1940 Buick Carved Panel Hearse ???

[1957chevman]

Hi,
I am new to this site and are wondering if anyone can provide me with any information about a Hearse that I own.
I believe it is a 1940 Buick and have been told it was made by Flxible Motor Co.
Carved Panel work is all cast aluminium not wood.
That is all I know about it so any information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[Riff Raff]

According to "Professional Cars" by Greg Merksamer, Flxible started using the carved panels in 1937, and started using all steel bodies in 1939 and carved panels were only sold through 1941. Yours could be a "Classic A" or a "Classic AA" model. "AA"s had beveled glass rear windows, "A"s did not. I found a picture of a 1939 Classic A Buick that has the exact same treatment as yours. Flxible also built LaSalles from 1938 to 1940, not sure if any were carved panels or not.

[Riff Raff]

Found a picture of the 1939 Classic A. Also found out that the 40 Buicks had exterior door hinges and the 41s had hidden door hinges.

5480816820_ce85cbc2cc_b.jpg

[hotroddwayne]

PM me with the info off the Flxible build plate (these are tags installed at Flxible under the hood somewhere, typically the firewall)... in a few days you'll know what exactly it is, who it was originally built for, date of delivery and where, etc.
Gregg writes some very good books, as does Tom McPherson. Tom just happens to be in possession of THE Flxible master logbook where every coach that left the Flxible factory was logged into and i'll do my best to get that info for you and share it here... and i'm pretty sure the logbook goes back that far in production so chances are good you'll know the original history of your coach.
In the meantime, could you fill in your location on your profile, we like to know a general idea where members are and it's always cool when any old hearse shows up. Especially a carved-panel! (that's my goal in this hobby is to own one someday)

[1957chevman]

Thanks Riff Raff.
It appears that mine is a Classic A model as the glass is not bevelled.
And it looks like it is definitely a 40 as it does have exterior door hinges although the bottom ones do have some cool little castings covering them so they don't stand out as much.

[1957chevman]

Thanks wayne.
Sorry, I'm new to this. I have got my location etc filled out now.
I'm actually not in the USA. I'm in New Zealand and live in a small town at the bottom of the North Island called Lower Hutt.
I will try and find the tags and let you know what they say.
Yes it is a very cool hearse with all it's carved panel work. All the carved panel work is cast aluminium.
And the best thing is that all the carved panel work is there and it is all in perfect condition without a mark or damage on any of it.

[Psychoholic]

That is a SERIOUSLY cool car.

Definitely keep us updated on anything you do or find, and as many pictures as you feel like taking.

[SmoothNlow]

Definitely keep us updated on anything you do or find, and as many pictures as you feel like taking.

+1!!!!!!

[hotroddwayne]

Have you had any luck getting the VIN# off the firewall? Once you provide that you'll have all the information you requested. Tom has replied to me and is thrilled to see this coach resurface! Here is what he has to say about your Flxible after I forwarded your info request and photos:

That Flxible interests me greatly. New Zealand you say? Now, that is the third or fourth true classic funeral car that I've heard of or seen from that corner of the world. That's amazing. The car in the photos was called a Flxible Classic AA. Flxible built these in two styles: the Classic A - with carved panels encased within the body side arches and the Classic AA - that had bevelled French plate glass in the openings within the carved arches. The car in the photo would appear to be a Classic AA - which was the rarer of the two. These were only built between 1938 and 1941. In that time Flxible delivered just 88 examples of both styles - 61 Classic A models and 27 Classic AA models. The 1940 Flxible Classic AA was the most popular and there were 10 of these sold that year as opposed to only 8 Classic A models. Of these 18 Classic vehicles 15 were based on Buick chassis and 3 on LaSalles. You are correct. If the owner would supply the information from the Flxible serial plate - usually mounted on the cowl - I can tell him when the car was sold, to whom as well as giving him a accurate description of the vehicle, its body, motor and frame number. This information will be required to correctly identify this particular car from 10 that were built but, I do have the information within the Flxible production and delivery record book and will be happy to share it with you and the vehicles owner.

[Beast Lee]

A very kOoL ride you have there...!

[1957chevman]

Hi Wayne,
Thanks very much for the information. It is a lot more than I used to know about it.
I cannot find the Vin# on the firewall. It looks like it has been removed as I can see where a tag used to be.
I do have the Vin#13747790 which is on the paperwork that came with the car when I purchased it. However I do not know if this is the correct vin# for the car.
Is there anywhere else on the chassis or body where the vin# is stamped. if so do you know where this may be.
I was planning on putting in an aftermarket front end with disc brakes and power steering and fitting a Big Block Chev ( 572 Crate Engine) and auto as I are planning on driving it everyday.
However I may have to rethink this as it sounds like it is very rare and it may be worth more restored rather than rodded.
I have to move it soon from where it is being stored so will take some more pics then and get them posted.

[hotroddwayne]

Hi Wayne,
Thanks very much for the information. It is a lot more than I used to know about it.
I cannot find the Vin# on the firewall. It looks like it has been removed as I can see where a tag used to be.
I do have the Vin#13747790 which is on the paperwork that came with the car when I purchased it. However I do not know if this is the correct vin# for the car.
Is there anywhere else on the chassis or body where the vin# is stamped. if so do you know where this may be.
I was planning on putting in an aftermarket front end with disc brakes and power steering and fitting a Big Block Chev ( 572 Crate Engine) and auto as I are planning on driving it everyday.
However I may have to rethink this as it sounds like it is very rare and it may be worth more restored rather than rodded.
I have to move it soon from where it is being stored so will take some more pics then and get them posted.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]12097[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]12098[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]12099[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]12100[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]12101[/ATTACH]

Thanks for the info, hopefully that's a good number recorded in the Flxible ledger Tom has. Yes there should have been a plate on the firewall that was placed there by Flxible, it had the Flxible model # and other info specific to Flxible... similar to this Meteor hearse tag:



You'll have to ask around with the old Buick guys to find locations for body # locations and frame # locations or search Buick forums for that.
As far as value... yes it is a super rare coach, however it's value is based in a VERY limited market to guys like us who live and breathe vintage hearses. Do with it whatever you want, if it's for your enjoyment and driving pleasure then build it for you. If you're looking to do some work and resell, then i'd leave it alone and market the car for what it is, one of 10 and mostly complete.
I do want to tell you that ALL old hearses are rare. Coachbuilders built a few each year for their showrooms, but everything else was sold before built and made-to-order to buyer's request, so even in the 1960's and 1970's the production numbers of each model hearse were usually less than 100. The coach in my avitar photo is truly a one-of-one "service car", the only one ever built in 1964 by Pinner Coach but it's real value is only known by a few thousand die hard hearse collectors world-wide. To everyone else they're just creepy old cars that carried dead people and have no value or historical signifigance.
Your coach is rare and extremely beautiful. I know you guys overseas have been snatching up U.S. built hearses for as many years as i've been in the hobby. Share with us how you came to be the owner of this carved-panel? Did you import it or find it in New Zealand already? We'd all love to know the story of it's migration from Loudonville, Ohio U.S. where it was built to Lower Hutt, New Zealand! I'll pass along your vin# info and see if it is a good # that matches Flxible documentation... -Dwayne

[hotroddwayne]

EDIT - All detailed information removed - EDIT

[60hearse]

For Sale

http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/other/auction-502972767.htm

[SmoothNlow]

There you go Dwayne. She could be yours.