the help of our friend Joe who was a master cabinet maker.:specool:
 
Socorro F.D. 1981-1987. We had a 79 Ford E-350 460 gas engine that would vapor lock at the drop of a hat. And two Chevy G30's, a 79 and 80.

In '84 we started going modular with a Chevy C30 454. That is the one I smoked the engine on after nicking a radiator hose due to a fan belt breaking.

At 80 mph in 100 degrees outside temperature, three EMT's and FOUR (yes_) patients I found out that you can go twenty three miles before draining ALL coolant out of the engine. AND also found out that 454 Chevys do not function well on air cooling only.......
 
the 460 in the collins we had would do easily in excess of 140 mph and never vaper locked. still get 11 mpg flat out or idiling. I get the chance I'll dig threw some old pictures and see if I can find one of it
 
With the 460 Ford type II or III's, we had heat issues and the mechanics added air intake scoops on the hood. In addition to vapor lock, the heat also affected the efficiency of the electrical system. But they sure did go!
 
With the 460 Ford type II or III's, we had heat issues and the mechanics added air intake scoops on the hood. In addition to vapor lock, the heat also affected the efficiency of the electrical system. But they sure did go!

I heard thats why alot went to diesel, because some of the gas ones also caught fire. I dont know if there is any truth to this or not. Anyone out there know of the truth in this?
 
I heard thats why alot went to diesel, because some of the gas ones also caught fire. I dont know if there is any truth to this or not. Anyone out there know of the truth in this?

Some of the 460 gas engines did have that annoying habit!
 

Attachments

  • Fire001.jpg
    Fire001.jpg
    94.6 KB · Views: 548
  • Fire002.jpg
    Fire002.jpg
    101.3 KB · Views: 549
  • Fire003.jpg
    Fire003.jpg
    95.8 KB · Views: 630
1965 Parkway, as seen here:

http://www.professionalcarsociety.org/forums/showpost.php?p=30224&postcount=68

attachment.php
 
I hate to admit it but that E350 we had would outrun our Chevys any day despite the fact it was heavier. Also felt a lot more stable at highway speeds.

When it was in front line service we tried to use that for inter-hospital transfers as the longer wheelbase gave patients a smoother ride. Our transfers were at minimum eighty miles to Albuquerque, to Pres, UNM/BCMC or St. Joe's.

Saturday nights were usually hot for transfers as we had rotating doc's from Pres and they usually didn't want to do much while there except watch TV eat and sleep. The other nice part about the Ford was that it was the only one we had with a AM-FM radio which made the late night drive back on I-25 a lot more enjoyable. That is except when my other crewmember was a country music aficionado.

Albuquerque Ambulance had louvers punched in their hoods, don't know if it really helped any but it sure looked good.....
 
A stoner

1978 Stoner Van. Great, fast gas engine. Worked I-80 from Auburn, CA to Hwy 20 . Had no problem with the mountain. With hanging hardware, could transport 4 backboarded patients. While not too safe, when backup was an hour away and the weather grounded lifeflight and CHP, it worked.
 
1963 Caddie

It was a red over white 1963 S&S Cadillac high top, with Salata Ambulance in Gurnee, Il. I don't know the original owner, but it had belonged to the Gurnee Boy Scout Ambulance , which later became the Emergency Ambulance Association of Lake County, which folded and sold the car to Salata, who used it until 1980, then sold it to someone who supposedly made it into a camper.
 
1973 Superior Cadillac Regency Combination. Alliance Ambulance Service.
 
I used this 1974 CB Olds Amb from 1979-1983, Twin City Ambulance -Sterling / Rock Falls IL.
 

Attachments

  • scan0003.jpg
    scan0003.jpg
    97.5 KB · Views: 1,942
When I joined Wheaton Rescue Squad in 1980, they had '79 Wheeled Coach Ford Type IIs and a '75 Ford van that was home-built with a Turtle Top camper top and plywood cabinets. I ran emergency calls in all of them.

I used the '75 M-M Criterion (recently owned by Richard Vyse) in the ambulance service I owned in the early '90's. I ran several transport calls in that.

But the oldest I ran in was a 1960 Flexible Buick Premiere ambulance. Yep, Dad and I used our Buick to transport my grandmother once from the hospital to a nursing home. That counts, right? :specool:
 

Attachments

  • WheatonFleet1980c.jpg
    WheatonFleet1980c.jpg
    47.6 KB · Views: 816
  • 75MMCadCriterionNA.jpg
    75MMCadCriterionNA.jpg
    27.8 KB · Views: 718
  • copyfordesktop.jpg
    copyfordesktop.jpg
    41.4 KB · Views: 765
right your are, I forgot about that. the oldest I have worked out of then is a 63 superior Road Rescuer. we made a offical run with it this spring before it was recalled back home and replaced by a 69 MM.
 

Attachments

  • 2012-03-16 loaded and ready.jpg
    2012-03-16 loaded and ready.jpg
    52 KB · Views: 734
right your are, I forgot about that. the oldest I have worked out of then is a 63 superior Road Rescuer. we made a offical run with it this spring before it was recalled back home and replaced by a 69 MM.

Okay, if we are counting that (and it is a good idea) the oldest I worked out of was a 1966 Superior Pontiac.
 
I did my first "ride-alongs" on distance transfers in a 1974 Miller-Meteor Cadillac Lifeliner in the summer of 1979 at age 8. I'd get to ride in the front when the patient was on board and in the back on the way home.

However, the first time I actually served as an attendant came in 1985 at age 14. One winter evening after supper, I was in my room doing homework when my dad yelled down the hall, "Tony come on, I need your help on an ambulance call!"

Hmmm...needed my help on a call? This was something new. Turned out that two of the three rigs were already out on calls and my dad was the last available crew member and, since I didn't have a driver's license, that meant I was in back with the patient.

Further adding to the drama, our first-out rig, a 1984 Collins Ford Crusader Type II, was at the body shop being repaired from a minor traffic accident, meaning we had to use the "loaner" rig, a 1980 Ford (Wheeled Coach, I think), which had no 2-way radio in it.

The call was to a traffic accident about 6 blocks from the hospital. With the help of the city police, we got the victim onto the cot and into the rig for the short ride to St. Mary's ER. When we arrived, the nurses were sure surprised to see me serving as the attendant!

A couple years later, in 1987, the ambulance service in my hometown went from privately-owned BLS to hospital-owned ALS, so I got in on the transfers, event standbys, and this one occasion of actually tending to a patient, just before the "good 'ol days" ended.

Anyway, here's a photo of that 1980 Wheeled Coach (?) Ford Type II just before we returned it to Ringdahl's in Fergus Falls, MN. It was on this day I met - and immediately became good friends with - John Ringdahl, who introduced me to PCS, sending me home with much of his photo collection and all back-issues to date of The Professional Car magazine, on loan to me for a period of a few months.

(Karsnia photo)
 

Attachments

  • zzzz_80ford 001.jpg
    zzzz_80ford 001.jpg
    71.6 KB · Views: 744
The oldest rig I ever worked in was the first one I ever worked in as well, a 1962 S&S. Nothing like starting with one of the finest. This car was the top to the line unit that S&S used in their display at an international show in Montreal. The call was interesting as well. I got a call one afternoon from the fire chief to come up to the fire house as he had something he wanted to show me. I got there and the car was parked in front of the fire house. He then told me he wanted to show me how to load and unload a stretcher. Once that was done he said, "Now get in we have a call!" My response was "but I don't even belong yet." Even though I was totally willing and excited about doing it. His response, "Yes you do you were approved last night." Nothing else had to be said, its just a good thing that nothing or anyone was between me and the car door. So what that it was just a transfer of a patient from the hospital to a nursing home. I was on my first call and riding as the attendant in the ambulance!
 
Back
Top