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Elite Veteran
Posts: 836
Location: Layton, Utah | It's probably been brought up here before, but what do people know or have relating to any Hearses out there? I have always wanted a 57-60 Chrysler or DeSoto Hearse (prefer DeSoto). I have seen a couple Chrysler Hearse pics when they were new, but what is out there now ? Ambulances are OK but hearses are much cooler. I'm not morbid it's just that you don't EVER see them. To find one that has been stored in an old mortuary somewhere in awesome shape would be the best. |
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Location: Parts Unknown | Professional cars do not survive the secondary market very well and most got scrapped, but occasionally
one pops up where some old codge sat on it. I have seen far more Chrysler based professional cars than
DeSotos. Tim Fxgan parted out a 58 Adventurer flower car back in the 80's. Not sure what its history was ...
Someone here had a 58 Windsor-based hearse, .... I think in Tennessee ???
Given how dated and disliked fin cars were by 1965, I would bet any professional house using one would
have ditched it for "appearances" sake.
A dream of mine is to build a long roof wagon as a LWB 57-58 DeSoto .... maybe even do it as a sedan
delivery, complete with commercial lettering on the sides. But it would be done in the hearse style, using
standard (non-wagon) fins like the custom houses did. I probably won't live long enough to do it, but if the
right parts fell into my lap ....
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Expert 5K+
Posts: 8444
Location: Perth Australia | Always concidered hearses to be the ultimate in wagons (my preferance would be a 60 plymouth).
Even the airporters are cool, but really, where would you drive one of those, there just isnt anywhere that you could park it and if you set it up for paying passengers (over here), you have to convert it to r/h/d and havi it fully "engineered".
Not even sure how you would get it here, if it doesnt fit into a 40' sea container, it would have to go on a roll on/roll off ship, which means it has to be basically roadworthy.
Bet theres not many of those about.
I have a picture of a 60 plymouth hearse and I think its awesome
(plymouth hearse.jpg)
Attachments ---------------- plymouth hearse.jpg (93KB - 545 downloads)
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Exner Expert 19,174 posts. Neil passed away 18 Sep 2015. You will be missed, Neil!
Posts: 19146
Location: bishop, ca | Driven by the last man who'll ever let you down.
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 982
Location: Upper Hunter NSW Australia | ......
I saw some pics of an Australian production Chrysler Royal hearse somewhere a few months back, looked about 1959 ??, not sure if I can find it again ?
I think there is an internet forum dedicated to ambulances and hearses online ??
...... |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 982
Location: Upper Hunter NSW Australia | ........
Here it is,the Australian production hearse, found it straight away !!!
http://www.forwardlook.net/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=47595
......... |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 982
Location: Upper Hunter NSW Australia | ......
Here's a hearse forum
http://www.nationalhearse.net/forums/forumdisplay.php/17-National-H...
......
And another
http://www.coffin-talk.net/viewforum.php?f=10
......
And here's one from our morbid lot down here
http://www.phpbbplanet.com/hearsesoz/index.php?mforum=hearsesoz
.......
Edited by VAN HELSING 2014-03-18 2:56 AM
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Exner Expert 19,174 posts. Neil passed away 18 Sep 2015. You will be missed, Neil!
Posts: 19146
Location: bishop, ca | If you get a manual transmission in one of them, is it a Hearse shifter?
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Expert 5K+
Posts: 8444
Location: Perth Australia | Neil
Are you have a few quiet drinks?
I guess even push buttons in one could be a hearse shifter or just a shifter from a hearse
Just cracked a can here as work has been a non event today (3.35pm) so my comedy may come to your level soon
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 440
Location: Vermont | I think this one is cool
(z98Imperial1957[1].jpg)
Attachments ---------------- z98Imperial1957[1].jpg (73KB - 290 downloads)
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Location: Under the X in Texas | In grade and high school I had a friend who actually grew up to become a mortician. Car guy, always talking hearses and professional cars. He started my interest in them. They are always constructed by coachbuilders making them a very special class of vehicle. By far the finest looking Forward Look hearse I have ever seen either in the steel or in pictures, is the 1959 Chrylser Saratoga below. It originally came out of New York state. Lived in Chicago for a while in the '80s where I got to see it in person and am not sure where it is today.
(59MemphianSaratoga.jpg)
(3202165639_3e44ec44fe_z.jpg)
Attachments ---------------- 59MemphianSaratoga.jpg (285KB - 227 downloads) 3202165639_3e44ec44fe_z.jpg (179KB - 235 downloads)
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Location: Parts Unknown | To my bent way of thinking, .... what a way to go !
But for most people, these are just ugly. They'd prefer the boring modern crap.
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Location: Bjorneborg, Finland | I'd prefer a '57 DeSoto for the forthcoming final trip ..
(57hearse.jpg)
Attachments ---------------- 57hearse.jpg (12KB - 149 downloads)
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Expert
Posts: 4654
| spinout - 2014-03-18 3:01 PM
I'd prefer a '57 DeSoto for the forthcoming final trip ..
I like that idea also, make mine a black/gold Firedome based hearse.... stick, with dog dish hubcaps! |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1049
Location: PL / EU | nice '57
(1957_chrysler_hearse.jpg)
(57 Imperial hearse.JPG)
Attachments ---------------- 1957_chrysler_hearse.jpg (115KB - 188 downloads) 57 Imperial hearse.JPG (175KB - 545 downloads)
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Exner Expert 19,174 posts. Neil passed away 18 Sep 2015. You will be missed, Neil!
Posts: 19146
Location: bishop, ca | Why are they painted other than in black?
Because then, they'd be a hearse of a different color.
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 537
Location: Upstate NY | Most of the Desoto professional cars were built by the Memphis Coach Company. There was a dealer package where you could order an ambulance, funeral car, flower car etc and the factory would make a "special build" and send the car with wagon or truck torsion bars, extra HD transmission and no headliner. They would chop the new car in half and build the extra seat roof or whatever the options that were ordered called for. I own a 6 door funeral car. It was a special build Fireflite that they sent directly to the Memphis Coach Company and they extended the car built the extra seat doors, extended the roof, split driveshaft etc and shipped directly to the dealer for the funeral home. The car is on Ed's 57 Desoto site if you are interested. |
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Expert
Posts: 1384
Location: Ocala, Florida | Funeral parlors undertake many re-hearse-als.
Meh I tried.
(image.jpg)
Attachments ---------------- image.jpg (84KB - 176 downloads)
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 466
Location: Southwest VA | I remember this one from a few years back...
http://www.forwardlook.net/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=19691&... |
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Exner Expert 19,174 posts. Neil passed away 18 Sep 2015. You will be missed, Neil!
Posts: 19146
Location: bishop, ca | If a mortuary would go bankrupt, and had to sell off their cars, that would be a real re-hearsal of fortune.
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Expert
Posts: 2524
Location: Houston | Ever seen 'The Boy Who Loved Hearses"? Good story, look for it on DVD |
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Expert
Posts: 1384
Location: Ocala, Florida | When the prisoner died just before his parole they put him in a halfway hearse.
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Expert
Posts: 1737
Location: Hay Lakes, Alberta, Canada | GregCon - 2014-03-18 7:01 PM
Ever seen 'The Boy Who Loved Hearses"? Good story, look for it on DVD
We have a local hearse club up here, that bring their cars to shows, and to other "special" events and fund "raisers". |
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Expert
Posts: 1737
Location: Hay Lakes, Alberta, Canada | Pics
(hearse1.JPG)
(hearse2.JPG)
Attachments ---------------- hearse1.JPG (108KB - 192 downloads) hearse2.JPG (163KB - 155 downloads)
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 340
Location: Tacoma, WA | I've been interested in Mopar Professional Cars for a long time as well, and there are various clubs out there to cater to the different segments of the sub-hobby. Some celebrate the ghoulish nature, while others cater to the celebration and respect for the related industries, and the people who work in them. Many people are members of several different clubs. Much of the acceptance of the hobby is due to decades of work by the club called the Professional Car Society. But there are many others, and as the hobby grows, they don't always see eye-to-eye, but there's something for everyone. Like mentioned above, Many DeSotos and Chryslers were modified by Memphis Coach. National did many, as did smaller coachbuilders like Pinner. My project car is a '60 Windsor "Briarean" by Richard Brothers - Like the gold '61 above that sold recently and now resides in a collection England. They weren't around long, but RB (originally an automobile metal-stamping supplier) used Chrysler's and DeSoto's, and could be ordered through select dealers. Richard Brothers is the coachbuilder I know most about. I've seen about ten of these over the years, but you're right, usually in ambulance or combo trim. Way before the Emergency! T.V. show, ambulance services were provided by the funeral homes - pretty much load-and-go, so many cars, like mine, were "combinations," switchable between hearse and ambulance use. Of course many were straight hearses or straight ambulances. If you think hearses are cool, you'll surely find a club to you liking. There is also a LOT to learn about them, especially if you own one. The clubs are great for that, too. Here are a couple additional links off the top of my head, in no particular order:
If this shows without having to be a member, it is very interesting. I have learned a lot from the PCS, my club of choice, but they are all good.
http://www.professionalcarsociety.org/forums/showthread.php?t=3696&...
Here's Dawson Blackmoor's Memphian - I car I had an opportunity to purchase long ago, but I;m glad he got it:
http://www.ctemsi.com/
There were a LOT of coachbuilders.
http://www.coachbuilt.com/
Some are small and regional. Like Pinner:
http://www.allpar.com/fleets/pinner.html
This club is worthwhile, too:
http://www.professionalcar.org/
There was an ambulance conversion DeSoto in a wrecking yard that someone I knew knew something about, but it's been many years now.)
(How could you NOT like ambulances?! http://www.imperialclub.com/~imperialclub/Rare/Ambulances/index.htm)
Sorry for rambling on...
Edited by Dave L. 2014-03-18 10:33 PM
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 836
Location: Layton, Utah | Wow you guys are awesome ! My first choice of these would be the 57 DeSoto then the Diggs 57 Imperial. I also prefer one with landau bars. Rare cars indeed. |
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Exner Expert 19,174 posts. Neil passed away 18 Sep 2015. You will be missed, Neil!
Posts: 19146
Location: bishop, ca | Of course, in CA, fans of Heraldry and the Mortuary Sciences can attend services at the Hearse Castle.
Edited by d500neil 2014-03-19 2:55 AM
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Exner Expert 19,174 posts. Neil passed away 18 Sep 2015. You will be missed, Neil!
Posts: 19146
Location: bishop, ca | In CA, we have a club, too, but they are segregated into classes of His and Hearse.
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Exner Expert 19,174 posts. Neil passed away 18 Sep 2015. You will be missed, Neil!
Posts: 19146
Location: bishop, ca | What did the enemies of Dracula have to say, when he arrived at the party?
F-you, and the hearse you rode in on.
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Location: Parts Unknown |
Insurance must have looked like a stable opportunity when that comedy career tanked.
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Exner Expert 19,174 posts. Neil passed away 18 Sep 2015. You will be missed, Neil!
Posts: 19146
Location: bishop, ca | What's the least popular rent a car agency?
Hearse.
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Expert 5K+
Posts: 9682
Location: So. Cal | I would imagine that a '59 or '60 Imperial would make a great hearse. I would also like a '59 Dodge hearse. There was one for sale on Craigslist in Missouri a year or two ago, but I didn't save any pictures of it. Here are some pics of a '59 Dodge ambulance instead.
(1959Dodge_AmbulanceBB02.jpg)
(pic-1823336942949145139.jpg)
Attachments ---------------- 1959Dodge_AmbulanceBB02.jpg (106KB - 310 downloads) pic-1823336942949145139.jpg (214KB - 212 downloads)
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Expert 5K+
Posts: 9682
Location: So. Cal | This one is for Doc. He is always yapping his jaw about making a '57-'58 wagon with proper fins. Well here is a '58 already done.
(DeSAmb Front.jpg)
(DeSAmb Back.jpg)
Attachments ---------------- DeSAmb Front.jpg (178KB - 305 downloads) DeSAmb Back.jpg (147KB - 184 downloads)
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Expert
Posts: 1384
Location: Ocala, Florida | What I have learned is that is not a Desoto but a Dodge apparently with a Desoto Body and interior. |
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Member
Posts: 17
| I have seen some of the ambulance around but never the hearsts those are very cool. |
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Location: Parts Unknown | Powerflite - 2014-03-20 11:09 AM
This one is for Doc. He is always yapping his jaw about making a '57-'58 wagon with proper fins. Well here is a '58 already done. :madman:
===========================================================
Oh yeah ! Now imagine that with a low, long roof 2-door body, monotone paint (preferably in a
sick color like buzzard puke green), dog dishies and body colored wheels, and that glorious long
wheelbase nose !
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Exner Expert 19,174 posts. Neil passed away 18 Sep 2015. You will be missed, Neil!
Posts: 19146
Location: bishop, ca | A tisket, a tasket, a green and yellow casket?
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 982
Location: Upper Hunter NSW Australia | Powerflite - 2014-03-20 6:03 AM
I would imagine that a '59 or '60 Imperial would make a great hearse. I would also like a '59 Dodge hearse. There was one for sale on Craigslist in Missouri a year or two ago, but I didn't save any pictures of it. Here are some pics of a '59 Dodge ambulance instead.
.......
That light grey/light blue Memphian ( spelling ?? ) 59 Dodge Ambulance I've seen a few times before here and there a while back ( ebay ?? maybe ?? )
I think ?? it came from an air force base somewhere originally ??
There were other shots of it and it's apparently original interior as well.
Wonder where it is now?
I should have saved the pics when I saw it way back then..........
...............
Edited by VAN HELSING 2014-03-20 6:40 AM
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Location: Parts Unknown | Quick ! .... someone hit the "off" button on Neil's comedy switchboard !
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Expert
Posts: 2596
Location: Upplands Väsby, Sweden | StillOutThere - 2014-03-18 10:04 AM
In grade and high school I had a friend who actually grew up to become a mortician. Car guy, always talking hearses and professional cars. He started my interest in them. They are always constructed by coachbuilders making them a very special class of vehicle. By far the finest looking Forward Look hearse I have ever seen either in the steel or in pictures, is the 1959 Chrylser Saratoga below. It originally came out of New York state. Lived in Chicago for a while in the '80s where I got to see it in person and am not sure where it is today.
Same for me: Saratoga 59 hearse is so nice and 'Heavy' (modell)
Edited by Windsor59 2014-03-20 11:32 AM
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