The ELVIS hearses.

Jeremy D. Ledford

PCS Volunteer Chapter President
Since this is the anniversary week of the death of Elvis Presley I wanted to post the stories that most of us know about the ill fate of the 1977 Miller-Meteor Landau Traditional hearse that was owned by SCI and operated from the Memphis Funeral Home that transported Elvis on the day of his funeral. This is good reading for those who don't know the story and you'll read information from the late Bernie DeWinter and other PCS members such as Danny Ryder and Dennis Goethe and a story from the driver Chuck Houston who was driving the hearse when it caught fire on I-75 in Georgia. Though it would be a good discussion topic as it has in the past

http://elviscadillacs.tripod.com/elvhearse.htm
 
... Chuck Houston who was driving the hearse when it caught fire on I-75 in Georgia. Though it would be a good discussion topic as it has in the past

http://elviscadillacs.tripod.com/elvhearse.htm


: "Heading south again, we were on our way. Just as the weigh station (the last one on southbound 75) came into sight the engine cut off. I dropped her into neutral while travelling around 65 mph and turned the ignition. When I did, fire shot out from under the hood on both sides. I eased her to the shoulder next to the weigh station return ramp and my friend and I jumped from the hearse as the fire engulfed the front end of the hearse"...


Can anyone speculate what were the series of events that lead to the fire?
 
most likly it had ignition problems and the carburetor was not working quite right. the car cut out electorally. it continued to put raw gas in to the intake as the drag turned the engine over and when he put it into neutral and hit the ignition it back fired and the load of gas in the intake caught the oil soaked air cleaner on fire and away she went from there a lot of air ,hot engine and plenty of gas. it burned hot and fast. now then Had he shifted into neutral let it cost to a stop and then tried to start it it may not have happened . had the car been clean and in good operating condition it would not have happened ether. take care of your stuff and it will take care of you
 
I think the Kennedy family had the car fire bombed so it would't be around to make headlines while crossing the action block at barret jackson. They wanted to save those headlines for the JFK hearse.

:yankchain:
 
This post about the Elvis hearse reminds me of a story that could have been posted in the "dumb things people say" thread.

In 2004, I attended a car show at Graceland in Memphis with my Bayliff-Packard combo, and it turned out to be the only show that I've been kicked out of, despite being pre-registered and them knowing what I was bringing, because once I was there, it was felt that a hearse wasn't appropriate.

If my memory is correct, the event consisted of a Friday morning photo shoot on the driveway in front of Graceland, then we moved to a section of the visitors parking lot for the show, and the show continued again on Saturday.

Already on Friday, as the cars were lining up on the street in front of the mansion, a rumor was going through the car owners that the hearse wasn't going to be allowed in. Well since it was only a rumor and nothing official, I followed as close to the car in front of me as I could when we started parading in, so that they couldn't close the gate on me. When all were in, we parked as group and wandered about for a bit, before we began the one car at a time photo shoot in front of the mansion. As I got closer and closer to my turn pausing in front of the mansion, I started hearing rumors again about how this was taking longer than allowed, and the last couple cars, which included me (and which I highly suspect was intended only for me), would just have to drive through without stopping. Well I wasn't going to put up with that. When I got in front of the mansion, I stopped, shut the car off and took the key with me, when I got out to take my photo. I was still using a film camera at the time, so I can't post my proof that I was there, but on this page http://www.madle.org/epicbryan.htm there is a photo taken during the group shot proving that I was on the Graceland grounds.

After moving over to the parking lot for the actual show, it was only a matter of a couple hours before the car show organizer, who wasn't a Graceland employee, caught up to me wandering around the show, to tell me that a Graceland official told him he wanted the hearse removed. Part of his reasoning for wanting the hearse gone was his employees were being bothered by people constantly asking them if it was the hearse that carried Elvis!

I refused to actually leave, but I did consent to moving the car to a less noticeable area. But when I returned on Saturday for the rest of the show, I was only allowed on the grounds at all if I would park in the service area where the public was never going to see it.

Being as interested as I am in "oddball" subjects like hearses and cemeteries, I am a very tolerant person when it comes to things that others are interested in, even when its something that I don't see appeal to. But I have to say, that those Elvis loonies I encountered in Memphis are the biggest group of people in serious need of a reality check that I've ever met.
 
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