@@trentmoseley Bob is originally from the Dallas, Texas area. He has a video on his channel where he drives around showing the homes he grew up in and other nostalgia like that.
An elderly couple got into a cab in a large town and gave the driver the address some distance out of town. The cabbie acknowledged the instruction and started driving. He was silent for about the next 15 minutes.... The elderly lady leaned forward and tapped him on the shoulder...the driver screamed and swerved violently before coming to a halt. After everyone calmed down the elderly man asked what had happened... The driver replied "This is my first drive as a cabbie...." The elderly woman asked "But why the reaction?" The driver replied "Lady, for the last 25 years I drove a hearse..."
Just wanted to provide this information: The interior door handles for the rear side doors and the very back door are from the 67-72 C/K series GM trucks and the 70s-90s G-series GM vans. I saw those and knew immediately where to find them. You can still get them from LMC Truck today.
I had a 1987 Cadillac brougham hearse by eureka coach company. Could you by chance tell me how that coach company ranks amongst other hearse coach companies? thinking of buying another!
That knob on the wheel is used to help manuvering in tight locations, you can stick your head out the window while spinning the steering wheel around one handed. Some big rigs have them installed for that reason, as do forklifts.
My coach, a '73 S&S Victoria, is as stock inside and out as I could make it. Gets thumbs-ups every time I take it out. I originally was looking into a funeral coach to carry my band's PA (it's just huge inside-- 8 feet from the rear door to the partition), but the first time I drove it I sensed the feelings of all the survivors of everyone who rode in the back. There's a lot of love and respect in those cars, and I'm delighted to have owned Miss Thing for 27 years!
In rural areas, hearses were also used as an ambulance and had a big red light on the roof and a siren under the hood. In January of 1975, my Mom and I were in an accident and the State Trooper who came and knew my family insisted that we go get checked out and the funeral home owner came with the hearse and drove us about 20 miles to the hospital and he waited for us and took us home. On the way home, once he knew we were OK, he joked depending upon how bad the accident is, I have the vehicle to get you dead or alive.
I bet every owner of an ambo/hearse combination told that joke at least a thousand times in an average career, often adding "That never gets old!" afterward. :)
@@SuperDirk1965 I was going to note that the OP's story took place nearly 50 years ago, when equipment standards were very different, but since you blatantly ignored that fact in order to get in your gratuitous cheap shot, that would probably be pointless. (Also, do ambulance operators in your country not have access to hoses? Because I would assume that living people in extreme medical crisis can make ambulances at _least_ as unhygienic as a corpse would.)
Not gonna lie most peoples dream cars are Ferrari, Lamborghini, Aston Martin but my dream car is a mid 70's Miller Meteor Cadillac hearse. I've had a couple of opportunities to pick one up but they are so big I have no where to store it.
Cool video reminds me of my high school days in the 1970s when I almost talked my dad into restoring a 1938 Packard hearse with me. Van conversions were huge then.
Not many Hearse aficionados I guess. I've owned a number of hearses over the years. I've got a 1970 now, I've had a 1961, 1962, and a 1969. They were all Cadillac chassis and were Superiors except for the 1969 which was a M&M. Nice to see you going over the differences and educating folks. My 1962 was a three way (suicide doors) combo (Hearse and Ambulance), with a Siren. This was my Favorite and had the Jetaway (315) Transmission (you could barely feel it go into gear.). You could also tow start these since they were completely Hydraulic in four forward gears. I've always liked the ride of the Hearses. Long wheel base, big engine, smooth tune to the ride, babied thier entire life and usually with low miles. I've even set up a couple with trailer hitches and towed campers with them. No sway what so ever. Very practical all in all. I stopped driving them when the kids started getting razzed in school when I would drop them off. They are all out of college now, so maybe I should step up my lobbying for another one with the Wife? :c) Keep em coming Wizard.
I have heard that the Car Bodies are actually on Truck Chassis? I believe that the Knobs on the Steering Wheels where to help with turning for those who had weak upper body strength and that they are Illegal in some states.
great video, I hope you enjoy the new ride can't wait to see what happens. I am a former hearse owner, 1973 Superior, one of a kind car for sure. I'm not sure I will own another one, but luckily I can watch future Car Wizard videos to get my hearse fix :-)
LOVE the casket as a toolbox/trunk lol. Never went anywhere without a pouch in each vehicle, there's just no substitute when you need one. I never owned a hearse for "fun" but love seeing the content!
Enjoy the channel very much. The knob on the steering wheel is called a Brodie (Brody) Knob, often referred to as a suicide knob, granny knob, knuckle buster, etc. Not super common these days, more in use on non power steering vehicles way back when. They are however common on most forklifts and construction equipment. As far as the legality, they are not illegal unless written in vehicle stautes (Michigan has the only law prohibiting use on construction vehicles, may be an obscure law in another state, Washington if I recall). The legality debate had to do with handicap assisted vehicles when challenged in courts concerning motor vehicles. Keep up the awesome work!! 😀
Two giants of professional car industry from yesteryear- the M-M vs. Superior. I have been a pro car enthusiast since 1989. Superior is still around, Accubuilt wound up being the parent company and absorbed a few old school companies, like S&S, M-M and Eureka. Thanks for doing this comparison.
Walter McCall made a good book about them. I once drove a Eureka removal car halfway across Canada to deliver it. People pulled over on both sides of the road for me.
My Best Man was a funeral director. His was about a 1977 Caprice hearse. Black with a Red velour interior. Once asked me to ride along with him as he went "for a pick up". Safe to say, as we stopped for supper, that he asked to the occupant in the back if he wanted anything... I was "straining at that gnat"!
Our Hearse was a 1985 Cadillac Fleetwood with a Queen Victoria hearse conversion. Gloss black. With silver curtains. Beautiful car for carrying around my upright bass. It was fun.
That knob on the steering wheel was called a Spinner. Back in the days before power steering and the wheel went 8.5 turns lock to lock it helped make quick turns at speed. Eventually they became illegal on cars but you still sometimes see them on forklift trucks.
I worked my way through college by working at a small town funeral home in the mid-1970s. The owner also owned a men's clothing store and ran the local ambulance service. I worked in all three. My first ambulance calls were in the hearse. We had a plug on top for the revolving red light, a stretcher in back we used for both live and dead customers and on the right or passenger's side in back was a single "jump seat" facing rearward. The medical equipment was limited, to say the least, but included some 4X4 gauze pads, an oxygen bottle with a mask and a foot pumped suction machine -- that was it! I called it the "The Tarzan School of Emergency Medical Care. If an emergency call came in (this was pre-911) and there wasn't a second person to ride in back, we rolled out with a one-man-stretcher, loaded the patient(s) up, wished them the best of luck, then drove like hell to the nearest hospital. "We also ran non-emergency and convalescent trips, and if there was no family member going, I was stuck riding in back, sometimes for hours, while watching the road roll under us. The "mixed use" of that era is the reason for the sliding glass between the front and back. Most of the time we turned the rollers over since the back sides were just smooth flooring for easier rolling of a stretcher. If we were able to stop to eat, it was amazing how quickly our food would arrive and they would sometimes give it to us free just to get the hearse away from their restaurant. Around this same time period we had more business than usual so I was sent to a nearby town to borrow a hearse from another funeral home. I recall the owner of the other funeral home telling me there better not be the least bit of damage on it because it was brand new with a price tag of around $30,000 (circa 1976). Most everyone in that sort of business has a sense of humor, so I told him, "Don't worry, I have a valid driver's license. Got 'em back yesterday from the state and promised I'd never get drunk, drive recklessly and try to run from the sheriff again. Are the keys in it?" BTW, I'm the guy who bought the Wizard's SL500. If y'all ever run across a Mercedes hearse, please have Crazy D track me down. That'd be an awesome addition to my fleet!
I'd love to get hold of a 90s Lincoln hearse. There's just something about a Continental hearse that I enjoy. Maybe it's the fact the Continental was also the top limousine chassis for decades.
Hearses! finally. Nice to see someone pointing out the intricacies of the different makes and model (and sub-models . . .). I've owned a number of hearses over the years. Still have a 1970 in the yard, and have had a 1961, 1962, 1966, and 1969, all on Cadillac chassis. All Superior Coaches except for 1969 which was a Miller Meteor. My favorite was the '62 three way, dual purpose. Had the rear suicide doors for side loading, and also rear glass in the quarters (looked like a station wagon), so it could be used as both a hearse and an ambulance, even had a old siren that I got working. I love these things, used lightly, not gone very far, long wheelbase, really big and heavy, so they rode really nice, big engine, which made them great for towing our camper. I did have the make a custom hitch for the commercial frame though. I stopped driving them when the kids started getting harassed at school when I dropped them off. Keep them (Hearses) coming Wizard!!
Those spinner attachments for the steering wheel first became available in the 1920s. They provided additional leverage for large cars or small trucks without power steering. I am old enough (69) to have seen taxis with them. Those cabs were 50s models with three on the tree. Cab companies were cheap. By the mid 60s, they were called necker's knobs. So the tale was true, and your parents experienced it. With universal power steering, and steering wheels that were easy to grip, those knobs went out of fashion.
@@davidjacobs8558 They're pretty common in cars with hand braking controls (as in, for drivers without the use of their legs, not just a hand-operated parking brake) too, since in those cars you're only steering with one hand most of the time.
Wizard, if you to clean those curtains, roll them up in a white towel, sprinkling Oxy White powder as you go. Secure the roll with string or rubber bands and let soak overnight in warm water. Then gently cycle in a top loading washer that has no agitator. Unroll and allow to dry, do not spin dry. Betcha they come out white again.
Time for Mrs. Wizard to go Goth! Then she would be proud to ride in it with black plastic roses. Mr, Wizard will cruise in his Wizard Costume with the 8 track stereo blaring "Down the road there's a cemetery, that's where Hoovie's BMW goin' be buried!"
Back in the 70s A friend of mine had a Austen sheerline hearse which he converted into a camper it looked amazing and it was the only problem was campsites hear in the uk would not let him on they were afraid of him frightening and the customers away
Cool vid Wiz.....I think we all have some curiosity about hearses. My buddy had one, very clean - Cadillac, square headlights - 76' 77' ? Not sure which coachmaker it was.
I don't know what weirdos said that steering knob was for 1 handed girl hugging.... It's a "suicide knob" originally used in big trucks ie: 18 wheelers to help steer pre power steering.
Very cool interesting video. Didn't some of those have rear jump seats if they were a combination ambulance/hearse? If that sliding window did come with the car originally that could indicate it was setup to be a combination car. Ambulances originally did only transport so you really didn't need room to work on the patients.
I imagine the sliding divider window was more useful in ambulance mode, when there would be an attendant back there (and maybe a paramedic, but they were pretty rare in 1974) who might need to talk to the driver. Also: When I was a kid, my father bought a Dodge Power Wagon that had that exact same type of aftermarket steering wheel in it, except it was bright glittery green instead of red. It was part of a set with a matching shift knob and windshield wiper control. Wow. I haven't thought about that truck in ages.
Great purchase dude, the hearse is an underrated, beutiful alternative to a wagon, or small van. Always wanted one and one day I'm sure the right one will come to my door... While I'm still alive I hope 😅 Not much of a fan of the heavenly ride, not my style of customizing, one thing it would highly benefit it is a set of white walls, black walls on any pre-2000s Cadillac are a bit of a style crime ☠️
Turn it into a camper and live in it for your new UA-cam channel. "Hearse life living," that's what I'd call it. In all seriousness I'd def turn it into a camper if it was mine.
I suggested turning it into a giant hot tub but a camper would be really cool too. You could raise the roof a foot or two and it would be pretty spacious.
I I had it I would have made shelves and so in it for tools and have it as a work vehicle. I work as a carpenter. Imagine the plywood and drywall sheets you can fit in there.
I own a 1961 Cadillac S&S Victoria hearse, removed the original 390 and turbo hydramatic for a 512 big block Cadillac and TH400 trans. All stock down to the 1974 bias ply white walls and stained curtains.
I really liked wizards hearse more, it was more boxy n defined while the other was soft I feel like a sleek black would make it look professional and more aggressive with the nice wheels it already has. Wizards is rugged and tight
Hey, Car Wizard! Love your channel. Have you watched the HBO series, "6 Feet Under"? It was a series about a family in California that owned a funeral home. In the premiere episode, the father has just taken delivery of a brand-new hearse and is heading home, when he gets T-boned by a semi after dropping a cigarette on the floor. The daughter of the family drives around in a lime-green hearse for most of the series. Every episode opened with a "Death of the week", showing some unfortunate person dying in some manner. Since you seem to be interested in hearses, I thought you might enjoy the show.
We had a used car lot growing up..we had a couple hearses..olds/ caddy...we hauled our 3 wheelers in them...( yes, 3 wheelers)... being of high school age , they were fun .especially around Halloween..
Original bias ply spare. Visors are so huge that they need snaps to keep them up. Coach was ordered radio delete. You can still see part of the delete plate behind the DIN stereo. I'm guessing the antenna is some type of aftermarket item. I had 3 hearses. A 1972 S&S Victoria, 1973 Cotner/Bevington Cottington landau hearse with an Olds Ninety Eight chassis and a 1977 Superior Crown Landau Sovereign. I was lucky to get 7mpg on a good day. A full tank (27 gallons) might average just under 200 miles.
74 is my favorite year for Caddies a d the last year for the round headlights, I also like the 75 and 76 but they don't look have as good with square headlights.
"I've got a 1937 Cadillac hearse; she's not too cherry, but she could be worse; the surfers all dig it, they say she kooky, but the honeys put her down -- they say she's spooky!"
Those are not turn signal indicators on the tops of the fenders. They are fiber optic lamp monitors. Sedans, coupes and hardtops had another set mounted at the interior top above the rear window for the brake and taillights. I've never had a limo, service car, or convertible so I can't say where or if they are mounted.
If you think about it. A hearse would make a perfect used luxury car. They usually have low mileage, garage kept, and well maintained. If you can get over the creepy factor, they would make the perfect used car.
I've always wondered why they would build a hearse based on a Cadillac chassis with no power windows, given that they were standard in all Cadillacs by this time and would be particularly useful in a funeral situation. Were these cars so close to their weight limits that they had to save every possible pound? PS: I've read that some of these cars (maybe the ambulances) still rode on bias ply tires, so '71-'76 Cadillacs, unlike all the other B and C bodies, still had strut-rod caster adjusters.
The amazing fact is that our John Deere 544k can pick up 3 of these hearses out of the crusher! A always thought that these cars were heavy until I got into the scrap business and learned quickly that the forklift throws these cars around like nothing.
I use to have a 1973 cadillac Eldorado convertible it came with the 500 motor with front whe drive. I noticed the 74 still had the rear wheel drive. Was that more reliable than the front wheel drive.
If I had the funds for when my time comes, I would totally want a custom hearse. Start with a Dodge Magnum as a foundation. Give it a Charger front end and a Hellephant under the hood. Top it off with a TorRed paint job.
Steve Magnante just went through a Miller Meteor hearse on his UA-cam channel and gave information on where it's located if either of you are looking for anything..
Sadly from 2030 on all combustion cars including classics will be banned from public streets in entire EU and Scandinavia :-( In Germany the Green Peoples Party gave order to shorten fuel supply from 2025 on by reducing all conventional fuel stations to only one state operated central gas station per city or county. Now they even want to slow down all the gas pumps from 20 litre per minute to 2 litre per minute...From 2027 on in the EU certain car spare parts will be banned too....as exhaust systems, turbo chargers and even some engine and gearbox oils...California and New York will do the same from 2027 on.... So no investments should be done in oil burning cars any longer....They even created a new kind of crime here, called emissions and smoke crime. Called "Bundesabgasbespaßungsverbotsverordnung" in German.... :-/((((
imagine its late, maybe 11-12pm and you're strolling around in a desolate part of Kansas and a hearse with bright head light, starts fallowing you. only you and them on the road.
A wizard that's thing on the steering wheel is called a suicide knob it helps in backing you can go from steering stop to steering stop very fast. Fyi very legal on road commercial equipment and most States.
Keep the one that separates going to the taillights and sink inn tail lights hearse is hard to find like the silver one my aun😢has with matching family limot
Paint it purple!
Deep purple.
I just may VideoBob!!
Where's your family originally from Videobob?
Copy kat.
@@trentmoseley Bob is originally from the Dallas, Texas area. He has a video on his channel where he drives around showing the homes he grew up in and other nostalgia like that.
An elderly couple got into a cab in a large town and gave the driver the address some distance out of town.
The cabbie acknowledged the instruction and started driving.
He was silent for about the next 15 minutes....
The elderly lady leaned forward and tapped him on the shoulder...the driver screamed and swerved violently before coming to a halt.
After everyone calmed down the elderly man asked what had happened...
The driver replied "This is my first drive as a cabbie...."
The elderly woman asked "But why the reaction?"
The driver replied "Lady, for the last 25 years I drove a hearse..."
Lmao that's hilarious 😂 😃
Just wanted to provide this information: The interior door handles for the rear side doors and the very back door are from the 67-72 C/K series GM trucks and the 70s-90s G-series GM vans. I saw those and knew immediately where to find them. You can still get them from LMC Truck today.
Thanks for having me on! It’s been a blast!
I had a 1987 Cadillac brougham hearse by eureka coach company. Could you by chance tell me how that coach company ranks amongst other hearse coach companies? thinking of buying another!
The “Reserved” sign is to actually Reserve a Pew in a Church so that Family Members could sit up front closest to the Deceased during services.
That knob on the wheel is used to help manuvering in tight locations, you can stick your head out the window while spinning the steering wheel around one handed. Some big rigs have them installed for that reason, as do forklifts.
My coach, a '73 S&S Victoria, is as stock inside and out as I could make it. Gets thumbs-ups every time I take it out. I originally was looking into a funeral coach to carry my band's PA (it's just huge inside-- 8 feet from the rear door to the partition), but the first time I drove it I sensed the feelings of all the survivors of everyone who rode in the back. There's a lot of love and respect in those cars, and I'm delighted to have owned Miss Thing for 27 years!
In rural areas, hearses were also used as an ambulance and had a big red light on the roof and a siren under the hood. In January of 1975, my Mom and I were in an accident and the State Trooper who came and knew my family insisted that we go get checked out and the funeral home owner came with the hearse and drove us about 20 miles to the hospital and he waited for us and took us home. On the way home, once he knew we were OK, he joked depending upon how bad the accident is, I have the vehicle to get you dead or alive.
I bet every owner of an ambo/hearse combination told that joke at least a thousand times in an average career, often adding "That never gets old!" afterward. :)
Great story
I caught that to, Robert Carly. Seemed like they were the go-to ambulances, for all of the drama shows, Hollyweird..... Hollywood put out, in the day.
How gross. Over here in the civilised world, ambulances aren't even allowed to pick up a person once they're deceased. question of hygiene.
@@SuperDirk1965 I was going to note that the OP's story took place nearly 50 years ago, when equipment standards were very different, but since you blatantly ignored that fact in order to get in your gratuitous cheap shot, that would probably be pointless.
(Also, do ambulance operators in your country not have access to hoses? Because I would assume that living people in extreme medical crisis can make ambulances at _least_ as unhygienic as a corpse would.)
Not gonna lie most peoples dream cars are Ferrari, Lamborghini, Aston Martin but my dream car is a mid 70's Miller Meteor Cadillac hearse. I've had a couple of opportunities to pick one up but they are so big I have no where to store it.
"A Hearse is a Hearse, a curse, a curse"
"and no one can make a curse any worse"
"It's so adverse, unless the Hearse is the famous Mr. Dead!"
Hello...I'm Mr. Dead.
"Disaster pouch", great name for a body bag! I've seen them listed as such on funeral home "menus".
Dirt nap sleeping bags
Cool video reminds me of my high school days in the 1970s when I almost talked my dad into restoring a 1938 Packard hearse with me. Van conversions were huge then.
Superior not only manufactured hearses/ambulance, they also made motorhomes, school buses, and other types of vehicles
Wizard, buy both of them, then you can have his and hearse!
Not many Hearse aficionados I guess. I've owned a number of hearses over the years. I've got a 1970 now, I've had a 1961, 1962, and a 1969. They were all Cadillac chassis and were Superiors except for the 1969 which was a M&M. Nice to see you going over the differences and educating folks. My 1962 was a three way (suicide doors) combo (Hearse and Ambulance), with a Siren. This was my Favorite and had the Jetaway (315) Transmission (you could barely feel it go into gear.). You could also tow start these since they were completely Hydraulic in four forward gears.
I've always liked the ride of the Hearses. Long wheel base, big engine, smooth tune to the ride, babied thier entire life and usually with low miles. I've even set up a couple with trailer hitches and towed campers with them. No sway what so ever. Very practical all in all.
I stopped driving them when the kids started getting razzed in school when I would drop them off. They are all out of college now, so maybe I should step up my lobbying for another one with the Wife? :c)
Keep em coming Wizard.
I have heard that the Car Bodies are actually on Truck Chassis? I believe that the Knobs on the Steering Wheels where to help with turning for those who had weak upper body strength and that they are Illegal in some states.
great video, I hope you enjoy the new ride can't wait to see what happens. I am a former hearse owner, 1973 Superior, one of a kind car for sure. I'm not sure I will own another one, but luckily I can watch future Car Wizard videos to get my hearse fix :-)
Pretty cool. I work in the funeral business and it's nice to see these old hearses.
LOVE the casket as a toolbox/trunk lol. Never went anywhere without a pouch in each vehicle, there's just no substitute when you need one. I never owned a hearse for "fun" but love seeing the content!
Enjoy the channel very much. The knob on the steering wheel is called a Brodie (Brody) Knob, often referred to as a suicide knob, granny knob, knuckle buster, etc. Not super common these days, more in use on non power steering vehicles way back when. They are however common on most forklifts and construction equipment. As far as the legality, they are not illegal unless written in vehicle stautes (Michigan has the only law prohibiting use on construction vehicles, may be an obscure law in another state, Washington if I recall). The legality debate had to do with handicap assisted vehicles when challenged in courts concerning motor vehicles. Keep up the awesome work!! 😀
I'm glad Mrs. Wizard finds the front seat comfy. It's so much better riding in front than in the back!
Two giants of professional car industry from yesteryear- the M-M vs. Superior. I have been a pro car enthusiast since 1989. Superior is still around, Accubuilt wound up being the parent company and absorbed a few old school companies, like S&S, M-M and Eureka. Thanks for doing this comparison.
Walter McCall made a good book about them. I once drove a Eureka removal car halfway across Canada to deliver it. People pulled over on both sides of the road for me.
What’s up Pat ! Glad you are getting the wizard do a video on your updates !
Sweet Hearse Pat did a great job on his. Thanks for sharing
Thank you!
My Best Man was a funeral director. His was about a 1977 Caprice hearse. Black with a Red velour interior. Once asked me to ride along with him as he went "for a pick up". Safe to say, as we stopped for supper, that he asked to the occupant in the back if he wanted anything... I was "straining at that gnat"!
Love the thunder you put in the background aboustley epic and adding the screeching hinge was over the top 🔝
That was all natural noise! Couldn’t have timed our video better!
@@homeofchromeat 11:07 ? That's real!?
@@blakktoose that was all 100% real! We had severe weather moving through the area that day
For when fans are dying to meet the Wizard…
Might be the last car he ever buys!
Our Hearse was a 1985 Cadillac Fleetwood with a Queen Victoria hearse conversion. Gloss black. With silver curtains. Beautiful car for carrying around my upright bass. It was fun.
hey fellow backyard painters! my autoX beater, an 84 celica has a lovely satin red from Menards in my backyard!
That’s what I’m talking about!
That knob on the steering wheel was called a Spinner. Back in the days before power steering and the wheel went 8.5 turns lock to lock it helped make quick turns at speed. Eventually they became illegal on cars but you still sometimes see them on forklift trucks.
I worked my way through college by working at a small town funeral home in the mid-1970s. The owner also owned a men's clothing store and ran the local ambulance service. I worked in all three. My first ambulance calls were in the hearse. We had a plug on top for the revolving red light, a stretcher in back we used for both live and dead customers and on the right or passenger's side in back was a single "jump seat" facing rearward. The medical equipment was limited, to say the least, but included some 4X4 gauze pads, an oxygen bottle with a mask and a foot pumped suction machine -- that was it! I called it the "The Tarzan School of Emergency Medical Care. If an emergency call came in (this was pre-911) and there wasn't a second person to ride in back, we rolled out with a one-man-stretcher, loaded the patient(s) up, wished them the best of luck, then drove like hell to the nearest hospital.
"We also ran non-emergency and convalescent trips, and if there was no family member going, I was stuck riding in back, sometimes for hours, while watching the road roll under us. The "mixed use" of that era is the reason for the sliding glass between the front and back. Most of the time we turned the rollers over since the back sides were just smooth flooring for easier rolling of a stretcher. If we were able to stop to eat, it was amazing how quickly our food would arrive and they would sometimes give it to us free just to get the hearse away from their restaurant. Around this same time period we had more business than usual so I was sent to a nearby town to borrow a hearse from another funeral home. I recall the owner of the other funeral home telling me there better not be the least bit of damage on it because it was brand new with a price tag of around $30,000 (circa 1976). Most everyone in that sort of business has a sense of humor, so I told him, "Don't worry, I have a valid driver's license. Got 'em back yesterday from the state and promised I'd never get drunk, drive recklessly and try to run from the sheriff again. Are the keys in it?" BTW, I'm the guy who bought the Wizard's SL500. If y'all ever run across a Mercedes hearse, please have Crazy D track me down. That'd be an awesome addition to my fleet!
I'd love to get hold of a 90s Lincoln hearse. There's just something about a Continental hearse that I enjoy. Maybe it's the fact the Continental was also the top limousine chassis for decades.
I’m so tempted to buy one and rebrand as Salem Deathsperts.
Hearses! finally. Nice to see someone pointing out the intricacies of the different makes and model (and sub-models . . .).
I've owned a number of hearses over the years. Still have a 1970 in the yard, and have had a 1961, 1962, 1966, and 1969, all on Cadillac chassis. All Superior Coaches except for 1969 which was a Miller Meteor.
My favorite was the '62 three way, dual purpose. Had the rear suicide doors for side loading, and also rear glass in the quarters (looked like a station wagon), so it could be used as both a hearse and an ambulance, even had a old siren that I got working.
I love these things, used lightly, not gone very far, long wheelbase, really big and heavy, so they rode really nice, big engine, which made them great for towing our camper. I did have the make a custom hitch for the commercial frame though.
I stopped driving them when the kids started getting harassed at school when I dropped them off.
Keep them (Hearses) coming Wizard!!
Those spinner attachments for the steering wheel first became available in the 1920s. They provided additional leverage for large cars or small trucks without power steering. I am old enough (69) to have seen taxis with them. Those cabs were 50s models with three on the tree. Cab companies were cheap. By the mid 60s, they were called necker's knobs. So the tale was true, and your parents experienced it. With universal power steering, and steering wheels that were easy to grip, those knobs went out of fashion.
I have arthritis And use one on everything i drive truck tractor even the sxs
The necker knob on a hearse steering wheel would probably be to facilitate the driver backing the car up since it's so long.
@@joshgreen2164 I know a diabled person with limited arm movement who used that on his car.
@@davidjacobs8558 They're pretty common in cars with hand braking controls (as in, for drivers without the use of their legs, not just a hand-operated parking brake) too, since in those cars you're only steering with one hand most of the time.
They are also common on industrial trucks, when an operator may need to steer and operate levers simultaneously.
I always thought hearses were cool, funky cars! Keep it weird, Kansas!😂 ✌️❤️🙂🇨🇦
Wizard, if you to clean those curtains, roll them up in a white towel, sprinkling Oxy White powder as you go. Secure the roll with string or rubber bands and let soak overnight in warm water. Then gently cycle in a top loading washer that has no agitator. Unroll and allow to dry, do not spin dry.
Betcha they come out white again.
Time for Mrs. Wizard to go Goth! Then she would be proud to ride in it with black plastic roses. Mr, Wizard will cruise in his Wizard Costume with the 8 track stereo blaring "Down the road there's a cemetery, that's where Hoovie's BMW goin' be buried!"
Those headlights are exquisite and really of the period. Lovely !
Love the hearse content lately
Back in the 70s A friend of mine had a Austen sheerline hearse which he converted into a camper it looked amazing and it was the only problem was campsites hear in the uk would not let him on they were afraid of him frightening and the customers away
Fuckin prudes.
The contrast of the Hearses, Ferrari and the Ford Merkur is pretty cool. Love the variety in your shop.
Always wanted a chopped Hearst! Walk-through third row seating with awesome sound system!
The weather was certainly in tune with the look of that Superior hearse 💀⚡️ Looks very scary with those yellowed, disintegrating curtains 💀
Cool vid Wiz.....I think we all have some curiosity about hearses. My buddy had one, very clean - Cadillac, square headlights - 76' 77' ? Not sure which coachmaker it was.
I don't know what weirdos said that steering knob was for 1 handed girl hugging.... It's a "suicide knob" originally used in big trucks ie: 18 wheelers to help steer pre power steering.
You can give Hoovie one of the sympathy cards with his next bill 👍👍👍😂😂😂
Very cool interesting video. Didn't some of those have rear jump seats if they were a combination ambulance/hearse? If that sliding window did come with the car originally that could indicate it was setup to be a combination car. Ambulances originally did only transport so you really didn't need room to work on the patients.
For the most part, they all came with the partition. A Combination would have the jump seats and air conditioning in the rear.
Need to swap that radio out for an Aiwa model. (YT search for ' Aiwa Another one bites the dust ' commercial.)
That commercial was awesome
@@homeofchrome lol yea it was. I remember when they were still playing it on TV.
I imagine the sliding divider window was more useful in ambulance mode, when there would be an attendant back there (and maybe a paramedic, but they were pretty rare in 1974) who might need to talk to the driver.
Also: When I was a kid, my father bought a Dodge Power Wagon that had that exact same type of aftermarket steering wheel in it, except it was bright glittery green instead of red. It was part of a set with a matching shift knob and windshield wiper control. Wow. I haven't thought about that truck in ages.
Had a 1970 mm rear loader with nurses station. Had RPM out of Rohnert Park build out the 472... most fun and wo
rst $ ever spent...
Great purchase dude, the hearse is an underrated, beutiful alternative to a wagon, or small van. Always wanted one and one day I'm sure the right one will come to my door... While I'm still alive I hope 😅
Not much of a fan of the heavenly ride, not my style of customizing, one thing it would highly benefit it is a set of white walls, black walls on any pre-2000s Cadillac are a bit of a style crime ☠️
Yeah, still a work in progress.
I wonder what engine wizard going to put into that unit. I love that sparkly steering wheel. Would fit perfectly into my build
Respect for the top hat/tshirt combo
Why thank you, sir!
Where did you get the chrome headlight surrounds,please?
When I was younger, a hearse was one of the things I had in my dream fleet.
little miles? 91,000 miles! that's way more than I'd expect for a hearse lol
Just under 2,000 miles a year averaged over 46 years. Most of those were put on it after it left the funeral service.
Turn it into a camper and live in it for your new UA-cam channel. "Hearse life living," that's what I'd call it. In all seriousness I'd def turn it into a camper if it was mine.
I suggested turning it into a giant hot tub but a camper would be really cool too. You could raise the roof a foot or two and it would be pretty spacious.
I I had it I would have made shelves and so in it for tools and have it as a work vehicle. I work as a carpenter. Imagine the plywood and drywall sheets you can fit in there.
Are you sure Citizen Shane? If you had a camper like that you'd end up having lots of surprise booty calls with goth and emo hotties. Who wants that?
Glad I wasn’t the only one that thought the camper conversion would be cool
I own a 1961 Cadillac S&S Victoria hearse, removed the original 390 and turbo hydramatic for a 512 big block Cadillac and TH400 trans. All stock down to the 1974 bias ply white walls and stained curtains.
I really liked wizards hearse more, it was more boxy n defined while the other was soft I feel like a sleek black would make it look professional and more aggressive with the nice wheels it already has. Wizards is rugged and tight
HOLY Purple PANEL-GAP, Batman! O M G, lol
Yeah that tends to happen.
Hey, Car Wizard! Love your channel. Have you watched the HBO series, "6 Feet Under"? It was a series about a family in California that owned a funeral home. In the premiere episode, the father has just taken delivery of a brand-new hearse and is heading home, when he gets T-boned by a semi after dropping a cigarette on the floor. The daughter of the family drives around in a lime-green hearse for most of the series. Every episode opened with a "Death of the week", showing some unfortunate person dying in some manner. Since you seem to be interested in hearses, I thought you might enjoy the show.
We had a used car lot growing up..we had a couple hearses..olds/ caddy...we hauled our 3 wheelers in them...( yes, 3 wheelers)... being of high school age , they were fun .especially around Halloween..
Original bias ply spare. Visors are so huge that they need snaps to keep them up. Coach was ordered radio delete. You can still see part of the delete plate behind the DIN stereo. I'm guessing the antenna is some type of aftermarket item. I had 3 hearses. A 1972 S&S Victoria, 1973 Cotner/Bevington Cottington landau hearse with an Olds Ninety Eight chassis and a 1977 Superior Crown Landau Sovereign. I was lucky to get 7mpg on a good day. A full tank (27 gallons) might average just under 200 miles.
I thought for sure Hoovie was going to pop out when you opened the back door :P
I actually am looking for a casket key, I used to have a 1970 Cadillac Superior hearse and I still have a 1946 Ford Siebert Hearse!
His channel is not in the algoritm of UA-cam but the link works
Nice…looks to be *just a wee a bit* of a boat!
😀
Not even sure that thing would comfortably fit down my road 😬
74 is my favorite year for Caddies a d the last year for the round headlights, I also like the 75 and 76 but they don't look have as good with square headlights.
"I've got a 1937 Cadillac hearse; she's not too cherry, but she could be worse; the surfers all dig it, they say she kooky, but the honeys put her down -- they say she's spooky!"
Such a great song!
Those are not turn signal indicators on the tops of the fenders. They are fiber optic lamp monitors. Sedans, coupes and hardtops had another set mounted at the interior top above the rear window for the brake and taillights. I've never had a limo, service car, or convertible so I can't say where or if they are mounted.
If you think about it. A hearse would make a perfect used luxury car. They usually have low mileage, garage kept, and well maintained. If you can get over the creepy factor, they would make the perfect used car.
Now the Wizard needs a top hat to wear with his Hearse.
I've always wondered why they would build a hearse based on a Cadillac chassis with no power windows, given that they were standard in all Cadillacs by this time and would be particularly useful in a funeral situation. Were these cars so close to their weight limits that they had to save every possible pound?
PS: I've read that some of these cars (maybe the ambulances) still rode on bias ply tires, so '71-'76 Cadillacs, unlike all the other B and C bodies, still had strut-rod caster adjusters.
It was all about how much money the FH wanted to spend. Some had it. Most didn’t.
The amazing fact is that our John Deere 544k can pick up 3 of these hearses out of the crusher! A always thought that these cars were heavy until I got into the scrap business and learned quickly that the forklift throws these cars around like nothing.
no better machine than a caddy to go through the pearly gates
That's a good one BM W😅
I use to have a 1973 cadillac Eldorado convertible it came with the 500 motor with front whe drive. I noticed the 74 still had the rear wheel drive. Was that more reliable than the front wheel drive.
If I had the funds for when my time comes, I would totally want a custom hearse.
Start with a Dodge Magnum as a foundation. Give it a Charger front end and a Hellephant under the hood. Top it off with a TorRed paint job.
Please don't abandon it like so many of your other cars
When you opened the rear door, I was expecting -Daniel Son to be under the green pouch.
Steve Magnante just went through a Miller Meteor hearse on his UA-cam channel and gave information on where it's located if either of you are looking for anything..
Upon looking back it's a 1963 :(
Looks like the "leaf vineing" resembles the leaves from the Cadillac wreath logo.
Man I really need to get my hearse. I looked at one back when I was 22, the sides were rusted out.
Hey Wizard & Mrs Wizard, if things don't work out with Omega Auto Clinic you can always become a mortician!!! Woo Hoo!!! 😳
Sadly from 2030 on all combustion cars including classics will be banned
from public streets in entire EU and Scandinavia :-( In Germany the
Green Peoples Party gave order to shorten fuel supply from 2025 on by
reducing all conventional fuel stations to only one state operated
central gas station per city or county. Now they even want to slow down
all the gas pumps from 20 litre per minute to 2 litre per minute...From
2027 on in the EU certain car spare parts will be banned too....as
exhaust systems, turbo chargers and even some engine and gearbox
oils...California and New York will do the same from 2027 on.... So no
investments should be done in oil burning cars any longer....They even
created a new kind of crime here, called emissions and smoke crime. Called "Bundesabgasbespaßungsverbotsverordnung" in German.... :-/((((
imagine its late, maybe 11-12pm and you're strolling around in a desolate part of Kansas and a hearse with bright head light, starts fallowing you. only you and them on the road.
Are they registered as a Cadillac or under the name of the coach builder?
Registered as a Cadillac Commercial Chassis
A wizard that's thing on the steering wheel is called a suicide knob it helps in backing you can go from steering stop to steering stop very fast. Fyi very legal on road commercial equipment and most States.
Sooo…if his digs are the “house of chrome” does that make him the “chrome homey”?
I want a hearse. That would be awesome to do like truck camping and everything in. Convert the back into a rolling bedroom that would be pretty sick.
🤭🤔 Great video. For some reason I now want to buy a hearse ,to add to my vehicle collection....
What classics do you have in your collection??
cool car, always sort of wanted a hearse
On 11:30 I was afraid Hoovie was in there, phew!
I’m waiting for guest to show us his black buzzard. You know he has one
I can neither confirm nor deny the existence of said black buzzard.
A good episode would be most efficient most hp power engines of all time!
🎵 A hearse is a hearse, a curse, a curse! And no one can repair a hearse's curse; unless the curse is banished by the famous Car Wizard! 🎵
I wanna take a Lac Herse and make a camping van out of it. Maybe set it on an old GM square body frame with some 35in beadlocked mud tires on it. Etc
The dome light lense is the same one used in buses, especially school buses
I love Cadillac Station Wagons.
Keep the one that separates going to the taillights and sink inn tail lights hearse is hard to find like the silver one my aun😢has with matching family limot