My buddy Kevin sent this vintage Cadillac license plate frame for my hearse. Believed it’s from a 1951-53. Should clean up rather nice. Thanks, man!
what sort of motor is in that beast?!
AnonymousShe’s got a 429 motor from a 1966 Cadillac and a Turbo 400 transmission pushing her around. :)
Hey, I love your blog. I'm going to school to become a funeral director pretty soon and I'm looking into getting a Hearse as my first car, since it'll come in handy in the future lol. Any recommendations? I've never been much of a car person so I'm not sure where to look!
Thanks, Darlin’!
That’s awesome! I was gearing up towards that direction aswell but the tattooing gig actually panned out.. It’s near hopelessness in Oklahoma… who knew?
Anyway, yay! Hearses are amazing cars to own. Whether you’re going into the industry or not.. they’re really wonderful.
First thing I’d say is do a little research.. see what you’d like. There are a bunch of things to consider. The year (Do you fancy something more retro or modern?), make, and coach builder are good places to start.
There were several coach builders throughout the years, and each one had their own style they put into the completed product. Some of the larger ones are Superior, Eureka, Miller Meter, Sayers and Scoville, Flxible… and so on.
There is also the type of coach that you’d want. There’s the Landau, which has the iconic landau bars along the back aswell as the Limo style/full window coach which was virtually the same but with windows instead of Landau bars, and Combinations.. which is one used for ambulance AND hearse use.. it has removable landau panels (so you get limo and landau style) and also comes with pop up jump seats in the back (which fold down to become the floor), and panels on the floor that switch from a flat floor to one with casket rollers. For reference sake that is the kind I have.
There are also loading styles to consider. You have the Endloader style which means the casket can be loaded from the back door only.. the other way to load is the Three-way. Three ways have suicide doors and a table that can roll out of the doors on the sides as well as the back.
These are just things to think about, maybe give you an idea what to consider you make like. It does help to have an idea what to search for! :)
Honestly, as far as buying goes.. I suggest checking out funeral homes (if you are interested in older models funeral homes in smaller towns usually have them more often). I have heard of people sending a letter to all funeral homes in their city and inquiring if they had any hearses they’d be keen to selling and they usually get quite a few responses. Getting a hold of funeral homes online and off is a good way to start.
There’s also Craigslist, eBay, and Hemmings.
Also online hearse communities are good to check out. Often hearse owners get too many vehicles and sell theirs off… like http://www.nationalhearse.net, http://www.hearsespace.com etc (just google and you will find a few more.)
Make sure you have some money set aside before you start contacting people (this is why ebay and CL are good, just to kind of get ideas for pricing and condition you’d get for what price.) They are not cheap, but very much worth it. There are not as many coaches made as other cars.. their parts are harder to find and much more expensive because of the fewer numbers and different measurements.
Okay, I’m sure that’s enough! haha I think Hearse Club and Grim Rides have the “So you want to buy a hearse.” pages that may go into more detail aswell.
Sorry I wrote a miniature novel but I hope that helps you! I just get stoked when people are interested. I didn’t get a lot of help and lucked out finding mine when I did.
Good luck with finding one and with school!
-V
