Cadillac Type III Prototype

These "motor home" or "camper" conversions were all the rage in the mid-to-late-sixties and enabled professional car dealers to sell their otherwise low-mileage obsolete vehicles at a profit. I vividly recall Burgess Motor Sales in Loudonville, Ohio and Dennis Distributors in Flint, Michigan offering these within their used car flyers or having examples on their lots. I'm sure a fair number of what would have become highly collectable funeral cars, combinations and ambulances ended up converted into these monstrosities.
 
Superior offered there chassis to a number of compenies. Not all were hacked up old cars a number were designed to be campers from the start.
 
Creepy

I remember seeing these monstrosities in the past. Always thought they were creepy, being made out of an old hearse. That having been said, it might be worth restoring if you like that sort of thing and have deep pockets. :rolleyes: Remember, A lot of people think our hobby is weird!
 
Better get a title first. It amazes me how many vehicles people try to sell without a title!!!!! In SC all you are doing is buying trouble. When I bought my '42 Ford Siebert ambulance, I made sure there was a valid title.
Dan
 
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John ED Renstrom said:
Superior offered there chassis to a number of compenies. Not all were hacked up old cars a number were designed to be campers from the start.
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I'm sorry Ed but, I can assure you that the Superior Coach Company never built or offered these conversions. I am sure that some Superior dealers, like M-M dealers, had old, used coaches converted into such rigs but this is something Superior never built or offered themselves. having said that, in the late sixties and early seventies, as a division of Sheller-Globe, Superir did market a line of motor homes and campers. these, however, were never built on a professional car chassis. Once again, these were vehicles built on older, used funeral car and ambulance chassis that were converted by an outside firm directly for dealers. It gave them an additional outlet to sell older, low mileage cars into a different and then growing market segment.
 
don't miss under stand me I never said that they built camper on that they supplied the chassis with the finish driver compartment for them. but speaking of that look at those moldings and tell me that is a superior body used
 
While that's not exactly a Cadillac-chassis Type III box ambulance - this was. There were three of them built by Franklin body. One may still exist. And no, obviously, the idea did not catch on.
 

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Steve Lichtman said:
While that's not exactly a Cadillac-chassis Type III box ambulance - this was. There were three of them built by Franklin body. One may still exist. And no, obviously, the idea did not catch on.
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Hey, that could be the very first Criterion model way ahead of it's time. Yes we know that is not the case.
 
Steve Lichtman said:
While that's not exactly a Cadillac-chassis Type III box ambulance - this was. There were three of them built by Franklin body. One may still exist. And no, obviously, the idea did not catch on.
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Indeed one survived until a few years ago, sold on eBay. Photos are from that auction. Would love to know where it ended up...
 

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Well I will be, I was being a smart azz with the type III prototype comment. I would really like to see some interior pictures if anyone has them...
 
Noah Dorsey said:
Wow, never seen those before. Steve, Nicholas, were those on a commercial or standard wheelbase chassis?
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It was on the commercial chassis. They were all built by Franklin for squads in northern New Jersey. I'm told the idea came from a member of Pompton Lakes squad, Bud Smock (who later went on to start his own ambulance-building company, PL Custom).

The red and white one in Nick's photos is most likely still around. It has popped up a number of times in recent years. I actually looked at it with hope of buying it in the 1990s, but it was too much work and too much money required at the time. Of interest is the fact that the original '58 Cadillac taillights, and a short piece of the tail fin, are incorporated into the back of the box.

The interior wasn't much, some cabinets up high above the stretcher and the bench seat. But here's a photo. Also a photo of another, a '56.
 

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Hallelujah!!!

Dan Marx said:
Better get a title first. It amazes me how many vehicles people try to sell without a title!!!!! In SC all you are doing is buying trouble. When I bought my '42 Ford Siebert ambulance, I made sure there was a valid title.
Dan
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Precisely ! No title could mean "Yard Art" There are a few States where you can get one issued on a Bill of Sale on Antique Cars (GA./NY) but, most will send you out the door. Thanks Dan for making note...
 
Steve Lichtman said:
It was on the commercial chassis. They were all built by Franklin for squads in northern New Jersey. I'm told the idea came from a member of Pompton Lakes squad, Bud Smock (who later went on to start his own ambulance-building company, PL Custom).

The red and white one in Nick's photos is most likely still around. It has popped up a number of times in recent years. I actually looked at it with hope of buying it in the 1990s, but it was too much work and too much money required at the time. Of interest is the fact that the original '58 Cadillac taillights, and a short piece of the tail fin, are incorporated into the back of the box.

The interior wasn't much, some cabinets up high above the stretcher and the bench seat. But here's a photo. Also a photo of another, a '56.
Click to expand...

Steve, that is a '55 in the lower photo, not a '56.
 
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