Coach in the driveway!!!

W

Wesley Hord

PCS member Kent Dorsey had contacted me by email about... two months ago? He let me know about a friend in the funeral industry here in NC with a car he wanted to part with.

I went to Wallace NC, about an hour from my home, to check out a car that had been retired by the funeral home it was associated with. The car is a 1992 S&S Victoria hearse built from a Cadillac Fleetwood FWD with the 4.9 engine. At first it wouldn't start, though the owner had drove it some the day before. Turns out it just needed a battery to bring her to life. I cranked her up, took her for a short test drive, and fell in love! She is now resting in my driveway!

The paint is good, there is a little bit of visible rust on the rear door and a tiny amount of pain cracking on the front right fender. The interior has some sun-bleaching, but some seat covers would make it look a lot better. I've never driven a hearse before, so I removed the tattered curtains so that I could see to change lanes.

The previous owner wanted to keep the casket hardware, as he still owns four functioning funeral homes, and has a first-call van that he wants to build a roller table for. The deal he gave me on the car was fantastic, and I don't really need the hardware for what I'm using the car for, so I invited him to keep any bits and pieces that would aid him in performing his funeral functions.

I'm very excited about this new adventure! Being a junior member, I am not able to post pictures, but I do have the car set as my backdrop photo on my facebook page. Or if anyone wants to lift the pic from there and post it here for me, please feel free! I only have the one pic so far, but I assure you, there will be more to come! I'm gonna have to get my photobucket account going again.
 
Congratulations Wesley !!:applause:
I am sure you are elated,be safe and have fun with the coach !!
Looking forward to photos when you can post them !

PS A membership is very much worth the cost for the thrill that you get when you can post pictures !;)
 
Very nice looking coach, I almost bought one identical to it in Spokane last year. Kicking myself still for not getting it.
 
Wesley Hord said:
The deal he gave me on the car was fantastic, and I don't really need the hardware for what I'm using the car for, so I invited him to keep any bits and pieces that would aid him in performing his funeral functions.
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What will you be using the car for?
 
Congratulations Wesley! You got a good looking coach and it is nice to see it in blue. I always like different! The 4.9 is a good engine! You will enjoy your new toy!
 
My intended purpose is to use it as my daily driver, and when I need a small pickup, to use it as that. My current vehicle, which is on it's last leg (no longer legs, just one leg) is a 1988 Mazda B2200. The only times I ever used it as a pickup truck was to deliver recycling metal to the scrap yard, or to move small pieces of furniture, pick up something too long to go in a "normal" car, etc.

I don't intend to use the hearse to move a bunch of filthy scrap metal. I'm not going to destroy the beauty of the rear panels and all that. I am going to try to find a carpet that is a reasonable color match to the interior color of the car and cover the wood table in the back with it. Or some rubber maybe, but I really like the carpet idea better.

Fortunately, we're only a family of three, so the driver's compartment is big enough for the three of us. So it's just really gonna be our car. That's about it.
 
Nice. Ive always had a soft spot for these small FWD coaches. Once you learn to drive with your mirrors only, you can get the drapes back in and make it look more dignified again. S&S Built 71 coaches on the FWD platform that year, and about half (no exact number is given) was the S&S 5000 like you have. The 5000 has the high roof (Even though it says Victoria, it is not), the Victoria had the low roofline.
 
John Royark JR said:
S&S Built 71 coaches on the FWD platform that year, and about half (no exact number is given) was the S&S 5000 like you have. The 5000 has the high roof (Even though it says Victoria, it is not), the Victoria had the low roofline.
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And that's why I love this forum! So much information that would be hard to find anywhere else. Still being new to the pro-car world, I would have never known that info about Victorias. Thanks for the share!
 
from what you are saying , does this car have the extended table? I have seen a number of the 4.9 with over 200,000 miles on them still run like a top. if I remember right the CC chassis cars of these set of years have steel fenders rather than the composition ones on the standard caddy.
 
Wesley Hord said:
My intended purpose is to use it as my daily driver, and when I need a small pickup, to use it as that. My current vehicle, which is on it's last leg (no longer legs, just one leg) is a 1988 Mazda B2200. The only times I ever used it as a pickup truck was to deliver recycling metal to the scrap yard, or to move small pieces of furniture, pick up something too long to go in a "normal" car, etc.

I don't intend to use the hearse to move a bunch of filthy scrap metal. I'm not going to destroy the beauty of the rear panels and all that. I am going to try to find a carpet that is a reasonable color match to the interior color of the car and cover the wood table in the back with it. Or some rubber maybe, but I really like the carpet idea better.

Fortunately, we're only a family of three, so the driver's compartment is big enough for the three of us. So it's just really gonna be our car. That's about it.
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I've actually found bier pins extremely useful when moving things like ikea shelves and such and not ripping up the interior of the car =) But you can always pick some up cheap some time down the road.
 
John ED Renstrom said:
from what you are saying , does this car have the extended table? I have seen a number of the 4.9 with over 200,000 miles on them still run like a top. if I remember right the CC chassis cars of these set of years have steel fenders rather than the composition ones on the standard caddy.
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Ed, in this year of S&S FWD the only thing that is steel is the 4 doors, loading door, and I think hood. Other than that it is a composite body, even front fenders
 
they only thing bad with that body. the hood is aluminum the fenders the composite. they don't rust but they do tend to brake without warning
 
I gotta say, if that hood is aluminum, it's doing a poor job of it. I have NEVER lifted such a heavy hood before! My hood lift supports are shot, so you bear the whole weight of it when you lift it, and it is heavy. I do believe the fenders are composite, because that's where the cracks in the paint are. I figure it's from the material flexing.

I can't wait until I have a little extra cash and time, so that I can work on bringing the vinyl top back to its former glory. It's got what I guess if grey colored mildew on it? I can tell it's a beautiful blue where it isn't mildewed. Any suggestions on what to, or what not to, clean it with? I was thinking diluted purple power?
 
For the top, give it a good scrubbing with Dawn dish soap if you're on a budget. Or you can use RaggTopp. That's some good stuff. I think there's a thread on here for cleaning and protecting vinyl. Antihero good method is using a steam cleaner and a cleaner of you're choice. The steam opens the pores and the cleaner and a brush pull the crap out. Do it a small piece at a time and wipe away the crud.
 
I would not use dish soap. Its not good for auto paint and it will strip off all your wax. There are many products out there specially made for vinyl tops, just go to your favorite auto parts isle, and see what you like best. Everyone has their own preference on what they like best.
 
go with the turtle wax tire dressing and a scrub brush. work a couple feet at a time spay it on a section let it work a bit scrub with the brush and wipe it off. it will clean it nicely. these type of products will streak down as it washed off, thought.
 
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