Conversion of car chassis into professional cars was common practice during much of the twentieth century. "Professional cars" generally include standard wheel base vehicles custom modified for use as hearses, flower cars, service cars, ambulances, and limousines. Numerous companies competed in the industry and most have been described at coachbuilt.com. For the most part, ambulance conversions ceased in 1979 with full implementation of EMS Systems Act which established more stringent guidelines for ambulance design and construction than could be met through conversion of production model station wagons and vans.

Corvair-95s were used as professional cars, though records are sparse. Historical images indicate that several companies used the Corvair-95 platform in the early 1960s for ambulance, funeral and other purposes, and a couple of Corvair-95 professional cars have been restored. The Franklin Body & Equipment Corporation, Brooklyn, NY, produced Corvair-95 conversions, and according to coachbuilt.com, "When forward control vans appeared in the early 60s, Franklin was amongst the first to convert them to ambulance, wheelchair, school bus and police duty and even offered van-based hearses and first call cars." Franklin ran ads for their conversions in Chevrolet Silver Books, such as this ad which shows a Corvair-95 ambulance from the 1963 Silver Book. Vehicles produced by the Automotive Conversion Corporation in Birmingham, MI, are the best documented; and what is known about the ACC conversions is described below.

Beginning in 1955 with conversions of Ford and Mercury station wagons, ACC's lineup was expanded in the early 1960s to include conversions of Chevrolet, Pontiac, Plymouth, Chrysler, and Dodge chassis, marketed as Amblewagon, Arlington and Rescue-All models. Amblewagon conversions for forward-control Ford Econoline and Chevrolet Corvair-95 vans were introduced by ACC (having moved to Birmingham, MI) in 1961- the corvair being the only rear-engined Amblewagon

Employees of ACC have estimated that around twenty Corvan and Greenbrier conversions were made. You can see in some of the images below, a chrome "Amblewagon" emblem was placed on the rear fenders and the ACC logo added to the glove box door. The brochures only describe Greenbrier Conversions, although R1205 corvans were used also. Although extant vehicles and images exist only for 1961 and 1962 model Amblewagons, they were offered in a 1963 brochure.

The model GR-3 Greenbrier Ambulance package in the 1961 brochure had a list price of $1103.19. The conversion package in 1962 (Model GR-7) was discounted to $1095.28, and again in the 1963 to $1081.84 (sales were not encouraging). The 1961 brochure standard exterior features included a rotating roof flasher, a concealed siren operated with a foot or horn control, shades and inserts for side windows and roof ventilator. Interior features included a 75 inch ambulance cot, dome light, fire extinguisher, two attendant's seats, and cabinets under the floor extension. Some of the optional accessories were stretchers, tunnel lights that would flash alternately left to right, oxygen inhalator and resuscitator. Heavy duty electrical circuitry was also installed, and a larger generator can be seen in the images below of Amblewagon engines. The list of options was greatly expanded in 1962. One interesting option was installation of both gas and direct air heaters, servicing the cab and rear compartments, respectively. All available options are listed in the ACC brochures provided below.

ACC also offered the Model GR-8 bus for handicapped children (a $626.95 package in 1962; $646.06 in 1963). This included self-storing entrance ramp and special auxiliary floor, wheel chair tie-downs, and a four-passenger rear seat. The brochure image shown here suggests that at least one of these was produced, but there are no historical records of any placed into service. This vehicle was featured on the cover of CorvanAntics 1991, vol 19(1).

Records of any 1963 or 1964 Corvair-95 Amblewagon conversions are lacking. Use of the Corvair chassis was likely superceded with conversions of the Ford Econoline (no rear engine) and the Chevy Van (introduced in 1964). ACC produced ambulance models until 1979 when the EMS Systems Act took effect, and the company folded in 1982.

Two show quality Corvair-95 Amblewagons are known to exist.

A full accounting of its whereabouts between 1962 and 1981 may be lost to time, although much of what was known at the time was reported in a 1992 issue of Old Car News & Marketplace. The 1962 Corvan chassis was the first produced at the Flint MI assembly plant and was commissioned for conversion by GM for display at the 1962 National Sales Convention in Las Vegas. In a 1962 letter from L.K. Donovo, the Amblewagon was offered to any interested dealer for $3638.32 ($2070.89 for the R-1205 and $1567.43 for the ambulance accessories). Though the purchaser is unknown, it most likely went to dealer in the Wisconsin area. It briefly emerges in the historical record when auctioned from J & A Auto Sales (Gray Lake, WI) to Bill Thomson in 1972, who sold it soon thereafter in 1973. Reportedly it passed through several owners in the Sheboygan area (including Bill Piepers, Edward Prellwitz and Bob Ehrenreich) before coming into possession of Bill Cheadle (Madision, WI) around 1981. In 1988 with just under 60K original miles and the 102 HP engine still running well, Bill sold it to George Johnston (Beloit, WI), who did the restoration.

Although self-propelled at that time, 2R125F100001 was in need of serious restoration. Most of the ACC accessories had been removed -- only exterior side-mounted tunnel lights and interior fan and siren controls remained. Over a year in the body shop was required to repair the body with refabricated and NOS panels. ACC production records had been destroyed after ACC ceased operations; however, with help from John Bell and Kyle Bess, the ACC President and Production Manager, details about original accessories were reconstructed, and the vehicle was restored with accessories appropriate to the era. A NOS roof mounted light-siren came from Federal Sign and Signal Corporation, and an original Ferno-Washington cot was acquired. The cabinetry and seats were refabricated according to the original design. In 1991, Amblewagon #1 was on call again.

In 2001 the vehicle was sold into the classic vehicle collection of Bob McDorman, Columbus, OH, and then purchased through a Mecum auction in 2008 by a classic car collecor in Amanda, OH. In 2022, placed on the market again, this Amblewagon is on display at MotorCar Portfolio, LLC, in Canton, OH.

The VIN for this vehicle indicates it was number 1252 off the Flint, MI line in 1962. Although its early history is also somewhat cloudy, the existence of an original ACC image (see below) in remarkable. It is believed to have been produced for service in Tower, MN, and resided in Aurora, MN, in the early 1970s. It eventually became part of a large collection of corvairs owned by Egil Twedt. The vehicle had approximately 8K miles on the odometer, was still in excellent condition and retained most its amblewagon accoutrements. Some images of the vehicle at this time can be seen here. In 1998 a 30 minute inspection of the vehicle in Twedt's barn was video taped and can now be watched here on YouTube.

After Egil's death in 1998, the Amblewagon was sold to Dick M Schoen, St. Paul, MN, who reported owning it in the 2005 CorvanAntics vol 33(4). He restored the vehicle, and put it on display for a while at the Anoka County, MN, airport, where some of the pictures below appear to have been taken. The vehicle has since been exported to Europe and changes hands several times in recent years. In 2006 the vehicle was auctioned on ebay to Károly Farkasdia owner of the Dreams Car Museum in Budapest Hungary. The vehicle later relocated to the 'Cadillac Museum' in Hachenburg Germany, which placed it on the market in 2016. The van then passed to a major museum in Stockholm, Sweden for a while, before being acquired by Lasse Lindahl, who listed it for sale on Craigslist in Dec 2021.

A second Amblewagon in Egil Twedt's barn with VIN 2R126F104888 is inspected near the end of this video. It is believed that this vehicle was ultimately junked.

This is the Amblewagon found and photographed by Ben Stiles in a junkyard near King of Prussia, PA. It had a standard transmission; the head rests on the front bucket seats indicate that these were not original to the vehicle. Remaining in front were the red grill lights (though it apparently lacked front tunnel lights); in the rear spot light housings remained on the fenders, emergency lights on roof, and storage retainers on the doors; on the cab floor were the foot controls for the siren and flashers. It is interesting that the ACC emblem is on the instrument panel instead of the glovebox door, as seen in the other amblewagons. A camper conversion had been started but not completed, accounting for the non-original cabinetry, sink, and mattresses. Additional images here show the loading lights inside above the rear doors, positions of dash controls for lights, siren and fan, and a ceiling stoarge cabinet.

Images provided by Ben Stiles

These three images are original photographs taken by ACC (kindly provided by George Johnston).