2Fass240us
Member
Hey all. I joined recently at the recommendation of Austin Cabot who's undertaking a similar conversion, and have been creepin hard to soak up info. I live in Charlotte, NC, work full-time, have 3 kids (twin girls, 7, and an 11-year-old son), and undertake various home improvement and car projects. I'm an active High Performance Driving Event (HPDE) coach and am working currently on an '04 base model Corvette. As the Vette gets more track/safety oriented it will become less ideal to drive it to and from the track with my 4x6 trailer. So the ambulance build is primarily for towing and sleeping in the paddock but will also be a base camp and/or camping vehicle for outdoor adventures with the family. While I've owned and tracked lots of different cars, I'm pretty new to vans and the community, so if I say something dumb I apologize in advance. 
I'll post build pics/info and questions if I'm unable to locate something here.
I found the ambo on CL 3 hours from here. The guy bought it from auction and had plans to convert it for camping with his son but had to drop the project since it sat awhile and he was starting to get threatening letters from his HOA that he'd get fined if he didn't move it. It has 470k on it but the 7.3L toorbo diesel everyone seems to prefer. Since it was a non-emergency ambulance it was highly *likely* it was well-maintained and didn't have anyone die in it. I used uShip to get it local and to a trusted diesel mechanic. He went through it thoroughly and replaced relatively basic things: both batteries, intake tube, glow plug relay, fuel filter, oil and filter, and a couple of other minor things. He noted it as being in surprisingly good shape for the age & mileage, that it made good power, and that the trans was "tight." Shew.
The relatively low cost of entry will allow me to address a couple of things soon including tires and suspension. Right now I'm leaning toward the heavier duty Moog CC880S coils and Bilstein 33-187563 front and 33-176840 rear. I haven't weighed the ambulance yet so that may be in order but these seem to be relatively OTS parts for what I need. I'm undecided on tires as it needs a front set at minimum, but need load range E1/2, 16", and will probably choose width based on tire and load rating. Any suggestions are welcome.
Past the basic stuff, I'm cleaning up the inside and removing most of the ambulatory decals. I'm also working on a flood light solution using 12-LED Cree floodlights.
I'll post build pics/info and questions if I'm unable to locate something here.I found the ambo on CL 3 hours from here. The guy bought it from auction and had plans to convert it for camping with his son but had to drop the project since it sat awhile and he was starting to get threatening letters from his HOA that he'd get fined if he didn't move it. It has 470k on it but the 7.3L toorbo diesel everyone seems to prefer. Since it was a non-emergency ambulance it was highly *likely* it was well-maintained and didn't have anyone die in it. I used uShip to get it local and to a trusted diesel mechanic. He went through it thoroughly and replaced relatively basic things: both batteries, intake tube, glow plug relay, fuel filter, oil and filter, and a couple of other minor things. He noted it as being in surprisingly good shape for the age & mileage, that it made good power, and that the trans was "tight." Shew.
The relatively low cost of entry will allow me to address a couple of things soon including tires and suspension. Right now I'm leaning toward the heavier duty Moog CC880S coils and Bilstein 33-187563 front and 33-176840 rear. I haven't weighed the ambulance yet so that may be in order but these seem to be relatively OTS parts for what I need. I'm undecided on tires as it needs a front set at minimum, but need load range E1/2, 16", and will probably choose width based on tire and load rating. Any suggestions are welcome.
Past the basic stuff, I'm cleaning up the inside and removing most of the ambulatory decals. I'm also working on a flood light solution using 12-LED Cree floodlights.
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