procar 'grails'

This thread has been dominated by mostly old cars, and all have been well deserving of mention. But one car that I think should be added to the list is the black 1996 Cadillac S&S limousine style Masterpiece built for Archambault Funeral Home in Lowell,Mass. It is supposedly still hibernating in a garage up there, at least that's what Mr. Archambault told me about 4 years ago or so.

And what about the matching 6 dr commercial glass limousine that was bought with it?
 
For me, the "Holy Grail" of pro-cars is a 1965 Lincoln Lehmann-Peterson limousine. In second place is the Olds Toronado based Jetaway limos.
 
1959 or 1960 Eureka 18" Chicago style flower car. only 4 Eureka flower cars were made per year for 1959 or 1960. Only 1 18" flower car was made each year. Have yet to lay eyes on one in person. I suggest a holy grail needs to be something sought after by more than just the person who wants it too. I would assume someone else may want a low deck eureka flower car besides me.

Here you go Nick, the one and only 1960 Eureka Flower Car with 18" deck... A friend has owned it for the past 15-16 years or more, mostly using it as a motorcycle / parts hauler. I snapped these pics back in the late '90s on the streets of Long Beach, CA where it lived at the time. I drove it a time or two back then. As you can see, the car had seen better days. Since these pics were taken it has sustained further damage from drunk drivers side-swiping it on more than one occasion. The owner moved to central CA several years ago and I haven't seen the car since. It was previously owned by a collector in Newport Beach and I believe it was still a nice car, complete with all the stainless, etc. up until about the early-mid '90s. I don't know it's history prior to that...








I'm also a fan of Eureka's Chicago style flower cars, but make mine a '52 please!

 
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There are many professional cars I like, but trying to stick with a true "holy grail" theme, here's a partial list off the top of my head. Thankfully, I know of some of these that still exist (noted with an *).

1909 Crane & Breed motor hearse, the first commercially built hearse
Any Cunningham carved panel hearse with ached roof
1941 John Little Cadillac Hearse*
1942 Flxible Innovation hearse*
1957 National Chevrolet hearse*
House of Diggs' 1957/58 National Chrysler Imperial hearse
1957-1959 S&S Park Lane hearse & flower car*
1959 National Chrysler Imperial "Blue Guardian" ambulance
Any Miller Meteor Guardian Cadillac ambulances
1973 Miller Meteor Criterion prototype ambulance (yeah, I know...)
The one-off Eureka Cadillac Town Car limousine-style hearse
 
Thanks!!
Wow, now I know what the order of that car is! Would love to know more about it and / or get the opportunity to put it back together.
You can still see the red in the rear window and trailer hitch still being used. Also the cut out on the pass side fender skirt. Interesting to place it together. Where is that boot?? doesn't matter, my grail is still out there

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I have a car in mind to add to this discussion, but I'm biting my tongue to keep my mouth shut. Why? Because production was extremely limited, being interupted by World War II, and none were known to have survived. Well just a couple weeks ago, a friend called me to tell about this odd car he'd come across and thought I might be interested. I darn near fell on the floor when I saw the photos of what he'd found! He and I both are now in the process of trying to discover/contact the owner to hopefully make him no longer the owner! So the secrecy is due to not wanting to risk having others swoop in and steal it out from under me, and because if it does become mine, I want to be the one who reveals it. But here's one more clue, for a hearse guy like me to be going nuts over an ambulance, you better bet its something special!

MORE MORE MORE clues!
 
Just off the top of my head two grails would be the 1959 National Lincoln flower recently sold on ebay, given its styling and rarity, and the 1936 Owen Brothers Cord side loading ambulance that was owned by the Bowersock & Chiles Funeral Home in Lima.
 
There are many professional cars I like, but trying to stick with a true "holy grail" theme, here's a partial list off the top of my head. Thankfully, I know of some of these that still exist (noted with an *).

1909 Crane & Breed motor hearse, the first commercially built hearse
Any Cunningham carved panel hearse with ached roof
1941 John Little Cadillac Hearse*
1942 Flxible Innovation hearse*
1957 National Chevrolet hearse*
House of Diggs' 1957/58 National Chrysler Imperial hearse
1957-1959 S&S Park Lane hearse & flower car*
1959 National Chrysler Imperial "Blue Guardian" ambulance
Any Miller Meteor Guardian Cadillac ambulances
1973 Miller Meteor Criterion prototype ambulance (yeah, I know...)
The one-off Eureka Cadillac Town Car limousine-style hearse

Didn't someone at some point trace the entire history of the 1973 M-M prototype Criterion from build date through destroy date?
 
Just off the top of my head two grails would be the 1959 National Lincoln flower recently sold on ebay, given its styling and rarity, and the 1936 Owen Brothers Cord side loading ambulance that was owned by the Bowersock & Chiles Funeral Home in Lima.


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My "grail" is probably the most simplistic......I am a product of 1959 however the 1960 model cars were out by my November birth. I appreciate the 1959 models across the board but by 1960 the Detroit automakers were trying to refine the massive styling changes that had transpired the previous year. I could aspire to find a 1960 Cadillac of some kind.....but.....my first car at age 14 was a yellow 1960 Chevy Impala 6 window with a 348. An elderly lady a few doors down had a 60 Impala sport coupe. Some how the styling of the 1960 Chevrolet has always been a favorite. In later years I owned a 1965 Chevy II four door that was a 194 with a Powerglide, I loved that car for what it wasn't, just a simple plain Jane nothing car. For that reason I would consider my grail to be a 1960 National Chevy LWB limo combination......Biscayne base......235 and a 3 on the tree. I have never seen a LWB one...other than the brochure. Are there "spiffier" cars to consider......yes....

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The second "grail" I did pass on....maybe 10 years ago. The timing wasn't right and now I am over the joy of playing old cars having owned well over 100 of them. As a teen in St Pete Florida I was getting motor oil in my veins in the early 70's. One day at a local 7-11 while playing the Hollywood Pinball machine I glanced up and saw glimmer of chrome.
The glint of chrome grew stronger and a low burble accompanied it as well.
I hadta look and what I saw made me lose my ball......I knew exactly what it was and wasn't pis*ed that I "drained" my last ball ( that dont sound right but what the hell we are talking PINBALL). A 1960 Olds Super 88 Coupe with skirts! I had never seen that car on the south side of St Pete before. I just looked.....jaw in a dropped and locked position....as a HUGE guy got out of the car (morbidly obese is the current term). As he came in the store he looked and me and said something as you would expect him to being so large....I retorted back "That's a 60 right?" and his look changed from ****ed to smiling...."Yeah it is." I became great freinds with Gary Owens from that point on learning tons of stuff regarding cars over the 10 years that I knew him. Sadly in 1982 I think Gary died....he had been sick a number of years and his last wishes were to "Go to Calvary" (Cemetery) in an Olds. Thankfully Brett Funeral Home in St Pete had a 69 CB Cotington and guess what Gary went in. Fast forward to the late 80's and I got the call to come get the Brett 1969 CB. As I was bringing it home ( less than a mile) the memories of Gary came flooding back, I was in tears remembering him as I pulled in my driveway and the fun we had, roads trips, busted knuckles, junkyarding, all the usual stuff. I always felt Garys presence in that car......for the brief time I owned it.
For this reason..my other grail was a 60 CB Olds limousine combination.
I had my chance on one car 2 times......and was mature enough to realize it was the right car at the wrong time. ( I still keep a 1960 Oldsmobile brochure in my literature collection as a memory to Gary)

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Just off the top of my head two grails would be the 1959 National Lincoln flower recently sold on ebay, given its styling and rarity,.

And how about the matching hearse and limousine? I think those are too and wanted to add them before but didnt get the chance. They would be a cool find and quite unique. Plus Im a sucker for procars that served local to me.
 
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