New From NorCal with '71 GMC Ambo

[RoadDawg]

Hi folks, a long-time fan of the '67-'72 Chevy and GMC trucks checking in from Northern California. I've been lurking here for a few years just waiting for the time when I would finally own one of these gems and that time came this week. I'm also a former firefighter and a big vintage emergency vehicle enthusiast so I was naturally drawn to something with a service mission and history and found it with this 1971 GMC ambulance built by Stoner that had been languishing in rural Siskiyou County for the past 15 years.

This truck came up on eBay over a year ago and while I considered it then I never did take any action on it until late July when on a whim, I contacted the seller through eBay to find out if it ever sold. The seller got back to me with the news that it indeed sold and was paid for but the Canadian buyer never got transportation arranged so it was still sitting on his property. He agreed to give me the buyers contact info and after some discussion the buyer decided to sell it to me.

By last week I was finally able to arrange my own transport so yesterday a friend with a nice tow rig and I undertook the 800 mile journey to retrieve my dream ambulance.









See more photos here:

http://public.fotki.com/Classicchp/1971-gmc-ambulance/

What I like about this rig is that is was always fire department owned while in-service, first by Okanogan County FPD in Washington from new-1979 then Etna FD in California from 1979-2000 and is built on the less common GMC AND 3/4 ton Suburban. It is nicely equipped on the Super Custom model and includes lots of heavy-duty component options plus factory A/C and the 402 cid big block under the hood. The owner started to undertake a conversion to a race car hauler but stopped midway and the vehicle just sat untitled or registered for years. Thankfully he kept some of the ambulance parts but guess I will be scrounging for or recreating those missing items plus bringing the rest of the Suburban up to snuff as well. I have some restoration experience having previously brought a CHP Mustang patrol car back from the dead and can't wait to dig into this, my first truck project.

If you'd like to check out my CHP Mustang project photos click here:

http://public.fotki.com/Classicchp/chp3035/

Just started to inspect everything on the Suburban today but from what I've seen so far I'm very happy with the purchase...honestly feel like a kid on Christmas morning! Will definitely be picking some brains (esp. anyone else with a Stoner or other ambo) and posting updates here as I proceed with this long awaited project.

- Mike

[flashed]

Welcome to the insanity and congrats ,Im in to see this one .

[Bigdav160]

Congrats and welcome. I think it looks like a solid foundation.

[Already Gone]

Nice Burb and it will be nice to follow along a s you bring it back to life. Kind of funny the body builder with the name "Stoner" for a 70's ambulance, the name "Stoner" kind of fits the era. If it was mine and the DMV would let it I'd get "Stoner " on a vanity plate.

[67 Burb]

Welcome aboard, Mike.

[rocknss]

Welcome to the board!!

[Advanced Design]

Congratulations on the find and welcome to the forum. Enjoy the Burb!

[RoadDawg]

Originally Posted by Already Gone

Nice Burb and it will be nice to follow along a s you bring it back to life. Kind of funny the body builder with the name "Stoner" for a 70's ambulance, the name "Stoner" kind of fits the era. If it was mine and the DMV would let it I'd get "Stoner " on a vanity plate.

The name is kinda funny in retrospect but I'm sure was no big deal when they were building funeral cars and limos in the earlier decades. They started building ambulances using Suburbans in about the early 60's and continued until at least the end of the '70s. It does make for interesting search results on the web!

[Joe Pass]

Again, Welcome....Looks like a straight forward project.

[RoadDawg]

Originally Posted by Joe Pass

Again, Welcome....Looks like a straight forward project.

Thanks neighbor, and to everyone else for the warm welcome!

Got to spend some quality time with the new rig the last couple of days to take care of some preliminary cleaning, inspection and pest removal. I also got over to the DMV late on Friday and thankfully pulled off a nice clean getaway with a new title transfer, registration and plates in hand. Phew! They tend to get nasty over vehicles that have not been registered for a decade and a half but I had all the right paperwork and answers ready and maybe it helped to catch them when they were already worn out from a weeks worth of harassing others.

Some new shots from today:









Even with the new plates in place, I still have to find and install mirrors, wipers, seat belts and few other items before I can drive it and go get the 15 year old dry rotted tires (with almost zero miles on them!) replaced. Then on to get the missing glass replaced too.

[twistedchevy]

Awsome

[70 net440]

Looks like you picked it up in Etna. Should be a fun project.

[Sicklajoie]

That is awesome!

[Waynecar53]

Hi RoadDawg. What a nice find. Also glad that you are going to restore it back as an ambulance. Very few of these remain as the backbone of fire rescue services. I too have a restored '69 GMC ambulance which you can find here under "mylatesttoy" which I posted under my previous "name" smfdco1. For some reason after changing my wireless router I was not able to log in to the forums. I too am a retired firefighter/EMT and LEO. Good luck with your project. I will follow your progress.

[RoadDawg]

Originally Posted by 70 net440

Looks like you picked it up in Etna. Should be a fun project.

Yes, it's an old Etna FD unit that sat up there for quite a few years. Working right now on getting it road worthy again. And yes, it's been a pretty fun project so far-looking forward to putting it all back together again.

[RoadDawg]

Originally Posted by Waynecar53

Hi RoadDawg. What a nice find. Also glad that you are going to restore it back as an ambulance. Very few of these remain as the backbone of fire rescue services. I too have a restored '69 GMC ambulance which you can find here under "mylatesttoy" which I posted under my previous "name" smfdco1. For some reason after changing my wireless router I was not able to log in to the forums. I too am a retired firefighter/EMT and LEO. Good luck with your project. I will follow your progress.

Thanks! Agree that not too many of these have survived so glad to help add another for posterity. I'd love to check out some photos of your rig but can't seem to locate them here. Can you give me a link?

[Waynecar53]

Hi Mike, Type in mylatesttoy in the search box at the top of the page and check the box for this forum only. It should show up I think as the second topic. It was posted in November 2012 under smfdco1. Thanks, Wayne

[RoadDawg]

Originally Posted by Waynecar53

Hi Mike, Type in mylatesttoy in the search box at the top of the page and check the box for this forum only. It should show up I think as the second topic. It was posted in November 2012 under smfdco1. Thanks, Wayne

Found it, thanks Wayne. Wow, great job on that one-you are quite talented! It turned out beautifully and should provide some inspiration for me on mine.

[twistedchevy]

Anything new

[RoadDawg]

Originally Posted by twistedchevy

Anything new

Yes. Have had time to dig in and accomplish a few of the preliminary tasks. First order was to find suitable temp replacements for the dry rotted tires. Picked up a nice set of later model 16" stockers clad in decent tires and also came up with the rest of the original 16.5" rims I needed from the same source





Have also been able to clean and survey all of the interior and patient compartment and have ordered, received and/or put out feelers for missing and damaged items including a number of unique ambo pieces. I have located a replacement rear door window and waiting for my glass guy to cut me a replacement side quarter glass and install them both.



Once the glass is in and I get my outside mirrors and seat belts installed, the plan is to have it towed to my mechanic for new brakes, a bit of engine tuning and a complete safety and mechanical evaluation. I want to get this beast roadworthy in time for some spring motoring!

[73737373]

Nothing cooler than putting one of these up on a trailer and hauling it home. Sometimes, I think that's the only reason I buy so many of these.

[Average Joe]

New wheels look good on there. Cool rig!

[RoadDawg]

More progress - the outside mirrors going on. Found them at NAPA and they are very close to the Coronado West Coast Jr. style mirrors that were most likely on there from when my rig rolled out of the upfitters. I had a machine shop modify the lower support arms so they would fit right and I'm satisfied with how they turned out.

[RANDY COX]

Congrats on your burbulance, Looks like it's in pretty good shape as far as rust I don't see any..I bet it's proly low mileaged to..KOOL

[RoadDawg]

Originally Posted by RANDY COX

Congrats on your burbulance, Looks like it's in pretty good shape as far as rust I don't see any..I bet it's proly low mileaged to..KOOL

Thanks! It's a pretty solid truck as far as rust goes...mostly surface stuff with solid floors but some bubbling around the rear wheel openings on the bottom of the quarters. Only 65k miles showing with just about all of it from two different fire departments use.