AmbuLand Build Thread, ( 2001 E350 ambulance )

[Abitibi]

I used the $100 I made by recycling all the aluminum from gutting AmbuLand towards the purchase of my next project... Permanently mounting a Maggiolina (or Autohome, whatever they call those) on top of the Ambo.

Couldn't justify the price of a new one so went with a used one (barely used!) that was within driving distance. The old fellow only used it for 7 days so very happy how clean it is!

I'd be very tempted to get in this project right away but for now I think this will get better used mounted on my Patrol. I'll just build the Ambo's interior with the idea that there's gonna a big hole in the roof...



Cheers
Mr. D

[Abitibi]

Moving along!

Just cause I'm a kid at heart I went back into the shop and opened up my soon to be new roof



That gave me some motivation to keep working on the basics. Aside from gutting the interior it was time to catch up with all the electrical spaghetti... My goal is to remove all the switches/controls from the dog house and the electrical panel located in the rear driver's side door and move them in the corner directly behind the driver's seat.

Basically going from this stock configuration to permanently gutting all the unnecessary circuits (I'll save the wires for other projects). I already removed over 10% of wires in this picture...



Then I disconnected as much as I could and put those aside for later. One bonus I never clued in before was that every single wires is custom labeled! NICE!!!


Work in progress:







At the end of the day I ended up with a cleaned up door area and a big bunch of switches and wires...



Now that the floor is basically all opened up (one last cabinet to remove) I can start drawing potential floor plans

While chasing some wires under the floor I noticed this tag on the tranny, "remanufactured"... Does it mean what I think it does? and anyone can translate the code or tell me if its the HD version?



Finally here's a newish toy that I don't think I previously posted about. Already painted to the future AmbuLand color, 37" tires (anyone wants to trade for 35's? ) and the exact width as the ambo, perfect match!





Cheers
Mr. D

[SCBrian]

^^links/pics not working on my screen^^

[Abitibi]

Are the pics showing up now? Another neat thing about this rig is that 3 of the batteries are located in a HD sliding drawer so servicing is way easier than when mounted against the frame. Clever!

[twogone]

yep

[Abitibi]

Best part of a custom build is to find a part meant for something else and adapt it to your need. This used to be a breaker box mounted vertically and it is now my switch panel mounted flat against the ceiling. It's super compact and can still house 8 toggle switches and I can cut holes for 8 more regular ones, perfect!





Another great thing about custom builds is finding time! So a couple hours of sanity away from house renovation got me a freshly Por-15 painted floor at the front. Floor had very minimal surface rust so a bit of grinder with a wire brush was all that was needed for preps. Next will be Dynamat (FatMat actually...) on floor, ceiling, door panels... Everywhere 'till I run out of the rolls I got!



And I'm officially done gutting the rear cargo, time to figure out my interior setup!


Cheers
Mr. D

[Gnarvan]

You are really going to town with the project. I can't wait to see which direction you take the interior. Gonna be interesting.

[JWA]

That vertical breaker box could find a home inside my cargo only work van! Any idea who manufactures it?

[Abitibi]

It's nice that I have a couple more trucks (and bicycles) so that I'm not dependent on this ambulance. It gives me the opportunity to do it right or to go to town as you say!

What I really need is more time!!! But tonight I tricked the kids to go to bed an hour earlier so that I could continue on the flooring job. Wish I could do the same with my wife! Hahaha! Anyhow, flooring is starting to look good!



I'll try to find the details for that breaker box, might be marine application...

Cheers
Mr. D

[JWA]

I also like your front cab floor treatment too----something similar to my own approach recently.

Using POR-15's silver for its huge solids content I used a single layer of the bubble wrap radiant barrier insulation under the OEM mat.

The luxury of our projects not being daily drivers too no doubt makes for a better finished job.

Any info on the breaker box would be nice---take your time on that too!