datac
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1957 Cardinal
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Post by datac on Mar 26, 2019 0:30:17 GMT -8
1955 Ford Courier-based ambulette, 50k original miles. Yep, the noisy/blinky bits work just fine.
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jeremiah
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Post by jeremiah on Mar 26, 2019 5:57:14 GMT -8
Does your post mean that the 55 has a later model courier truck frame under it with modern drivetrain ?
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Post by youngbloodhawk on Mar 26, 2019 5:58:27 GMT -8
👍
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datac
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1957 Cardinal
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Post by datac on Mar 26, 2019 7:26:13 GMT -8
Does your post mean that the 55 has a later model courier truck frame under it with modern drivetrain ? No, years before Ford badged Mazda trucks as Couriers, that was the name they used for their sedan deliveries (two door wagons with no side windows). All original, right down to the oil bath air cleaner.
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Post by bigbill on Mar 26, 2019 7:31:09 GMT -8
Two things to think about one how many lives were saved in the back of it, two how many didn't make it in the days of stuff them and go. Think what the modern highway death toll would be today without our highly trained EMTs and Paramedics with their modern equipment. On a happier note that is a beautiful find.
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dynaflowmoe
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Post by dynaflowmoe on Mar 26, 2019 16:37:52 GMT -8
That's about the coolest thing I've ever seen to tow a vintage trailer. It put a big old smile on my face when I saw it. It's so untouched and the patina is just right. Does it have a three on the tree with a 256 or 272 Y-Block? I don't see the Ford-0-Matic script on the back so I assume it's a manual?
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Ten
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70 Shasta 16SC + 1964 Airflyte
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Post by Ten on Mar 26, 2019 20:46:17 GMT -8
That is just FREAKIIN' AWESOME!!
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datac
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Post by datac on Mar 26, 2019 22:30:35 GMT -8
That's about the coolest thing I've ever seen to tow a vintage trailer. It put a big old smile on my face when I saw it. It's so untouched and the patina is just right. Does it have a three on the tree with a 256 or 272 Y-Block? I don't see the Ford-0-Matic script on the back so I assume it's a manual? 272 Y-block with three on the tree, completely untouched and runs like a top. The guy I bought it from fired it up for the first time in decades about a week ago. Ambulances usually came from local dealer stock and were shipped to the coachbuilder for conversion and paint- this one was Thunderbird Blue prior to conversion, which is why the firewall is that color.
It's impossible not to grin every time I see it parked out front. I live in a tight urban neighborhood pretty close to downtown, and fire engines from the local station seem to be finding excuses to prowl by several times a day.
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Hamlet
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Post by Hamlet on Mar 27, 2019 7:40:12 GMT -8
What a beautiful piece of our not-too-distant past! It looks totally cool, but for us, like big bill, having, restoring, using old things is more about the stories they hold. Most of our furniture is from the 30s to the 50s. Living room furniture that I grew up with, my grandparents bedroom set, WW2 era console record player, and our circa 1930s vintage two seat soda fountain are all things that we use (with care) every day. I know a lot of the stories from our family heirlooms, and love to play old 78s and imagine stories about the old things we’ve found. These, like our trailers, came from a simpler (not always better) time, and although we don’t want to go back to those times, they are wonderful places to visit.
Thanks for rescuing one more piece of history.
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jeremiah
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Post by jeremiah on Mar 27, 2019 8:12:01 GMT -8
What a beautiful piece of our not-too-distant past! It looks totally cool, but for us, like big bill, having, restoring, using old things is more about the stories they hold. Most of our furniture is from the 30s to the 50s. Living room furniture that I grew up with, my grandparents bedroom set, WW2 era console record player, and our circa 1930s vintage two seat soda fountain are all things that we use (with care) every day. I know a lot of the stories from our family heirlooms, and love to play old 78s and imagine stories about the old things we’ve found. These, like our trailers, came from a simpler (not always better) time, and although we don’t want to go back to those times, they are wonderful places to visit. Thanks for rescuing one more piece of history. for me and all my relatives and Most of my friends... that Simpler time was better, I enjoyed the Simpler times and want to enjoy ALL it has and had to offer and learn. It is hard to find things that are Better today. We should learn all of the good from that not too distant past era.
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studeclunker
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'51 Spartanette Tandem
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Post by studeclunker on Mar 27, 2019 12:44:36 GMT -8
That is just FREAKIIN' AWESOME!![I can't improve on this and am just going with it! [/font]
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Post by Teachndad on May 23, 2020 4:46:14 GMT -8
That's about the coolest thing I've ever seen to tow a vintage trailer. It put a big old smile on my face when I saw it. Yup! That was me. Cool doesn't cover this. Cheers, Rod
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datac
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Post by datac on Jun 7, 2020 19:09:23 GMT -8
Rod suggested I post the backstory behind the vehicle that I'd shared with him in a message, but some emergency surgery sidetracked all of my plans. I'm recovering nicely, but definitely feeling thankful for the excellent health I've enjoyed until very recently. I've been driving it every day, runs like a top. I live in a '20s vintage neighborhood near downtown, so between parking being at a premium and our one car wide driveway, I have to do a big shuffle to get the '65 Mustang I usually drive out of the garage. Sadly, the Mustang hasn't seen much action recently as a result. There's a bunch more pictures here, though none recently: linkIt's got an interesting history. St. Maries is a small town in Idaho not far from Coeur d'Alene, and they ordered it new from National (the coachbuilder who performed the conversion) in 1955. Because they wanted a side-open door instead of a normal tailgate, rather than start with a Ford wagon National had a sedan delivery (2-door wagon without side windows) shipped from the factory, originally in Ford Mountain Green (still visible on the firewall in the underhood shots). The side windows are National parts, and are different than normal Ford windows. The seats and interior panels are all National rather than Ford parts as well. For reasons I don't understand, this small town in rural Idaho specified that the ambulance be delivered in purple rather than red or white. There's still purple visible at the top of the firewall, and there's a great shot in the album of the license plate light with the paint worn through revealing the purple between the current red and factory green. Coincidentally, I have family who lived in the area at the time who remember the purple ambulance parked on the field during high school football games, and mentioned it before I found the purple traces on this one. In the early '60s St. Maries bought a big Cadillac ambulance, and turned the Ford over to the fire department, which is when it got the snazzy red paint job on it now. They used it for hauling the jaws of life to accident scenes, etc., and kept it in service until 1989. Ironic hauling equipment to accident sites in the '80s, since it had no seatbelts of any kind installed until I put them in. In 1989 it was purchased by a gentleman in Everett, Washington, who parked it in a barn where it sat until last March. The guy I purchased it from had wanted it for years, and finally hauled it home last March (seems like he mentioned he purchased it from the previous owner's estate). He unloaded it in his front yard and promptly set the siren off, which was the last straw for his neighbors, who called the cops and code enforcement. He had 12 cars parked in his front yard right in the city, and was given 30 days to remove everything that wouldn't fit on the street or in his driveway, so I got it as a bit of a fire sale. I'd spotted it on Craigslist at a fairly high price, and he dropped it significantly every couple of days. He eventually got it started and jacked the price back up, and then started dropping it again until it was too cheap to walk away from. Pretty sad, he only owned it for less than three weeks before I got it.
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