Rescuing Ainsworth 22 After years of service with the Ainsworth Volunteer Fire Department and a second career hauling carnival equipment, the ambulance was in need of restoration and TLC. Although the car's interior had remained nearly pristine her transmission seals had dry rotted and her exterior was showing signs of age.
The Federal beacon had apparently been destroyed when the car was driven under a low overhang after leaving fire service. The second owner had applied dark window tint film and vinyl letters advertising his business. He agreed to remove his company's signage and the excessively dark window tint, which is illegal in Ohio, before we purchased the vehicle.
We immediately replaced the car's shattered beacon. The fire department had painted the ambulance's nose with a red textured paint. During the restoration we decided the stucco paint and the truck mirrors had to go.
Much of the car's paint had cracked and chipped in a "lake bed" fashion allowing rust to develop and spread. We set to the task of slowing down the rust that had established a foothold on the car.
The quickest way to slow the rust was to grind it off and paint the area until proper body work could be done.
In April 2003 real restoration work finally began on the ambulance.
This is the car just minutes after rolling out of the shop with the bodywork complete. We repainted the car using 1975 Oldsmobile 98 colors.
The red is Oldsmobile Crimson Red, which we matched using an original paint chart. To view a larger version of these documents, click on the images above.
It took weeks scrubbing and degreasing to wash thirty years of grime off the car's engine. Once it was clean it took many more days to repaint the engine and carefully replace the hood insulation, wire conduits and even the decals.
Several of the car's airline curtains had been damaged, and one set was missing entirely. Amy assisted her father, PCS member Bob Yates, in making new curtains. Using the remaining old ones as patterns, Bob was able to make new curtains in only a few days. Amazingly Bob's only other sewing experience was hemming his pants.
Ainsworth 22 with new curtains and white walls. The car is still awaiting restoration of its fire department markings.
On to equipment photos... On to car wash photos... Back to the ambulance page...