Keen he may have been, but
knowledgeable in the way of restorations he wasn’t, so he turned to the
one-time driver and custodian of the ambulance – his father – for guidance. “The
bottom six inches of it was all rusty,” explains Paul, “so my dad, Frank,
called up a mate with a welder and he came over and patched up the chassis,
before putting some new outriggers on it.” Paul started hunting through the old
store cupboard at the St John’s depot and found the bits and pieces that you
see in it now, all of which were unwanted, except for the stretcher. “I picked
that up at an emergency vehicle show for $5.”
“I picked that up at an emergency vehicle show for $5.”
With a couple of years behind the
wheel – and now married to Diane, who graciously accepted that the ambulance
was always going to be part of her life – Paul decided in about 1993 that a
full restoration would be needed.
“I started by taking the doors, wings
and bonnet off and put them in our front bedroom. Diane was not pleased,”
laughs Paul. “Then I took it back to bare metal, which is when I found the
rust; lots and lots of rust. The floors were shot, as were those outriggers
we’d replaced before. They just fell apart, so I had to buy replacement panels
for the floors, sills and outriggers, but everything else I managed to save and
repair, after some welding lessons from a friend and purchasing a shiny new
welder.” Thankfully, little mechanical work was needed, the car having only
covered a shade over 40,000 miles in fifty years. With no need to remove the
engine, Paul managed to work around it, supporting the engine on the inner
wings using rope and lengths of steel tubing while the cross-member was
stripped, cleaned and rebuilt. It even remained in situ while the engine bay
was sprayed, though that was the least of Paul’s problems when it came to
paint, managing as he did to paint the ambulance in his garage. “I had to wait
for warm days, clear everything out of the garage and push the ambulance over
to one side. I would spray one side, let it dry, move it to the other side of
the garage and then spray the other side. Thankfully I was able to get a few
good coats on and rub it back, which is one of the good things about cellulose,
as it’s fairly forgiving when it’s slapped on.”
Thankfully I was able to get a few good coats on and rub it back, which is one
of the good things about cellulose, as it’s fairly forgiving when it’s slapped
on.”
Looking over the ambulance, such is
the quality of the finish, it is hard to believe that the paint has gone on
almost panel by panel, including the roof. “I scraped my head on the ceiling a
few times I can tell you,” chuckles Paul, before pausing for a moment. “It’s
been a great experience,” he continues, “I’ve learnt how to weld, learnt how to
spray and even how to put windows in and do the electrics. I’m not a
technician, I’m not a mechanic, I’ve got no qualifications in any of that, so
it’s really just been about asking lots of questions, and taking a ‘suck it and
see’ approach. It has also been incredibly helpful to have my dad around to
share his knowledge and offer assistance.
. It has also been incredibly helpful to have my dad around to share his
knowledge and offer assistance.
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Tech Spec ·
Body &
Chassis: Ladder frame chassis with separate body tub ·
Engine:
1622cc/4-cyl/OHV ·
Power:
61bhp@4500rpm ·
Torque: 90
IB ft@2100rpm ·
Front
Suspension: Independent with coil springs and lever arm dampers ·
Rear
Suspension: Semi-elliptic springs with piston-type dampers ·
Brakes:
Single circuit hydraulic brakes throughout with 9” front and rear drums ·
Wheels
& Tyres: 185/80R14 ·
Top Speed:
81mph ·
Economy:
28mpg
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