What a tank. Guessing it made it up here from Mexico. Wonder if GM added more ponies to the 455's installed in ambulances.
What blows my mind is how they built these out of sadans not wagons. I first found that out when I got a 71 Pontiac hearse with coil springs in it.
This may be a stupid question but does the window area on this ambulance look taller than a normal wagon to anyone else ? If it is taller maybe that is why they started with a cheaper sedan. Hard to believe they would have spent the money on custom glass but the proportions look off to me.
The roof height is raised to meet standards required for an ambulance. The donor car started out as a sedan because it was cheaper than a wagon. The Custom Cruiser would have been a clam shell, all of which should have been scrapped if converted into an ambulance.
Thanks, I lived thru the era of this type of ambulance. Saw them many times but guess I never really paid attention.
Why does it have to come from Mexico? These are commonly collected vehicles today. There's a whole universe of "professional car" collectors (hearses, ambulances, limousines) out there, and not infrequently you see one of them at a show. There's even a club for them. http://www.theprofessionalcarsociety.org/ I don't think so. Cotner-Bevington, the company that did the conversions between 1959 and 1975, just took a standard Olds 98 and modified it to be an ambulance. So there was extra bracing and frame strengthening and such, but I doubt anything was done to the engine. http://www.coachbuilt.com/bui/c/cotner_bevington/cotner_bevington.htm Here's a 1972 Cotner-Bevington Olds ambulance I saw at an Olds show a few years back. Frankly, it looks half ambulance, half hearse, so I'm not sure what's going on with it.
I think the whole "Ambulancia" is a dead give away. Probably originated in a small town in Mexico and someone here in San Diego was lucky enough to snap it up. I remember being a kid and one of the local ambulance services back in PA had a 71-72 and a 74 or so Oldses in their fleet. Everytime I go to Hershey, theres a dude with NY tags who drives a '69 or so Olds Cotner-Bevington limo/funeral/formal sedan thing. It has high windows like these ambo's/hearses. Now, I haven't been to Hershey for four years, but I have been seeing the car for years when I used to go more often, so I hope in two weeks I see it again! I think they're kinda cool. Really unusual.
Just because it was once in service in Mexico, does not mean it was converted in Mexico. I suspect that when the Ambulance regulations changed in the Stated during the Mid 1970's, Mexico would have been a logical Market to sell slightly used Ambulance's that no longer could be used in the local area.
Yes you're right, most likely sent to Mexico after it failed to meet US standards anymore. One picture on the dealer's website shows Sioux Falls South Dakota. https://autocentersd.com/1974-oldsmobile-ninety-eight-ambulance-san-diego-ca-92110/6542338 This dealer is into the old stuff. I like this 67 Ford pickup with a Tommy gate. That gate would definitely make like easier! https://autocentersd.com/1967-ford-f-250-san-diego-ca-92110/6619013