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About

This car started life as a chassis from Pontiac. It then went to the Superior facility and was outfitted as an ambulance. Where it went from there is not clear, but it is speculated that it did duty as an emergency vehicle in this region for a time before it was purchased by Langley Speedway, in BC, for their use, on-site. Langley Speedway was the last registered owner of the car.
If the ambulance was required, the patient was treated in the car. If the injuries required further attention, a regular service ambulance met the Pontiac at the gate and the person was transferred, freeing the Pontiac to return to the pits so the racing could continue. The car was not insured for travel on the road, as it was not necessary.
When Langley Speedway was closed to racing in 1984, the ambulance sat at the track for more than a year, as no one was certain who owned it. Finally, it was “rescued” before it might have been vandalized and was eventually donated to the drag strip in Ashcroft, BC, where it did the same type of duty as at Langley Speedway.
A group of people, interested in restoring old ambulances, traded the drag strip, a newer, van style ambulance, for the Pontiac. It was then taken to Mill Bay, BC, on Vancouver Island. One of our supporters knew that the Pontiac used to be in Ashcroft, so we started looking for it. The trail lead to the Island, where we purchased it and returned it to Langley.
Since then, I have replaced the driver’s compartment floors, retouched the dash, replaced the dash pad, fixed a few electrical and lighting issues, replaced the front valance and changed out the points distributor for an HEI unit. With the help of a friend, we also removed the engine so that we could replace the exhaust manifold gaskets and a few missing/broken bolts.
The engine runs very well, thanks in part to the rebuild it received before the track was shut down, and thanks to the carb rebuild that was done by Kershaw Performance.
There is still plenty of work to do to remove the several layers of paint that have been applied to the car over the years, as well as body work that needs doing, but the doors close solidly, the frame is solid, and the car drives straight down the road and stops well enough.
Thanks also goes to Arnie Schwab, who resprung and reupholstered the driver’s seat. Now I can see over the steering wheel and don’t have springs poking me in bad places!
It is certainly worth fixing up.
We will use it to highlight the Langley Speedway Heritage site, by driving it to car shows and in parades throughout this region.

History of this Vehicle

Plans for this Vehicle

Sponsors & Special Thanks

Bill Leverett, Terry Kershaw (Kershaw Performance), Lordco Auto Parts, Larry Draper, Arnie Schwab, Harold Hodgson, Larry Olson, me!