1958 Dodge Coronet Hearse

I really like it, a real sharp car! Is it a combo, or straight hearse? I could only guess at the coach builder, but someone here will know for sure. Be sure to keep us posted, I am sure some of us would like to know more.
 
I really like it, a real sharp car! Is it a combo, or straight hearse? I could only guess at the coach builder, but someone here will know for sure. Be sure to keep us posted, I am sure some of us would like to know more.
The owner says it has rollers in the back. He hasn't sent me any interior pics yet and he is 40 minutes away.

I will probably go look at it tomorrow and hopefully do a video for my You Tube channel.

The other one I saw on Google had the rear side window come all the way to the back of the car which is why I asked here if anybody knows anything about the coach builder.

I will keep everybody here informed on what I find.
 
There were a few people converting these. The raised roof makes me say natinal. But they were great on labiling. On the divider low on the right side was there interier tag .
 
I don't want to toss around guesses (especially before consulting books and TPC's) but I will... I'm looking at the modest raised roof, the rear door handle, the squared-off rear window, and the exposed hinges (sometimes a red-herring), and I still can't put a lock on it, which is why I keep editing my comment. I can't find a match on EMS Classics' (.com) on-line photos. Like Brad Winder's '57 DesSoto, it is a puzzlement. And it looks like some trim is missing or altered. I was leaning towards Comet or even Weller. But not ruling out National.

(Good discussion on ID-ing re Brad's Desoto here: https://professionalcarsociety.org/threads/1957-desoto-cd-ambulance-who-converted-it.16294/ )

This rear shot from an Allpar page looks similar, but I think it is the unidentified of the two:
 
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Clearly labeled as a Comet on the front fender, just above the bumper at 2:43 & 3:10 minutes into the video. Starting at 5:15, you can clearly see the evidence of the disks that were originally mounted to the floor to hold the "skeleton rack". A "skeleton rack" (removable roller bed) is a devise that attached to the floor that has casket rollers and bier pins to hold the casket in place. The folding attendant seat, and evidence on the left side wall of where a cot bar was mounted, indicate that this is a combination car.
 
Thank you Miguel, very nice video you put together. Somebody should put this rare beauty back to its original state, get proper wheels and tires and finish the details and it will really be nice.
 
Thank you Miguel, very nice video you put together. Somebody should put this rare beauty back to its original state, get proper wheels and tires and finish the details and it will really be nice.
Bill, I tried my best to get a price out of the guy, but somebody told him the car was worth $25,000 USD and now he wants to trade it for a newer 4 door 4WD truck.

I honestly can't say in the condition it is in what it would be worth, but being the perfectionist I am, I would need to strip it down to paint it black like it should be and find the very rare 325 engine it should have. I don't think I have enough time left to get it done.
 
Clearly labeled as a Comet on the front fender, just above the bumper at 2:43 & 3:10 minutes into the video. Starting at 5:15, you can clearly see the evidence of the disks that were originally mounted to the floor to hold the "skeleton rack". A "skeleton rack" (removable roller bed) is a devise that attached to the floor that has casket rollers and bier pins to hold the casket in place. The folding attendant seat, and evidence on the left side wall of where a cot bar was mounted, indicate that this is a combination car.
It might have been Paul. Did combination cars have the brackets to hang stretchers from the roof like a straight ambulance had?
 
I would think, fully restored $25K USD might be a fair valuation, but how much would it cost to get it to that level?
 
It might have been Paul. Did combination cars have the brackets to hang stretchers from the roof like a straight ambulance had?

Hanging stretchers were available on coach built ambulances, but none that I know of dating back to the early 1950's. They started when the high top ambulances came into being.
It is a nice vehicle, but not $25,000 nice. It could cost almost that much to bring it back to its original glory. The seller is obviously not dealing with reality. All finished, it might be worth $25,000, but I can't see it in its present state. $3500 would be a realistic number based on what I can see needing to be done. If you can do most of the work yourself, then it might be worth more to you, but if you need to have all the work done by others, it is going to be very expensive.
 
Hanging stretchers were available on coach built ambulances, but none that I know of dating back to the early 1950's. They started when the high top ambulances came into being.
It is a nice vehicle, but not $25,000 nice. It could cost almost that much to bring it back to its original glory. The seller is obviously not dealing with reality. All finished, it might be worth $25,000, but I can't see it in its present state. $3500 would be a realistic number based on what I can see needing to be done. If you can do most of the work yourself, then it might be worth more to you, but if you need to have all the work done by others, it is going to be very expensive.
On the labor point, I am lucky I am in Mexico.

I redid this car for around $5000 USD with parts and labor.

The mechanic just did 4 hours of work on this car the other day and charged me $25.00 USD for that.

At that same time my front brake hoses burst so I had a shop make them new again and it cost $18.00 USD for both.

I know I can get the work done fairly cheap, but do I want to and what would be the result.

old-front.jpgnew-front.jpgold-back.jpgnew-back.jpg
 
Hanging stretchers were available on coach built ambulances, but none that I know of dating back to the early 1950's. They started when the high top ambulances came into being.
It is a nice vehicle, but not $25,000 nice. It could cost almost that much to bring it back to its original glory. The seller is obviously not dealing with reality. All finished, it might be worth $25,000, but I can't see it in its present state. $3500 would be a realistic number based on what I can see needing to be done. If you can do most of the work yourself, then it might be worth more to you, but if you need to have all the work done by others, it is going to be very expensive.
If you look at the back of the car, it does have the brackets to hang a stretcher from the ceiling of the car. The headliner is gone, so I don't know if it had the straps for the other side. This is kind of a high top as the roof has extended up from the normal car roof.
 
In my area, four hours of labor will cost between $75 and $125 per hour. There are also mechanics who work cheaper, if you can find one, but four hours for $25, would be a Christmas present.
 
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