Westerj Posted August 3, 2020 Share Posted August 3, 2020 Hi, Just purchased a 1986 F350 Ambulance (or...it was!) that has been gutted, in back. very low mileage 34K .. but the sheet metal and frame are really good. So far anyways! theres only one bucket seat (drivers) and there is an angle iron frame that goes between floor and seat frame. Looks pretty sweet. ripping out the flashy lights as I de-ambulance it. Round red light frames on box are rusty .... need rechrome ?? Nah. Will remove drivers seat and try to identify the spacing and heritage of the seat. Likely Ford though. anyone need any old Ambulance parts? JW Next is to exict mouse living in AC system! Turning on the fan put out a blast of confetti that made me laugh some... though the stinkus took that smile off my face! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted August 3, 2020 Share Posted August 3, 2020 Hi, Just purchased a 1986 F350 Ambulance (or...it was!) that has been gutted, in back. very low mileage 34K .. but the sheet metal and frame are really good. So far anyways! theres only one bucket seat (drivers) and there is an angle iron frame that goes between floor and seat frame. Looks pretty sweet. ripping out the flashy lights as I de-ambulance it. Round red light frames on box are rusty .... need rechrome ?? Nah. Will remove drivers seat and try to identify the spacing and heritage of the seat. Likely Ford though. anyone need any old Ambulance parts? JW Next is to exict mouse living in AC system! Turning on the fan put out a blast of confetti that made me laugh some... though the stinkus took that smile off my face! Welcome JW! Did you have any comment on things we could do better, here on the forum? I imagine you have that great big 200A Leece-Neville alternator and a 460 in that rig? Or is it a diesel? What are your plans? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Westerj Posted August 3, 2020 Author Share Posted August 3, 2020 Welcome JW! http://www.garysgaragemahal.com/uploads/6/5/8/7/65879365/waving_orig.gif Did you have any comment on things we could do better, here on the forum? I imagine you have that great big 200A Leece-Neville alternator and a 460 in that rig? Or is it a diesel? What are your plans? Hi Jim. 460 Cu in motor. Good question! Wife brings that up too! First stabilize and de-ambulance it. figure out what I am keeping and what goes. 1 Heat/cooling remnants.. Remove the pipes to the rear box. Rebuild leaky 4810 holley. revisit the dual battery switcher (right up on Exh header??). New vinyl floor on order. Seats? Bucket or Bench? Strip the box fully, cover up the lights I dont want. replate the Door handles, switch to stainless fasteners. Paint the box! There is some exhaust patchwork on #5 (passenger, front) exhaust port.. Not sure if cracked manifold or split gasket? Heard its a weak point on 460cu monster motors. then.. go around do the brakes. Heard second tank has bad gas in it? so.. lots to keep busy! Torn between replacing all the brake cylinders .... as Rockauto parts seem to last about 18 months... old bleeder nipples might be frail... How much of a PITA are the brakes to disassemble and revitalize? So.. the usual stuff for a 35 year old vehicle.. but the frame and sheet metal are really good.. so ... Undercoat or at least rusty-metal prime the underbody after rust (there will be some ... of course.. ) is found / remediated. Any idea if got nylon gears on the timing chain? (will check for chunx in oil change!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Westerj Posted August 3, 2020 Author Share Posted August 3, 2020 Hi Jim. 460 Cu in motor. Good question! Wife brings that up too! First stabilize and de-ambulance it. figure out what I am keeping and what goes. 1 Heat/cooling remnants.. Remove the pipes to the rear box. Rebuild leaky 4810 holley. revisit the dual battery switcher (right up on Exh header??). New vinyl floor on order. Seats? Bucket or Bench? Strip the box fully, cover up the lights I dont want. replate the Door handles, switch to stainless fasteners. Paint the box! There is some exhaust patchwork on #5 (passenger, front) exhaust port.. Not sure if cracked manifold or split gasket? Heard its a weak point on 460cu monster motors. then.. go around do the brakes. Heard second tank has bad gas in it? so.. lots to keep busy! Torn between replacing all the brake cylinders .... as Rockauto parts seem to last about 18 months... old bleeder nipples might be frail... How much of a PITA are the brakes to disassemble and revitalize? So.. the usual stuff for a 35 year old vehicle.. but the frame and sheet metal are really good.. so ... Undercoat or at least rusty-metal prime the underbody after rust (there will be some ... of course.. ) is found / remediated. Any idea if got nylon gears on the timing chain? (will check for chunx in oil change!) Re: Alternator - dont know yet.. but saw a stack of washers (spacers) behind alternator ... did someone hack that up? Does Dual battery mandate a 200A alternator? Guessing much less need without the ambulance role... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted August 3, 2020 Share Posted August 3, 2020 Re: Alternator - dont know yet.. but saw a stack of washers (spacers) behind alternator ... did someone hack that up? Does Dual battery mandate a 200A alternator? Guessing much less need without the ambulance role... '86 should have the Sterling 10.25" rear axle. Much easier to work on than the Dana. If you're revitalizing the brakes you should replace the hose to the rear axle and check the metal line inside the frame channel (outboard of the side tank) Ambulance package mandates 200A. Diesels had dual batteries, but only 90 or 100A alternators. The 130A 3G alternator is a popular retrofit. We are just having a discussion about buckets v bench. Mounting is straight ahead for the bench, but as you see the buckets take some framework. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted August 3, 2020 Share Posted August 3, 2020 Re: Alternator - dont know yet.. but saw a stack of washers (spacers) behind alternator ... did someone hack that up? Does Dual battery mandate a 200A alternator? Guessing much less need without the ambulance role... 34k would definitely still have the nylon cam gear, 134,000 it has likely been changed. I never noticed shards of plastic in my oil. They were all stuck in the pickup screen when I opened it up. A straight up timing set will do a lot for apparent acceleration and even improve fuel mileage (depending on your gearing) We always like pictures! 😉 Maybe you should start a thread in the projects section of the main forum, and possibly Gary or Bill can move these posts over to it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted August 3, 2020 Share Posted August 3, 2020 Hi, Just purchased a 1986 F350 Ambulance (or...it was!) that has been gutted, in back. very low mileage 34K .. but the sheet metal and frame are really good. So far anyways! theres only one bucket seat (drivers) and there is an angle iron frame that goes between floor and seat frame. Looks pretty sweet. ripping out the flashy lights as I de-ambulance it. Round red light frames on box are rusty .... need rechrome ?? Nah. Will remove drivers seat and try to identify the spacing and heritage of the seat. Likely Ford though. anyone need any old Ambulance parts? JW Next is to exict mouse living in AC system! Turning on the fan put out a blast of confetti that made me laugh some... though the stinkus took that smile off my face! Yes, welcome! You started your adventure here in a bit of an usual place, but it'll work. However, as Jim suggested, if you go the main section and start a new thread/topic there about your truck/ambulance I can move the discussion from here to there - if you want. And, pics are always a big help. Post them up! Plus, we have a map (Bullnose Forum/Member's Map in the menu) and we'd love to put you on it if we had a town or a zip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Westerj Posted August 3, 2020 Author Share Posted August 3, 2020 Yes, welcome! You started your adventure here in a bit of an usual place, but it'll work. However, as Jim suggested, if you go the main section and start a new thread/topic there about your truck/ambulance I can move the discussion from here to there - if you want. And, pics are always a big help. Post them up! Plus, we have a map (Bullnose Forum/Member's Map in the menu) and we'd love to put you on it if we had a town or a zip. - deleted - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Westerj Posted August 3, 2020 Author Share Posted August 3, 2020 Hi All, A 1986 ambulance based on F350/460 came into life. Box was pretty much ripped down to studs. Enroute to a new purpose! time for a few pics in next log entry here. first time to chase out the mice, and remove the core ambulance stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted August 3, 2020 Share Posted August 3, 2020 PLease move these over to my new Projects post. Thanks! JW Done. But you might want to go to the New Members Start Here folder, read the guidelines, and then start a new thread to introduce yourself. Please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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