looking for info about 1986 buick le sabre superior

[enenek]

hello everyone.

i'm looking for some info on my 1986 Buick Lesabre hearse, built by Superior.
i've got almost exactly the same model that aprylla had :

http://www.nationalhearse.net/forums/showthread.php?966-86-Buick-Superior-Hearse-for-PARTS-or-RESTORE&highlight=lesabre

The thing is, i live in poland, and in central europe any specifications except haynes book for fullsize GM's are impossible to find. ebay isn't helpful neither, i can only find some sales brochures there.
i even contacted accubuilt, but sadly, they forgot to write me back.

things that interest me the most are some charts of how the frame under the coffin keeps the body together - im planning to do some kind of rebuild / lowering on it, and before ill dismantle it i want to gather as much info as possible.

if you have some info, or if you have some links, urls, photos of rebuilds that would be helpful in getting to know this lovable car, i would be more than thankful.

cheers.

[Otto Baron]

You're coach started out as a pasenger car. Up until 1984, GM supplied a Cadillac comercial chassis, but that was certainly over by 1986, and your coach is a Buick. The frame would have been lengthened to use as a funeral coach, but a lot of the components should be similar to a Standard Buick LaSabre, including possibly some of the glass. I suspect the rear side doors and rear door would be specific to Superior. If your car is frame on body, which I think it is, it will be a lot easier to do your modifications.

[enenek]

i know its the lesabre estate, and i even found the places on the frame and doors where it has been extended.

but the thing i plan to do is to radically lower the floor under the casket, and the question is : is the frame under that floor keeping the walls together, does it have any influence on the stiffness and turn/twist resistance of the body? (pardon me if i dont know proper terms for that) should i weld new frame components prior to stripping old ones, or tackweld some temporary frame and work on that? or am i free to experiment. sure i can just strip it and do it, but those failing to prepare - prepare to fail . i have zero expertise in american cars, been driving small unibody bmw's and volkswagens all my life, and i dont want this pretty car to collapse during work.

and another question which maybe you people would be capable of answering: where can i find some kind of versatile rear/ rear side door seals, as mine are completely rotten, ebay is helpful when it comes to front seals which are standard, but for the superior ones i assume that i'll just have to buy a roll of standard seal in bulk - but which kind?

[hotroddwayne]

The framework you see under your casket floor is 1" x 1" box steel tubing that only supports that floor, but it also helps resist flexing somewhat. The floor is a thick particle board wood with a laminate skin. It doesn't keep the body of the car together. The body rests on a full frame by a series of rubber body mounts with bolts running through them. Since your coach isn't on a commercial chassis (meaning your frame was stretched, not originally that length) it has been cut & stretched by the coachbuilder to extend the car's overall length. Yes you can remove the wood floor & that inside framework... to make it into a limo or adding a rear seat? Here is a picture of a typical hearse body off the frame, although it's a much older hearse (1955 Cadillac) you can see the full frame, a series of body mounts to support the full length of the body, and there's no box steel framework inside. Whatever you decide is up to you, but your body won't fall apart if you cut out the inside floor supports.
As for door seals, write these guys & see if they can help you with door seal in bulk... since your rear doors are stretched a standard seal is too short http://www.steelerubber.com/

[enenek]

allright, so i'll make it two ways, remove the wood, tackleweld the temporary frame, then make the finished one w/ extra seats and mattress.
my hearse will become a camper, i already built a bed over the casket area, but it's too temporary to last, and i'm wasting vertical space, so the rebuild has to be on its way. http://www.flickr.com/photos/cooking...7624179395696/ - :]

thanks for the rubber auto shop contact. take care

[msc0nduct]

The framework you see under your casket floor is 1" x 1" box steel tubing that only supports that floor, but it also helps resist flexing somewhat. The floor is a thick particle board wood with a laminate skin. It doesn't keep the body of the car together. The body rests on a full frame by a series of rubber body mounts with bolts running through them. Since your coach isn't on a commercial chassis (meaning your frame was stretched, not originally that length) it has been cut & stretched by the coachbuilder to extend the car's overall length. Yes you can remove the wood floor & that inside framework... to make it into a limo or adding a rear seat? Here is a picture of a typical hearse body off the frame, although it's a much older hearse (1955 Cadillac) you can see the full frame, a series of body mounts to support the full length of the body, and there's no box steel framework inside. Whatever you decide is up to you, but your body won't fall apart if you cut out the inside floor supports.
As for door seals, write these guys & see if they can help you with door seal in bulk... since your rear doors are stretched a standard seal is too short http://www.steelerubber.com/

I didn't know you had a 55

[Otto Baron]

By the way, you could also go to the PCS message board, and tell them about your plans. They adore that kind of stuff over there. In addition to recieving the feedback of some of the members, you'll learn all sorts of American words and expressions you've never heard before from their responses, which will greatly enhance you're knowlege of the English language as spoken by Americans.

[enenek]

by pcs you mean professionalcar.org? i'll check it.
and about the language, good point. ive spent some time working with irish, french, british people but sadly never with americans. and definitely i shouldnt write in a hurry, that's quite bad for the grammar.
either way, thanks for info, i'll have thousands more questions when i'll finally manage to get to work on her. (bows with respect, shakes hand)

[msc0nduct]

By the way, you could also go to the PCS message board, and tell them about your plans. They adore that kind of stuff over there. In addition to recieving the feedback of some of the members, you'll learn all sorts of American words and expressions you've never heard before from their responses, which will greatly enhance you're knowlege of the English language as spoken by Americans.

Your an asshole... LOL

[enenek]

Your an asshole... LOL

he's trying to.
my hearse has to be usable in some kind of way as it is my daily driver and i live in a city. so additional seats + cargo space is the way to go.
i can fully understand purists who want to keep cars original, but this little piece of junk is too rusted to do it.
what's better for a retired car, being full of dead people or stoned people ? i prefer the latter.

and for the language lessons: can do the same in return, our language is beautiful, especially when we violently disagree with someone.
take care people.

[msc0nduct]

he's trying to.
my hearse has to be usable in some kind of way as it is my daily driver and i live in a city. so additional seats + cargo space is the way to go.
i can fully understand purists who want to keep cars original, but this little piece of junk is too rusted to do it.
what's better for a retired car, being full of dead people or stoned people ? i prefer the latter.

and for the language lessons: can do the same in return, our language is beautiful, especially when we violently disagree with someone.
take care people.

I wasn't calling you an asshole, I was calling Otto an asshole. I don't care what you do with your hearse, it's yours... you paid for it, more power to you.

[Otto Baron]

One problem with the PCS is they take things too seriously, when it comes to keeping hearses original. Good luck with your conversion, and post pictures when you're done.

[msc0nduct]

One problem with the PCS is they take things too seriously, when it comes to keeping hearses original. Good luck with your conversion, and post pictures when you're done.

I hope you know I was being sarcastic.

[Otto Baron]

That LOL, was a big hint. A friend of mine has a 1975 MM that was pretty ragged when he bought it, and I've always enjoyed the goth touches he's added to it. I remember at a PCS event, Go west, that some of the Jerks didn't want to let him display his car in the field, and he was mainly parking it there so he could look at the other hearses. A few of us went to bat for him, so he could keep it parked in the show. In some respects I wonder who is really the more twisted individual; the guy who customizes his hearse to suit his needs, or folks like myself who want our hearses kept in a state where they could still carry the dead.

[enenek]

chill out people . and for the record, i registered on pcs, posting pics of crimson love bed right from the start . no flames earned till now.

a hearse is just a beautiful car, and in my opinion (that's what you mentioned in the topic about hearse discrimination)- if we start to wonder about who is the more twisted individual we're behaving like the majority of the non-educated society, thinking via stereotypes, cliches and so.

i heard an urban legend that in the US people who go surfing buy hearses to store and transfer boards - does it mean they are preparing for "jaws VII" movie shoot? dont think so. imho more serial killers drive toyota yaris or party vans, that something really original.

other thing is, that i've heard of a family here in .pl that was forced out of town for driving a hearse and behaving goth. to add insult to injury, they were expressing a vital interest in necropihlia (a good story for another time), and that was too much for the rural community.

life is peachy
take care.