1961 Eureka Hi-Boy Updates

Nicholas Studer

PCS Elected Director 2022-2025
Please see http://www.professionalcarsociety.org/forums/showthread.php?t=18181 for thread when the car first purchased. Still plugging away.

I was quite surprised to be able to make it happen - but I was not only able to get a set of 1961 GM bucket seats - but I was able to purchase the original seats that came with the car from the Eureka plant! Not exactly common for a car in 1961 to have buckets, but surely not ambulances in particular. There was much suggestion in the past that these were Cadillac Eldorado seats, but after research and discussion - looks like not. From we've been able to put together, they're Buick seats due to the chrome trim running all around the base, plus the fact both are non-power. Pretty decent shape. Photos courtesy of the seller.
 

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I had a feeling this would all work out! :applause:

Nick's Eureka project is a prime example of what can happen when you make a specific interest known (in this case, Nick really wanted a Eureka Hi-Boy), be willing to work through a process, even when the going gets tough, and stick to the vision with patience and diligence.

Much easier said than done! However, good things come to those who are patient, yet diligent.
 
It makes sense that the seats are Buick items.. The split-bench seats and trim used by Eureka in some of their '50s coaches were also Buick parts.
 
Please see http://www.professionalcarsociety.org/forums/showthread.php?t=18181 for thread when the car first purchased. Still plugging away.

I was quite surprised to be able to make it happen - but I was not only able to get a set of 1961 GM bucket seats - but I was able to purchase the original seats that came with the car from the Eureka plant! Not exactly common for a car in 1961 to have buckets, but surely not ambulances in particular. There was much suggestion in the past that these were Cadillac Eldorado seats, but after research and discussion - looks like not. From we've been able to put together, they're Buick seats due to the chrome trim running all around the base, plus the fact both are non-power. Pretty decent shape. Photos courtesy of the seller.

Congrats Nick! Glad to hear that they will be going back into the rig they came out of.

FYI- there is no such thing as "Cadillac Eldorado seats". Bucket seats were rare in '60s Eldorados as well. Cadillac would put bucket seats in anything that they built, if ordered that way, and rarely seen in any Cadillac in the '60s. I have seen them in a '64 Sedan deVille and a '66 Sedan deVille(yes, both 4-doors). They were rarely seen in Cadillacs only because it was not a popular Cadillac option.
 
DW570 windshield awaits installation when the car's repainted. Figured I'd get it now while they're still available. Pilkington was able to replicate the original markings EZ-E-EYE markings and date code pictured.

Still looking for NCG oxygen flowmeters (the 1960s square metal box type, not the 1970s green plastic). This is likely what was in the two outlets alongside the wheel wells. Still not exactly sure the missing components on the dispensary cabinet.
 

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Many thanks go to Phillip Sawyer who kindly noted my want ad for the scalloped oxygen bases missing from this ambulance (http://www.professionalcarsociety.org/forums/showthread.php?t=18703) and sold me the one he had.

It is a disappointing surprise that there are apparently multiple varieties of this rather unique design for an oxygen base... The one I purchased is a Puritan product with three rather long "support arms" coming out from the central scalloped tube, each with a screw hole. This is better shown in below photo than words. Unfortunately, while the originals look almost identical - they mounted with four screws and had an overall smaller profile. Close inspection of the 1961 Hi-Boy interior photo on Pg 211 of Tom McPherson's Eureka book shows this to be the case. Best guess is a somewhat rectangular overall footprint with a small outcropping on four sides for the screw.

Anyone seen something like this or have a photo? If someone has one they'd be willing to let me borrow, I'd be interested in getting castings done for me, and I'd make them available to others if there's interest.
 

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that set up is for 2 bottles side by side, they would just be set in there and held in place by the strap. no bases were used. that base is more for mounting on a open floor
 
that set up is for 2 bottles side by side, they would just be set in there and held in place by the strap. no bases were used. that base is more for mounting on a open floor

While I appreciate the certainty - that isn't the case. It also was three cylinders.

If you review Pg 211 of Tom McPherson's Eureka book, you'll see what I'm talking about. Out of respect for him I can't/shouldn't post a photo from there.
 
you look at that floor again. and the number of holes in it. I could not see the third bottle ring with the mount in place. you also have the advantage in that you have the car. but from what I see in the pictured there is no ring for the mount. it would have left a stain. remember these are not cookie cutters but built per buyer spec. had they not requested a mount, Eureka would most likely have used wood. just one more layer or two of plywood with holes drilled to except the bottles. over time someone removed it for what ever reason to make a flat floor. I can't tell if the holes about 3/4 way up would have had a wavy board to cradle the tops as the strap was cinched or not. but there is no room in that cabinet for either style of floor mount that I have seen. to mount that close to the wall. which they do so the jump seat will fold in. Eureka loved wood. on this one did the O2 get piped in or was the flow meter moved from bottle to bottle? I should have one of them either a bottle mount or the Ohio fitting. I'll check to book when I get home. if Eureks cast something they did it in brass. which would enplane it missing
 
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Looks like it also had a 2-bottle bracket attached to the inside back of the cabinet at one time.
 
Hi Ed - while each Hi-Boy was special, this one is almost a carbon copy of the 1961 Hi-Boy pictured in Mr. McPherson's book with some rather slight differences. It's a bit frustrating that I can't just point to that photo for you - but if you have the book and can look there, you'll see the mounts and why I chased down a "scalloped" top mount. The seat is indeed down in the factory photo so you can see. I guess the ones that were in the car were slightly different at the bottom, and that's barely visible by magnifying close in the photo. Quite annoying to luck out finding the apparent "holy grail" of oxygen bases only to find there's another variety out there. The photo I posted at http://www.professionalcarsociety.org/forums/showpost.php?p=841906447&postcount=70 showing the Oxequip variant is indeed smaller than this Puritan one. I've attached another photo so you can see the holes better (12 total) - this wasn't posted in the original thread on this car. If I can't find an original to measure/replicate/etc. I guess can use the holes present to draw up a template that in conjunction with the mount I have to CAD up one that's close.

This car does have a piped oxygen system with a mount for an M-cylinder (Maybe actually be a Q - haven't tried yet to see what fits) up front behind the soon-to-be-returning bucket seats. Unfortunately, this was partially disassembled and I am still trying to figure it out. Brass tubing goes under the floor into the two NCG 238-50 outlets on both wheelhouse areas. It's possible I'm missing the upper half that would go up into the cabinet. The hole with obvious missing large trim ring in the cabinet side is also found with a smaller missing trim ring on the opposite side of the partition. I don't have a good photo of that. It appears to mostly likely represent oxygen or the line to vacuum suction - but there is no good evidence either way except for the fact the hole is much larger than the still-present brass oxygen tubing below. The article from the Socorro Defensor Chieftain from 29 January 1972 claims after talking about the four-litter capability that "It is equipped with an oxygen duct system that will deliver oxygen to each of the four stations." This leads me to believe the two wheelhouse oxygen outlets were only the half of it - and the other two outlets were somehow in the cabinet area. There is a rhomboid missing item from the passenger-side wall of the cabinet, shown at http://www.professionalcarsociety.org/forums/showpost.php?p=841906447&postcount=70 . My suspicion is this is either a mount for a Rico or oxygen outlet - indeed factory Hi-Boy photos from 1962 show oxygen outlets in that location. If a Rico - no Eureka factory photo shows one installed there, and it's never mentioned as an option. Quite possibly done long after factory if so. Either which way - can't find an NCG oxygen product or a Rico suction item that would fit the bill for the holes/profile.

Plenty of work remains to figure it all out! A photo from the 1980s of this car shows the hanging hardware missing/etc - so a lot of this stuff was probably pulled out in the late 1970s when it was sent from Socorro to Tres Piedras. The gentleman there I've talked to couldn't elaborate, but told me they pulled out a lot of stuff to "make it more functional." Honestly, I'm surprised with so many parts/pieces/tags that so much remained. Still hoping the hanging hardware turns up at least - he remembers it still be around "somewhere." I keep checking in monthly.

Kurt - no holes visible in the cabinet/partition outside of the big hole penetrating to the cab. Is that what you're referring to with 2-bottle bracket possibility?

On another positive note - after six months I found an elusive period-correct vacuum bottle (thermos) mount for the other side of the resuscitator cabinet on the passenger side. I'll never quite understand why folks thought a Thermos was a critical item of ambulance equipment - but no matter. The originals in the factory photo of the Hi-Boy from 1962 in Mr. McPherson's book appeared to perhaps have a fire-extinguisher hold down versus this spring - but this will at least allow for a template of some kind if not right.
 

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Nick,
Yes, I was referring to the large hole in the back of the cabinet that is centered exactly in the middle of the 2 bottles on the left. I was thinking that it could have been a bracket on the order of the one in the photo that I am attaching, but with a single center bolt.
 

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Well, took a few months of trolling eBay, but I turned up a good condition fire extinguisher and bracket that appeared to be the one shown in the Eureka book. Lo and behold - the bracket's holes line up perfectly with the cabinet's existing holes. How unlikely...

The thermos holder looks great. One of the holes on the bracket don't exactly line up - but that's OK - it's the right design and a drill can easily punch an extra hole in the meta bracket.

Oxygen outlet on the driver's side wheelhouse. Hmm... Definitely not the usual "ball" flowmeter - even if turned 90 degrees on the NCG adapter, there'd be no room for any contemporary brand (NCG, Puritan, etc.) to stand upright. Sadly, Eureka didn't show anything plugged into these side outlets in the factory photos of vehicles that had them. It'll become clear one day, perhaps.

Better photo of some of the array of holes on the front divider wall, it's dark in there! You can see an assortment on the driver's side, large hole for oxygen/suction, another set of screw-holes in the middle, and a final set of four in the far wall.... Lord only knows.
 

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Nick,
Loose the storm window retainer on your cabinet door. That never would have been there originally.
 
sorry I can't read the words on that port. are you sure that is O2 and not suction? it doesn't look the same as the suction set up on my 72 high top but mine was similar to the O2 ports.
 

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Nick,
Loose the storm window retainer on your cabinet door. That never would have been there originally.

Indeed it will come off! One day hopefully sooner, rather than later when the cabinet gets refinished.

I guess that'll be sometime around the time this sweet Sireno Model 199 Skylighter goes on the roof. Basically new base/light, used glass (really!) that I need to polish. The Model 14 got put on the car sometime in the middle 1960s - my guess is some low clearance caused the demise of the original...

sorry I can't read the words on that port. are you sure that is O2 and not suction? it doesn't look the same as the suction set up on my 72 high top but mine was similar to the O2 ports.

It's Oxygen - NCG Model 238-50. Vacuum/Med Air/etc. are very similar in appearance. Managed to luck out and talk with an "old timer" at Allied/HPI who knows the old systems. Unfortunately not for a Rico suction - that'd be an easy answer, and we know I can't get many of those or it wouldn't be a challenge! There is another outlet in the passenger-side stepwell. As far as I can tell, these are the only two outlets present.

It's odd - the 1970 Socorro Defensor-Chieftain story specifically ID'd the capability of the "oxygen duct system" to provide oxygen to all four litter patients. At that time, I don't believe "Y-connectors" were used to put two flowmeters on a single outlet. Unless they actually were using the portable cylinders mounted in the jump seat compartment for at least two patients... It then also leads you to wonder about what was the big hole penetrating the divider - if not oxygen (increasingly I'm thinking Rico suction), The seat itself is a bit of an enigma for me - as that seat doesn't fold into the compartment without the seatback folded into a "triangle," as opposed to flat, which is needed to have space for the portables behind. Something must be off in it... Another project to stare at.
 

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Do you recognize where the knob on the right came from???

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