I don't know why I though old modified 'professional cars' were so cool when I was a kid. Maybe it was seeing the lowered '59 Caddy ambulance 'Ecto 1' in Ghostbusters, or the Harold and Maude Jaguar E Type Hearse. In later years they've gotten a bad ... <BR><BR>To read the rest of this blog entry from The Jalopy Journal, click here.
And the cool thing about, say, 1947-1952 Cadillac hearses and flower cars--and even ambulances, as I understand it--is that they came with the ultra-rare 16-inch sombreros, on account of having 16-inch wheels. (Cadillac experts, feel free to translate this into Cadillac-ese. Thankyew.)
I like these flower cars.They are very much like the Australian Utes.I especially like the Buick coupe and the LaSalle Roadster pickup.
Actually I think the Ambulance would be good as a camper for those over night runs to car shows but I would really love to get my hands on one of the flower cars the most ! I love the Ford Ranchero style or the UTE style cars because they can be used for hauling parts and other uses . In the end I would love to get my hands on most any of the 50's flower cars or people haulers ! Retro Jim
This funeral home in Mabelton GA used to have a mid-60's Cadillac hearse. Yellow with a black vinyl roof. I tried to buy the car for several years but the owner wasn't having none of it.
Having never seen Harold and Maude.. I had to look.. I wanna go in this Herse!!! http://imagehosting.rodsnsods.co.uk/744c75025a41d57.jpg
Somewhere around here I read : "Remember that your last ride is always in a station wagon" or something like that. That phrase made a mark on me LOL-
One of my favorites is this '41 Lincoln Zephyr ambulance displayed in ConceptCarz Website. It used to belong to a movie studio and in the 1980s a friend of mine bought it at a studio auction and drove it home!
I love the old pontiacs and buicks. My first car was a '71 cadillac hearse. Bought it for $600 and it lasted 6ooo miles. It's what really started my fascination with engines and style.
A good friend of mine in highschool had a La Salle hearse It was the coolest ride with a flat head . The sides around the viewing windows were sculpted metal to look like curtains. he drove the thing to school! It was a great party car. Mike
For my last ride, maybe next week, I told my wife to dump my ashes in one of the rusty old coffee cans half full of odd nuts and bolts in my garage. Then sit it on the opened tailgate of my 55 Chevy wagon and drive fast down one of Florida's east coast nude beaches, scattering my remains among neekid wimmin!
I used to work in a cemetery. The local funeral home had a powder blue 60 cad hearse- a REALLY cool one. Denny, the owner of the funeral home would stand next to me as the bodies were lowered into the hole. He'd look at me, wink, and say softly "I'll be the last guy to let you down"
I had a '51 Buick Superior in High School very similar to the one pictured. Had trouble getting girls to ride in it. LOL Great for hauling band gear though.
Somebody HAS to post pics of Bryan Fuller's 1960 Caddy... please! I could never get the proportions right in my head, but he did it for real.
I love people who drive these things. I've seen license plates on them that say "RM41MR" and "ILLGETU". I think I like the ambulences better for some reason, although alot double as both. My band teacher in the early '80s used a '72 Cad hearse to haul band equipment around. The red Zephyr above gets 3 thumbs up from me!
A friend of mine has a 38 or 39 Packard hears sitting in his yard. He has no clue what he wants to do with it. He just ended up with the thing from our old boss. This isn't the car, but just a picture of a much, much, much nicer-looking one.
Thanks for introducing me to the Thunder Taker. That is just way beyond cool. All long-roofs are sweet cars, even the "professional" ones.
You'll Get no arguments from me Jay.......been a life long fan and all your references ring true with me also......though i think my own 63 caddy coach is pretty sick I must admit the streamline style of the late 40's Buicks has me lusting for one......there's been one for sale in the classifieds for a while but its on the wrong coast......
http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/cto/2985461022.html found this today while cruizing around craigslist,looks pretty cool
http://www.usedvictoria.com/classified-ad/1953-Austin-FX3-TAXI_17343153 http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/rds/cto/2979575340.html Few cool options out there...
as anyone who knows me well would attest, the Ghostbusters '59 is what got me into cars at a very early age. I drew a very detailed version of it at age 3. LOVE hearses and ambulance. The only downside to the Ecto fame was that it purged the market of untouched examples.
I used to help the guy that made these Bier pins for this company... http://www.hearseparts.com/products.html It was a little weird.
These cars are all neat,but I really love the early 50's Caddy flower cars with stainless tonneau cover. Cat
You might like this one; Sorry I couldn't get a good overall photo, this was at a car show and other cars were in the way. David
I love the pro cars. Check out the books available on them for more eye porn. My only issue is that I'm a Mopar guy and those are even harder to find! Oh, and even harder to restore...
I love the old hearses/ambulances as modified cars, especially when used as band vehicles... In 1991 nothing was cooler than pulling up to the Chameleon Club in my '64 Galaxie 'vert and finding this parked outside: Sadly they sold it on breakup ($800 - WHY didn't I buy it???) but it apparently survives in a storage yard: