New Hearse Bodies

Steve Lichtman

Steve Lichtman

Ever wondered how some coachbuilders build their hearses? Here's a bit of the answer. The fiberglas bodies are on their way to a coachbuilder - somewhere. This was photographed by Jeff Beyer at a truckstop in Angola, IN the other day.
 

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When we visited Accubuilt/Superior/S&S at the M-M meet in 2009, they used fiberglas panels built by an outside supplier. But they had individual parts (back, sides, roof, etc.) and attached them to a metal frame. So unless they've changed their style of production, I'm guessing it's not them.
 

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my question is changing over to a fiberglass body corrected any rust issue's in certain problem area's and maybe made it lighter?
 
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a one word answer, no. it creates as many problems as it salves. the steel frame work the shell must set on still has it problems then were ever they graft the bodies together is one more source of trouble. grant the quarters don't rust. just everything that holds the quarters on does. with all the bracing to support the fiberglass they weigh about the same as if they made them from steel. now if they went with the abs plastic like bumper covers are made from that would be lighter. but again the bracing frame work adds.
 
Steve Lichtman said:
When we visited Accubuilt/Superior/S&S at the M-M meet in 2009, they used fiberglas panels built by an outside supplier. But they had individual parts (back, sides, roof, etc.) and attached them to a metal frame. So unless they've changed their style of production, I'm guessing it's not them.
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Accubuilt builds them using the individual panels now, but I know when I visited them in 2005 they were using the shells like in the first post.
 
Has anyone here watched the episode of how its made on discovery channel? they showed how hearses are made i believe the episode came out in '07 or '08 its on youtube
 
Thats weird. I have the same show recorded but the voice is different, they say the same thing, only the one I have is american, and this appears to be European. It says boot, and centermeters and mine says trunk, and inches.
 
Andrew G. Zajkowski said:
my question is changing over to a fiberglass body corrected any rust issue's in certain problem area's and maybe made it lighter?
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As Ed said, no! You have to remember the use of fiberglass in these cars is nothing new. I know for a fact Superior was using fiberglass panels in 1960, prolly earlier. Also, Eureka was using complete fiberglass rear shells (top, sides, rear quarters, loading door) in the mid 80s. The fiberglass cars seem to run around 5,000 LBS.
 
those hearse bodies

One piece hearse bodies used to be built by a company here in Springfield, Ohio. I remember seeing them sitting on the ground inside the fence. Some were set on trailers ready to be sent off to who knows where. I was not a member of PCS then. It was to me at the time, just another bit of car history that happened here.
This same company built some fiberglass animals for amusement parks.
Mike
 
when you watch the video you can see how much bare steel is fastened to bare steel. the frame rails are treated but the weld would remove that. you see the amount of bracing that is use to support the fiber glass. with today new glues they could be stamping the panels out of steel and gluing them in the same fashion. much like the newer cars are be made. but if you know there is a big change coming why alter your construction just to have to do it again
 
John Royark JR said:
As Ed said, no! You have to remember the use of fiberglass in these cars is nothing new. I know for a fact Superior was using fiberglass panels in 1960, prolly earlier. Also, Eureka was using complete fiberglass rear shells (top, sides, rear quarters, loading door) in the mid 80s. The fiberglass cars seem to run around 5,000 LBS.
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Superior used fiberglass roof caps for high headroom ambulances starting in the early 1960s. They even used fiberglass fender fillers and extensions on sone cars of this vintage. At the time, they took a lot of flak for it from Miller-Meteor and S&S. Eureka in Canada pioneered the extensive use of fiberglass -or FRP (Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic)as they callled it. It was the first professional car builder to successfully make the entire body in one shell from the A-pillars to the rear bumper including the rear quarters, rockers and loading doors. This was but one of the many advancements made by that firm that were later adopted by the industry at large.
 
I was amazed at the part of the video where they were putting the vinyl top on. The guy at the rear of the car pulling the vinyl so hard around the back that he looked like he was going to rip his arms off. I guess that vinyl is tougher than it looks! Like Ed said, no coating on the steel parts where they welded....I would think at the price they charge for those cars, they could at least do a quick spray of paint or something over all that steel, but I guess it's all about profit anymore.
 
I visited the Superior plant in Lima on a Sat. in the early 1990's. The place was closed, but the guard saw me in my '73 and invited me in for a tour. During the tour he told me that the drivers had to line the coaches up exactly right when loading or unloading them from the transport trucks, or else the huge fiberglass panels could crack from the stress if the angle of entry to the ramp was not perfectly straight.
 
commercial coaches

What that guard told Jim has some truth in it. My shop manual is very specific. It says to never use a finger type/frame lift when lifting a series 75 or commercial chassis. This is in the 1961 Cadillac shop manual. Other years may have other instructions.
Mike

:my2cents:
 
Mike Stevens said:
What that guard told Jim has some truth in it. My shop manual is very specific. It says to never use a finger type/frame lift when lifting a series 75 or commercial chassis. This is in the 1961 Cadillac shop manual. Other years may have other instructions.
Mike

:my2cents:
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Wow, that is kinda frightening. The dealer here had mine up on one of those frame lifts, guess that won't happen again! Brings up a question though--I realize that the CC cars would have a stretched frame from the builder that made them, but wouldn't my series 75 car have a solid/one piece frame since it was made at the GM factory or not? Just curious, never looked.
 
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