Classy Cadillacs

Great photo Atti! Where did you find that? Can you make out what the lettering on the limo says? How do you know it is a Derham? Fleetwood also offered padded roof town cars in the standard body offerings.
 
Not positive that it is definitively a Derham and trusted the ID on an old truck forum where posted was accurate. :hide:

Backtracing image could not find source nor a higher resolution version.
 
The large, bottom word on the limo door appears to be "AIRPORT". Looking it up online, the airline, Bonanz-Air, was started in 1945 in Las Vegas, and changed it's name to Bonanza Airlines in 1947, so the photo is in that era. So it seems as though the limo was an older car serving as an airport car service.
 
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I agree with Steve's assessment. Jim is also correct, it is a Fleetwood Series 90 Town Car, of which 11 were built in 1938, 5 in 1939 and only 2 in 1940. The few Derham-bodied town cars built on the last-generation V-16 chassis had a more upright / squarish body structure and a flat one-piece windshield rather than the v-shaped split windshield of the Fleetwood body.
 
Two newly-arrived photos from my friend who is scanning old slides.

Here are '66 and a '69 M-M Volunteer ambulances, from the Liberty Road Vol. Fire Co. in Randallstown, MD. I suspect both photos were taken at parades/fairs. There's even a C-B Olds in the background as a bonus.
 

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2011 1/2 Cadillac S&S Masterpiece, Arab Heritage Funeral Home, Arab, AL

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2008 Cadillac S&S Imperial, Covington Funeral Home, Covington, TN

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1995 Cadillac S&S Masterpiece, Barlow Funeral Home, Covington, TN
(Elmo Limo's one-time stablemate!)
 
While at the Milwaukee meet, I was able to photograph Larri Dirks' beautiful 1976 M-M combination in ambulance configuration:
 

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Larri generously agreed to have this car in hearse configuration for me to photograph in Sterling on the way home from the meet:
 

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Larri's '76 is a highly optioned car that he actually made calls in when Allen's was still in the ambulance business. He spent lots of time and money to trace, locate, purchase, and - painstakingly - restore this car to exactly how it was equipped when at Allen's.

As you can see, this car was set up for serious ambulance work - dual batteries, hand throttle, multiple beacons, dual siren speakers, etc., and so forth. One option I really like is the side-facing forward attendant seat:
 

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Larri generously agreed to have this car in hearse configuration for me to photograph in Sterling on the way home from the meet:

Virgle Onnen brought one of his cars over for me to shoot, as well.

Larri also took the time to pull out and pose several of Joe McDonald's cars for pictures, such as this 1960 Eureka.

Thanks, guys!
 

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While at the Milwaukee meet, I was able to photograph Larri Dirks' beautiful 1976 M-M combination in ambulance configuration:

I'd love to see this car lit up sometime, and look how plush those snow white leather jump seats are!! And seeing that CPR board makes me wonder how difficult that must have been to actually do CPR in a standard headroom unit!
 
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Wilson Ambulance

Nice M&M from California
 

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I'd love to see this car lit up sometime, and look how plush those snow white leather jump seats are!! And seeing that CPR board makes me wonder how difficult that must have been to actually do CPR in a standard headroom unit!

If you ever see it in person you will not disappointed! Its even more amazing if you know what it looked like when he bought it back, it was pink with painted vines, poor condition, and if I remember right was being used as a pickup for an antique or furniture shop.
 
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