AMT Surf Shark (my version): WIP

[David G.]

Hello Everybody!

Just another quick update to let you all know that I'm still here plugging away at this.

I've officially entered what I call the "Thousand and One Details" phase of the build. That's the phase of the build in which all the small ancillary parts like mirrors, door handles, antennas and other trim items get prepped, painted and sometimes even built prior to final installation.

Here I'm getting the side mirrors ready for their installation by drilling their bases out and adding a bit of wire to each to serve as a pin to hold them more securely to the doors on which they will be mounted. The doors will also be drilled to accommodate the pins.

 

I know this wasn't much of an update but I should have more photos ready in a couple of days.

David G.

 

Edited February 2, 2024 by David G.
Gateway Time-out during save

[Zippi]

Looking good there David.  That red turned out nice.  

[David G.]

22 hours ago, Zippi said:

Looking good there David.  That red turned out nice.  

Thanks Bob, I'm pretty happy with it myself.

David G.

[David G.]

Hello Everybody!

As promised, here's another update on the Surf Shark ambulance conversion.

These are the lollypop lights I plan to mount on the rear part of the roof. I've stripped the chrome coating and cleaned them up. They are being mounted in styrene tubing to allow them to be placed in the holes that were already in the roof. Rather than try to blend the tubing with the roof I'll probably chrome the tubing too and allow it to serve as a base for the lamps.

 

 

The lollypop lights have had some Rustoleum Chrome paint applied and I've added a set of red lenses from the parts box.

 

 

Of course, this calls for a test fit. I think I like it.

 

As always, thanks for taking the time to look and please feel free to post any opinions, evaluations or other comments you may have.

David G.

[Moparman18064]

Looking good, loving the chrome bits

[slusher]

Roof lights looks great, David!

[David G.]

18 hours ago, Moparman18064 said:

Looking good, loving the chrome bits

Thank you Rich.

11 hours ago, slusher said:

Roof lights looks great, David!

Thanks Carl. I think they look better than the ones in the kit.

David G.

[David G.]

Hello Everybody!

It's time to make with the next update.

Here's another of those thousand and one details, the siren/PA unit. I found this one in the parts box. Of course, cleaning up the flash and attachment points prior to assembly damaged the chrome coating. That will need to be fixed.

 

 

Once the chrome coating is stripped and the remainder of the casting artifacts are cleaned up I can see that the little nubbin on the bottom will not be sufficient to mount the siren to the ambulance in the way that I want to.

 

 

I cut off the little nub and drilled a 1/16" hole in the bottom to accommodate a piece of 1/16" styrene rod. This should provide a much more positive attachment point.

 

 

Ah yes, much better!

 

 

Just a quick spray with some Rustoleum Chrome paint has it looking pretty good.

 

As always, thanks for following along and please feel free to comment if you feel the urge to share.

David G.

[David G.]

Hello Everybody!

It's time to make with the next update.

Here's another of those thousand and one details, the siren/PA unit. I found this one in the parts box. Of course, cleaning up the flash and attachment points prior to assembly damaged the chrome coating. That will need to be fixed.

 

 

Once the chrome coating is stripped and the remainder of the casting artifacts are cleaned up I can see that the little nubbin on the bottom will not be sufficient to mount the siren to the ambulance in the way that I want to.

 

 

I cut off the little nub and drilled a 1/16" hole in the bottom to accommodate a piece of 1/16" styrene rod. This should provide a much more positive attachment point.

 

 

Ah yes, much better!

 

 

Just a quick spray with some Rustoleum Chrome paint has it looking pretty good.

 

As always, thanks for following along and please feel free to comment if you feel the urge to share.

David G.

[FLHCAHZ]

Very nice work on the details!

[Bainford]

On 1/21/2024 at 8:46 AM, David G. said:

I have an AMT Police Interceptor that, years ago I built as a daily driver.

 

David, the Ambulance is coming along very nicely. The emergency equipment details are looking good.

I have a question; On the photo above, where did you source the snow tires on the back of the Ford?

[Steve H]

Looking good with the added details David. I won’t be surprised if you get to 1002… Would the old ambulance’s have had the spotlights like a police car? 
 

Cheers, Steve

[GLMFAA1]

Ambulances would have either an interior hand held spotlight or a pillar mounted exterior spot that might have been double sided with a red flasher on one side and spot on the other. Would have had a roof mounted one at the rear to illuminate the loading area.

If I'm not mistaken the snow tires are off the MPC Jeep kits.

greg

[David G.]

23 hours ago, FLHCAHZ said:

Very nice work on the details!

Thank you Chaz!

16 hours ago, Bainford said:

David, the Ambulance is coming along very nicely. The emergency equipment details are looking good.

I have a question; On the photo above, where did you source the snow tires on the back of the Ford?

Thank you Trevor.

The snow tires I bought from a vendor at the Desert Scale Classic in Phoenix, most likely in 2012. I don't remember the name of the vendor. But GLMFAA1 has suggested in their comment below that they may have come from an MPC Jeep kit.

7 hours ago, Steve H said:

Looking good with the added details David. I won’t be surprised if you get to 1002… Would the old ambulance’s have had the spotlights like a police car? 
 

Cheers, Steve

Thank you Steve. Yes those details do have a way of popping up.

Speaking of which, I do have plans for a pillar mounted spot light. Thanks for the tip though, I always appreciate pointers and suggestions.

6 hours ago, GLMFAA1 said:

Ambulances would have either an interior hand held spotlight or a pillar mounted exterior spot that might have been double sided with a red flasher on one side and spot on the other. Would have had a roof mounted one at the rear to illuminate the loading area.

If I'm not mistaken the snow tires are off the MPC Jeep kits.

greg

Thanks for your input Greg. I do have plans for a spotlight on the A-pillar but I hadn't considered one on the rear for the loading area. I'll have to do a little research to see what they may have looked like. I'm surprised that I haven't seen (or didn't notice) rear spotlights on the photos I found online. 

I'm sure I can find something suitable in the ol' parts box.

Also, thanks for the tip on the origin of the snow tires. I'm sure @Bainford will appreciate the information.

Thanks,

David G.

[David G.]

Hello Everybody!

I've been putting out updates almost as fast as I'm building. My updates are catching up with my build cycle which means that I have to do some more building this weekend. 

That's a good problem to have.

The rear bumper is done! I fabricated a license plate bracket and attached it along with a license plate decal from the parts box. North Carolina 1964, that seems appropriate.

 

 

While installing the bullet tail light lenses I noticed that the chrome trim collar was cast as a part of the lenses. So I went to the trouble of painting each one with a good coat of Molotow as I installed it. Yeah, it's the little things.

It looks like the Molotow needs a little touchup. 

 

As always, thanks for taking the time to look and please feel free to post any comments you may have.

David G.

Edited February 10, 2024 by David G.
typo

[David G.]

Hello Everybody!

Slowly, the work on the Surf Shark ambulance conversion continues.

After all that work on the siren I did a little more research and learned that this type of siren/PA unit was invented at Motorola sometime in 1965. Prior to that, old fashioned mechanical sirens were used. I found some parts box greebles that I think I can use to whip up a reasonable representation.

 

 

After removing the chrome plating a little fiddling and some filing revealed this combination to me. I plan to file some grooves aka sound holes in the face of the new siren part.

 

 

Here is the base unit assembled complete with sound hole grooves filed. I enhanced the grooves with a black Sharpie as I went along filing them in so I could monitor my progress.

 

 

After a little cleanup and a short spray of Rustoleum Chrome paint, here is the result. It's a little crude but I think it conveys the image well enough.

 

As always, thanks for taking the time to look and please feel free to comment.

David G.

[slusher]

Looks good David , nice scratch biulding!

[David G.]

7 hours ago, slusher said:

Looks good David , nice scratch biulding!

Thank you Carl!

David G.

[Steve H]

Very nice scratching!! That totally looks the part!

[junkyardjeff]

I have one that I am going to build as a retired ambulance turned into a handymans work vehicle.

[David G.]

11 hours ago, Steve H said:

Very nice scratching!! That totally looks the part!

Thank you Steve! I'm rather happy with the way it turned out. I just wish I could have done a little more of a detailed engraving on the front of the siren.

11 hours ago, junkyardjeff said:

I have one that I am going to build as a retired ambulance turned into a handymans work vehicle.

That sounds like a great idea Jeff. Replace the surf boards with ladders, it already comes with roof racks! 

David G.

[David G.]

Hello Everybody!

With this post, my photos will have caught up with my building so it may be a little while before the next update.

The front bumper and grille assembly is done!

 

As always, thanks for looking and please feel free to comment.

David G.

[slusher]

Nice detailing, David!

[David G.]

7 hours ago, slusher said:

Nice detailing, David!

Thanks Carl.

David G.

[David G.]

Hello Everybody!

It's time for the next update on the great Surf Shark ambulance conversion.

The foiling and chrome trim is done! I'll paint the door handles during final assembly. Now for a quick test fit with all the bells and whistles. 

I still plan on adding an antenna, I just need to decide where I want to place it.

 

 

I ordered this from Auto World. Had I known that AMT had one of these in the works I'd have waited and not gone through all the effort to convert the Surf Shark back into an ambulance. Ah, well. I plan to use some of the ambulance features from this kit to finish off the Surf Shark conversion. Then I'll probably build this one as a hearse.

 

Thanks for taking the time to look and please feel free to comment.

David G.