Aaronw Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 (edited) In the early 1970s the Hurst company, better known for its racing products introduced a hydraulic rescue tool which became known as the "jaws of life". That product has become well known today. Less well known was their effort to market a rescue vehicle based on the AMC Gremlin. The Hurst Rescue Systems 1, combined an AMC Gremlin with a Hurst Rescue tool (power head and spreaders), medical and firefighting equipment including a 25 gallon tank of water and foam concentrate. In 1973 an HRS1 sold for $11,000, a new Gremlin sold for about $1900 so most of this cost was the equipment. Why they chose a Gremlin? We may never know, but as it makes for an interesting model I'm glad they did. Less than a dozen are known to have been sold, and only one is known to exist today. The remaining example is a 1973 model still owned by a fire department in Georgia which bought it new. There is not a lot known about these vehicles, most of the info being based on an article on the sole survivor. There are a few ads showing the car and the basic equipment. I'm starting with an AMT (MPC?) 1975 Gremlin kit. The real HRS1s were offered from 1972-1974, so I'll be taking a few liberties. I have not been able to find any good quality photos showing the interior layout, so I'll be relying on my best guess. I've got the body taped off and painted. Edited March 13, 2016 by Aaronw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrumpyGrowly Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 Cool Idea, great start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disabled modeler Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 Cool idea....kind of reminds me of the police cars from Mad Max movie some other than its for rescue or fires. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gatorincebu Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 Aaron, That is a cool project ! I never knew Hurst did the Gremlin . Be Well Gator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveG Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 Great project Aaron !! When I originally heard that the 75 Gremlin was being reissued the "Hurst Rescue Gremlin" was the first thing I thought of but it never got past the idea stage for me. I'm sure glad your doing it !!-Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jantrix Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 Wow. What a great project. I've never heard of these. Looking forward to seeing this come together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclescott58 Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 I've known about these cars. But, I do not know any more than you have all ready posted. This should turn out to be a very interesting model. I look forward to see your future posts on this build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikemodeler Posted March 15, 2016 Share Posted March 15, 2016 Interesting project, nice start and looking forward to seeing it done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim B Posted March 15, 2016 Share Posted March 15, 2016 That's an interesting concept. Since they were only made from 1972-74 I'm guessing that they weren't very popular. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danno Posted March 15, 2016 Share Posted March 15, 2016 Outstanding project, Aaron!!I'll be following this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slusher Posted March 15, 2016 Share Posted March 15, 2016 Unique subject and very interesting... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyjim Posted March 15, 2016 Share Posted March 15, 2016 That ought to be a cool build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobraman Posted March 15, 2016 Share Posted March 15, 2016 Did not know about these things. What an unusual and unique project. I love stuff that's different and this sure fits the bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikemopar70 Posted March 16, 2016 Share Posted March 16, 2016 I like it!For sure it looks different from other emergency vehicles!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DumpyDan Posted March 16, 2016 Share Posted March 16, 2016 Well done, can't wait to see how this one turn out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaronw Posted March 16, 2016 Author Share Posted March 16, 2016 That's an interesting concept. Since they were only made from 1972-74 I'm guessing that they weren't very popular. I've read that they were really targeted at race tracks in the beginning, but the utility of the tools found a ready market in the fire and rescue service. I suspect the recue Gremlins may have been more of a marketing ploy to gain some visibility for the tools and by 1975 interested parties were well aware of them and ordering vehicles that were more capable. The Gremlin is an odd choice being so small, I'm just getting started on the interior and I'm already having a hard time finding room for stuff. Even one of AMCs small Hornet based wagons would have offered considerably more room for gear. Emergency! came out in 1972 and LA County a major fire department on the cutting edge was still using Portapower a hand powered hydraulic tool. I have a book covering the history of the show and it says that in 1973 Hurst donated a "jaws" set to the fire department in exchange for featuring the tool in some episodes of the show for publicity (the producers of the show wouldn't use anything in the show that the fire department didn't actually use). I imagine once they got that kind of exposure sales took off although they were still expensive. A set ran $7,000 in 1973 which is about $40,000 in 2016, based on an online inflation calculator. That implausibility of the thing is one of the aspects that attracted me to this. It really makes you go "Why?!!!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shardik Posted March 16, 2016 Share Posted March 16, 2016 Did not know about these things. What an unusual and unique project. I love stuff that's different and this sure fits the bill. My thoughts exactly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaronw Posted March 17, 2016 Author Share Posted March 17, 2016 (edited) Got some interior work done. I cobbled together a spreader, fire extinguisher and a resuscitator case from styrene and some bits of wire. None of this will be very visible once it is buttoned up so I wasn't too concerned with getting things too far into the details, just want to give the impression of stuff in the back. I boxed in the floor behind the seat to provide a flat surface, I think I'll also be calling that the water / foam tank. With as small as the car is it makes sense that they would utilize the space as well as possible. I'm guessing probably some sort of compressed air system rather than a mechanical pump. Close up of the spreader unit. Based on the one photo I've found it appears the mount tips back onto the deck to allow "easy" removal. These early spreader units weighed around 100lbs so there wasn't much easy about them. Cartridge type dry chemical extinguisher and resuscitator case. Edited March 17, 2016 by Aaronw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c-plane362 Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 I have the jaws of life that I got from American Industrial Truck Models Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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