Heavy Utility - Ambulance

[RHClarke]

Originally Posted by Bruce Parker

HUA's were a standard HU variant produced in Canada on the GM assembly line. The parts book verifies this.

I found annotations indicating "for" or "not for use with ambulance body" in the spare parts listing. I did not draw the conclusion from my version (C8A-04 dated June 1945) that there was a standard HU variant produced in Canada.

Bruce, Where did you find this in the parts book?

[David_Hayward (RIP)]

The C8A bodies were unique in that they were built on the line at Oshawa, using bodies made by the 'Fisher' body plant there. These would have then been shipped to the UK and 'assembled' here. That would have meant fitting wheels and tyres on, etc. depending on the degree of packing.

As these were British contracts, the work would have been done by for example Pearsons of Liverpool.

[Bruce Parker (RIP)]

Originally Posted by RHClarke

I found annotations indicating "for" or "not for use with ambulance body" in the spare parts listing. I did not draw the conclusion from my version (C8A-04 dated June 1945) that there was a standard HU variant produced in Canada.

Bruce, Where did you find this in the parts book?

Rather inferred, wouldn't you agree? Why would a Canadian GM factory parts book make reference to parts used on a UK or 'after market' conversion? The heater assembly is quite detailed to be discussed if it was a conversion.

I recall (but am too lazy to check) that the introduction in the MBC1 and MBC2 manuals also talks about HUA versions. Why would they do this alongside HUP'a and HUW's in a 1942 factory pub?

Last, have a look at the HUP section in Bill Gregg's CMP profile series.

[RHClarke]

Originally Posted by Bruce Parker

Rather inferred, wouldn't you agree? Why would a Canadian GM factory parts book make reference to parts used on a UK or 'after market' conversion? The heater assembly is quite detailed to be discussed if it was a conversion.

I recall (but am too lazy to check) that the introduction in the MBC1 and MBC2 manuals also talks about HUA versions. Why would they do this alongside HUP'a and HUW's in a 1942 factory pub?

Last, have a look at the HUP section in Bill Gregg's CMP profile series.

Bruce,

I will check Gregg's CMP profile series as you suggested.

Update: The Factory Photos diskette put out by Service Publications does show a number of ambulance photos at the GM plant. This confirms that the entire truck was made in Oshawa. My confusion began with the word "body", which I now know refers to the entire truck. This now makes sense to me.

[Mark W. Tonner]

Originally Posted by RHClarke

This now makes sense to me.

. . . and the Lord said, “Let There Be Light,” so, Moses, being a good 2i/c, ordered three rounds of illumination . . .