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The body of a 1964 Cadillac Ambulance has a taper. It widens at the doors after the A-Pillar(as Brian Austin mentioned earlier). The Polar Lights Ecto-1 body doesn't have the taper. I narrowed the front fenders and added the taper to the front doors. I checked reference pictures and feel it looks more correct now. I widened the front(Jo-Han) section of the chassis to blend in with the rear Polar Lights chassis. The front of the inner fender wells were cut off and extended to meet the radiator support which is how they are in a '64 Cadillac ambulance. Since I removed the front of the PL chassis I decided to use the fender wells for the rear of the chassis to close it up. It may not be 100% correct but I think it looks more complete this way instead of having no rear fender wells. I still have to add the rear window pillars and the trim moldings which I should get to in the next few days. Thanks for looking in! Mike. IMG_7741 by Michael Scarola, on Flickr IMG_7743 by Michael Scarola, on Flickr IMG_7764 by Michael Scarola, on Flickr IMG_7750 by Michael Scarola, on Flickr IMG_7751 by Michael Scarola, on Flickr IMG_7757 by Michael Scarola, on Flickr IMG_7758 by Michael Scarola, on Flickr IMG_7759 by Michael Scarola, on Flickr

Very nice '59 Ambulance! What Monogram kit(s) have the Wide Whites, you mentioned?

Jason, Those look OK. The tires that came in the Polar Lights Ecto-1 have very large wheel openings. Maybe the AMT Ecto-1A tires have a smaller 1/25 scale wheel opening. Let me know what you find and send me a PM. Mike.

Craig, I'll have to paint part of the insert black. I need thinner white stripes on the tires.

Thanks Bill! It looks like they have an insert that has to be painted. I'll have to try and find a set. Mike.

Thanks Craig and Bill! This helps a lot. I've been trying to find tires a bit closer to 30 mm but I might not find them. Can someone post a picture of the tires from the AMT 1957 Chrysler 300 kit? Mike.

I'm working on build and am looking for the right sized tires. I was told the AMT 1957 Chrysler 300 kit's tire's might be the right size I need. If anyone has an AMT 1957 Chrysler 300 kit, can you measure the outer diameter(height) of the tires for me in metric(millimeters)? Thanks, Mike.

I'm just bumping this thread in case someone missed it. I'm looking for replacement tires that will fit an Ecto-1 kit. The Ecto-1 tires are about 30 mm in diameter (tall). I'm looking for tires roughly 29 - 30 mm tall that will fit regular 1/25 scale wheels.

Thanks Jay! I've been documenting all this. I have a bit more work done and will post some more pictures soon. I just haven't had the time. Mike.

Mike, I did look at the House Of Kolors Root Beer but it's a candy color and doesn't appear quite brown enough. The color I chose, 1966 Cadillac Autumn Rust, is a metallic and more brown in appearance. In the sun it appears more golden brown like a root beer color. This color is almost spot on to the color of the 1:1 car. If you look at the 2 pictures of the actual car I put in my first post you can see the color is more brown and is a metallic not a candy. BTW, the House Of Kolor Root Beer on your Ferrari is beautiful! Mike.

The AMT tires are only 28 mm in diameter.

I thought you were referring to the Custom Lacquer line. I did a lot of research and looked at a lot of pictures and some video from the movie The Disorderly Orderly which has 2 Schaefer ambulances. I'm confident that Autumn Rust is very close and in person it looks amazing. The metallic flakes are so small it almost looks like a pearl. A true root beer goes from dark brown to a golden, almost red-orange look in the sun. Besides I had to have the Autumn Rust custom mixed and it was $18 just for the two 1 ounce bottles so I'll be using it. Some people confuse regular brown metallic with root beer. However just having metallic in brown isn't necessarily root beer. I've seen pictures here of cars painted in Testors Root Beer and they look red. The Autumn Rust looks more brown in person but does photograph a bit on the red-orange side. I would love to have a real 1:1 car paint in the Autumn Rust. When the sun hits it, it looks deep and has a nice warm golden color. Mike.

Thanks Charlie! In person the 66 Autumn Rust doesn't look too orange. It's a dark brown color that turns a golden brown in sun light which is how a root beer color should look. I've looked at a lot of pictures of the Schaefer Ambulances and they go from a dark brown to a golden brown in sun light. It has an almost cinnamon look to it and the paint in person looks to be an almost exact match to the screen shots I made of the ambulance from the TV show. The metallic in the Testors paints is out of scale and looks like 1970's metal flake. The MCW paint's metallic is much more in scale.

Thanks Bill! I have a bit more done and will post some pictures soon. Mike.

Thanks Bill, for all the information! I'll pick up some acetate. Here's the link to my '64 Cadillac ambulance build thread. I'm a bit further along and will post some more pictures soon. There is a lot to work out with this build. http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/113927-1964-cadillac-superior-coach-ambulance/?page=1

Bill, Can I glue the acetate in with Formula 560 Canopy glue as I do with kit styrene windows? Does acrylic paint, such as Testors Acryl clear, stick to the acetate? I'll need to paint some stripes, using Testors Flat Clear Acryl on the windows as seen on the windows of the real ambulance in my post above.

What thickness should I get in the acetate?

So acetate is tougher than the styrene? I'm building a 1964 Cadillac ambulance using a Polar Lights Ecto-1 and a Jo-Han 1964 Cadillac Deville. The Ecto-1 windshield is OK so I'll use it but the rest of the windows aren't so good and almost act as magnifiers. I want to make the side and rear windows. Most of the windows are flat that I'll be making and the rear window will have a very slight curve. The small side rear windows are curved. The 2nd picture of the rear ambulance shows the small side rear windows. Will clear styrene be better for making the curved small side rear windows?

What's better for making windows, clear styrene sheet or acetate? I've had clear styrene(model car windows) get stress whitening when slightly bent. Will thin styrene sheet(.010") have the same problem with the stress whitening or am I better off getting some acetate?

Does anyone make 1/25 scale tires that are 29 mm - 30 mm in diameter? I need them for a Cadillac ambulance build, preferably with a white stripe and a scale 5" wide tread or something close. Thanks, Mike.

These seem to be the size of the tires that come in the Jo-Han 1964 Cadillac Deville kit which I have. I'm trying to find a set of tires the same size as the tires that come in the Polar Lights Ecto-1. The Ecto-1 tires use larger wheels and most 1/25 wheels are too small and the back side of the Polar lights tires are cut out larger to insert the wheels.

Thanks Steve! BTW can you measure them again in metric for me? Preferably millimeters. Thanks, Mike.

Does anyone know the outer diameter of the tires in the AMT Firestone Deluxe Champion Tires parts pack? Or can someone who has this parts pack measure the outer diameter of the tires for me? I need to know if they are the size I'm looking for. Thanks, Mike.

Hi, Does anyone make tires in the correct diameter for the Polar Lights Ecto-1? I'm currently combining a Polar Lights Ecto-1 and a Jo-Han 1964 Cadillac Deville to make a 1964 Cadillac Ambulance. I'll be using different wheel covers(1966 Cadillac). The openings of the tires that come with the Polar Lights Ecto-1 are too large to fit 1/25 scale wheels. The wheels that come with the kit are very crude and the axle just plugs into the back. The tires from the Jo-Han 1964 Cadillac Deville are overall smaller in diameter. Are the tires from the AMT Ecto-1 the same as what comes with the Polar Lights Ecto-t? Thanks, Mike.

I use the same 'New Improved Chrome' BMF and haven't had any problems with it sticking to semi-gloss. I've done the same and used it in an interior. I've heard that BMF has a shelf life of about a year or so but I don't think that's exactly true. I have the same package for about 4 years now and it works just fine. I keep it in the refrigerator in a plastic bag. It's supposed to keep the adhesive fresh. In fact I was talking with a friend last week and he said he has a package of BMF for about 7 years and it still sticks as good as it did when he bought it.