Amblewagon

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Amblewagon
owner Automotive Conversion Corporation (ACC)
Introductory year 1956
Products Body construction , automotive equipment , ambulances , hearses
Markets North America , British Empire
Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser from 1964, converted by ACC into the “Amblewagon” ambulance
Rear view of the same vehicle with standard tailgate, removable interior and exterior fittings and the “Amblewagon” logo on the side of the rear fender

Amblewagon is a no longer existing brand of the former US bodybuilder Automotive Conversion Corporation (ACC). The company used it from 1956 to 1978 to designate motor vehicles that it had mainly converted into ambulances . The work was mostly carried out in the US state of Michigan , and from 1960 to 1970 also in the Canadian province of Ontario .

Special features of the comparatively inexpensive, at times widespread Amblewagons were

  • the ability to quickly and easily dismantle all parts in order to use the vehicle as a regular passenger car again ;
  • if necessary, the easy and quick conversion of the vehicle to a hearse ;
  • especially in the years 1957 to 1959 the use of a self-designed and self-made tailgate made of fiberglass with low weight; it replaced the factory version of the original vehicle made of sheet steel .

In automotive collectors especially the rare vehicles are in demand, which based on Edsel emerged -models, a short-lived, failed brand of Ford - Group .

Origin of name and trademark owner

"Amblewagon" is a suitcase word made up of ambulance ( English for " ambulance ") and station wagon ( American English for " station wagon ").

The owner of the “Amblewagon” brand was the Automotive Conversion Corporation (ACC), a small body construction company founded in 1955, whose headquarters were initially in Birmingham in Oakland County near Detroit in Michigan. It was primarily specialized in converting station wagons and minibuses from mass production into mass - produced ambulances and hearses at low cost . To do this, the chassis did not have to be lengthened, nor were major modifications to the bodywork such as raising the vehicle roof necessary. For 1958 and 1963, an address at 2191 Cole Avenue in Birmingham, Michigan and corporate management by George R. Squibb is documented.

In 1965, the company relocated its headquarters and manufacturing within the county to neighboring Troy . From 1966 until the end of operations, the address 2566 Industrial Row, Troy, Michigan 48084 has been passed down. In 1960 a branch and a second production facility had been opened in Port Credit , Ontario, Canada, which was abandoned in 1970; that was the result of a cooperation that had existed since 1956 with the local company Elmwood Motors Limited, which initially had an exclusive contract to supply the British Empire . The address for the branch is 170 Lakeshore Road East, Port Credit, Ontario .

In 1978 Amblewagons finally ended in Michigan. The company was dissolved shortly afterwards after new legal regulations came into force in 1978, which largely excluded passenger car-based ambulance vehicles. When operations ceased, the company - until recently continued under the leadership of George R. Squibb - only had about 30 employees.

With the “Amblewagon” brand, ACC competed in particular with the established body construction company Shop of Siebert (1853–1966), which was originally based in Ohio and also moved to Michigan in 1963; Siebert's conversions were, however, generally more complex and expensive due to raised roofs, and often also extended chassis and bodywork. Another competing remodeling company was, for example, Memphis Coach Company (1955-1961) in Memphis , Tennessee with the brand "Memphian".

Concept of the Amblewagon

View through the open side doors of the removable interior of a minibus converted into an Amblewagon

The ACC company developed the special concept in the first few months of its existence. All Amblewagons received within custom built-in wardrobes made of wood with aluminum - strips ; the surfaces were covered with washable soft PVC plastic film (“vinyl” / artificial leather ), the color of which was coordinated with the use and interior fittings. For use as an ambulance, they were given a couch, a foldable stretcher , for the rear panes milky-opaque acrylic glass attachments with etched crosses and a privacy screen on the rear side doors. In the stern there was space for a 75  inch (190  centimeter ) long couch on which a patient could be transported lying down or sitting upright. Many versions even offered the option of caring for two patients lying down at the same time using the stretcher or a second couch.

Outside of the vehicle was the typical North American ambulance equipment mounted in particular at the front grille or on the vehicle roof mounted warning lights, a rotating beacon , a siren and front lamps for flash light. A conceptual peculiarity of the Amblewagons was that all parts were fastened with simple wing nuts and spring clips ; as a result, they could be removed without damage and the vehicle could be brought back to series production in supposedly five minutes. Another source confirms such a conversion option "in less than ten minutes".

In parallel to the ambulance design, there were also Amblewagon variants with which station wagons could be converted into hearses according to the same concept or, if required, could be switched between ambulance and hearse. ACC subsequently refined the concept further: In addition, from 1958 externally more strongly modified conversions from station wagons to hearses were offered under the model name "Arlington"; Here, too, there was the option of a quick and easy conversion to an ambulance for a surcharge.

Furthermore, the Amblewagon was one of the first vehicles of its time, as a "rolling office could be classified": In 1960, a variant is Pontiac basis describes the one hand wash basin with running water, a HiFi - stereo and a folding table for setting up a Typewriter included. In 1961, there were over one hundred equipment elements and accessories to choose from for installation, which offered advantages in terms of costs and conversion time compared to purely custom-made products.

The Amblewagon over the years of production

Edsel Bermuda Station Wagon from 1958, one of the rarest starting models for a conversion to an Amblewagon
Ford Econoline Station Bus , which could be converted into an Amblewagon from 1961

The first Amblewagons from 1956 were based on standard station wagons from Ford, more specifically the Station Wagon model (Courier Sedan Delivery and Country Sedan), or station wagons from the higher-quality sister brand Mercury , which had been ordered with factory-reinforced steering and wheel suspension elements . They used the standard, one-piece, left-hinged tailgate, as it had been known from the Ford Courier car-based delivery vans since 1952 . From the first few years and at least until 1970 there was a close business relationship with the Ford Group, through whose selected dealers the Amblewagons were configured, ordered and also delivered based on the Group's brands.

In 1957, the Ford Group introduced a new tailgate concept for its station wagons and delivery vans of the existing Ford and Mercury brands, as well as - brought to the market with a lot of advertising effort - Edsel: the flap was now divided horizontally. The upper part of the rear window with frame was attached to the roof and swiveled upwards, while the sheet steel element underneath could be folded down. ACC found this solution less suitable for the Amblewagon and was looking for an alternative. The company therefore developed, based on the model of the previous tailgates, a one-piece, particularly large version made of fiberglass-reinforced plastic, hinged on the left side. The customer ordered his original vehicle from a Ford dealer and the additional central seat of the nine-seater version that could be mounted in the trunk from the regular accessories program; on the other hand, he was able to cancel the standard two-part tailgate from Ford. The GRP tailgate that was fitted at ACC when it was converted into an amble wagon increased the access height by 9 to 13 centimeters, mainly by eliminating the upper hinges.

In the years 1957 and 1958 the Amblewagon was available in three versions, in addition to the variant as an ambulance, also as a hearse (or as a combination car , which could be switched between the two as required) and as a mobile workshop trolley. Until 1959, the Ford Group continuously expanded its range of station wagons and all models of the Ford, Mercury and Edsel brands could be converted to Amblewagons at ACC; The Edsel Villager , Roundup and Bermuda were among the rarest starting models .

With the 1960 model year, ACC gave up building its own tailgates again. The series version of the original models was now used in order to be able to offer the conversions to the Amblewagon even more cheaply. The base vehicles were the station wagons of the brands Chevrolet and Pontiac from General Motors and Chrysler , Dodge and Plymouth from the Chrysler Group. In addition, work began on converting large-series Rambler station wagons into ambulances; Although they were created in the style of the Amblewagons, they were called "Rambulance" and were marketed directly through the American Motors Corporation (AMC). From 1961 ACC provided the modifications to Amblewagon also on the basis of the two new cab- -Kleinbusse Ford Econoline Bus Station (with engine behind the front axle) and Chevrolet Corvair Greenbrier (with rear engine on). Later came the station wagon models of other American car brands, including Oldsmobile and Buick . In the case of Pontiac, there is extensive evidence - and there are also indications for the other brands - that ACC cooperated with official brand dealers nationwide as closely as it did with Ford and Mercury when configuring, ordering and delivering vehicles nationwide.

Conversions to the Amblewagon were offered until 1978. However, a law, the EMS Systems Act , had already been passed in 1973 , which from 1978 onwards de facto prevented newly registered ambulances based on passenger cars. It made the concept of the Amblewagon obsolete, so that ACC lost its main business area. With conversions to hearse and larger ambulances , operations could only be maintained until 1979; other sources speak of a company liquidation in 1982. How many vehicles were converted to Amblewagons is not known; the factory documents were lost when the company was wound up.

Prices and Distribution

1971 Chevrolet Brookwood Amblewagon, issued in South Africa

The price of the conversion to the Amblewagon varied depending on the equipment. The conversion to a fully equipped ambulance could initially be carried out for 1,000  US dollars . Compared to the costs of a conventional new ambulance, the conversion costs to the Amblewagon are occasionally referred to as a "real bargain". The inexpensive Amblewagon was particularly popular with the rescue services in small towns: Many were given their own vehicle for the first time, so that in the event of accidents and ambulance transports they no longer time-consuming to request help from the nearest larger neighboring town or - as was common in the past - to fall back on the appropriately spacious car of the local undertaker had to. Existing ambulance services and fire brigades also liked to fall back on the new concept: The maintenance costs for the car-based Amblewagons were cheaper, which sometimes led to a faster renewal of the vehicle fleet. At times the prices for equipment packages even fell, partly due to further rationalization, partly due to the abandonment of individual equipment details. In the second half of the 1960s, a basic Amblewagon package for a Pontiac station wagon was available for $ 515. A fully equipped Chrysler-based Amblewagon cost a comparatively inexpensive US $ 9,000 in 1967.

The most famous advertising statement from ACC was: The Amblewagon is a genuine Ambulance! ("The Amblewagon is a real (full-fledged) ambulance!").

Very few Amblewagons were built on the basis of an Edsel, exact numbers are also not known. Several such specimens from 1958 and 1959, including three that have been restored to the highest standard, have survived to this day and are the most sought-after among collectors.

Trivia

A 1962 Chevrolet Corvair Greenbrier Amblewagon on display in the Álomautó-Múzeum in Budapest, Hungary

One of the oldest surviving examples is the Mercury Amblewagon from 1956 by the American Thomas Weller from California . Until 2016, Weller provided roadside assistance for over 50 years and became known as The San Diego Highwayman through regional media . On the rear of the vehicle he put the slogan: My church was the highway for 50 years : 1966–2016 .

A restored, roadworthy Chevrolet Corvair Greenbrier Amblewagon from 1962 was part of the inventory of the now closed Álomautó-Múzeum in Budapest ; later the vehicle moved to the Cadillac Museum in Hachenburg in the Westerwald . It is one of two surviving, top-restored specimens of this type; the other restored is the very first Corvair minibus produced, originally a trade fair exhibit.

A 1971 Chevrolet Brookwood Amblewagon is on display at the Outeniqua Railway Museum in George , South Africa .

Amblewagons have been featured in numerous cinema and television films since the late 1950s ; Examples include the documentary Four Days in November 1964 and the film drama JFK - Tatort Dallas by Oliver Stone from 1991, both of which deal with the assassination of US President John F. Kennedy in 1963. Amblewagons are also part of the typical film equipment in many, mostly contemporary crime series set in the United States or the (former) British Empire.

A Ford Amblewagon from model year 1964 in 1:43 scale is available from the manufacturer Whitebox; the red collector's model made of metal and plastic is limited to 1000 copies.

More products and projects from ACC

  • Arlington (1958–1979): Inexpensive conversions from large series station wagons to hearses with major external changes, also with removable equipment;
  • Rescu-All (1958–1979): Inexpensive conversions of large-scale minibuses into ambulances, also with removable equipment (larger, higher and heavier original vehicles with more extensive equipment);
  • Rambulance (1960–?): Inexpensive conversions of high-volume Rambler station wagons to factory-made ambulances that were marketed directly through the American Motors Corporation (AMC);
  • Florette (1959–?): Inexpensive conversions of large-volume station wagons with removable equipment especially for florists;
  • Dodge Coronet and Plymouth Belvedere "altered-wheelbase" A / FX racing sports car (1965-66): Elaborate reconstructions of six vehicles on behalf of the Chrysler Group's drag race , visual and conceptual forerunner of the Funny Car dragster .

literature

  • George W. Johnston: Amblewagon # 1 - Chevrolet Corvair-95 Corvan Ambulance . In: CORSA Communique (magazine), Corvair Society of America, February 1992, pp. 8 f. (English).
  • NN: Amblewagon . In: Old Cars Weekly (magazine), October 10, 2002 (English).
  • John Gunnell: Standard Catalog of American Cars, 1946-1975 . 3. Edition. Krause Publications, Iola, Wisconsin, United States 1992, ISBN 978-0-8734-1204-9 , especially p. 230 (English).

Web links

Commons : Amblewagon  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files
  • Mark Theobald: Automotive Conversion Corp .; ACC; Amblewagon (comprehensive website for the “Amblewagon” brand and the manufacturer ACC). In: Coachbuilt.com 2004, accessed December 5, 2020.
  • NN: Specialty Edsels (website on various Edsel conversions, including Amblewagons in particular). In: Edsel.com, accessed December 5, 2020.
  • Amblewagon on the web portal Hobbydb.com with images of several contemporary sales brochures, accessed on December 9, 2020 (English).
  • Amblewagon on the webpage Corvanatics the web portal Corvair.com : Amblewagon Conversion - Additional Resources (collection of contemporary documents and images to Amblewagons on Chevrolet basis) and Corvair 95 Professional Car Conversion (comprehensive information on Amblewagons based on the minibus Chevrolet Corvair- 95 with contemporary documents and numerous images), each accessed on December 10, 2020 (English).

References and comments

  1. ↑ a b c d George W. Johnston: Amblewagon # 1 - Chevrolet Corvair-95 Corvan Ambulance . In: CORSA Communique (magazine), Corvair Society of America, February 1992, pp. 8 f. (English).
  2. ↑ At the request of an HA Swigert, the brand was officially listed as a Registered Trade Mark of the ACC company in the US Catalog of Copyright Entries from 1959 and enjoyed even more protection, see US Government Printing Office: Catalog of Copyright Entries (pdf), Pp. 70 and 805 (English).
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Mark Theobald: Automotive Conversion Corp .; ACC; Amblewagon (comprehensive website for the “Amblewagon” brand and the manufacturer ACC). In: Coachbuilt.com 2004, accessed December 5, 2020.
  4. ↑ a b c d e f g h NN: Specialty Edsels (website on various Edsel conversions, including Amblewagons in particular). In: Edsel.com, accessed December 5, 2020.
  5. ↑ The exit station wagons were predominantly four-door, only occasionally with two-door options in the first few years. For the latter, see, for example, the works publication for a rare two-door Ford Courier Amblewagon from model year 1958 , accessed on December 9, 2020 (English).
  6. ^ National Register Publishing Company (Ed.): The Standard Advertising Register . National Register Publishing Company 1963, p. 688.
  7. ^ Ford Motor Company (Ed.): Ford Times . Volume 59, Ford Motor Company 1966, p. 46 ff. (English).
  8. ^ Fire Engineering (journal), Volume 127, Technical Publications 1974, p. 57 (English).
  9. ^ A b National Register Publishing Company (ed.): Standard Directory of Advertisers . Part 2, National Register Publishing Company 1980, p. 700.
  10. ^ A b Canadian Transportation and Distribution Management (journal), Volume 59, Southam Business Publications 1956, pp. 520 f. (English).
  11. ↑ George H. Dammann: 90 Years of Ford . Crestline Series, Motorbooks International 1993, ISBN 978-0-8793-8682-5 , p. 317 (English).
  12. ↑ Modern Hospital (journal), Volume 88, McGraw-Hill 1957, p. 252 (English).
  13. ↑ a b c d Corvair 95 Professional Car Conversion on the webpage Corvanatics the web portal Corvair.com (comprehensive information on Amblewagons based on the minibus Chevrolet Corvair-95 with contemporary documents and numerous pictures), retrieved (English) on 10 December 2020 .
  14. ↑ a b N. N .: Readily converted to ambulance or hearse . In: Civic Administration (magazine), Volume 8, Maclean-Hunter 1956, p. 113 (English).
  15. ^ National Automobile Dealers Association: NADA - Official Publication of the National Automobile Dealers Association . Volume 32, The Association 1960, p. 54 (English).
  16. ↑ Autodriver (magazine), Volume 62, Counterpoint Incorporated 1961/2, p. 5 (English).
  17. ↑ David W. Temple: Full-Size Fords - 1955-1970 . Car Tech, North Branch, Minnesota, United States 2010, ISBN 978-1-934709-08-5 , Chapter 11: 1955-1970 - Fleet Cars, p. 126.
  18. ↑ George H. Dammann: 50 Years of Lincoln-Mercury . Crestline Publications 1971, p. 306 (English).
  19. ↑ A 1964 Buick Amblewagon on the 1964buick.com web portal , accessed December 10, 2020.
  20. ↑ Automotive News (magazine), volumes 34-35, Crain Automotive Group 1960, p. 51 (English).
  21. ^ The Motor (magazine), Volume 117, Temple Press 1960, p. 338 (English).
  22. ^ Fleet Owner (magazine), Volume 55, McGraw-Hill 1960, p. 61 (English).
  23. ^ John Gunnell: 75 Years of Pontiac - The Official History . Krause Publications, Iola, Wisconsin, United States 2000, ISBN 978-0-8734-9230-0 , p. 64 (English).
  24. ↑ Carole Cooper, Mel D. Powell, in: National Association of Counties Research Foundation (Ed.): Description and Analysis of Eighteen Proven Emergency Ambulance Service Systems . Volume 2, United States, National Highway Safety Bureau, National Association of Counties Research Foundations 1968, p. 22.
  25. ^ Gary Weber: The Edsel Amblewagon . In: The Action Era Vehicle (magazine), volumes 38-39, Contemporary Historical Vehicle Association 2004, pp. 1, 24 ff. (English).
  26. ↑ Joe Little: Hundreds Pull Over to Help San Diego Highwayman (background report with video on Thomas Weller). In: NBC Bay Area . November 25, 2020, accessed December 5, 2020.
  27. ↑ Póla Gergely: America beteg Transportere - Chevrolet Corvair mentőautó (1962) (report on the Chevrolet Corvair, especially a restored Greenbrier Amblewagon minibus from 1962 with several pictures). In: Veterán Autó És Motor / origo.hu. January 31, 2010, accessed December 5, 2020 (Hungarian).
  28. ↑ A Ford Amblewagon 1962 in the film Four Days in November on the web portal Imcdb.com , accessed on 10 December 2020 (English).
  29. ↑ A Ford Country Sedan Amblewagon from 1962 at minute 5:54 in the film JFK on the web portal Imcdb.com , accessed on December 10, 2020 (English).
  30. ↑ Ford Amblewagen from model year 1964 as a limited collector's model from Whitebox in a scale of 1: 43 on the Carmodel.com web portal , accessed on December 9, 2020.
  31. ↑ David Newhardt, Darwin Holmstrom: Hemi Muscle Cars . Motorbooks, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States 2008, ISBN 978-0-7603-3172-9 , p. 192 (English).
  32. ^ Darwin Holmstrom: Hemi Muscle 70 Years - Chrysler, Dodge & Plymouth High Performance . Motorbooks, Beverly, Massachusetts, United States 2019, ISBN 978-0-7603-6519-9 , p. 112 (English).
  33. ↑ Geoff Stunkard: Chapter Twenty 1965 Plymouth - Solid Gold: The Golden Commandos '65 Plymouth altered-wheelbase car survives . In: Publishers of Old Cars Weekly (Ed.): Lost and Found - More Great Barn Finds & Other Automotive Discoveries . Krause Publications, Iola, Wisconsin, United States 2011, ISBN 978-1-4402-3070-7 (English).
  34. ↑ Kurt Ernst: One of six factory lightweight A / FX Plymouths built in '65, Lee Smith's Haulin 'Hemi II heads to auction (background report on a Plymouth Belvedere altered-wheelbase A / FX racing car from 1965) on the web portal Hemmings.com , October 31, 2018, accessed December 10, 2020.