Aussie GMC C3500

Thank you very much Clinton!!

There's no particular problems, you can drive it like other cars....you just have to know that in some narrow streets you can't go, and sometimes find a place to park is difficult. Anyway, american pick up trucks are big, but if you think, our light trucks like Iveco Daily or Mercedes Sprinter have, more or less, the same dimensions. Also a Nissan Patrol GR is 2 m wide.

in the 6.5 community, it's common practice to not put gaskets oo the valve covers. we use the right stuff or gasket maker, I.E., RTV.
build is coming along great. keep up the good work.
i just plumbed a 75 gallon stainless bed tank that siphons into the 35 gallon factory unit. you give me inspiration bc it's taken me FOREVER just to do that.

Gday, another ex ambulance owner here. Just got it in from Qld, getting ready to get the roadworthy and get it registered. Once the lockdown is over of course.

Once it's on the road I've got a dually bed to go on it. I'll be taking the 18" extension back out of the chassis.

Hi Miles, good to hear there's more ex-ambo's about. There's gotta be enough getting around for an ex-ambo club.

Clinton said:

Hi Miles, good to hear there's more ex-ambo's about. There's gotta be enough getting around for an ex-ambo club.

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I've started pulling some of the extra wiring under the hood out. It looks like somebody has been playing with it since it was an ambulance. Do you know what the deal is with the central locking module?

I've found four little modules so far made by a place in Sydney. Reserve battery controller, and light flasher, both under the hood next to the ABS pump. Two under the dash: GMC engine monitor, and central locking module. The central is the odd one. It appears to have a load of wires coming out of it and going through the firewall to one of the other two modules. Doesn't seem like central locking would need that?

MilesB, my first ambo also has redundant central locking units, I was told they were linked to the ambo body doors.
Mine already had the second alternator removed.
Beware when rejoining the chassis, some people just run a strap on the top and bottom of the rails. Having done numerous chassis joints that will pass any state regulations. A really good welder is needed who does this type of work!

Terrick down Under said:

MilesB, my first ambo also has redundant central locking units, I was told they were linked to the ambo body doors.
Mine already had the second alternator removed.
Beware when rejoining the chassis, some people just run a strap on the top and bottom of the rails. Having done numerous chassis joints that will pass any state regulations. A really good welder is needed who does this type of work!

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I've still got the second alt but it was just charging the second battery which never seemed to be connected. The one it was starting off was basically dead when I got it. I swapped and it struggled to start with the second. Hopefully that battery is ok. I'm buying a new one and wiring it to run off two batteries all the time. Not sure what I'll do with the second alternator. I pulled the starter and cleaned all the carbon and filth out of it. The commutator was basically solid carbon. New 2awg wires from each battery to the starter. Hopefully I can sort out the mess that's been made of the ambo fuse block area soon. It's got a bunch of garbage wiring between it and the Chevy relay/fuse block. I need to strip all the tape out and work out what's original. The light harness is obviously still mixed with the ambo stuff for the flashers. Should be able to pull that out.

Front suspension was unroadworthy. I pulled the arms and replaced the bushings and ball joints but am waiting on a bigger spring compressor to get them back in. They don't kick in like car springs. Someone slightly bent the arms the last time they did the bushings. They were a pain to get back into the frame. I reckon they pressed them across both sides without support because the arms are too big to fit in a normal press.

I plan on doing the frame the same way the ambo people did it. They obviously used an engineer and did plenty of them so that's good enough for me. I had planned on fish plating the entire height of the vertical web, but they didn't do that so I won't.

I've got a K3500 ECLB DRW that I was planning to convert to RHD. I ended up wanting a regular cab and haven't got the time for the conversion. When I do the frame shortening, I'll use the bed and dually rear. In the long run I'll shorten the K frame and swap to it. It's a 454. I prefer gas motors to the 6.5. I imagine I'll use most of its harness too because it's pristine.

Miles B, what are you going to do with the EC?I might be interested....depending on where you are. I am just 30 minutes South of Clinton. I would think about the fish plate idea, because the ambo body is a part of their conversion...strength in the construction. Contact me if you want.

Probably no plans for the cab itself anymore. I'll be pulling the back window out to replace this awful contraption, and might change the doors over onto the regular cab. I'd already added another pair of sockets for the wiper transmissions and moved the steering, brake and wiring holes from left to right. No compliance plate obviously. It has roof lights (being a dually), don't think I'll carry them over to the regular cab though. They look cool but eventually leak. I'm about 40km south of Melbourne.

Those ambo bodies wouldn't have helped that part of the chassis. They just sit on the body mounts, the front most of which is barely in front of the joint and not likely to pull the chassis up through there. At least, not any more than the long bed will. I guess it would've only been designed strong enough for the load the ambo body put on the chassis though. Who knows how much load I might ever put on it.. so yeah a good size plate like is done on shortened prime movers is probably better.

Hey let me know if you come across a short bed. I've got a mate who has a short bed truck but the last owner put a shocking tray on it. Yukon didn't have anything so we tried the guy in Somerville. He wanted $1500 for a seriously banged up bed. I was less than impressed.