Disabled-accessible Hot-rod or "Sled"! ( ? )

[Butchie]

Hello amigo's & amiga's !  -

My name is Butchie Olmstead. . .  up here in the "high-desert" of Littlerock, CA!

I'm PARticularly earnest about finding a good ride in the hot-rod/lead-sled catagory that can accomodate a few of my special needs.  I'm a T-4 ( chest down ) paraplegic via combat/ service-connected injuries while with the 11th Cav in Vietnam in 1967  that have necessitated wheelchair use.

I currently own a 1996 Chevy S-10 extended-cab.  It is the extension; and primarily the presence of the rear-hinged 3rd door on the driver-side that makes this truck useable to me!!  Without that extension and 3rd door; there would be no way for me to use the truck...  as there would be nowhere to haul in the collapsed wheelchair after me!  What I do is slide myself in...  collapse the chair; and then pull it in behind me into that extended space.  A perfect set-up for me!!

Now...  unfortunately Chevy S-10's are no longer coming with that 3rd suicide door option!!  Only the Colorado has the 3rd door now...  and I really dont like the way they look...  plus they have one of those new 4 or 5 cylinder engines.  V-6's are weak enough...  but would'nt want less! Worse yet...  it aint an early model hot-rod!!

In any case...  have been longing for many, many ( too many!! ) years to have myself a little hot-rod or sled  head-turner...  and just about EVERYthing is out of reach for me in terms of accessibility.  Money can be an issue by itself...  but heck man...  I'd pretty much be willing to sell a kidney!!  In any case...  the later can be managed one way or other...  but "accessible" vehicles are where most of the bigger roadblocks or dead-ends are for me.   ( My heart started pounding when I saw my first Chevy SSR! . . .   but alas. . .  tho' I could get in it-  there'd be no place for me to put the chair in after me!! )

ANYhow. . .  if I'm not mistaken-  the old ( 49-51 ) Merc sedans had "suicide" rear-hinged back doors right?  I'd envisioned how smooth that would be- and how easy that could make it to pull a wheelchair in after me!  Had even wondered what the possibilites were of actually fabricating a special rear-hinged "3rd door" on a Merc coup!?

ANYhow...  if any of you good folks hear of a good deal on a 49 to 51 Merc...  or know of other ideas on how I could get these hurdles jumped it would surely be appreciated!!   And hey!. . .  if any of you dig oldies tunes or Rockabilly  check out my net-radio show sometime when you have the time!! ( www.rockitradio.net )  I'm the old gringo and R&B vocal harmony group specialist on Rock-it Radio...  but we have other cats who play solid Rockabilly too!!  ( we only "do" the first decade of Rock!! )

        Lord hug you all tight...                    -  Butchie

[Leon]

There's a guy that's from somewhere around San Bernardino - Victorville area that took a DeSoto limo and added a chair ramp, electric actuators for the rear door, etc. to make a wheelchair accessable rod.  His name is Jerry and is well known in that area.  I'm sure he could give you some ideas.  I know he goes to the cruise night at Toms Burgers on Bear Valley Road I think on Wednesday nights.

[Butchie]

Thanks man!  Yeah...  with me tho', I'd like to have to deal as little as possible with lots of extra junk and gizmo's that are usually called for when you start talking ramps and such!  Used to own a van with all that stuff...  and it was just more junk to break or go wrong. Seemed I was forever fixing something! My S-10 has TWO things! The hand-controls ( simple )- and a steel hand grip where the factory one was on the inside drivers side roof ( for me to grab hold of when I pull myself in )!!

If you know any rodders in mine, or the Southern Cal. area who might have ears to the rail for such as older Mercs or shoebox Fords ( 49-51 ) do let me know amigo!!    -  Butchie

There's a guy that's from somewhere around San Bernardino - Victorville area that took a DeSoto limo and added a chair ramp, electric actuators for the rear door, etc. to make a wheelchair accessable rod.  His name is Jerry and is well known in that area.  I'm sure he could give you some ideas.  I know he goes to the cruise night at Toms Burgers on Bear Valley Road I think on Wednesday nights.

[purplepickup]

First of all welcome to the RRT.

When I read your post my first thought was that an early panel truck or suburban type truck would be good because you could install a lift in the side door.  I know there's some out there so I did a search to see if I could find some for sale.  It's usually cheaper to buy something already close to the way you want it than it is to build it.  In the search I ran across this page which shows what you already know......you definitely aren't limited to a lift.  http://www.newmobility.com/review_article.cfm?id=310&action=browse

I knew a paraplegic named Fred that was on another forum, who has passed away now, that had a '26 track T roadster that had a rack on the back to hold his chair.   Here's a picture.


*edit*  You posted your last post about the same time I did and I see you'd really like a shoebox or merc.  I hope you can find one you like.  Posting at places like here will definitely help.

[Ohio Blue Tip]

Hello amigo's & amiga's !  -

My name is Butchie Olmstead. . .  up here in the "high-desert" of Littlerock, CA!

I'm PARticularly earnest about finding a good ride in the hot-rod/lead-sled catagory that can accomodate a few of my special needs.  I'm a T-4 ( chest down ) paraplegic via combat/ service-connected injuries while with the 11th Cav in Vietnam in 1967  that have necessitated wheelchair use.

I currently own a 1996 Chevy S-10 extended-cab.  It is the extension; and primarily the presence of the rear-hinged 3rd door on the driver-side that makes this truck useable to me!!  Without that extension and 3rd door; there would be no way for me to use the truck...  as there would be nowhere to haul in the collapsed wheelchair after me!  What I do is slide myself in...  collapse the chair; and then pull it in behind me into that extended space.  A perfect set-up for me!!

Now...  unfortunately Chevy S-10's are no longer coming with that 3rd suicide door option!!  Only the Colorado has the 3rd door now...  and I really dont like the way they look...  plus they have one of those new 4 or 5 cylinder engines.  V-6's are weak enough...  but would'nt want less! Worse yet...  it aint an early model hot-rod!!

In any case...  have been longing for many, many ( too many!! ) years to have myself a little hot-rod or sled  head-turner...  and just about EVERYthing is out of reach for me in terms of accessibility.  Money can be an issue by itself...  but heck man...  I'd pretty much be willing to sell a kidney!!  In any case...  the later can be managed one way or other...  but "accessible" vehicles are where most of the bigger roadblocks or dead-ends are for me.   ( My heart started pounding when I saw my first Chevy SSR! . . .   but alas. . .  tho' I could get in it-  there'd be no place for me to put the chair in after me!! )

ANYhow. . .  if I'm not mistaken-  the old ( 49-51 ) Merc sedans had "suicide" rear-hinged back doors right?  I'd envisioned how smooth that would be- and how easy that could make it to pull a wheelchair in after me!  Had even wondered what the possibilites were of actually fabricating a special rear-hinged "3rd door" on a Merc coup!?

ANYhow...  if any of you good folks hear of a good deal on a 49 to 51 Merc...  or know of other ideas on how I could get these hurdles jumped it would surely be appreciated!!   And hey!. . .  if any of you dig oldies tunes or Rockabilly  check out my net-radio show sometime when you have the time!! ( www.rockitradio.net )  I'm the old gringo and R&B vocal harmony group specialist on Rock-it Radio...  but we have other cats who play solid Rockabilly too!!  ( we only "do" the first decade of Rock!! )

        Lord hug you all tight...                    -  Butchie

There are some extended cab 32 to 34 Ford pick-up cabs available in glass and a third door could be fabricated.  I have also seen steel pick-ups stretched and a third door could be added.  
How about a roadster pick-up and swing the chair into the box?  There's a lot of talent out there so I think a slick ride could be put together for your needs.

[Dennis the Menace]

There's a guy that's from somewhere around San Bernardino - Victorville area that took a DeSoto limo and added a chair ramp, electric actuators for the rear door, etc. to make a wheelchair accessable rod.  His name is Jerry and is well known in that area.  I'm sure he could give you some ideas.  I know he goes to the cruise night at Toms Burgers on Bear Valley Road I think on Wednesday nights.

[/quote]

His name is Jerry, He is the President of the Hi Desert Car Club Council here is a photo of his car.[/img]

[Dennis the Menace]

There's a guy that's from somewhere around San Bernardino - Victorville area that took a DeSoto limo and added a chair ramp, electric actuators for the rear door, etc. to make a wheelchair accessable rod.  His name is Jerry and is well known in that area.  I'm sure he could give you some ideas.  I know he goes to the cruise night at Toms Burgers on Bear Valley Road I think on Wednesday nights.

[/quote]

His name is Jerry, He is the President of the Hi Desert Car Club Council here is a photo of his car.[/img]

[58 Yeoman]

I know you said you were looking for a rod, but if worst comes to worst, and you decide on another pickup, Ford Rangers had the suicide rear doors in 99.  I know...a long stretch from a street rod.

[phat46]

I once saw a 49-51 Merc fourdoor that was sledded (?) They welded the passengers side rear door shut and smoothed it but left the drivers side rear door there. (suicide) No one even noticed the extra door till they opened it, then we aere all amazed. It is possible.
We have a local hot rod family, a dad and three sons all having nice rides. The dad has a 32 Ford P.U. that's as low as any and he drives it with hand controls, as he has for the last 40 years. I remember this truck from my youth and it was only a few years ago i got to know the sons, that's when i found out the '32 was all hand controls. In this case though the dad can move around with arm brace type crutches, as he had polio as a child. You should be able to buy or have built something to accomadate your chair, Good luck!

[GPster]

Let me think about this for awhile. I am of the TBI crowd (tramatic brain injury and I have 10 years of planing things that maybe I could drive until I finally grew up enough to drive a real car (truck). Along the sled line I think Lincolns up to the mid '60s had suicide rear doors. Maybe if you had air suspension on it you could lower the drivers side to the ground by remote. Because you're using hand controls would it be better to be able to adjust the level of the seat to the same level as the seat of your chair to get in and out? Would you collapse your chair to stow it? My thinking is with air suspension you might have a level for you to get in and then lower it to get the chair in. Maybe it might help to think in the terms of a front wheel drive so you wouldn't have to deal with floor tunnel in the back floor to mess up bringing the chair in. Some other things would be a vehicle with one hell of a frame or unibody structure because I foresee four-door hardtop that doos on the driver's side latch together rather than having a post in between them. You wouldn't want it to bend-in-half in the middle when the doors are opened. I also say a Chopped top might be hard because I would see the distance from the seat of your chair to the top of your head could not be sacrificed to much for all the work you need to do to get in or out. Now for a street rod type vehicle Think about a model that might be like a '30s Morgan Plus 3 Start putting these pieces together. Late '60s or newer motor with un-leaded capability, power steering, front wheel drive, automatic transmission, power brakes, power windows etc. Do some checking around and see if you can score a copy of Monster Garage where they made an SUV that had a ramp in the back for wheelchair access. Maybe a herse could do you like that with their high roof. I think you need to have a lot of ideas for yourself because each disability is best understood by the person that has it and a lot of the ideas of professionals might be of something they saw work for someone else. This forum has a lot of knowlege and can/will make suggestions but you will have to weed them out. Keep your mind open but keep your mind open. GPster

[SKR8PN]

Butchie,welcome to the RRT!
I have done a few hand control setups for folks in the past,and am wondering if maybe you could drive the vehicle from your chair,instead of stowing it? Is that an option where you live? I have seen a Panel Delivery setup with the rear door as a ramp to get in,and special locks in the floor to hold your chair in the driving position. Something to think about......

[unklian]

That's what they did on Monster Garage.
They had a specialized bracket that held the chair in position.

[1FATGMC]

Welcome to RRT.

Sounds like you are getting some good advice.  I have a '38/'39 ford pickup that I'm going to stretch the cab on, so like one of the other posts mentioned that is an option.

I have the following Desoto Limo that is probably available if you did decide to go to something like that.

   

   

   

Not as pretty at this stage as the one in the other post, but it is probably  a lot less expensive   .

Well good luck with your venture and keep us posted on what you end up doing.

c ya, Sum

[58 Yeoman]

That DeSoto would make a cool rod (I always go for the oddball cars), and with all that room in the back, you wouldn't even have to fold up your wheelchair.

[GPster]

Another thought. Think of a sled body that you would like. Maybe one that has a lot of similarity between 2 dr. and 4 dr. Get the 4 dr. version of itand put on a 2 dr. drivers door. Shorten the driver's side back door to fit the space that is left over after the 2 dr. driver's door is installed. Take the smaller/lighter re-manufactured door and build suicide hinges for it and fix the two doors on that side to latch to one another not to a pillar. GPster