HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Halloween is a sacred time for me and my husband. We absolutely love Samhain and Halloween.. so much that we got married on Halloween three years ago today! My husband bought his 1952 Chevy daily driver pickup on our first anniversary, and I just bought my first hearse today! I love hearses and Halloween so much that it pleases me to no end that I got my first hearse on Halloween!!!!!

Now that I have personal stuff out of the way.. Here’s a better view of under the hood! As a refresher, she’s got a 429 Motor and a 400 Transmission from a 1966 Cadillac Sedan that her owner that got her running dropped in. She was a daily driver for him. She is a bit dusty, but this is what I’m working with:

She honestly is in pretty decent running order.. we need to replace fluids, check connections and the brake system as well as put pipes on the exhaust (A friend is replacing his exhaust system on his 1964 Cadillac coupe, so I secured those pipes, so as soon as his new kit comes in, I get the old ones.) There is a broken leaf spring on the driver’s side that needs replaced, most of the windows replaced and besides that we need a Title 42 to be made because of a VIN typo on the title, and I’m going to have to pay the rest of her off before she goes home with me. Luckily, I’m able to visit her anytime to work on her before she goes home. I volunteered that she stays there to give everyone a peace of mind. Honestly I’m worried about her safety at my home without her windows replaced due to a neighbor’s horrible hoodlum kid. On the bright side…

Here’s just a lovely Halloween shot of Persephone’s front end, exactly how I parked her the first time I drove her. Have a happy and safe Halloween, everyone!

Happy Halloween!

She's mine... all mine!!

Such a nice way to celebrate three years of marriage.

She has a name.

Persephone. Queen of The Underworld.
A name I had in mind for the 1959 hearse if I ever got one.. and even for a little girl if I had one. But I may not have either of those things.. so why not use it, now?
The guy I'm buying her from was calling her Kennedy, because she is the same as the one that carried the assassinated president in 1963.

Motor.

Interior.

Love at first shift.

We went to look at her for the first time and secured her in my name…so she’s mine, but not paid off!!! The guy selling her is a hearse collector with a 1958 Eureka trophy, 1976 daily driver and this 1964 project he picked up from Kansas City. The guy he bought it from found it in a field in KC, slapped a 429 motor and a 400 transmission in it, rebuilt them and drove it daily as-is! The guy selling it named her Kennedy because this was the same model that saw John Kennedy off. I obviously plan on fixing her up, and I cannot wait! I’m going to go for going through the brake system and lines, exhaust, leaf springs, the glass, and floorboards after the general cleaning.

She started up with no effort today! She was sitting for a month with no gas. He poured in some gas and transmission fluid and she started purring like a kitten. I test drove her and after figuring out where the gears sat (newer transmission from a ‘66 Cadillac coupe so it didn’t line), she drove wonderfully! She was a little slow reacting until we got the carburetor warmed up. I’ll post some interior and exterior shots from today!

Exterior.

Checking her out for the first time! Sorry for the shaky camera, I had no idea it was that bad until I watched it.. haha I was excited running around with an iPhone taking pictures and video. :)

Ad Photos.

Craigslist Ad

For nostalgia’s sake… Here’s the Craigslist ad that I found her on.

Introduction

Hello,
My name is Vera and I have had a passion for cars most of my life. My dad showed me the basics as a kid and I have worked on them ever since. I love and have had appreciation for classic cars, especially hearses. It’s the twist of just good car engineering and the functionality and purpose of a hearse that has always caught my attention. The 1959 Cadillac Hearse has always been my “dream” car… but as I grew up I found that it is one of the most sought after cars in that field and the odds of me getting one soon is slight.
I found a 1964 Cadillac Hearse/Ambulance Combo that is right up my alley. It will be my first project that I will be getting off of the ground. This blog will hopefully follow this project as closely as it can. Hope you enjoy the ride!

I update my blog on tumblr in more real time, this is pretty much a carbon copy, so see you there!

xo