a hearse game of inches

Thought football was the only game of inches?

Over a year ago I came across this '65 Superior.



Hood popped up when driving, which created other damage. Owner was so infuriated that he parked it. This was 17-18 years ago. The forest has since grown up around it.



Perpendicular behind it, a '59 Fleetwood.



Owner gave a reasonable price for '59 and immediately a PCS member wanted it as a parts unit - there are LOTS of goodies left.



The problem became twofold: Sentimental attachment to '65 turned into a yearlong discussion just to receive a price. Then a labor intensive battle removing each. In the end, '65 price came in $500 less than target, and I easily found a home for it without having to mention anything publicly.

So 4 guys, 2 chainsaws, a 4x4, and a rollback went in motion battling ticks, Poison Ivy, and Poison Sumac in 94 degrees with a heat index of 104. We were armed with a ready supply of Deep Woods Off. About 2 hours late after downing several dozen small/medium trees, moving untold tonnage of Farmall, conveyor systems, farming implements, a 24' house I-beam, and a bunch of other nondescript scrap - a nearly 200' path to freedom began to appear.




Success! Sort of. Notice angle of exit compared to Superior position.



Good time to mention that none of us knew a wheel had been stolen off the Superior. No, it didn't have a spare. We improvised.

Generator, compressor, 3 remaining tires hold air, jack up and place a '70s GM spare on missing right front. Using Ford Triton's power and maneuverability, we first tried pulling/steering.



We now realize rear wheels have seized from sitting. The game of inches truly begins. Pay attention to sequential changing direction drag marks.



Sledge to rear wheels under load breaks one free. Still dragging back end combined with juxtaposition, slippery traction, and much larger trees in way made us finagle rollback in however. It was obvious Superior wasn't going to make turn; a snatch block worked the rear over.





After bracing the tree to get job done, rollback easily started pulling forward, rear still dragging.



Just a little more...



Almost home free...or are we?

Not so much. We weren't going to clear passenger side tree. Even cut a smaller one down thinking it may then fit. Nope.



Say! What about that junk van storing newspapers? Yeah. That'll work. Attach a chain to the back that when tensioned from front winch will pull it over.



Rollback operators may not have physics degrees but they're pretty damn smart regardless. Worked flawlessly. 4.5 hours later Superior saw the street (again, first time in about 18 years). I particularly like how heavy she's sitting.



Another couple hours and the '59 Fleetwood will be ready for transport as well.

Superior endloader is rough around edges but overall not that bad all things considered. Windshield cracked. Already sourced another hood. New owner says he can work passenger fender but it needs one, he just doesn't know it yet. Needs a passenger front bumper end. Rear bumper has NO rot, amazingly. Under flaking paint is a pretty solid coach, doors included. We removed loose trim and skirts before starting process. Motor turns by hand and it has a clean title. Not a bad starting point.



Color surprised all of us. We assumed it was all black for a year before realizing in sunlight that it is black over iridescent blue.

And since you're still reading, another stop was made on the same trip to check on these. Hardcore enthusiasts should get coach builders and models, guessing years will stump most as I intentionally left those parts out. Have a go~

The white one is a S&S between 1959-64.
The black one is a Superior appears to be a 1959 or 60.

Good start Joseph! There's more info yet in that paired cropping...

Atti, you do such an awesome job reporting while picking up your finds!!

Now thats what I would call a rescue and a save,great shots and story thanks.

Who cares about football, thats my kind of game right there. I've played that game a few times. nice finds and saves there.

Josh

It looks like you had yourself one heck of an adventure!

Additionally it looks like the Superior Royale lacks a division window, indicating that it may be a 3-way car?

And the S&S has no leather top so I'm guessing its either a Park Row limousine body, or a Park Way ambulance.

Impressive Joseph. You're right on.

'59 Superior Royale Landaulet 3-way
'60 S&S Park Row limo style endloader

Did you happen to get a photo of the build plate on the S&S? It would have been located on the driverside inner femder well in the engine bay.

I have been collecting photos of them for the last few years, trying to determine some production numbers on these cars. As I have a 1962 S&S Victoria and have been curious about how many were built. I contacted Accubilt some time back but they had no production records.

So far my collection numbers about two dozen build plates, and eventually when I have enough info I will post my findings here on the forum.

The distance between '59 and '60 is greater than their other respective three sides. They're buried, nosed in behind a makeshift wall in a 3 wide, 2 deep garage. This was the first time I climbed over them for a different perspective. Reaching camera through windows was only real option.

'60 last tagged in '86. Only has like 35k original miles. You'll have to squint and use x-ray vision for data plate...






Neither has been out in at least 20 years.

Atti after your recent Auction finds I could only drool with your winnings? and now the result of your recent foray I can only declare you to be the...

OFFICIAL PICKER OF OUR HAPPY GROUP!!!!

Attila Bethlenfalvy said:

'60 S&S Park Row limo style endloader

Click to expand...

Even better - she's a combination!

Unbelievable.

Thanks for the photos. Are we going to get a story on why these two beauties are stashed away? I'm just drooling and speechless over the '59 Superior. To think: these finds are still out there! Thanks for giving me hope and making me horrendously jealous all at the same time.

cool !


I wish i would live in the USA........


Gérard

Josh Noiles said:

Are we going to get a story on why these two beauties are stashed away? I'm just drooling and speechless over the '59 Superior. To think: these finds are still out there! Thanks for giving me hope and making me horrendously jealous all at the same time.

Click to expand...

Nah. Publicly revealing too much would go over like a motorboat in a cesspool.

Takes considerable detective work but they ARE still out there. Seriously. I can quickly think of over a dozen '59s alone off radar. One thing you can bank on is knowing I never post the most current pertinent finds/deals/behind scenes stuff. Keep that in mind.

As Attila, Steve, or I will attest, the key to finding these cars is to travel extensively and weekly...... by car. We all have the interest and ability to sniff these cars out. The three of us just happen to cover a huge area and travel every week. I, personally, average 1000 miles a week in my Dodge Charger covering the states of Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, and Minnesota. On occasion, even further. Steve travels an insanely large territory.