another procar hunt underway

[Attila Bethlenfalvy]

Here's John again making a cameo with his pride and joy.



John had wanted a '50s Caddy hearse for a long time. His others are mainly vintage Australian Ford hearses. I'm working on pictures of those as well to share.



Same as '61- mainly missing front bumper and table.



That '57 Superior parts car's table in Ontario ***needs*** mated with this '55! Already mentioned it to John. Let's make it happen for him! I'll find a front bumper closer.

[Attila Bethlenfalvy]

The sequence of events that transpired in this 24 hour period couldn't have been predicted. Gotta' love it! As an added bonus of going to Dave's and seeing all of his cars, I may have found PCS homes for a couple non-procars.




Found ANOTHER '59 procar long off the radar too. One of the old yards I stopped at sold one last year. Lasted about 2 weeks after taking it in. Told me it was just like a Ghostbusters car. They were kind enough to provide the contact info of whom it sold to. I called, great enthusiast, turns out it is a '59 Superior straight low-top ambulance. When in his area next, I'll stop in and see it.

By the time I made it home, my poor Volvo was overflowing. No way I could take a passenger - or even use the center armrest while driving. Ha.



Ended up stopping at 20 Wal-Marts and 7 Toys-R-Us along the 3200 mile trip and found many more hearse/ambulance toys along the way. Parting shot~

[Tony Karsnia]

Thanks for sharing the details of this great hunt with us, Atti. More proof of great cars still out there waiting to be discovered.

Careful, the PCS Youthful Enthusiasm Committee has zeroed in on you!

[Brady D Smith]

What a great car.

[Attila Bethlenfalvy]

Finally caught up with email and managed to check out John's band site, Wild Turkey. Infectious enthusiasm can cross large bodies of water...



'59 Ford - bitchin'!

[John Marsden]

Hey it is great to see a photo of my Australian Hearse (as well as my USA Cadillac Hearses) on this forum! My 1959 Ford was coach built by W G Smith from Lidcombe NSW Australia. It has an exteneded chassis by about 2 feet - it is 20 and a half feet long and has all stainless lining on the Coffin table and rear tray. It is a very spectacular Australian Hearse. Aussie Hearses are unique as they often used American cars such as Fords and Chevs but were built in a very English Style with lots of glass and the Coffin area on display.
I have owned my 59 for almost 20 years and have done about 150,000 miles in it. It is currently getting a full rebuild and I have fitted a 428 Cobrajet Motor to it. Apart from that it is entirely original (I have kept the original 352 motor so it can be made dead stock easily) I will post some pics soon!
Cheers from John
Kallista, Australia.

[Richard Vyse]

Originally Posted by Attila Bethlenfalvy

You do get around. This is the Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, TX and I used to manage a Radisson Hotel in this town.

[Rocky Fluegge]

Originally Posted by John Marsden

Hey it is great to see a photo of my Australian Hearse (as well as my USA Cadillac Hearses) on this forum! My 1959 Ford was coach built by W G Smith from Lidcombe NSW Australia. It has an exteneded chassis by about 2 feet - it is 20 and a half feet long and has all stainless lining on the Coffin table and rear tray. It is a very spectacular Australian Hearse. Aussie Hearses are unique as they often used American cars such as Fords and Chevs but were built in a very English Style with lots of glass and the Coffin area on display.
I have owned my 59 for almost 20 years and have done about 150,000 miles in it. It is currently getting a full rebuild and I have fitted a 428 Cobrajet Motor to it. Apart from that it is entirely original (I have kept the original 352 motor so it can be made dead stock easily) I will post some pics soon!
Cheers from John
Kallista, Australia.

Neat piece i would love to see the progress pics, and some of the business end if you have any.

[Attila Bethlenfalvy]

Received an email from John Marsden:

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"My 59 Ford here in Aus has had some metal finished rust repairs done by one of our best body repairers (he usually specialises in vintage Rolls Royces, Delages etc - coach builder) who is a friend so I am lucky to have such high quality work done. I have it back for a few months but have not done anything but will start further work in the next month or so.

Here is a link to an Aussie website with Australian Hearse coach builders - the page I have linked has photos of my Hearse before I bought it.

http://www.funeralcoaches.com.au/his...builders4.html

I wanted to post some pics on the website you posted the Colorado pics on but I had trouble doing so."

[Doug Lemon]

The above website is run by PCS member Stuart Rowe. Some of you may remember the Rowe family from the Albany International.