1953 Pontiac Class C

Video of launch:
boat-van conversion - YouTube

Something like that. My idea was on a much smaller scale. I wonder how the pictured rig gets the traction to ramp that big boat. Except ideal conditions at a show maybe. If that 4x4 front axle's limited slip...

j-d wrote:
That second Caddy (a '55?) looks like it could have been the first Lazy Daze.

I always wanted to build a single-unit boat transporter. Front of a Toronado, rear of a boat trailer.

Something like this?



I think that Trailer Life or another boating magazine did a review of one of these Ford powered F-350 vans. It was converted with a 4X4 front axle, and is front wheel drive only. IT has something like 150 cubic feet of storage between the nose of the boat and van body.

Yes you could use a FWD Toranado or ElDorado. However the cab would be pretty low, and the front axle weight rating is not all that high. The 5,000 pound rating of a E-350 with a solid front 4X4 axle from a F-350 is used.

Fred.

That second Caddy (a '55?) looks like it could have been the first Lazy Daze.

I always wanted to build a single-unit boat transporter. Front of a Toronado, rear of a boat trailer.

You could call it a class C, but the RVIA and its classifications and certifications did not yet exist.

The Fleetwood Body long chassis for ambulances, hearses and limousines was also popular for these small motorhomes. This was the "long" chassis shared by Cadillac sedans, Olds 98, top two lines of Buick, and one line of Pontiac.

At funeral homes (which provided most of the ambulance service in that era, with little incentive to get you to the ER on time) the preferred nameplate, at least in SE Michigan, was Cadillac. Specialty ambulance services seemed to like the Pontiac, as it was the least ostentatious marque one could obtain, since Chevrolet did not build on the long wheelbase Fisher Body platform.

A couple more..

Straight Eight about Four Feet Long...

That rig is beyond cool. :C :C :C