97 E350 Crestline Ambo Build/Mod

[Bikersmurf]

Gates Scout II P/S lines, Inverted flare to O-ring fitting adapter, Flaming River DD slip shaft & U-joints, Mock up (bearing added inside bottom of column), test fit of 81 Toyota 4x4 TRE, ‘new’ 8274, and the new TRE beside the old one from my parts pile.

Scout II box, rebuilt ‘80 Chevy 3/4 ton Saginaw pump with double pulley swapped on, 70 Bel Air pitman arm (taper matched), 81 Toyota 4x4 TRE (5” longer works with stock 40 tie rod), scab plates, DOM crush tubes, and grade 8 hardware.

Result… palm steering 33x10.50s while on dry pavement.

Still needs:
New brake line
Mount shock towers
Centre steering wheel
Lock washers, nylock nuts, and locktite on set screws.

 

[Bikersmurf]

Shock tower mounts

 

[Bikersmurf]

And for all the random sewing projects that come up on an old rig… 40, Ambo, whatever…
American made, built in the late 30s-40s, 5/16” material capacity, 220v, 1/3 hp variable speed motor… should handle whatever I need it to. No frills, built like a tank, straight line, lock stitch, no reverse. It’s the equivalent of a hard tailed, suicide shift, bobber… while wearing a beanie.

 

[Bikersmurf]

I hate grimy tools…
Foaming wall cleaner…

After…
Still needs a bit more…

 

[Bikersmurf]

Pro/Con of duals
Scuffed a rock at the edge of the pavement. I’m now seeing the downside of these OEM tires… at least it only cost me about $60 as a new takeoff.

Pro: didn’t ruin my day, drove off the busy, narrow road to a convenient service station, inflated inner dually to 80 psi, and continued on my way.

Con: wide rear track width likely contributed to scuffing the rock which protrudes into the road, cheaper tire was more susceptible to sidewall damage.

In roughly 30 years on the road and 5 years before that on the road, this is the first sidewall I’ve totalled. Surprisingly, there was loud bang or fanfare… felt a significant bump from catching the rock, pulled over at the next driveway, and found a number of gashes in the sidewall. Definite downside to an 8’ wide rig in an 8.5’ lane (on a deer path through the woods) with heavy oncoming traffic.

 

[Bikersmurf]

I hate grimy tools…View attachment 710136
Foaming wall cleaner…
View attachment 710137
After…View attachment 710138View attachment 710139
Still needs a bit more…

Sample of what it’ll do:
Leather lined, leather treat bag with drawstring closure. If it’ll handle this, it’ll handle any upholstery or other automotive projects.

 

[Bikersmurf]

View attachment 690206View attachment 690208
Looks like the bar is a perfect fit. The bracket that attaches to the axle will need to be modified a bit because only 1/2 of it will sit on the axle housing. I’m also going to rotate both the links which connect it to the frame 180* so they don’t interfere with the frame. Then all I’ll need are a couple brackets with tabs on them to attach the links to the shock mount crossmember.

What I like most about this bar is that it doesn’t hang down way below the axle. With +/- 29” tires and a Dana 70, the last thing I want to do is loose 3-4” of clearance for an aftermarket sway bar hanging below the axle. Like this one, for example:
View attachment 690210
Or…
View attachment 690211

Progress. Although it’ll still take some tweaks and revisions. I really like that it’ll be tucked in tight once it’s done.

 

[Abitibi]

Rear sway bar is kind-of a must for our rigs. I only put one one my 1st ambo after 4yrs and still can't understand why I didn't do it sooner!

Sent from my SM-G981W using Tapatalk

 

[Bikersmurf]

Rear sway bar is kind-of a must for our rigs. I only put one one my 1st ambo after 4yrs and still can't understand why I didn't do it sooner!

Sent from my SM-G981W using Tapatalk

Good to know it’ll be worth the effort.

This bar is not a about 2/3 as heavy as Hellwig bars, but it is 2-3x heavier than most newer trucks seem to have. It’s an inch or so thick… I’m sure it’ll be better than to non-existent bar it came with.

 

[iggi]

Definitely worth having. I think my ambo corners better than my newer SUV.

 

[Bikersmurf]

Definitely worth having. I think my ambo corners better than my newer SUV.

At times like these I wish it was just a bolt on affair. But I’m happier with this design and a fancy new one isn’t in my budget.
All I need is the time to fabricate the mounts.

 

[Bikersmurf]

Especially driving an ambulance, and having 90% of a paramedic’s training I hate to not have a kit with me.

When I took my Industrial First Aid course I didn’t have any first aid kit to speak of. One night at 1:30 am I got a call from a class mate in the first aide course. She’d been drinking, she’d, “Fallen and had cut her head… and was bleeding everywhere”. I’d never been to her place, but given the instructions she gave I didn’t think I could send an ambulance to find her.

I looked around and all I could scrounge up was a single piece of 4x4” gauze. She was fine, but it helped me to realize I wanted more than nothing for a first aid kit. So I put together a scaled down version of an OFA Level III kit.

Over the years I have added to it and now it includes:

stiff-neck collars
Oral airways
Pocket masks
8” compress dressings
4x4” gauze dressing
Roller I drew
12 triangular bandages
2” tape
Eye cup
Saline solution
Aluminum splinting screens
Manual puke suckers
Basic bandages
Long shaft Q-tips
Tweezers
Forceps
Utility scissors
Wool socks
Etc

Last week, after having it close by for most of 20 years, I was waiting for the kids to get charged after swimming and heard, “is there a doctor?”.

Not seeing anyone step forward I asked why?

“A woman at the beach has lost her arm”

I initially thought she must be exaggerating… she seemed so calm.

After running over I saw, unfortunately, that she was not exaggerating. I proceeds to assist a nurse who’d already began treating the Victim. A shark had bit off her Left Arm, most of her right hand. She also had injuries to her side.

We tended to her injuries until police & paramedics arrived. She was taken to hospital and released to go home a week later. Last I heard she is still being cared for in hospital near to her home.

Unfortunately my kit was in a different country and we only had beach towels and blankets to work with. There’s a limit to what you can bring on an airplane.

What all do you have in your rig for emergencies?

 

[iggi]

Average medium sized first aid kit (matches my first aid capabilities). Cell phone. Garmin In-Reach,

 

[keane]

A shark attack, that is one incident that would never cross my mine to have to deal with. My wife and I are both Canadian Ski patrol. So basically OFA III with a transportation. We always have 1 of our packs with us when camping or travelling and a inReach. Our packs sound close to your list plus sam splints, tourniquet and lots oh heat packs. And this reminds me I need to go through the packs again, the snow will be here soon.

 

[Bikersmurf]

A shark attack, that is one incident that would never cross my mine to have to deal with. My wife and I are both Canadian Ski patrol. So basically OFA III with a transportation. We always have 1 of our packs with us when camping or travelling and a inReach. Our packs sound close to your list plus sam splints, tourniquet and lots oh heat packs. And this reminds me I need to go through the packs again, the snow will be here soon.

Sam Splints aren’t something I’ve seen before. They look useful. Similar in function to low temperature thermoplastics for splinting… just without the need for boiling water.

I never had a tourniquet in my kit… all the triangular bandages are pre folded to be about 2” wide. If needed I’d use one of them if needed to stop bleeding. My instructor preferred them for their versatility.

Sounds like we have similar training. When I took OFA III it covered transport up to 3 hours from a hospital (first time through) and when you passed the course again two years later the 3 hour restriction was lifted. I believe you could also be further out if there was a more senior attendant on site.

The last thing they wanted was an attendant working alone to choke out in the middle of nowhere. I spoke with another attendant who had a colleague choke when he saw a 6” gash in a coworkers thigh. He sent the other attendant to call 911 and took over. I remember thinking that would be easy to render first aid for. I’ve always believed I wouldn’t choke… now I know.

The instructor we had drilled it so deep into our heads that I didn’t even need to think. No space for fear or panic, no space to react, just ABCD. Tend to the patient, be reassuring, keep them alive. The 110 hour minimum course (I believe) had an additional 40 hours of practice making it 150 hours of lecture & practice that I can’t ever forget. Thankfully… even 20 years later.

On a lighter note…