F. H. McClintock of Lansing, Michigan was a new-car dealer that advertised in funeral service trade journals starting in the in 1930s, claiming itself to be the largest dealer of 7-passenger sedans in the country, and later, the world. A 1951 ad pictures their first conversion, a 1925 Buick 7-passenger "Sedambulance".

In the 1930's, there was a conversion offered for sedans to transform them into sedan ambulances called the NuSystem conversion. It was the typical type of sedan ambulance conversion, and NuSystem listed about 25 authorized firms located around North America that were authorized to convert cars using that process. Ironically, about the time that NuSystem ads stopped running, McClintock began advertising its Sedambulance conversions. Previously, its ads listed cars in its inventory, and some were described as "cutovers," meaning that they were already converted for use as sedan ambulances.

Like the NuSystem conversions, McClintock's Sedambulance featured a removable doorpost that could be fastened so that it served as a normal B-pillar or could be attached to the rear door when it swung open, allowing easy access to the passenger side of the coach.

McClintock's Sedambulances were advertised heavily for several years, and after the war, McClintock found new popularity for its conversions because of Chrysler's line of 7-passenger sedans. After the war, the market for 7-passenger sedans had virtually dried up, aside from business uses such as funeral home family cars and such. Chrysler used to push those cars on its reluctant dealers, and having them converted to sedan ambulances made them easier to sell in many cases.

Their sedan-ambulance conversions continued into the 1960s and one 1962 McClintock-Chrysler is known to exist, however it's a dedicated side-loading ambulance, and can't be converted into a sedan/limousine. It was built from a 1962 Chrysler New Yorker and featured a stretched wheelbase with a rear-hinged suicide style rear door installed on the passenger side.  Five McClintock Sedambulances are know to exist, the 1962 Chrysler detailed above, a 1951 DeSoto, 2 1952 DeSotos and a 1953 Chrysler New Yorker.

William J. McClintock, the son of F. H. McClintock, took over his father's Cadillac dealership after attending the General Motor Institute and working for Cadillac in the mid 1950s. McClintock Cadillac closed in 1982 and William moved to Kalamazoo, Michigan as general manager/partner in Kazoo Motors,  another GM dealership until 1985. In 1989 he started Thrifty Car Rental of Kalamazoo where he remained until retiring in 1993.

© 2004 Mark Theobald - Coachbuilt.com, with special thanks to Bernie DeWinter IV.

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