1940
Cadillac (USA) Professional cars and
chassis
1940 Cadillac commercial chassis
1940 Cadillac business sedan
 
Series 72 business chassis (left) and sedan
(right)
 
These two Series 72 business are easy to
recognize on account of
their high-mounted tail-lamp units; the two illustrations are from period ads
Catalog illustration of funeral coach on
1940 LaSalle chassis
Derham (USA): [This entry is from an Internet web site devoted to
Derham custom coachwork] One unusual-looking invalid car was built in early
1940 on a Cadillac Series 75 chassis for Irving R. Strauss of Behnar, New Jersey. It
featured an unusual-looking extra-tall roofline similar to that found on a modern
limousine equipped with commercial glass. The main feature of this body was a disappearing
inclined ramp the fit under the rear compartment floor that could be pulled out and used
from both sides of the car. Also included was a back seat that was cut in two, one half
was replaced with a portable wheel chair luxuriously upholstered to match the car’s
interior. A totally flat floor was also installed so that the chair could be easily rolled
into the space then securely locked in place. The Barclay Portable Chair Auto Body Corp.
at 55 West 42nd Street also specialized in the conversion of invalid cars. Its owner,
Wright Barclay, had patented an auto ramp and wheelchair in the early 1930s that looked
remarkably similar to the arrangement used by Derham. He even sent a threatening letter to
Derham’s current client threatening action if any of his patents were used in the
conversion. Derham had dealt with Barclay before, and assured their customer’s
attorney that they would indemnify Mr. Strauss in the event of a lawsuit.
Flxible (USA) Various
professional car styles for the ambulance and funeral trades
Flxible ambulance on 1940 Cadillac chassis
Flxible ambulance on 1940 LaSalle chassis
Flxible (USA) AA carved panel
hearse on LaSalle chassis, McC p.247
Meteor (USA) limousine style hearse; see
also McC p.243
 
Meteor (USA) funeral flower car, McC
p.244
 
Tray with removable stainless steel railings
Meteor (USA) 8-door, Woodie
station wagon on LaSalle chassis, McC p.247. This additional information
was received in March, 2003 from Hugh Nutting, a regular visitor to the Cadillac Database:
In the 1940 'dream car' site you have two LaSalle station wagons [previously]
listed as "unknown (USA)". Both are Meteor Funeral Coach
bodies. The 4 door belongs to CLC member Tom Boehm, and the 8 door is owned by a guy
in the Detroit area. It was built for the widow of one of the Dodge Brothers, Mrs.
Wilson, who owned Meadowbrook Farms, where they have the classic car shows now.
These station wagons are one serial number apart. They were Funeral car chassis when
delivered. I think Meteor cut each chassis in a different place then switched rear
halves as neither finished wagon has a standard long wheelbase. Hope this
helps.
Miller, A.J. (USA)
funeral flower car, McC p.247
In the inscription on the side of this 1940 La
Salle ambulance by A.J. Miller
may be seen the name "Howard Hughes" (the billionaire and ultimate
recluse)
He had donated the vehicle to the Canadian Red Cross organization
This La Salle ambulance, also from
A.J. Miller saw service in London
during the Blitz; it has the mandatory, war-time black-out lights
Philadelphia Specialty Mfg. Assoc. (USA)
special 8-door airport bus for American Airlines [have poor photo]
Sayers & Scovill (USA) S&S funeral
coach on LaSalle chassis
Sayers & Scovill (USA) S&S
Aristocrat landau funeral car, McC p.243
Schmidt & Bartelt (USA)
Founded in 1887 in Menomonee Falls, WI, this company gained a reputation for building
vehicles to transport sick persons or invalids. They started making motorized
ambulances in 1919. Conversions were done on the following Cadillac chassis: a 1931 Series
355A 7-pass. limousine, then a 1940 Series 75 limousine (converted in 1948), then
a 1948 Series 75 limousine in 1951. The conversion required careful removal of
the "B" pillar and the making and fitting of special door locks at both the roof
and floor sills. When used as an ambulance, the front bench seat was removed and a single
driver seat fashioned and installed. The conversion from a 1940 Cadillac limousine is
shown below. McC, p.242
 
Removable center door pillar allows quick
installation of ambulance cot (left)
Ramp facilitates access with an invalid chair (right and below, left)
 
Invalid chair fits conveniently in the area where the
right half of the rear seat normally would be
 
These two illustrations show the front
compartment
with full front seat (left) or half seat to accommodate invalid chair
Specialty Manufacturing Co (???) (USA),
special 8-door airport limousine on Cadillac chassis, for American Airlines
[photo OCW, 22.8.91]
Superior (USA) Gothic carved-panel hearse,
McC p.244
Superior built also
this fire department service car, as well as some ambulances on La Salle chassis
[ Photos from factory product brochure on professional cars ]
Unknown (USA?) Gothic carved-panel hearse,
possibly by Superior (above). This one was used in the funeral procession of Rosa
Parks, an unwilling African-American activist who made history by refusing to give up her
seat on Georgia a bus to a white man.
1941
Cadillac (USA) Professional cars and
chassis
 
Cadillac's new "egg-crate" grille
(left) and the ..." wheel base commercial chassis (right)
 
(Above two rows) Artists loved to stretch and lower
the otherwise boxy Series 75 sedans and limousines
Eureka (USA)
Eureka ambulance
 
Eureka (USA) custom 15-passenger bus, McC
p.254
Flxible (Loudonville, OH ,
USA) Various professional car styles for the ambulance and funeral trades
Flxible limousine style hearse
Flxible built 100 of these coaches in 1941, for the
ambulance and funeral trades; it was
a new style of coach and had an unusual rear door and window, setting it apart from
the competition.
Similar to the preceding model, this Flxible
ambulance has the "tunnel" style emergency lights
Flxible flower car, Model. #C61-FC, finished in white
with
high grade mohair upholstery and stainless steel flower
bed; the rear door is equipped with casket rollers
Hess & Eisenhardt (USA)
Airport shuttle bus (limousine)
 
Left: the airport shuttle; right: tradional front
ensemble of S&S ambulances and funeral cars
Knightstown (USA)
Knightstown ambulance?
Little, John (Ontario,
Canada)
 
This carved-side, gothic styled hearse was converted
from a Series 62 coupe in the shops of John Little, of Ingersoll, Ontario,
Canada. The "cathedral"glass in the rear body was stained blue and the
interior was lined with maroon mohair. Originally delivered to the Needham funeral home in
Ontario, the car subsequently was sold and saw further service with the Dodson &
Habkirk Funeral Home in Kingsville, Ontario. Sadly, after it was retired from service in
1958, it ended up in a field [two upper pictures]. Fortunately, it was recovered before it
was too late and got a professional, ground-up restoration. Currently (2002) it is owned
by Lloyd Needham of Blenheim, Ontario (a descendant of the original owners?)
Meteor (USA), the limousine
coach, the service car, the carved Gothic hearse, the Landau
funeral coach.
Gothic carved hearse on Series 62 chassis
[see McC, p.255]
This survivor was for sale in Cars & Parts,
in the mid-seventies
 
This Meteor Combination coach belongs to a Database
visitor and Cadillac enthusiast who wishes to remain anonymous; he wrote: here is a
picture of Pugsey [hidden, right] fulfilling its current purpose...the
kids love it at Halloween;
it does have the compartments on the back of the divider, for ambulance service. It
also has a rear heater
built into the rear of the divider that is housed by the ambulance compartments.
Miller (USA) classic
combination coach
 
Combination coach with an attractive paint scheme
Miller ambulance
Miller A.J. (USA)
included in their program this year the regular limousine, the Art carved
model, the Cathedral carved coach, the flower car and the service car
[McC p.264]
This is the Cathedral carved-side funeral
coach
The two unidentified vehicles below (picked up on the Internet) may be
Miller models
 
 
 
Silver Knightstown (Indiana,
USA)
S&S (USA) by Hess
& Eisenhardt, offered the DeLuxe, the Superline, the Statesman
and the Macedonian funeral vehicles [McP, p.200].
Ambulances too were available.
S&S Victoria
S&S limousine style ambulance
Superior (USA), Military field ambulance [McC
p.255]. Other professional cars offered this year include those illustrated below:
Briarcliff side-loading limousine funeral
coach
Landau hearse
Superior ambulance dressed up in drab olive
and used by the U.S. army's medical department
 
Two different views of the same car
Fire department ambulance used at Coney Island, New
York
[Unknown, Spain]: break-down truck
conversion from 1941 Series 60 Special believed to have been owned at one time by
renowned artist Salvador Dali.
I saw and photographed this break-down truck in the
province of Barcelona, Spain, while driving from Geneva to Valencia in the early 60s [in a
tiny, Italian Fiat 500!]; among the few people in that area who could afford a
Cadillac at that time was the great artist, Salvador Dali who in fact lived not too far
away, near Figueras, in the province of Gerona; I often wondered if this might have been
one of his old cars
[Unknown, USA?]:
1942
 
Above two rows, the roomy Series 67 business
sedan
 
Above two rows, the equally roomy and more luxurious
Series 75 business sedan and limousine
1942 Cadillac commercial chassis
Eureka (USA)
S&S carved-side funeral coach
Eureka flower car
 
The table (left) extends onto the door, which
includes
four rollers; note the tray cover (right)
Flxible (USA) carved panel flower car, McC
p.261. Also miscellaneous other professional vehicles for the ambulance and funeral
trades. America went to war this year; Flxible built a mere 26 funeral coaches and
ambulances on the Cadillac chassis
This is NOT a flower car; note the smooth top of the rear deck; this was a new style offered
by Flxible that year
called the Innovation; unlike regular flower cars, it had a fully
upholstered rear compartment
Meteor (USA)
Meteor flower car
Miller A.J. (USA)
Miller flower car with unique roof line and
decorative landau bars
 
The table (right) extends onto the door, which
includes
four rollers; note the tiered flower tray (right)
Miller(USA) landau style funeral car, McC
p.261
Proctor Keefe Co (USA) rescue squad car
for Detroit Fire Department (2 built), McC p.261
Sayers & Scovill (USA) One of a number
of professional cars built for the funeral trade
  
This lovely survivor turned up in the Netherlands
circa 2007-08
It was brought to my attention by "Philippe", regular contributor to the Forum
of the American car Club de France - ACCF
[ I have Philippe and the ACCF to thank for these three superb images ]
Silver Knightstown (USA) One
of a number
Schmidt & Bartelt (USA)
Were these effectively built ? Not according to research, as recorded above in the 1940
section. According to professional car enthusiast and
expert, Bernie De Winter, this may be a NuSystems conversion. This was a sedan
ambulance conversion available through a network of shops scattered throughout the US
before the war; their conversions were available on any number of different sedans.
 
Superior (USA) One of a
number of coach-built vehicles offered by Superior for the ambulance and funeral trades
[Unknown, USA] Cadillac
hearses [Internet photos]
 
This pick-up truck was found in Florida by a French biker and
Cadillac collector; it is
one of two 1942 pickups converted in the forties from the Series 62 sedan
at the request
of a Las Vegas casino; they were used as baggage trucks for the casino's VIPs
[ Photos: courtesy Daniel "Zoot" Dimov and France's Nitro
magazine ]
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