New to the Forum, 1926 Studebaker Big Six Hearse

[GhostandTourco]

IMG_0178.jpgStudebaker_1926_hearse_front.jpgStudebaker_1926_hearse_rear.jpg2012-02-03_17-11-38_687.jpgStudebaker_1926_hearse-engine-left.jpg


Hello to everyone on the forum! I just recently purchased this 1926 Studebaker Big Six hearse and am doing a little research so guessed this would be the best place to start. I got the car last week and it's about six hours away from me so I'm planning on hitting the road to pick it up next weekend and am really excited about it. The previous owner has had the car for about 25 years and it's very complete and original. I operate a tour company in the Adirondacks Region of New York State and our most popular are the lantern lit ghost tours we offer of historic local cemeteries and other haunted sites. We've been searching for a hearse for our business for some time and when we saw this one, immediately fell in love with it. Our plans are to utilize the hearse as our tour vehicle once we get the old girl up and running. It's going to be an epic project and we're going to need all the input we can get. Here are a few pictures that we have for now, we'll be taking a lot more when we go retrieve the car. Would love to hear what you guys think of it...

[travlinman]

A 26? Couldn't afford anything newer? Just kidding, good luck with the ride.

[60Crown]

Welcome to the NHAA. Saw that coach on CL. Also saw you post looking for info on the HAMB. They aren't very hearse-friendly there.

[Psychoholic]

What a badass looking coach! I love the pic with the goat.

[hotroddwayne]

Well... still not sure what exactly you have here. I sent your info and photos to Tom McPherson who has the most extensive collection of coachbuilt history known to man and he thinks at this point it was built by Knightstown Body in Indiana. The body lines however don't line up with 1926 Studebaker so if you would post a pic of the serial # plate it would be a big help.

[GhostandTourco]

Hotrodwayne - Thank you very much for the info. As I said, we're heading down to pick up the car this week so once I get it home I'll be able to take a lot more detailed and extensive photos. Would be interested to know what factors led Mr. McPherson to believe it was made by that particular company. As for the body, all I can say at this point is the gentleman I bought it from has owned it for 25 years and has always known it as a 1926 Studebaker. The comment actually made me go check for other examples, and I did come up with something interesting. Not all 1926 Studebakers have the same body lines. Some have a very simple thin single line with very flat sides, while others have lines identical to mine. I'll post a photo for reference and you can see the Studebaker in the photo has the wide line above the door handles which wraps around beneath the windshield, with a thin line running below the door handles which continues along each side of the hood, identical to mine. The hearse also has the same cowl lights. The headlights have been changed at some point in the car's life and the grille has also been modified which gives it a different look as well. By serial plate, do you mean the one from the coachbuilder? Where would the serial number plate be located?

Standard Six.jpg

[Otto Baron]

Since Funeral Coach's were often times built for a provided chasis, what would be interesting to know is, who was the coach builder? The round "opera" windows are interesting, but the side coachlamps position on the rear seems odd to me. I wonder if there were once a pair of small landau bars, which were popular on 1920's limo style coaches? In the 1920's "Limo" style coaches became the coach of choice, since they better followed the style of the rest of the cars in the procession, then Carved cars did.