New to the Shilo Museum:WW1 Cadillac Ambulance

[rob love]

Work is now underway on the Cadillac troop carrier. I am trying not to use the term ambulance as I found nothing on it to indicate that use.

Got the fourth tire together and installed the other day, so it can now roll on the floor. I moved it to a more active area of the shop so I could start working on the cargo box and tarpaulin.

The vehicle is to be part of a WW1 display starting on 1 July, so there is no more time for procrastinating. The hope is that we can preserve the original wood, but it has had significant shrinkage (as George Castanza would say) and is now a full half inch less in width than needed to match up with the holes in the metal brackets behind. I removed the 3 bows and today managed to get the right side off the cargo box. We have put a call in to the CCI about the proper methods of preserving the wood. With the amount of material missing, there is going to end up being a choice between moving the holes in the wood to match the metal, or putting new holes in the metal. Personally, I don't like either choice, but lean towards moving the holes in the wood.

The other alternatives are to try and add 1/2" onto the boards width, or else get new boards made.

The good news is that I was able to remove all the nuts and bolts with no breakage. I did order a bunch of hardware from a place in the us called Blacksmith's bolt and rivet supply who have most of these fasteners available, including the square nuts in about 4 different styles. If I do run into stubborn nuts I can merely split them.

Here are some photos of the present state.