Station wagon ambulances

[Steve Loftin]

1961 ACC/Pontiac

Okay, back to the station wagons...

Here's a 1961 Pontiac Amblewagon brochure:

 

[Steve Loftin]

1956 ACC/Mercury

The Amblewagon was introduced in 1956; the newest one I know of was a 1975 model.

They were available only on FoMoCo products for the first few years. Job 1 was the Ford seen in Post #11, followed quickly by this Mercury, and then Edsel in 1958:

 

[Adam Borkat]

The Amblewagon was introduced in 1956; the newest one I know of was a 1975 model.

I haven't ever seen a '75, but this was a '74 Buick that appeared for sale a few years ago. From what I remember, it had been stripped back down to its basic station wagon configuration. The Amblewagon scripts were still on the body, being the only real indication of what the car was. I'm guessing many Amblewagon conversions suffered that same fate.

 

[Harry Evans]

This must have been the lesser fate- any single 1970s GM wagon would have been derbied by the inbred knockholes in this area a while ago. Unfortunately, people in western PA aren't big on much except scrap and derbys. We have lost thousands of great cars around here. Wagons like this have no chance. I'd assume that the 1973 white straight clean car in that picture was derbied by ignorant pissoles.

 

[John Royark JR]

This must have been the lesser fate- any single 1970s GM wagon would have been derbied by the inbred knockholes in this area a while ago. Unfortunately, people in western PA aren't big on much except scrap and derbys. We have lost thousands of great cars around here. Wagons like this have no chance. I'd assume that the 1973 white straight clean car in that picture was derbied by ignorant pissoles.

I know what you mean, Iowa is the same way. At least most places now ban hearses from seeing this fate.

 

[Steve Loftin]

1965 ACC/Pontiac flyer

Note the 8-lug aluminum wheels...I wonder if she had a 389 or 421 HO Tri-Power?:

 

[Steve Lichtman]

It's a Seibert, and (no offense to Bill), since this is not a station wagon and this is the station wagon ambulance thread, could we impose upon Paul to move this post with a great photo over to the Ford ambulance thread?

 

[Steve Tarbert]

Cleveland Police ran station wagon ambulances in the early 70's and also were used as regular "cruisers". There were lime yellow and used until the city started the EMS.

 

[Anthony J. Rzucidlo]

Station Wagons

So did the Detroit Police Department from the early 1960's till 1973.

 

[Keith Snyder]

It's a Seibert, and (no offense to Bill), since this is not a station wagon and this is the station wagon ambulance thread, could we impose upon Paul to move this post with a great photo over to the Ford ambulance thread?

Well, technically, it's not a station wagon. However, like many of these conversions, it began life as a station wagon. In this case, a Ford. It just had the chassis extended as well as the roof raised.

 

[John ED Renstrom]

now that's interesting obviously and run under accident. but hit off center just enough that the fender mounted siren is still in place and undamaged. Brendon's 63 had similar damage on it in it's career. we decided up when the photo was first added that it's a Amblewagon conversion.

 

[John ED Renstrom]

now that old press photo shows a lot of stuff and nothing. one can't see what the man of the ground is wrestling with. I'm guessing a #11. but what is on it? the gurney is a #27 as you can see the kick up. they have loaded the pt backwards on the gurney. so they are loading the gurney backward in the car. there would be reasons this would be appropriate. as that style did not have the raised foot. one could load backward as left and right would lock in the same place. then use the head end to raise the feet. this also would put the pt head farther forward. as long as there was room to do so. but I'm betting not in the wagon conversion. that 27 may be centered on the mount I would have to measure this one here to see. but just looking it would look to be a crew that had not trained a lot jacked the gurney out rolled it over and dropped it down not paying any attention to the placement of the pt. they have two people down which has maxed out there carry capacity and there crew. we see 3 offices helping and most likly the two that came with the ambulance trying there best not to compound mistakes and get these people out of here. training, it's all in training and practice people. lets do this exercise again and try to do better. or as we would say that was a real cluster fire truck up. me I have never done this and don't want to again. darn sure don't want any pictures taken.

 

[Russell Street]

Cleveland Police ran station wagon ambulances in the early 70's and also were used as regular "cruisers". There were lime yellow and used until the city started the EMS.

Before they had the lime yellow ones, they ran black and whites ju8st like the regular cruisers. Think back into the early 1960's, through the very early 70's.

 

[Jack Ramsey]

 

[Abe Bush]

...or should I say "over-equipped?" Perhaps some or all of the equipment listed on the back of this card was kept in a second vehicle or towed behind this one in a trailer! I can't imagine something as heavy and bulky as a Porta-Power being carried in this wagon. And, what about that fishing pole?

Here's the front and back of an S.F.H. postcard, plus a higher resolution scan of the car itself:

I've never heard of a heated cot before! How did those work, did you plug them into something?

I know the funeral home in my hometown would store their cot inside the funeral home on cold nights (their 1972 Superior Cadillac combination was parked in a detached garage) but a *heated* cot?

Abe

 

[Steve Tarbert]

Does anyone have any pics of the Cleveland PD station wagon ambulances?

 

[Paul Steinberg]

I've never heard of a heated cot before! How did those work, did you plug them into something?

...........
Abe

The mattress had some type of heating coils in it that were activated by electrical current. I believe that they plugged into a receptacle inside the ambulance.

 

[Larri Dirks]

The funeral home my dad & I worked for in Illinois always had heated cots from 1958 up until 1974. It was also a marketing tool for them as well in the local paper. I cant speak for the cots of the 50's but in the 60's & 70's they were mearley a heating blanket. The heating blanket would be placed on the stretcher between the sheet and mattress it would plug into an electrical outlet near the foot end of the cot on the wall. Our ambulances then had an outlet on the rear hip and or bumper and we would take a drop cord from the garage and plug into the bumper or rear hip of the vehicle which would keep the cot nice and warm. I can still recall today the sign that was made for the steering wheel "UNPLUG THE COT!", many a cord were ripped from the wall. I recall my dad telling me several times the nice comments they would get from families about those warm cots on cold nights!

Larri

 

[Brady D Smith]

1950 Flxible

The '50 Flxible purchased new by Rick Huffman in Elgin Nebraska, successively owned by Ardeen Vaughan, Larry Shepard, Neil Elliot, Scott Walker and now by Buck Kamphausen, had a complicated cot warming system installed in it that I was never able to thoroughly understand or get working. It looked cool though.

 

[Steve Loftin]

Figured a period action photo was worth including w/o knowing details.

This is a black over red Chicago FD 1958 Ford Battalion Chief's car, all of which carried auxiliary stretchers for use as an ambulance in a mass casualty (or other high call volume) situation. The CPD had many station wagon patrol cars that were equipped the same way.

I don't recognize the stretcher being put in the car, but the one on the ground is a #11.