Had meny hearses, This one came up with rusty fraim, rockers and no floor. But when the guy wanted to sell it for $400.00 I jumped on it. I just wanted to park it in my yard. I just think it look's fucking COOL ! Also, The 331 with 41k and a 3-speed was a pluss.
I think this thread got interesting when some of the PCS folks were referred to as "dicks." I've been a PCS member for almost twenty years. I am not "one of those dicks." I have made some life-long friends from that group, just as I have in the hot rod culture. Most PCS folks are as passionate for classic hearses, limos, ambulances and flower cars as most on this board are passionate about 'traditional' rods & customs. Perhaps the PCS members who have pissed off some of you should be cut some slack. The professional cars were NEVER mass produced, even Superior only made about 1,000 cars in there best year. There just aren't that many left, unlike Model A's--about 1MILLION produced! If you want a hotrod hearse, build one. Its none of my business. But try to understand if a PCS member tries to persuade you to do otherwise--they are trying to save some RARE cars. There is another thread here concerning a Dusenburg. Would you call Dusey people 'dicks' for trying to save a rare, albiet extremely valuable car? Maybe I haven't used a direct comparison, but consider my point.
Al, I have no probs with the folks that are passionate about their procars. I am a firm believer in the fact that most of the PCS "traditionalists," to borrow a term, are very important to the history and enjoyment of professional cars and coaches. What I do disagree with is turning one's back, closing them out, being assholes(yes, you know some of them, they do it) and being generally caustic to someone that either doesn't want to have a bone stock procar or cannot afford to restore one, and gears to personalize their coach. I know you know many of those types of folks, as do I. I believe it creates division(as exemplified in this topic) as opposed to some type of unity. I'm not saying we all need to gather round the fire, sing Kumbaya, and suck each other's dicks. I am saying we should all be unified in some type of way - maybe along the lines of the "gold chainers" and the hipster crowd, kind of unity. There is definite criticism of each other but when it comes down to it, most of us thank each other for enjoying old iron and believe all of us are relevant to keep the hobby/lifestyle/addiction alive. You have to admit, there are a ton of dicks in the PCS that would rather have a car turn to tetanus or worse, go to the fucking crusher, before they would have some kid that wants to turn their procar into a rolling stereo, because of their "passion." To me(key words), that's sad and pathetic. Id rather see a hundred billet fagmobiles roll down the highway, before even wishing one single procar(or any old car, really) go to the crusher or rot in some field, because of some-one's "passion." And just so you know: When I say many, I mean many and not all. There are some great folks in the PCS.
Wow,glad it's only $3 a gallon here,and you only suck down gas like it's going out of style if you're one of those idiots who has to leadfoot it at every stop sign and light..And paying $10k to chrome bumoers and shit??Wow,someone's been ripping you off...
I'll vouch that not all members of PCS are dicks also,and I'm also a former member of Phantom Coaches...Hell,how do you think I kept the '77 Superior running with ease until I traded it??
I competely agree. Something people miss out on is - one way or there other - these cars need to survive. If someone paints their car like an easter egg and chromes the bottom, it may not be my taste but at least that is one 3 window 32 coupe that will survive. Same with hearses...a lot of people complain about how these things are restored..but my gal and I have been posting links wherever and whenever we can to save these things from the crusher. A buddy of mine saved a 51 Packard hearse only moments before it went to the crusher...which I later bought. Like JohhnyFord Said, this stuff is not replaceable... I bought hearses that most people considered "unsaveable" but live they do... Once these cars are gone - it is forever! Don't count on someone recreating these old cars...they have nowhere near the popularity of a '32 3 window so the aftermarket is prolly centuries away (def. a 1% hobby). And as far as restorations go...who says you need to spend 10k on chrome? Damn..paint that shit silver, but fkn save the car! You can rechrome everything 30 years from now...or once piece a year..whatever! It will surprise you how damn kewl these things look with a 50 dollar paintjob and painted bumpers... And in the process, you are saving that car from becoming 10,000 sets of fkn spoons to be sold at Wal Mart! Just make it driveable and do the best you can with the body work for now! Afraid of rust? You shouldn't be...the surface stuff scrapes right off... Paint over it with POR 15 or Silver Bullet and it won't rust anymore while you are able to walk. And you can learn to patch panels..or save it for 1 section at a time (same as chroming if need be). I replaced the entire damn floor on my 59 Suerior Landau and now people won't stop making offers for it. The floor will last me my lifetime and now it doesn't seem so bad anymore... And where did i get it? Out of a field where it had been sitting since the early 70s. This car survived on its own, out in the elements, in hopes someone someday would save it and breathe life into it, a little at a time. The point is, don't worry about what it will cost to do a concourse level restoration... Is that the only kind of car you would drive? Screw that! Just Make it into something driveable, roadworth, and safe... and you will enjoy the hell out of it! My hearses are pretty fkn far from Concourse but they are the funnest and coolest things in my town. Just keep the damn thing on the road! It will still be waaaay cool and it can be a driveable and working project. No one restored any of these in only a few days so that shouldnt be your goal. First work on getting it running, work out the safety issues (brakes, etc) and then shine up that stainless with your own elbow grease and a buffer and PAINT over the rest of the chrome if you cant stand the way it looks now..but don't think you need to spend 10k on chrome in the next 3 weeks. And for the few snobby PCS guys ( not all of them are..lots are damn cool)...this car is still being preserved for future generations. Don't like the way it looks now? You don't have to...the car will live to be restored to your concourse specifications perhaps by the current owners grandkids maybe...if they feel the need to..or you can try to buy it from them once you realize that there are fewer and fewer of them out there...but the point it is -IT WILL LIVE!
Go for it! You just can't go wrong with a caddy hearse. I was looking for one a long time ago but no success. 2,500 isn't that bad, well, I guess if you have 2,500
Well I just contacted him to put my money where mouth was and he already sold it... I hope the new owner at least stores it inside if he doesn't restore it.
I'm new here and want to reactivate this thread. How about it? Any news on the Hearse or the Flower car? I saw a hearse like this on Craigslist Charlotte and it was full of weeds and brnaches, sunk half way up the hubcaps in mud. I wonder if this is that car cleaned up and hauled out of the weeds. Wish I could have got a hold of it myself but by the time I found the listing it was bought and paid for. I'm looking for a 57-62 Cadillac or Pontiac hearse project. Anybody have one in the South East for sale? I have a 1958 Caddy extended deck and would love to get the "Wagon" version if I can find one.
flower car show above is for sale, and it comes with another series 75 limo for parts. PM me if interested. Dave in SoCal
Something that should probably be said to anyone attempting the professional car bit. These cars are NOT, in many ways, related to the production automobiles aft of the cowl. What the coachbuilder got from Cadillac was a frame with doghouse and a few boxes of bits. All else is fabricated by the coachbuilder. What does this mean in real life terms?? The front fenders you can get from a parts car. Most of the front trim is the same. None of the rear is the same, at all. If you do manage a hearse parts car, nothing from that car will fit your car unless it is of the exact same manufacturer. Even the seats are typically different. Where did all this come from?? Well, the GM parts bin, for a lot of it. Trouble is figuring out which parts bin. My '69 Superior had what looked to be a Biscayne seat, truck vent windows, an extremely heavy-duty scissor jack, still in the GM box (sorry, while I still have the jack, the box is history, along with the part number), Nova armrests, corporate window cranks, etc, etc. The rest of it came from Superior, who, being the largest builder, had a ready inventory of hardware that was used for decades, in some cases. So some of that won't be hard to find. Some of it is just Ace Hardware store fittings, like for the cabinets. The underbody (floors, door inners, etc.) looked like Superior invested in a big sheetmetal brake - and nothing else. No curves, compound bends or anything that could not be made on a brake. So that wouldn't be hard, either. I believe the rear fenders were made by GM, but in an unfinished front edge variety. And the trim was different than the production cars, if only slghtly. For instance, my '69 had a cast trim piece on the rear doors that does not exist on any production car, not even in stainless. It also had a stainless cap piece on the fender that wasn't on GM cars. This stuff won't be easy, esp. if it's missing. The frame on professional cars is different than production, further rear, more different. Mine had a leaf spring rear, with a 3/4 ton axle. Said axle had four bearings (two per side), was larger in all ways (including width), and used different brakes. Front used different brakes, too. Different from even the Series 75, IIRC. Even the wheels are different. Larger gauge metal, riveted instead of welded, and grey in colour. Great for upgrading production Cadillacs, though!! They ARE stiffer, and you CAN feel it. None of this will be easy, cheap, or available. Though it will be the same on all commercial chassis. As others have said, the PCS members constitute the main sales target. If you modify the interior or exterior, the car will become yours, literally. You will narrow your market to 3 people who have the same (odd) taste. And you will find that the money these 3 people have for a car, added together, wouldn't be a decent insult to the scrap value of the car. This is meant not to dissuade, but to educate. Cosmo
I have posted a thread that received not much response ... I'm sure the hearse is not all that popular here, but I thought I would bring it up again with you guys. We, as in Still Runnin Magazine are looking for hearses for our fall issue to do a spooky kind of feature. So if you have or know of someone that has a hearse and or spooky photos, and or stories to go with their ride, we would like to hear from them. Thanks for any help with this. The feature could really turn out to be a lot of fun. Lea
Yeah, so is this one. Sure would love to own that flower car. Is it still around? Anybody done anything with it?
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