Mike Hoddinott
PCS Member
Hello folks! Mike Hoddinott here. I'm a funeral director in New York, and like many here, I started off my working days in EMS. I spent my college days riding with a few agencies while attending mortuary school on Long Island. After earning my license, I continued with my local volunteer corps while working as a funeral director. I retired from EMS in 2021 after completing my tenure as Chief of Department. From there forward, I was wholly focused on the funeral service. I believe I had been a member of PCS fifteen-or-so years ago when I was rocking a '67 S&S ambulance. Back then, I served in various official roles within the Commack Volunteer Ambulance Corps, where the '67 had been "sheltered". None of the "kids" cared for it, few took any pride in it, and some couldn't be bothered to know it existed.
I started in the funeral industry in 2006 while serving the Ambulance Corps. Even in those early days, I dreamt of a vintage coach at the funeral home. Lucky for me, I've come to be in a position of influence here and over the last few years we kept frequent contact with a well known "funeral industry influencer" who would send over cars that he came across for sale. I was very specific in what I wanted - something old enough to look vintage but new enough to be used for any funeral I may handle regardless of how far the cemetery was. It had to be an S&S Victoria, and had to be a landaulet; I needed that classic look and limo windows just didn't tickle me.
Back in August, a video shared to one of the Facebook groups showed a 1969 S&S Victoria for sale from a funeral home in South Carolina. A few Facebook messages later, and I was on a phone call with the seller. The owner of the funeral home, who was preparing for retirement, wanted to find the right home for the car. The call felt more like an interview than anything else. We spoke about business philosophy and where we saw the industry going, why I wanted the car, and what I was about. By the end of that nearly 90-minute call, he agreed to hold the car while I packed into my little Winnebago and drove down from New York.
The car left the factory in Athenian Blue when bought new by a Florida firm (that is still operating today). I'm told they traded it in to a dealer on a new car, and it moved to Georgia, where it remained in service until about 1994 before being traded in again. From there, it went north to the South Carolina funeral home. At some point, it moved to Illinois, where it was cared for by a funeral director but never used in any service. When he was tired of it, he sold it back to the South Carolina funeral home.
I was quite impressed with the car's overall quality. It was entirely rust-free with no rust or damage on the underside. Having sat for a few years, it needed a few mechanical repairs, namely a carburetor rebuild. Compression was good, plugs seemed to be burning nicely - it checked all the boxes. It was a one-time respray with a color change from the original Athenian blue to silver. We agreed on a number, and I had it on a truck early that week.
Here in New York, I had the Rochester Quadrajet rebuilt by Allstate Carburetor. Once in the car, it ran and drove well. I do not love the vacuum line routing, and it is obvious that someone had disconnected ("simplified") the hoses at some point in the car's past. I have not been able to find a good vac diagram for the 472, and what I have found uses names for parts I can't identify. Go easy on me - I spend most of my time working on early VWs, we don't have all this stuff! The car is running well, though, and I focused on the choke, vacuum advance, brake booster, and trans modulator for now. I will work to return it to the factory soon.
I've been putting some confidence miles on it while addressing smaller issues like light bulbs, some small cracked trim and such. While returning from a cruise last week, the brakes felt soft and now I see that the master is losing fluid - to where, we don't yet know! I'll tend to the brakes this week, but overall am just happy to have a good car to represent the funeral home.
I'll post up some more here as my projects progress. I look forward to some great input from the minds here who know the intricacies of these coaches!
Thanks!
Mike
Below:
The '69 snuck over to church with a family who saw it parked in front of the funeral home. Not yet ready to make the ride to the cemetery, we used it for the ride to church then swapped off to one of our newer coaches for the trip to Calverton National Cemetery.
Sandwiched between our 2015 and 2019 Victorias
I started in the funeral industry in 2006 while serving the Ambulance Corps. Even in those early days, I dreamt of a vintage coach at the funeral home. Lucky for me, I've come to be in a position of influence here and over the last few years we kept frequent contact with a well known "funeral industry influencer" who would send over cars that he came across for sale. I was very specific in what I wanted - something old enough to look vintage but new enough to be used for any funeral I may handle regardless of how far the cemetery was. It had to be an S&S Victoria, and had to be a landaulet; I needed that classic look and limo windows just didn't tickle me.
Back in August, a video shared to one of the Facebook groups showed a 1969 S&S Victoria for sale from a funeral home in South Carolina. A few Facebook messages later, and I was on a phone call with the seller. The owner of the funeral home, who was preparing for retirement, wanted to find the right home for the car. The call felt more like an interview than anything else. We spoke about business philosophy and where we saw the industry going, why I wanted the car, and what I was about. By the end of that nearly 90-minute call, he agreed to hold the car while I packed into my little Winnebago and drove down from New York.
The car left the factory in Athenian Blue when bought new by a Florida firm (that is still operating today). I'm told they traded it in to a dealer on a new car, and it moved to Georgia, where it remained in service until about 1994 before being traded in again. From there, it went north to the South Carolina funeral home. At some point, it moved to Illinois, where it was cared for by a funeral director but never used in any service. When he was tired of it, he sold it back to the South Carolina funeral home.
I was quite impressed with the car's overall quality. It was entirely rust-free with no rust or damage on the underside. Having sat for a few years, it needed a few mechanical repairs, namely a carburetor rebuild. Compression was good, plugs seemed to be burning nicely - it checked all the boxes. It was a one-time respray with a color change from the original Athenian blue to silver. We agreed on a number, and I had it on a truck early that week.
Here in New York, I had the Rochester Quadrajet rebuilt by Allstate Carburetor. Once in the car, it ran and drove well. I do not love the vacuum line routing, and it is obvious that someone had disconnected ("simplified") the hoses at some point in the car's past. I have not been able to find a good vac diagram for the 472, and what I have found uses names for parts I can't identify. Go easy on me - I spend most of my time working on early VWs, we don't have all this stuff! The car is running well, though, and I focused on the choke, vacuum advance, brake booster, and trans modulator for now. I will work to return it to the factory soon.
I've been putting some confidence miles on it while addressing smaller issues like light bulbs, some small cracked trim and such. While returning from a cruise last week, the brakes felt soft and now I see that the master is losing fluid - to where, we don't yet know! I'll tend to the brakes this week, but overall am just happy to have a good car to represent the funeral home.
I'll post up some more here as my projects progress. I look forward to some great input from the minds here who know the intricacies of these coaches!
Thanks!
Mike
Below:
The '69 snuck over to church with a family who saw it parked in front of the funeral home. Not yet ready to make the ride to the cemetery, we used it for the ride to church then swapped off to one of our newer coaches for the trip to Calverton National Cemetery.
Sandwiched between our 2015 and 2019 Victorias
