"IRONSIDE" 1940 FORD PADDY WAGON - Did they really do that??

[Symphonicprelude]

Did anyone notice the vehicle has no windshield wipers.

[ironsidefan]

(continued from previous post) on the elevated set, but in addition eliminated the need for him to duck when passing through the rear doorway during operation of the custom wheelchair lift. The vehicle was manufactured with outboard dualie wheels which Universal, prior to filming the pilot made-for-television motion picture had apparently removed for cosmetic reasons. However, in order to give the now heavier unit more stability, those wheels were then reinstalled.

[ironsidefan]

(continued from previous post) be done to the rear double doorway, the double doors themselves, their respective windows, and the pass-through opening with it's sliding panel located in the bulkhead wall that divided the converted prisoner area from the driver/passenger area up front. For continuity, those concurrent alterations were applied to the set as well. Those changes to the vehicle were done to not only afford Mr. Burr the same headroom in the actual vehicle as he had always enjoyed o

[ironsidefan]

Continued from previous post) hours of filming less confining for Mr. Burr, the set had been intentionally designed and constructed with a ceiling which was positioned about a foot higher up from the floor than the actual one was in the vehicle. During the series' 1968 summer hiatus, very cleverly concealed major body work was performed on the "hero" vehicle which increased the height of its roof to exactly parallel the height of the set's ceiling. Concurrently, this required that the same b

[ironsidefan]

(continued from previous post) converted prisoner area of that van. It had what are called "flying" (i. e. removable) walls and ceiling which allowed for various integral camera, and lighting set ups which because of the cumbersome size and weight of the then current state of available 35 mm industry camera hardware could not otherwise physically be obtained within that portion of the actual vehicle. All filming on the set required the deployment of an elevated camera crane. To make the long

[ironsidefan]

Please accept my apologies for the repeats of the last segment of my post--unfortunately, as can be expected--it's just another chronic manifestation of Google's horrendously deficient, and completely unreliable maintenance and lack of upgrade improvements to YouTube's server system!

(continued from previous post) incorporated into what became the "hero" unit selected from among the three, an elevated set was also budgeted for and constructed which very closely replicated the actual converted

[ironsidefan]

(continued fromprevious post) actual municipal police paddywagons.

A tidbit of technical information: 1940 and 1941 Ford 1 1/2 ton vans were, apart from a few very minor cosmetic chrome trim details, virtually identical. Two principle examples of the several ways Ford contracted with outside custom shops to have the then new units configured for fleet customers were as mail delivery vehicles, and police paddywagons.

In addition to the alterations Universal's special effects shop incorpo

[ironsidefan]

(continued from previous post) actual municipal police paddywagons.

A tidbit of technical information: 1940 and 1941 Ford 1 1/2 ton vans were, apart from a few very minor cosmetic chrome trim details, virtually identical. Two principle examples of the several ways Ford contracted with outside custom shops to have the then new units configured for fleet customers were as mail delivery vehicles, and police paddywagons.

In addition to the alterations Universal's special effects shop incorp

[ironsidefan]

(continued from previous post) actual municipal police paddywagons.

A tidbit of technical information: 1940 and 1941 Ford 1 1/2 ton vans were, apart from a few very minor cosmetic chrome trim details, virtually identical. Two principle examples of the several ways Ford contracted with outside custom shops to have the then new units configured for fleet customers were as mail delivery vehicles, and police paddywagons.

In addition to the alterations Universal's special effects shop incorp

[ironsidefan]

The Paddywagon was indeed depicted by what initially were before any custom alterations, at least three identical 1940 1 1/2 ton Ford Vans Raymond Burr's Harbour Productions Unlimited and Universal Studios jointly procured for use in the Ironside made-for-television motion picture pilot and then deployed where needed throughout the ensuing series' various first and second season episodes. Interestingly enough, each of the units had originally been ordered new in 1940, configured to serve as ac

[88chevy350v8]

lol in some pics its a dully ans in some its single wheel

[ViceFan]

However, it is rumored that the old "Parts" Paddy Wagon (see my other posts) was the one destroyed on camera...therefore leaving one wondering what happened to the other "main" one used?? Perhaps even though they didn't drive it over a cliff like the other...Burr still had them destroy the "main" one anyway?? No one really knows...it's one of those delightful little TV mysteries that we may never know the answer to, and the only one who could answer it...is Ironside!

[ViceFan]

On the show Ironside loved his old Paddy Wagon...in reality Raymond Burr hated the thing! The main reason he constantly complained about it and wanted producers to get rid of it was because the special back end was not really tall enough to hydrolic Ironside out the back then lower him to the ground...therefore Burr was always hitting his head. Eventually Burr got his way and towards the end of 3rd season the Paddy was destroyed and a new beige Ford Van was implemented. SEE NEXT MESSAGE.

[ViceFan]

There were at least 2-3 old Paddy Wagons used in the "Ironside" series. There was the original "Black Maria" used in the Pilot TV Movie, then there were possibly 2 used in the first 3 seasons of the show. The "main" one used through most of the first 3 seasons is the one we see the most...but there is rumored to be another one called the "Parts" one...slightly different than the other "main" one. SEE NEXT MESSAGE.