In the fall of 2005, my good friend Mike
Laufenberg and I decided to
do something with the gutted rear interior of my 65' Cadillac Hearse.
I found this hearse in the spring of 2004
in Las Vegas. The previous owner replaced
the original .429 motor with a .472 cu engine from a 1969 Cadillac Hearse.
I paid $2,500.00 for it plus $850.00 to have it shipped to my hometown of
Kenosha.
The rear electric table in this hearse had also been removed by the previous
owner.
(don't ask me why - some people are just born stupid)
So
we decided to work on the already gutted rear interior to make it nice again.
IDEA:
My good friend, Mike
Laufenberg and I decided to add a back-
seat and a new half-floor with a 4X5 ft. speaker cabinet with a hidden
storage space which would be located behind the rear seat.
[NOTE:
This speaker cabinet would also be removable for loading objects]
(Click
on the little hearse below to see the full complete plans)
First....We built a frame to support the new floor.
Then added the new flooring....
Followed
by covering the new floor with "Auto Bond" fabric using spray-on
adhesive.
(Mike's son, Jake, also helped)
Next....build
the HUGE speaker cabinet!
(Measure Twice - Cut
Once)
We made a slight slant on both ends to match
both the natural angle
of the back of the hearse, and also the slant of the rear seat's back.
Mike
got a great shot of Perry working through the back door of the hearse.
(Nice
3-D effect!)
(CLOSE-UP)
Once the box in made, we cut the holes to mount the speakers.
(NO...THIS
IS NOT A "WHACK-A-MOLE" GAME!)
Then we covered the speaker cabinet with the "Auto
Bond" fabric.
Next...mount the speakers.
.........
Wire them together...
We used quarter-inch female jacks on the front end of the cabinet so
we could hook and unhook the speakers more easily when needed.
We also added 2 speaker connectors on the back of the cabinet
to occasionally
add additional external speakers outside the hearse whenever we wanted.
Time to put the cabinet in the hearse!
Looking Good!
After it was installed, we added real coffin handles and an
antique casket plaque that reads,
"AT REST" just for looks.
......
......
When the handles are lifted, two legs drop down, revealing
a hidden storage space for the spare tire, cables, tools, ect...
We also built a smaller cabinet with 2 speakers right be-
hind the driver's seat for more of a surround sound.
Hmmm....What
we need is...
MORE
POWER!!!
HOW ABOUT A 760 WATT POWER
AMP FOR THE STEREO!
(Thanks for the amp,
Shane!)
NEXT
Since
the previous owner removed the table...We have to do something here!
Jake
sits and ponders...
(his little brain isn't used to thinking so much!)
Time to add a back seat!
We took a bench-style seat from a 1989 GMC Astro mini-
van and mounted it directly in front of the speaker cabinet.
The seat had seatbelts already attached.
Then mount it in the back.
The final touch
was an old school flame job. Here's the work in progress.
OUTLINING
THE FLAME LICKS
..
..
TAPING OF THE REST OF THE HEARSE
..
PAINTING YELLOW, ORANGE AND RED FOR A BLENDING EFFECT
..
..
..
MINOR DETAILING
THE FINISHED PRODUCT
.....
.....
....
ACCESORIES
We added mag rims from a 1963 Buick Riveria.
(People
have said that they give the hearse a "Batmobile" look)
How about a chrome skull hood ornament?
Purple headlights
Purple tinted windows
We have a loud speaker
mounted behind the front grill and on
the rooftop so music can be heard as we pull up to places.
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