Mark Provost
This is a 1977 Miller Meteor “Lifeliner” High-top Ambulance. This was built on a Cadillac Commercial Chassis at the Miller Meteor Plant in Piqua, Ohio. This was the first of Miller Meteor’s manufactured vehicles on the downsized chassis and proved to be the downfall of the sedan based ambulance. Vans offered much more room and were less expensive to produce. Patients and operators both will attest that nothing rides quit like a Cadillac. There were 21 of these ambulances produced by Miller Meteor 1977 and only 4 in 1978. Modifications that have been made to the car are: Model 184 beacons were removed and replaced with Federal Signal Model 14’s The lower portion of the front jump seat has been removed for storage MARS 888 Beacon , red lens installed The car has been repainted its original Omaha Orange & Cotillion White. It has chestnut brown interior and has the MM standard red-brick original linoleum. History of this Vehicle: Sold by Mark Hopkins – Miller Meteor Rep in 1978 Ordered by Groves & Co. in Flint Michigan , however, by the time the car arrived, the City of Flint, Michigan had began their own transport service and the need for a private ambulance service delclined. Jim Burnett was said to have been happy with the size and performance of the 1977 Cadillacs, but his focus on the funeral home/ambulance business changed to other things. New, it was then sold to Warren DeRose with “Quick Ambulance” located in Detroint , MI ($ 26,000). He sold the car back to Mark Hopkins 3 years later with less than 10,000 miles. Hopkins whole-saled the vehicle to Fred McPeck in Denver “Peak Coachworks” for $ 8,500. The car was then sold to Cedaredge Medical Center in Colorado ($ 13,500) where it stayed for several years. It was then sold back to Peak Coachworks in Denver and Manager Leo Branstetter sold the car to a private individual ( Randy Lesher ) of Canon City CO., who intended to restore the vehicle but never did. The car once again went to Leo in Denver when I purchased it in May of 2000.