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My name is Nate and my boss bought a 1966 Superior Coach Ambulance about two years ago from up north. It has been in storage and one day I came across it. After some discussion he decided it was time to add this to my project list. I had it brought over to our maintenance department (I run a shop that repairs emergency apparatuses like ambulances, fire trucks, police squads, etc...).
I went to a used tire shop and got some tires for the front. Naturally this vehicle is to delicate for me to drag over to the shop from the yard it was dropped off at so we decided we'd see if it'd start. I replaced the batteries and two squirts of some starter fluid into the carburetor and it started right up.
Tomorrow I'm putting on the lift so I can look under it. The body is remarkable, I've seen worse when I use to work for a hotrod shop. The rockers are toast, the a pillar has some rust, and the doors have a few spots. I'm not sure if we're going to do a complete frame off, I'm going to need to replace the body mounts so I might as well slide the frame out and get it sand blasted and painted. The trim is another question, I know this trim is hard to come by and it would take a considerable amount of time to replicate it.
The drive train is original, numbers matching, and still operates just fine (slowing down from a decent speed with four wheel drum brakes was
). Most likely the engine will get rebuilt with and the power upped so this beast can get around Houston.
Seeing as how we repair ambulances on a daily basis and we're use to working on electrical systems that make no sense, have been hacked to pieces, or have numerous dead ends; this will be no problem. The only thing we're concerned about is using the generator that is under the hood or converting it a modern electrical system (new ambulances feature one large alternator instead of twin 165 alternators found on most diesel ambulances).
I figure that is one heck of a first post, so I'll be posting pictures and asking questions as we advance on this project.
-Nate
I went to a used tire shop and got some tires for the front. Naturally this vehicle is to delicate for me to drag over to the shop from the yard it was dropped off at so we decided we'd see if it'd start. I replaced the batteries and two squirts of some starter fluid into the carburetor and it started right up.
Tomorrow I'm putting on the lift so I can look under it. The body is remarkable, I've seen worse when I use to work for a hotrod shop. The rockers are toast, the a pillar has some rust, and the doors have a few spots. I'm not sure if we're going to do a complete frame off, I'm going to need to replace the body mounts so I might as well slide the frame out and get it sand blasted and painted. The trim is another question, I know this trim is hard to come by and it would take a considerable amount of time to replicate it.
The drive train is original, numbers matching, and still operates just fine (slowing down from a decent speed with four wheel drum brakes was
). Most likely the engine will get rebuilt with and the power upped so this beast can get around Houston. Seeing as how we repair ambulances on a daily basis and we're use to working on electrical systems that make no sense, have been hacked to pieces, or have numerous dead ends; this will be no problem. The only thing we're concerned about is using the generator that is under the hood or converting it a modern electrical system (new ambulances feature one large alternator instead of twin 165 alternators found on most diesel ambulances).
I figure that is one heck of a first post, so I'll be posting pictures and asking questions as we advance on this project.
-Nate
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