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Old 08-23-2014, 04:04 AM   #1
JWA
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'67 Cortez ?

Anyone into vintage RV's? I'll be embarking on a for-profit job re-installing new windshields and gaskets, the latter being fabricated on-site as original parts are no longer available. I thought to snap a few photos of the process and this beast still under a complete restoration.

This particular RV has a bit of historical significance in that it was the very first USA ambulance-type vehicle to include rather sophisticated diagnosis and emergency heart care, for the time anyway. I'm told by the president of our local fire fighter museum it served as the prototype for every other ambulance of its type all across this country. Having been owned by the Columbus Ohio Fire Department since brand new its only within the past 5 years the restoration has been in-process.

Interesting vehicles, a blast from the past----thought if there's enough curiosity I'll snap what photos I can and share.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cortez_Motor_Home

For images covering these in their new condition and many others do a simple Google search for "1967 Clark Cortez" and you'll find a lot of cool views.

The images say "its the Swingin' 60's............" life few others can---I'd expect to see Austin Powers pop out of this thing!

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Old 08-23-2014, 10:47 AM   #2
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Re: '67 Cortez ?

That's cool! I'd love to see more.

Brent
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Old 08-23-2014, 11:35 AM   #3
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Re: '67 Cortez ?

I had one of those back in the 80's. A '64' Rear Door. Father in law gave it to me. Spent a couple years restoring it and then couldn't wait for it to leave. Mine was a 318 4 speed with 33 x 12.50 Wranglers on it. Fun but a real Boat Anchor. There was a guy in Vallejo that had a Boneyard of those. It's been 20 years though.

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Old 08-31-2014, 05:58 AM   #4
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Re: '67 Cortez ?

Okay things have progressed a bit, the expected but never the less disappointing set-back when working on such a large scale project like this......

First off there's an owner/fan group for Clark Cortez here: http://www.cortezcoach.com/--lots of very cool images there----have a peek.

Because there are no known new replacement OEM-style windshield weatherstrip assemblies (aka "gaskets" in the windshield biz) we need to fabricate our own. Usually this is fairly easy to accomplish because the continuous-length weatherstripping is applied over a flange (aka "pinchweld") formed in the window opening of the body. There are two "pockets" in the weatherstripping, one each for the glass and pinchweld--shown here:



If the weatherstripping can be applied in one piece this would be a breeze. Because the front glass opening was created from near right angles miter cutting the individual pieces was necessary. Some of the angles shown here:

Rt Front Vent Window, fixed:


Lower Left Windshield:


Preliminary or trial fitting of miter-cut corners:


We'll continue to fine-tune as close as possible the initial or dry fitting of cut ends. All cut ends that adjoin or butt against another cut end will receive 3M's Super Weatherstrip Adhesive to prevent separation and a resulting gap that's unappealing to the eye. Additionally small amounts of windshield bonding urethane adhesive will be applied per our own design scheme to reinforce the already-snug and secure manner in which vehicle glass is typically retained in similar situations.

The extensive restoration of this vehicle required removal of the original roof structure to address issues found there. When the roof was re-installed a small increase in height was added mostly because no accurate drawings or dimensions were available. The windshield openings grew about 3/8" meaning existing 100% original glass pieces could not be fitted properly. Bummer for all---hate to see this sort of thing after such an outstanding job already done, painting completed by now.

Since the glass is typical laminated "safety glass" we'll cut new pieces of the corrected size--this will be easily done. Once those are finished our process will continue and proceed quite quickly.

We'll also be installing the front door aluminum sliding glass assemblies. This should be a straight-forward simply installation as nothing had to be changed with the openings or window assemblies during this restoration.

Anyway that's it so far----hoping some find this even a bit interesting. More photos of just this phase of my companies involvement can be seen here: http://s184.photobucket.com/user/JWA...?sort=3&page=1

PS: Here's link to the Columbus, Ohio Fire Museum--the owner of this '67 Cortez: http://www.centralohiofiremuseum.com/

Thanks for looking!
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Old 11-10-2018, 10:52 AM   #5
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Found this thread while doing something else and thought I'd add photos I took of a Clark Cortez I found here in town. And I found it while doing something else, coming back from a motorcycle dealer in Highland Springs, an eastern suburb of Richmond. Sorry for the bad pix, and I could not get any better ones of the interior.
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Cortez1.jpg   Cortez2.jpg   Cortez3.jpg   Cortez4.jpg  
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Old 11-11-2018, 05:29 AM   #6
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This Cortez is finished and used solely as an exhibition showing how the Columbus Fire Department was ahead of the times when they worked with a local hospital to create the first Heartmobile. Oddly enough I've not had time to visit it since completed but it was fun working with the CFD's museum director (retired fire chief Bill Hall) getting it ready for the other volunteers to finish the restoration.

If I take any more photos of the completed Heartmobile I'll be sure to share them here.
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