1947 H&E (S/S) returning to the masterpiece

Darren Bedford

PCS Member
A blast from the past PCS 2013 International meet.......




1947 Cadillac ambulance joins competition at the 2014 Milwaukee Masterpiece Concours d'Elegance


If you hear sirens during The Milwaukee Masterpiece Concours d' Elegance, Aug. 24, 2014, don't be alarmed. The sound might be coming from a 1947 Cadillac ambulance that will be competing for attention and Concours d'Elegance awards.

This fire-engine-red beauty was manufactured by Hess and Eisenhardt Coachworks, Blue Ash, Ohio, in 1947. The Milwaukee Fire Bell Club purchased and donated the vehicle the same year to the Milwaukee Fire Department (MFD). It remained in service until mid-1979 when the vehicle was sold and subsequently was owned by several collectors.

The only Cadillac ambulance ever to serve with the MFD, the noteworthy vehicle had the distinction of participating in every major alarm fire occurring in the city during its 30 years of service.

Warren Skonieczny, Deputy Chief (Ret), Milwaukee Fire Department, reports that all of the vehicle's owners, "especially the firemen, treated the ambulance with tender loving care as its appearance and condition bear out.

"The vehicle's career has come full circle. After many years of being away, it is back home where it belongs, at the Milwaukee Fire Museum," he said. Skonieczny is the current president of the Milwaukee Fire Historical Society and will be on the show field with the Cadillac ambulance.


:thumbsup:
Darren
 

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the directional snow tires are on backwards on it in that picture. but that might have been on propose. the old feeling was if you had a posit-rack rear end you flipped one to help it back up. but if it was my car I would have to spend the money to get that drooping door handle fixed. that would drive me crazy.
 
the directional snow tires are on backwards on it in that picture. but that might have been on propose. the old feeling was if you had a posit-rack rear end you flipped one to help it back up. but if it was my car I would have to spend the money to get that drooping door handle fixed. that would drive me crazy.

I figured I was the only one that noticed the door handle, first thing I saw.
 
they were a poor casting of base and the notch would wear letting it fall. of course the drivers door was the one that gets used the most so it's the first to go. sharp car but for one thing.
 
Some pictures from 1991 when it was owned by Steve Diamond.
 

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