Chrysler hearse

[detmatt]

I think this looks way cooler, 2 door with long side glass, mag wheels to boot. Yeah, I'd go for a ride in this.


View attachment 63133

This one started out as a 4 door of some sort too.

 

[stubs300]

This one started out as a 4 door of some sort too.

Yeah, maybe, I don't know? But I will tell you that they did a great job of welding up the doors, cutting out the window frame, etc. and blending it all in with the body to make it look like a stretched 2 door. And how can you not love that big *** side glass window? Those must of cost a couple pennies each!

 

[3C's & a D?]

Okay...

Let's explain.

These type of hearses are common in Belgium or netherlands, because of the US militray bases. A lot of funeral companies bought US hearses.
In France there are not such hearses beacause we have our national cars companies ( renault, peugeot citroen.. )

There are 2 types of " US" hearses here in europe : real and " fakes " ones.
1) the real ones are harse based ont commercial chassis mostly from Cadillac. Cadillac delivered a commercial chassis ( mostly the front of the car ) to a coach builder ( Miller meteor ( wayne ), S&S.. ) that build the hearse.
This type of hearse can only be a hearse. If you remove the hearse modification, you have nothing under.

2) what i call " fakes " ones are from companies that do not offered commercial chassis ( or not many ) but a lot of station wagons.
Europeans coach builders bought US station wagon and convert them into hearse : adding coffins and curtains, removins reare seats ( of hide them under a wooden plank and modiy the rear door )
they are moslty mopars wagon and chevrolet.
They are " fakes " because if you remove all the hearse "modification you will have a classic wagon and nealy nothing can reveal that it was a hearse before.

This second type of hearse are very common in belgum and a lot of them has been destroyed or scrapped.
I owned 2 70's furys, 1 dodge polara 71 ( still have it ), 2 or 3 cadillacs. I converted my polara in a normal wagon because I get the cadillac that is a real hearse.
i destroyed or saw them being destroy many furys, cadillacs...

I think i may know the first chrysler in the pic or I can locate another one like this.
i never saw a fury like in the last picture ! it is quite cool. It makes me think of Mercedes hearses.

Thanks for sharing your knowledge, do you have pics. of your Polara wagon? My first car was a 69 Miller Meteor Cadillac manual (functioning suicide doors both sides) Good memories.

 

[Xavi3r]

Here some pics :

when i bought it :


You can see all the " hearse " things : bars, lamps, curtains..
and the rear door modified :


I removed everything excepted the small " funeal director " plate on the front.

unfortunaltly she is a little rough now, i have no room for here and she ie outside under some pice of plastic.
i now it is a shame.
I took the rear door out of a 1969 plymouth fury that was going to destruction and it fits perfectly. I just need to add the lights.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFDnGx8Ft7w

 

[crv]

Probably would have to pay good money to use it, talk about being stiffed.

 

[Xavi3r]

Probably would have to pay good money to use it, talk about being stiffed.

sorry i do not understant what you mean.
the car id driveable. I saved it from the crusher in fact.

 

[patrick66]

I found a 1967 Belvedere I hearse in Belgium in 1990. It was one of three shipped to a conversion company in Brussels. One went on to an undertaker in Sweden, and mine was one of the other two that both went to a pair of brothers that had a family-run funeral business in Antwerp. This was what Xavi3r described - a converted-use station wagon. My car had a 225 with three-speed column shift, HD heater, clock, 200 km/h metric speedometer, stock gauges, no radio, and two-tone blue interior. It also had the Hemi torsion bars, XHD rear springs, 3.23 8-3/4" SG rear, and the 11" manual drum brakes. Underneath, it was essentially the same as a GTX! It was stock with a black exterior. I have a picture somewhere of when it was a funeral car. It had little white lamps on the C-pillars, and a large crucifix mounted on a bar across the roof, atop the front doors. On each corner of the roof were rather ornate flower holders. The rear seat was laid flat, and a board with casket rollers was inserted.

The guy I bought the car from had converted the front brakes to discs, and put a later-model 225 and automatic in it. He also installed the whorehouse red velour seats from the overall donor car - a 1980 Diplomat. Fortuanately, the original interior was included in the deal. My German friend Jake drove the car home for me - 150 kilometers - and it didn't miss a beat. After assessing what all the car needed to go back to stock inside, I went back to Oklahoma a bit later and gathered up interior door panels, a steering wheel and auto column, and lots of little bits to get the car ready to ship back to the US in early 1992. I shipped the car to Houston, where I drove it home to OKC from there. Pretty neat car, overall!

It was one of about 215 '67 Belvedere I six-passenger wagons with the 225/3, total. I still have the build sheet to that car.

 

[commando1]

Where did it end up, Patrick?

 

[LeBaron1973]

sorry i do not understant what you mean.
the car id driveable. I saved it from the crusher in fact.

I think he means that the Funeral Home would charge a lot of money to use this hearse.

Being stiffed means to be overcharged for something, and it's also a reference to the body (deceased) - sometimes referred to as a "stiff."

 

[jamo68]

I want one! So cool!

 

[patrick66]

Where did it end up, Patrick?

It's still in OKC. The guy I traded it to, repainted the car black and installed a new 360 in place of the well-worn 360 I installed in it in 1994.

 

[Fury Pursuit]

View attachment 63140

That is a very interesting car. RE: Panther Pink Fury "limousine".

Do you have any idea where it is now? I would love to see a fender tag.

Thank you for posting these photos, I knew of these "Export" Furies but have only seen one in the U.S. !!!

 

[3C's & a D?]

Probably would have to pay good money to use it, talk about being stiffed.

Yeah the downside of Hearse ownership is having to endure a slew of terrible jokes, the most common one I got over and over again was "I bet people are just dying to get in there" roll eyes, sigh.

 

[3C's & a D?]

Nice Polara wagon (Hearse) Xavi3r, I like the grey paint. I wonder why they would go through all the trouble to change the rear glass? Extra coffin space? Any idea what those bars on the rear quarters are for? I have never see those on an American Hearse. Draping flags through during procession?

 

[Xavi3r]

Nice Polara wagon (Hearse) Xavi3r, I like the grey paint. I wonder why they would go through all the trouble to change the rear glass? Extra coffin space? Any idea what those bars on the rear quarters are for? I have never see those on an American Hearse. Draping flags through during procession?

I am still wondering myself...
they only kept the exterior metal part of the door and put hydraulic cyliders.
I think that the reason was the size of europeans cemeteries. they may tought that with a classic gate, the door can be an obstacle to the maneuver of the coffin in small areas. more with these " home made " hearses without mobile table.