drove another coach home today

A

Attila Bethlenfalvy

Had a lead a couple months back of a small black funeral service that closed several years ago. Yesterday made time to search and came up empty. This morning went back out determined not to be defeated and scored.

Price was right. Very clean '77 Superior w/ 97k miles. Fastest vehicle transaction ever - under 10 minutes on/off property. After a harrowing mountain road that put brakes through to floor, pulled off and addressed that issue before continuing rest of way. (Simply needed fluid after sitting for such a long time.) Was well cared for and runs great. After a thorough detailing and tweaking a couple cosmetic areas, it should present well enough for services. Not rusty and interior is super clean.

Also not something that fits my collecting parameters. Will probably let it go next month.

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Fixed position partition glass is interesting. Check out rear compartment sides.

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Yep. Another fixed landau from the factory that started as a limo style. Really do like the marbled blue upholstery.

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Original color was black over Condor Blue. Was probably repainted early-mid '80s when acquired from Crain to funeral service. Whomever changed color did an excellent job. Wrinkle paint top is still original and in great shape.

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One of you Crain chroniclers probably has pics of this unit when it passed through their inventory. ;)
 
Tough to see Steve, granted, but there is no inner panel. Opening drapes shows inner window molding better. That is window glass being viewed from inside. Outer roof sheetmetal from reverse looking through glass is next.

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I've only seen one other coach like this in person, a '65 MM. It was close to what a customer wanted when new and was modified at factory to fill order. In doing so, MM used up existing stock and probably saved customer time.

I imagine this '77 Superior was completed similarly to that '65 MM.
 
The off-center fleur de lis emblem on the partition is interesting too. Looks like this car was originally intended to be a limousine-style combination. These downsized Superiors only had a forward-facing jump seat, but there was a panel that flipped up and attached to the partition (where a rear-facing seat would be.) With said panel in the upright position, the off-centered emblem would make sense.
 
Great observation Tony. Like the inner fender panels, the partition upholstery has a matching four section stitched pattern. The offset fleur di lis is centered in the second section from the left.

Also, what else could those four cupped semi-circular cast pieces in floor be for other than to rest gurney wheels in?
 
Attila Bethlenfalvy said:
Tough to see Steve, granted, but there is no inner panel. Opening drapes shows inner window molding better. That is window glass being viewed from inside. Outer roof sheetmetal from reverse looking through glass is next...
Click to expand...
OH, that wasn't even what I expected - I thought that would have been an upholstered panel, but it's not, it's just the glass, interesting.
 
John Royark JR said:
I wonder why they didnt put an interior panel there instead of just leaving the glass.
Click to expand...

In all reality, who is looking?

Other than us PCS guys, a few years later, who would notice the glass?
Seems to me a simple, cost effective way to make a landau.

Don't mean to sound sarcastic, but think about it.

If you were a pall bearer in any traditional funeral, would you be looking at the interior of the hearse when you are helping to load the casket?

We are all hearse aficionados.
Look at it from the layman's side.
 
Charles E Snyder said:
In all reality, who is looking?

Other than us PCS guys, a few years later, who would notice the glass?
Seems to me a simple, cost effective way to make a landau.

Don't mean to sound sarcastic, but think about it.

If you were a pall bearer in any traditional funeral, would you be looking at the interior of the hearse when you are helping to load the casket?

We are all hearse aficionados.
Look at it from the layman's side.
Click to expand...

Several years ago, a young family friend was serving as a pallbearer for a friend of his who was murdered. All 6 of the pallbearers were in their 20's. Several of them expressed concerns about being able to complete the task. I suggested t them that instead of concentrating on the casket, to scrutinize the interior of the hearse and notice the styling and workmanship. Two of them commented to me later that they didn't realize how much workmanship was put into a hearse & they now understood "WHY" i owned one.
 
Charles E Snyder said:
In all reality, who is looking?

Other than us PCS guys, a few years later, who would notice the glass?
Seems to me a simple, cost effective way to make a landau.

Don't mean to sound sarcastic, but think about it.

If you were a pall bearer in any traditional funeral, would you be looking at the interior of the hearse when you are helping to load the casket?

We are all hearse aficionados.
Look at it from the layman's side.
Click to expand...

Yes, if I was just a pall bearer I would look at the interior. You have to remember I loved the cars WAY before I knew of a PCS, I thought I was the only one that liked these cars.
Also, all the car guys I know would be checking out the interior too.
If they thought no one looked at them they would just leave them bare like a cargo van. Look how ornate some of the older ones are, its not there for function.
 
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