Hearse Discrimination

[Zachary]

not to be a snob, but unless someone is one of my hearse friends, generally a cool person, or one of my scene friends, i don't want them looking at my coach, touching it, or even breathing on it.

stupid muggles

I think that for me it depends more on the person and how the ask they approach me. Two people can ask an identical question and it takes me zero seconds flat to know if one of them is being a fuck or not. I think the thing about car shows is, I don't generally like to be trapped somewhere I can't get out of and where I am surrounded by people. Plus, I really have no interest in regular cars at all. I can appreciate what they are but the only car that ever comes close to rocking as much as a hearse are the early 60's Mercury's with the Breezeway windows, so really all the other cars at a show could be any old tin can with a $10,000 paint job to me.

Hearse shows are a different deal though for me because I am surrounded by other hearse owners and it's a lot more on my level. For the most part people at those shows aren't spending absurd amounts on paint, most are daily drivers and very few get uppity about how much better their cars are.

[Guest]

yeah, i would love to make an appearance at hearse con

[dead ed]

Damn, I was gonna enter my first car show, with my hearse, next weekend. It's at a restaurant/bar. If they don't let me enter, I'll just park it there and go in for a bite to eat and a drink. My wife has a handi man permit, I can park right up front.

[jlprigmore]

Worst thing so far with mine was, at the hotel I was staying at I was asked to move the car by the owners of the hotel because it made a couple uneasy parked right in front of their door. Other than that I few disgusting looks by old people and alot of smiles and thumbs by everyone else.

[jlprigmore]

And of course the infamous question "?WHY?" and my one liner response "Why Not!"

[Guest]

i always lollerskate when someone makes the sign of the cross when i drive by. i've noticed it a couple of times

[EternalCombustion]

The worst I have gotten so far was at the Charleston Doo Wop and Rod Run street festival last year. I was sitting beside my friends hearse and sometime during the day someone walked up and put a business card on both of our dashes that said "Jesus loves you". LOL. Like my soul needed saving just because I drive a hearse. It seems to me that if someone was right with God they wouldn't fear death, much less a car that only takes an empty shell to the graveyard.

As far as car shows go, I go to quite a few to just hang out and meet a few cool people and make fun of everyone else. I guess I don't fit into either of the catagories discussed here so far. I have in fact spent quite a bit of money on getting my car fixed up. But this was mostly on parts and I did most of the work myself. I didn't do the body or paint work though, because I just don't enjoy that part. However, I did it all for me. I don't give a rat's ass about trophies. I have received a few trophies, mostly top 25 or top 50 which means absolutely nothing. These trophies are mostly ego strokers to get people to come to support the show for whatever charity they are raising money for.

The only trophy I have that means anything at all is the one I got at a local high school to raise money for the band. They gave out 2 trophies that day. One was best of show and one was the band members choice. The kids choose my car for thier trophy, which I thought was pretty cool.

[Tweek's Turbos]

When I used to take mine around back in NY, it seemed to pull funeral directors out of the woodwork. I think the support them, and basically only them gave got me into the work.

I have taken my buick to car shows and once was flat out told that it wasn't a muscle car and I had no business at the show.

[R U INJRD]

For some reason ambulances, which are way more gruesome in my opinion, seem to be much more well received at car shows. I drove mine around all weekend at Goodguys biggest show of the year and was constantly being stopped for pictures or questions. I never heard any negative comments at all.

[StrayCat]

I am hoping to get the chance to use a sentance I have been saving up.........

" no need to get all pissy just because my rust is prettier than your wife"......... I'll only pull that one out if someone REALLY wants to be a douche nozzle and push the issue. I am always down for a good asswoopin, wether it ends up being my ass wooped in the end or not. Just kinda the sport of it.

As far as odd looks, the current coach usually gets the " Oh hell no he didn't" look. Which is funny as shit in all honesty. Oh and my other favorite...." oh holy shit, dat boy ain't playin"...i have heard this one many times from black women usually. Nothing negative. But show season is just starting as well, and I have just started driving it more often, and replacing broken and worn out parts, so it goes with me to work in Lilburn several times a week. We shall see, we shall see....

[kaptinkaos]

The worst I have gotten so far was at the Charleston Doo Wop and Rod Run street festival last year. I was sitting beside my friends hearse and sometime during the day someone walked up and put a business card on both of our dashes that said "Jesus loves you". LOL. Like my soul needed saving just because I drive a hearse. It seems to me that if someone was right with God they wouldn't fear death, much less a car that only takes an empty shell to the graveyard.

As far as car shows go, I go to quite a few to just hang out and meet a few cool people and make fun of everyone else. I guess I don't fit into either of the catagories discussed here so far. I have in fact spent quite a bit of money on getting my car fixed up. But this was mostly on parts and I did most of the work myself. I didn't do the body or paint work though, because I just don't enjoy that part. However, I did it all for me. I don't give a rat's ass about trophies. I have received a few trophies, mostly top 25 or top 50 which means absolutely nothing. These trophies are mostly ego strokers to get people to come to support the show for whatever charity they are raising money for.

The only trophy I have that means anything at all is the one I got at a local high school to raise money for the band. They gave out 2 trophies that day. One was best of show and one was the band members choice. The kids choose my car for thier trophy, which I thought was pretty cool.

I've won 1st & 2nd place plaques & a best in show trophy, but I go to help out with the fund raisers mainly, winning something is an added bonus. One car show I attend annually setup a specific category for hearses, ambulances, police cars, etc. They setup a service class category. It was because Big Evil & I showed up in a hearse & they didn't fit in a specific class they listed.

I enjoy looking at the older cars & what other people have done, usually you make good contacts or find out parts suppliers that you haven't heard of. But it's the recent string of assholes that are tarnishing it. The bikers, rat rods & T-bucket folks are the nicer ones & talk shop & they don't care what I drive. It's the owners of the cars that have $10,000 paint jobs or have a car that only touch concrete when they roll it off the trailer at the shows or in their garage.

For some reason ambulances, which are way more gruesome in my opinion, seem to be much more well received at car shows. I drove mine around all weekend at Goodguys biggest show of the year and was constantly being stopped for pictures or questions. I never heard any negative comments at all.

I agree, we have an ambulance in the club & have taken it to car shows, it always has gotten positives.

I am hoping to get the chance to use a sentance I have been saving up.........

" no need to get all pissy just because my rust is prettier than your wife".........

[Xavier]

Hi there ! In Europe i noticed that kind of behaviours too. and I think that there is no diffrence between christians, Atheists or muslims.
With the three sort of people I noticed there is comprehensive and Radical people.

There is categories of people :

- the people that do not care of hearses.
- the people that find hearses cool. when they saw you, they come to you and ask lots of questions.
- the people that love old cars, hearse included, but don't find it so cool. They always says " if only it wasn't a hearse " ! " It scares me a little "
- the people that are affraid of hearses because they are stupid, brainless, or "animals " : they act with instinct, without thinking, like their parents teach them.
They belive everything a priest / imam said them, they are scared of everything ( even of a piece of metal like a hearse-shapped car ) and are very violent if they face something that scare them.

There is another distinction to do : the diffrence between old and modern cars. Someone says that he never had any problem with his hearse ! Of course ! It a 1959 !
Everyone loves the 1959 and you could bring one, as dirty and destroyed as a trash, everyone will love it !
Old cars plays in another level, with some people ( generally the old and notorious show car owners, like other said. )

I never been discriminated up to now, but I have only drove my hearse in the streets. I will do my first meeting soon.
A friend did on with his hearse, and a journalist was very enthusiastic to see something diffrent !
But I would take it very badly if someone in a meeting that I paid, told me I have no right to be here.
fuck ! MY HEARSE IS A FUCKIN' SHOW CAR ! and i have no lesson to receive by anyone ( and yes I drive it as often as I could ! but I can't drive it as many as I want, because his to far away from my house ).
There is something that terrify people most is when you have the coffin inside... i don't understand what people can image ! A lot of people are mind-disturbed. They can't separate the object from the concept. Death is not a hearse ! Is that so complicated to understand ? A hearse is an object made by humans to transport dead bodies, and not "death". Death is not a coffin !
I can't understant why they can do the diffrence with ambulances ( people die in ambulances ! ) and not with hearses !

I can tell you the first time I drove my hearse at home :
It was night, and there was youg people outside. when I came with the hearse, they separate into 3 groups :
- the ones that are scared ! ( I can't understand ! It just an object ! ) they run everywhere, shouting.
- the ones that are Doubtful : they stay far from the hearse, asking themselves questions. ( my favorite category, they do not fuck me with boring questions )
- the ones that are litteraly attracted by the car : they came and ask a lot of boring questions, some of us do not touch the hearse because they are scared of evil spirits ( yes ! like peasants in the 16th century ! ), and some want to take a ride ( oh fuck ! ), they are more interessed by the v8.

Then, the parents comes : " i will call the police " ! :/
yes yes... Some people have very strange reactions...
So, I do not let the hearse at my house, but into a secret barn at friend's one. for 3 reasons :
- I don't want to have my car Deteriorated by a mindless fucker.
- I don't wan't to let a hearse in front of people that do not want to see a hearse.
- I understant that people do not like hearse, so i have to do my best to respect others ways of life, if they respect mine : if I haven't a barn, i would put a car cover on it.

[Stretch]

Back when I first got my green 71 Superior (some of you may remember Slimer) on the road, some friends talked me into bringing it to the local cruise night down on the city Main Street. I never had any grief from the people running it but there were a lot of freaked out spectators and I never got parked away from everyone else. They usually had me parked right in the middle of everything.

The following year I got my black 78 Miller-Meteor (Morgue-Anna) and branched out to going to even more cruise nights in the tri-state area (MA, RI, and CT). I stirred up a lot of comments both negative and posative from people but was never once asked to leave or was not allowed to participate. One week that summer I ever took home a "Cruiser of the Week" award and had a pic of me with the coach in the local paper. That in itself did not set too well with a lot of people but I found out later that one of the reasons why they chose my coach, other than that it was different, was that I never stopped going despite the complaints from some of the others who went and all the crap I took directly to my face.

Both coaches generated their fair share of stupid questions from idiots but I also got a lot of good ones from some people who were genuinly interested in them such as how they were made or about production numbers or other specifics.

Around here, most of the people who run events believe that as long as it is a classic or antique, you should not turned away reguardless if it is a perfect resto or a work in progress... especially if what you have is different from what everyone else has.

[Elvirathehearse]

Hearses don't appeal to everyone but neither does 4x4's and rice burnners, and they seem to be accepted in all the shows I have attended. Myself, give me an good old American made auto, like Cadillac, and I'm happy, the more outragous the better and if it is customized hell yes... thankfully we have events like Hearsecon and others to flaunt our hearse's, and who cares if anyone else is offended....they still noticed enough to be offended....lol

[60Buick]

I have been to a show put on by Auto Zone and maybe 75 cars showed up. One of the awards went to rarest at show. The other was for most original. I was in the blue 60 Buick Premier hearse. I had a 2 large signs that I diplayed next to the car. Long story short they ignored my car completely. The judges walked next to it and glanced it over they moved on. I lost rarest at show to a 1979 Bronco (I was pissed). and I lost most original to a 57 chevy that was largly original but the paint and interior had been redone.

SIGN ONE in BIG letters

1960 Buick Premier Hearse by Flxible
This car is one of 86 Premier coaches built by the Flxible company in Laudenville Ohio using the 1960 Buick Electra stripped chassis. There are only 8 Premiers known to exist and only 2 are limo style hearses. This is the only surviving Flxible in Midnight Blue and the only one this style interior was ever installed in.
The engine is an Electra 401 with a whopping 445 lb-ft of torque and 325 hp.
The car was stretched 26.7 inches.
This car cost 8615.00 new which was nearly twice that of a regular production model.
This car survives untouched and original down to the paint.
The car has 82,000 original miles.

Lots of pictures were on the lower portion of the sign.

SIGN TWO

This is my baby "Cathline". She was built in Flint Michigan (as all Flxible cars were). She started out as an Electra Stripped Chassis, which was a Lesabre 2 door sedan body on and Electra frame and running gear. She was built with out a decklid, rear glass, and had little more than a seat and dashboard for an interior. She was little more than a running hull. The body was originally Lucerne Green with a Sable black front clip and a Gull Gray interior. She was then trucked to Loudonville Ohio to be modified for funeral service. Marvin Albee owned the Albee mortuary in Condon Oregon and decieded it was time for a new first call hearse. He went to the local professional car dealer "Franz-Ritz" in Portland Oregon and placed his order for a Midnight Blue Flxible Premier limo style hearse with a maroon interior. Just a no frills basic work car with a rear carpet to cover the rollers for ambulance dutys. Not even a cot bar was ordered. At the time Condon was a very small town with large wheat farms and few people. The order was placed and the sedan was cut in two and stretched 26.7 inches. The one piece steel top and custom doors were installed and she was then sprayed Midnight Blue. Then came the custom wood floor and wrap around glass. The maroon interior was then installed with blue airline style curtains. The seat was recovered in red and the custom red front door panels were installed. Then came the trim and casket rollers and a final inspection. cathline then had some pictures taken out side the factory and was loaded up on a truck bound for Oregon, almost 3 weeks after the first cut was made. Marvin was then informed than his new toy was at the dealer ship and he had a friend drop him at the dealer. The car was used in Condon as the only hearse and the only ambulance in town. the town grew and so did the competition so in 1979 he sold the business to the Sweeney Mortuary based in nerby Heppner Oregon. Patrick Sweeney changed the name but kept the home in business. He got both the Buick and a 1973 Cadillac Miller Meteor Hearse in the deal. Pat liked the Buick and it became the primary car for both homes even though they were 40 miles apart. One day while going to Condon Pat decieded to open her up on a long straight strtch of road. A local cop caught him in his radar after slowing down at 110 mph and took him to see the judge. The local justice of the peace was none other than Marvin Albee! When he got to court and Marvin heard the charges he said " You were in the Buick wern't you" Pat said "Yup that thing will fly". Marvin had no choice but to "throw the book at him" so there would be no conflict of interest. Pat kept the car in service until 1984 and then rented it out once in 1985 for a movie filmed in Condon Oregon "Reagan's Childern, A Year in Lincoln Plains". The car was then parked on his brothers farm in the scrap field where she sat for the next 18 years. A local Resident spotted the car sitting next to the 73 cadillac hearse and bought both for 500 dollars. He got them both to the house and sold the Cadillac for some quick cash but wanted the engine in the Buick for his 1954 Chevy Sedan Delivery and would then part the rest or scrap her. Luckily he found out the 401 engine would not bolt to his bow tie transmission so he put it on Ebay in June of 2003 (suggested by his nagging wife). the auction ended July 4th 2003 and she was Georgia bound