1974 Miller-Meteor; things are not always as they seem

T

Tony Karsnia - Deceased - 1971-2020

September 12, 1971 - November 2, 2020
The accompanying photos were recently forwarded to me so I could examine this vehicle and provide my take on it. From outward appearances, this is a 1974 Miller-Meteor Cadillac Volunteer ambulance with 48-inch headroom.

Closer examination reveals this to be a very unique car. Notice:

What appears to be factory gray paint under the white.

Gray interior. Door panels are vinyl while rear ledgeboards are nylon brocade fabric.

Rear quarter window drapes are those typically found in hearses and combinations. Certainly not the usual white nylon ambulance drapes.

Rear floor provisions for a casket rack (although there does not appear to be a bier pin holder.) Has quad post cups also.

The rear quarter window trim has provisions for removable landau panels.

No power ventillator on the roof or rear door.

The car is a 4-place ambulance with hanging hardware, but the headliner does not have any high-intensity lights or grab rails.

What do you make of this unusual ambulance? I have a few thoughts in mind, but will let others jump in here before giving my two-cents worth.
 

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Apears to be more of a combo, looks like a lot of the ambulance features are missing, and there seems to be more of a combination thing going on. Maby a custom order? Or maby someone took a combo and made a ambulance?:confused:

Josh
 
Josh Gentry said:
Jerry, good point, didn't think of that one.:eek:

Josh
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I doubt it is military for the following reasons:

1. Too many roof lights (military contracts are bare bones)
2. Not set up to hold military stretchers (ceiling hooks are standard M-M)
3. Name plate holders in door window sills
4. Rear A/C (less common in military ambulances)
5. It's a Cadillac (This rig is Vietnam era when the military purchased Olds & Pontiac.
 
This car was built as a high headroom combo and was at the PCS International Meet in 1990 in Atlanta. If I remember correctly the car was built for a FH in Kentucky new. It had a skeleton rack, panels and all grimes lights were removable.
 
Cary Livingston said:
This car was built as a high headroom combo and was at the PCS International Meet in 1990 in Atlanta. If I remember correctly the car was built for a FH in Kentucky new. It had a skeleton rack, panels and all grimes lights were removable.
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This car was custom made for Muster Funeral Home. How do I know? Because I was the last one to own this car. Jim
 
so now we know. none of the military had any of the cabinets cut in. just the ones on the floor. nor the storage box in the back floor. the hole in the roof were the left rear light is missing would to me be worth looking hard at. it's hard for most of us to imagine but there were a number of places getting these car that only wanted a cheap tool not a show stopper.
 
My aforementioned posts about my History in the Funeral/Ambulance biz leave me with the question when did skeleton racks disappear?

I can clearly remember flipping the panels in his last '65 Caddy m/m Combo and his final unit a 71/72 Olds had them.

He kept the Combo in what we called the barn and on the one wall he'd built a wooden storage compartment for the rack which obviously was'nt used except for funerals ???.

This rig has to be a real oddity of the owners personal likes.
 
What's a "skeleton rack"?

Cary Livingston said:
This car was built as a high headroom combo and was at the PCS International Meet in 1990 in Atlanta. If I remember correctly the car was built for a FH in Kentucky new. It had a skeleton rack, panels and all grimes lights were removable.
Click to expand...

In all my years in this hobby, I never heard of a "skeleton rack". Can anyone enlighten me? Gracias!
 
Brandt funeral home pittsburgh pa

Steve, post image of absolute twin from brandt's to really confuse us. Muster took it in trade in the early 80's after you photographed it with john schmidt !
 
So there were two like this that went to different funeral homes?

Yes, please post some photos! :cool:

Cary, do you have any photos (yeah, like this is a dumb question) of this car from the meet in Atlanta you could post?

Thanks!
 
I am hanging my head in shame.....here is a car that I am 99% sure I do NOT have a picture of. I looked in my albums, digital and 35 MM and cannot locate it.
I have numerous loose piles of 35MM prints yet to be sorted and might find it.
Atlanta 1990 oddly enough was a Meet that I did not get to photograph well because I as well as others were having too much fun :D Hopefully someone has a pic of this car from its earlier days.
 
This car was custom ordered by and owned by Muster Funeral Home, Calhoun Kentucky. They have both a funeral home and coach dealership there.
 
One thing to remember, in '74, that was the van era. Military ambulances by then were Wayne Chevy van Vanguards, so it's clearly not a military ambulance.

I learned this from a gentleman (someone can fill in who) who has a '73 M-M Cadillac lowtop combination, factory orange and white, with removable Ful-Vu lights and a combination-style cabinet: About that time, the coach dealers were encouraging customers to buy combinations instead of car-chassis ambulances. The handwriting was on the wall - they were worried that a straight coach ambulance would have little, if any, resale value when it would be traded in, which would be about '78-'79, when the coach ambulances would be essentially dinosaurs. The customers were advised that, if the car was a combination, there would be more future resale value as the car could at least be resold as a hearse after a quick repaint. The '73 I refer to above was ordered just like that. I would imagine the same would apply to the Volunteer at the beginning of this thread as well - on resale, the plan may have been for it to be a...hightop hearse. :eek:
 
Steve Lichtman said:
...would imagine the same would apply to the Volunteer at the beginning of this thread as well - on resale, the plan may have been for it to be a...hightop hearse. :eek:
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Steve, you're right on! I was told that the funeral home used this as both an ambulance AND a hearse ... Jim
 
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