Les Brazier Javelin Body
Works Adelaide
Les
Brazier could be regarded as the father of modern ambulances in
Les Brazier on the far Right at the hand over of one of the Javelin
modified Ford Transit Van Ambulances.
Standing in front of Les in the light grey suit is the Honourable Des
Corcoran the Premier of South Australia and to his right, in the grey suit is
the late Don Gellis of St.John. The
gentleman on the left is one of Javelin's craftsmen. This transit (Fleet number unknown) is one of
the later Ford Transits that had the larger air-conditioning units on the roof.
Javelins
tour-de–force was the “Twin-Life” Ambulance.
A concept that involved the use of a reusable fibreglass module that was
mounted on the Ford F-Series 5.8 Litre cab-chassis. The module was specially crafted as a fully
contained ambulance body mounted onto a standard F-Series Utility Body
(therefore retaining all of the factory standard mounting points and
hardware). The reusable “Twin-Life”
Ambulances were designed to provide much cheaper long-term operating costs than
a traditional custom-made permanently fitted ambulance body. The “Twin-Life” concept was so successful
that it won an Australian Design Award in 1984.
A famous photo taken in 1984 of Fleet 53, a Ford F-100 fitted with a
“Twin-Life” module proudly on display at Maugham Thiem Ford on
A “Twin-Life” module being fitted out at Javelin Auto Body Works. The cut-out to the cab is clearly
visible. The aluminium roll bars are
also visible in this Polaroid taken before the inner bulkhead storage cupboards
were finally glued and screwed into place.
There was much hand finishing involved that resulted in a high quality,
long-lived and well-finished unit. The
front mounted air-conditioning unit and the top mounted storage cupboards are
yet to have their doors and latches fitted.
The
only structural modification that was made to the standard Ford F-100 (and
later F-150 and F-250) cab-chassis was the fitting of a 300mm extension at the
back of he chassis rails. The extension
was engineered in such a way that it was certified to the same standards as the
design of the original Ford chassis rails.
The only further modification that was required by St.John was the
fitment of the Philips FM900R radio transmitters and repeater equipment inside
the new body.
The module from Fleet 165 is visible in the background with a new F-150
Cab-Chassis awaiting the mounting of the “Twin-Life” module. The newly added 300mm extension on the back
of the factory chassis is clearly visible in this shot. The Cabs were specially modified by having
the rear-window removed and a cut-out through which the crew could access the
newly mated rear module. When the units
were sold without the modules, the rear windows were refitted and the steel
panel below the window was carefully re-welded back so that they could be sold
as an F-Series utility. The
air-conditioning unit is clearly visible at the top of the cut-out of the Fleet
165 module as are the wiring looms that are trailing out and wrapped around one
of the side-lamps.
Les Brazier now operates Les Brazier
Special Vehicles at the same location.
His new company specialises the modification of special cars and vans
for people with movement impairment who need to be transported, or who need to
carry wheel chairs while they drive themselves.
While Les is no longer building ambulances he is still building vehicles
for people in need, and still serving the community of South Australia as he
always has since being an ambulance officer in the 1960s.