How many Criterion's are left...

Steve Loftin said:
Here's what Bill's car looked like while in service with the original owner.

(SL photo)
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Notice this vehicle doesn't have a backboard storage compartment on the roof like most others do. Was that an option this vehicle is simply missing?
 
John ED Renstrom said:
all the cars were custom ordered and you could get it with or with out anything offered .
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That answers my question and makes sense. I kind of figured it was that way but asked for clarification to be sure.

Its strange to me that such important features were not standard but reading up on the differences of the 4 1974 MM Criterion's on the MM page I discover one of them didn't come with factory air condition and thought WFT were they using it in Antarctica and didn't think they needed air conditioning.

On a side note, there was an ambulance service in Abilene Texas that operated a criterion back in the late 80's early 90's and I wonder what ever happened to that car.

I had taken a few pictures of it but unfortunately I lost most of all my professional car pictures and my Bible (The Black book, which I personally ordered from a book store when it was still in print in the mid 80's) and many more personal effects, all lost in house fire.
 
the key to keeping the cars straight is if one would at least post the MM serial number of the car,pictures is better. so you can attach it to pictures of the car. I now have 4 version of the car now owned by gold cross. but don't have the numbers from it. and as Steve Loftin does, if you get them labeled with the original owners you have a good Hx on that car. what I like about MM is they put there numbers on the inner fender easy to see. will I guess I should say the Wayne division of Indian Head Corp did there cars that way. S&S was the only other one and they added the name of the original buyer to theres but it's in print and easily wiped off with solvent.

as these cars were before big brother rules and regulations. how they were equipped was up to the owners. you will never find 2 alike unless the same service ordered twins. AC up north was considered a unnecessary expense in houses and cars for a long time.
 
not sure but I know they are that way in 73 the number is stamped in but the other information is painted. here is one out of a 59 a 48 and the 73 the 73 is just a foil sticker typed. you wipe it with solvent and all you got is numbers
 

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Steve Loftin said:
From the blog:
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While on a road trip to look at a hearse last Saturday, by accident, I finally got a chance to see this in person. I came off an exit ramp in Ames, and there it was heading to a football game. I stopped my 95 Superior Chevy in the middle of the road and snapped these pix while traffic backed up behind me, I was not going to miss this chance. It is in very nice condition, and appears to be well taken care of. An older guy was driving it and you could tell he loved the rig. I wish I could have talked to him for a few minutes but his lane started moving and when he turned there was no way I would be able to get to him.

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Boy, they removed a lot of chrome from that baby. Notice that it does not have rear tunnel lights. Also looks like it may be a '75 with a '76 grille. I wonder if this is the same car I saw at Lifeline Ambulance in Des Moines in 1995.
 
Tony Karsnia said:
Boy, they removed a lot of chrome from that baby. Notice that it does not have rear tunnel lights. Also looks like it may be a '75 with a '76 grille. I wonder if this is the same car I saw at Lifeline Ambulance in Des Moines in 1995.
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Good eye, Tony. The owner is free to do anything with their rig....but it makes me sad.
 
Actually, I think there are four (4) pictures of my Criterion in that photo album. Two in the pre-restoration "Med-Stat" days, when it was a faded orange and white, and two in what we called Key Lime Green--one outside our office in Menlo Park, and the other at Cardinal Health's Retail Business Conference outside of Washington, DC. (which is why I bought the ambulance). My daughter is standing beside that picture. After the tradeshow I drove from Washington, D.C., to Miami, via Atlanta and Savannah. It was quite a drive. In Daytona Beach a couple walked up to me and said, "Wow, we just saw one of these things in North Carolina yesterday!" Uh . . . that was me.

Now it is Rob Shepard Red. Because he told me I had to paint it that color and keep it that color.
 
Low boy (or girl)

One thing I have noticed about ambulances like this spook-street criterion and others is that some must have been custom ordered for small spaces. The lights are on the cab and there is nothing on the roof, no lights, no sirens, no backboard rack. This would make getting under smaller spaces for parking or even at hospitals easier. I had a 69 Superior from Albert Lea, MN that was just 1/2 inch too tall for my garage. Removing the beacon did the trick, but one day returning from a parade I forgot and got to buy a new lens cover for my mistake.
 
What’s the story on this car, the ambulance company “Murphy” that operated it, and where the company & ambulance were located?

For some reason I want to say this was the name of the company in Abilene Texas in the late 8o’s that operated a criterion like this.

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