Chevy Ambulance: Cab and chassis

The drivetrain and two sections of the chassis are now complete, except for details like shock absorbers. (The chassis had to be cut in half, because the wheelbase of the ambulance box + cab is a bit longer than that of the Chevy Rescue Van. Once complete, a piece of styrene square section rod will be fitted.) The heavy duty truck wheels have been mounted on the rear axle, and the rear section of frame has been spaced up to allow it all to sit nicely in the wheel well openings.





At the front, the floor pan went in along with the engine cover.



Without an opening hood, the engine is now pretty well invisible. Even with an opening hood, there wouldn't be a lot to see.



I scratch built a track rod so it would steer. The bolts are #0-80.



From a height perspective, the new truck tires don't fit under the forward inner fenders.



In order to fix this, the floor pan got lifted off the frame by 3/16" (about 4.5" at scale). It's at a point where I can verify the stance (good) and the relationship between the cab and the ambulance body. Before gluing it all down, I may look at adding another 1/16" to the stack of styrene under the cab, as the front wheel is quite snug in the wheel arch.



With the cab and chassis essentially done, next will be to do some more cutting of the box. The curbside door will get opened, along with a large hole in the roof so I can reach inside with my big mitts and put stuff in there. This will get covered with a sheet of clear once done. I'll also open up an internal door between the cab and box.



I am debating installing internal mini LED lamps, with the battery pack glued to the underside of the chassis, to highlight the interior. Decals remain a challenge which I have not addressed yet. Stay tuned!