Finding the history of your Hearse??

[graven image]

Now that I'm an owner, and thoroughly happy of driving my own Hearse... I have a question... I bought my 1980 Buick Electra Hearse second hand a few months ago. Does anyone know if there is any possible way to find out any information on my new love interest? Maybe... when it was last used in service? how many times it has been used? what funeral home it came from? Also... How do I find out what company converted this station wagon into the piece of art it has become? Thanks for any help! Dave Owens/Graven Images Metalworks

[Abnorml]

The easiest way would be to ask the last owner. I did a title search from the DMV and got all the title in my state. I don't know if your state will let you do that. That helped some. I was very lucky the last owner lived across the street from a friend and I got to talk to him. He bought my hearse from the funeral home he had worked for while he was in mortuary school. I called the funeral home and talked to him and he told me a little more information. I still want to find what the first funeral home that owned my hearse was.
Check in the glove box, under and behind the seat, under the floor, etc. There might be something with the funeral home name on it.

[60Crown]

Additionally, posting pics is an easy way for other members to recognize/ID coach builder.

Some state DMVs are more lax, other maintain higher privacy in such title search scenarios. Comes down to you needing someone else from MI who has previously taken same path to answer properly IF not finding any old paperwork in coach.

Find the FH and likely someone there can relay when it was last used "in service". Or conversely, when it was retired from being used for actual services and relegated to first call status. Or however you meant that. I don't know of any FH that logs how many times a coach has been used so don't hold your breath there.

If it's an '80 model, understood you acquired at least second hand as you obviously didn't buy new. More than likely however you bought it fourth, fifth, or sixth hand+ being so far removed from knowing first ownership.

[Psychoholic]

Context clues are your friend.

See if you can find out the city it was used in. Most likely you'll need a carfax or something to find out the local area that it started life in, then mayb you can find out what dealer sold the car and to what home.

Good luck, let us know what you find!

[Psychoholic]

I'm going to move this thread to somewhere else.

[Guest]

mine came from a dealer who acquired from funeral home. it still had all the papers from the FH.