1973 C/B Oldsmobile 54" Ambulance has new home.

'73 C/B Olds 54" Ambulance has new loving home.

Hi boys,
As some of you have noticed in the craigslist discussion forum I purchased my very first pro car for $800. recently. I had my heart set on a 54" ambulance for a while now. I was looking for a M-M Life Liner but when I ran across this C/B it just called my name! I pretty much purchased her blindly as I wasn't able to get any good pics or information from the seller. She was delivered last week and I am very happy to have her, I think she is beautiful.

The Bad:
Exterior:
She is very rusty indeed she sat on flat tires for years and sank in the mud. Luckily for me the floors appear to be solid for the most part with only severe rust through on the front floor pans. As you can see in the pics she has rust on the rockers and doors as well as severe rust on her rear quarters. She is missing both the rear fender extensions. Her rear bumper is severely rusted through as well. She will need a new gas tank hers is crushed. As the add said she is missing her engine and transmission this is due to she was in line to be scrapped and crushed prior to previous owner saving her. Unfortunately when they removed the engine they torch cut the drives shaft off. I only have half a drives shaft left. Currently rollable no brakes and she is missing her emergency brake cable. All glass is good! I have alot of work ahead of me that will take lots of time and money. I will save lots by doing most of the work myself but I'm sure I will need some help from a few professional ' s as well.

Interior:
Well #1 biggest issue is her cabinetry is missing. If I cannot find one I will try and get one replicated as close as possible. She currently has a rear facing bench seat in its place. The front drivers seat and All five door panels are in good shape and only need to be cleaned up. No cracks on dashpad. She is missing her emergency light control box/switches. Glass divider still in place. I have not been able to look at the whole rear compartment there is many boxes trash and tires i need to remove. I will post pics of the interior one I clean all that out.

Plans:
I plan on restoring her as close to original as possible but not exact to the dot. I may add a few things to fit my preference's. I also don't want her to be a perfect trailer queen, I want to enjoy her and drive her to shows and in parades. I'm thinking light blue metallic and white for paint.

Thank you all for your posts and information I have learned so much on this forum.

Yenni (Jenny)


Here are some pics enjoy. ( I apologize pics are so big I don't know how to fix that)

Saved for interior pics

the good news is all the hard stuff is there. the rest of the missing parts are 73 oldsmobile 98. it's not all that rusty either. you get it cleaned out and one can tell what is and isn't salvageable. the drive shaft is a two piece one the rear standard olds part the front stub was made up by CB. if you have the ends. getting one made is easy enough in farm country.
check the paper for donor cars. there is 79 in the locale paper here with the 455 listed for 1400.
yours has the mechanical controls for the AC. a better setup than the automatic one on this end of the cars life. the med cabinets can still be found either a MM or CB for a number of years would be a match. they used a number of different styles but all had the same formica covering.

the rear bumper is 98 olds modified for the step. skirts are the same from 71 to 75. at the 800 price tag you're OK. welcome to the world of CB's and ambulances I have had 3 of them still got one.

Congratulations Yennifer on your first professional car. No doubt, it is worthwhile restoring, but it looks like there is plenty to do. Best of luck with it!

'73 C/B Olds 54" Ambulance has new loving home.

Looks like a worthwhile project. I have a 72 C/B end loader parts hearse that could donate most everything you need .I ,am working on another 72 and once I get the parts needed for it I will be selling the parts car. Shoot me a PM if interested .Thanks

Looks like a worth while project ! and for $800 well worth it

good luck

Congratulations and best wishes on this new and exciting journey!!!

Any idea where "UNIT 1903" served when it was new?

Yennifer, I have always been a fan of the CB's, although I've never had one. You've got your work cut out for you, but that makes it all the more worth it to see a project through to completion. May you have success in finding those parts that you need. The people here are a great source of information and help in these matters.

looking at my pictures I would seam that 73 and 74 used the same extensions.

John ED Renstrom said:

the good news is all the hard stuff is there. the rest of the missing parts are 73 oldsmobile 98. it's not all that rusty either. you get it cleaned out and one can tell what is and isn't salvageable. the drive shaft is a two piece one the rear standard olds part the front stub was made up by CB. if you have the ends. getting one made is easy enough in farm country.
check the paper for donor cars. there is 79 in the locale paper here with the 455 listed for 1400.
yours has the mechanical controls for the AC. a better setup than the automatic one on this end of the cars life. the med cabinets can still be found either a MM or CB for a number of years would be a match. they used a number of different styles but all had the same formica covering.

the rear bumper is 98 olds modified for the step. skirts are the same from 71 to 75. at the 800 price tag you're OK. welcome to the world of CB's and ambulances I have had 3 of them still got one.

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Thank you John, for all the information. I have kept my eye open for a local donor car. I have one in mind but haven't been able to get in contact with the owner. My rear bumper has no step but it is modified to fit this vehicle. I will most likely have to modify one in a similar fashion to replace it.

So the skirts off a regular should fit and work?

Daniel Scully said:

Looks like a worthwhile project. I have a 72 C/B end loader parts hearse that could donate most everything you need .I ,am working on another 72 and once I get the parts needed for it I will be selling the parts car. Shoot me a PM if interested .Thanks

Click to expand...

Thank you Daniel. I will keep your hearse in mind. I will try and find some local donor cars first though because shipping these beasts is not cheap! lol let me know what parts you will have left after you take what you need. thanks again.

Mike McDonald said:

Any idea where "UNIT 1903" served when it was new?

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Well I purchased her from Kansas. Looking at the vehicle closer I found a decal that says Clay County EMS. I am assuming she served Clay County Kansas. Anyone know what Ambulance services were there at the time? There are other Clay counties around the U.S. so that's a start.




At some point in her retirement life she was also used as an equipment vehicle for a Rock n Roll band. I found a decal on the side of that too. I am assuming they are the ones that removed the cabinet and added the rear seat. Her last owner used her as a storage shed.

http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g338/Jennycop/Mobile Uploads/20140928_180046_zpsqcrshlf9.jpg

Well I purchased her from Kansas. Looking at the vehicle closer I found a decal that says Clay County EMS. I am assuming she served Clay County Kansas. Anyone know what Ambulance services were there at the time? There are other Clay counties around the U.S. so that's a start.

I would say, although no expert, that most ambulances were owned and operated either by the hospital, or by the county.

Here is the Rock n Roll band decal.

cRUSHER BOUND C/B IN CINCINNATI

Just a reminder....C-W Coach Sales is ready to crush their 1973 C/B that has a few good items left! Bet you could name your price on them.

Larry, Thank you so much for this information!

Even though it's listed as a 73 it's not, its a 74 but I'm sure I can still use some parts.

74 olds new arrival

Put C-W Coach into such a guilt mode over junking their 1974 C/B that they decided to keep it and met my challenge of buying another one! The pair probably will turn up soon on their website. Amazing what a little creative persuasion can accomplish when you are dealing with a 33 year Coach dealer!

Looks like a real cool car Yenni, but definitely a project. congrats !

Keep pushing ahead. My 73 went from this to this. Just takes time. Words of advice as a person who experienced this and Paul and the PCS gang will support, "Do it right the first time even if it can't be done all at once". In the long run it will save you money and give you a better vehicle.

Third picture is where I'm at again because I went cheap and fast the on the first two paint jobs.