Ecto 1-A to Hearse Conversion

[David G.]

1 hour ago, bisc63 said:

Cool reference. It makes me wonder, though, IF and WHERE does a hearse carry a spare?!

Most of the ones I've driven carry the jack and spare in the back cargo area under the deck directly behind the front seat on the driver's side. In the area that would be a footwell in a sedan. The other side of this compartment is where the church truck is kept.

Ta-Daa!

David G.

[bisc63]

Ahh, that makes sense. I hadn't considered there would be enough depth there, so I just assumed a wagon-type setup underneath would be the solution.

[David G.]

Hello Everyone.

It's time for another update.

Doing a little test fitting and... Hmmm, that rake is giving me ideas... Nope! Just stick to the plan.

 

Most of the cargo area, or "bathtub" as I've come to think of it, has been gutted and I'm starting plans for the roller deck.

 

I still haven't decided exactly how I'm going to work out the driver space yet but I'll probably build it from the donor pieces.

 

Thanks for taking the time to look.

David G.

[Oldmopars]

I love where this is going. As I posted before, I have built 2 of these, but I now want to build a full detail one as you are doing.

From the  last picture, it looks like the seat needs to go back to be where the Ecto seat was. I think this would help you figure out what is left to fill in on the interior. 

[David G.]

13 hours ago, Oldmopars said:

I love where this is going. As I posted before, I have built 2 of these, but I now want to build a full detail one as you are doing.

From the  last picture, it looks like the seat needs to go back to be where the Ecto seat was. I think this would help you figure out what is left to fill in on the interior. 

Thank you Scott. 

You may be correct regarding the seat placement. Working that out is part of the reason for my most recent building break.

Most of the hearses I've driven have had a bit of stowage space behind the seat, usually a foot or so. This one would be closer to two feet. That does seem to be a bit too much. But then again, I've never driven a '59 Cadillac hearse.

Given that the seat should only be so far from the dashboard and the dashboard has a very fixed position, I was thinking that the headwall in the cargo area is just too far back. I may remove and replace it but I'll need to build in a little more structural integrity first. At this point, I'm thinking that the best way to go is to get the driver's area secure and stable first and work backward from there.

Thanks for your comment Scott, it struck a spark in my thought process and helped me come up with some new ideas.

David G.

[Zippi]

Looking pretty good there Dave.  The engine looks nicely detailed and the mods are looking nice.

[Spottedlaurel]

Great to see that you're still moving on with this one David.

[David G.]

On 11/9/2021 at 6:45 AM, Spottedlaurel said:

Great to see that you're still moving on with this one David.

Sometimes I have to wait for my skills to catch up with my ambitions. But I do have some solid plans for my next move on this one.

Thanks for your comment Nigel.

David G.

[Modlbldr]

I commented early on this build but haven't read through the entire post. I picked this started project up this week so I will have to go back and read it all for some tips.

Later-

[David G.]

19 hours ago, Modlbldr said:

I commented early on this build but haven't read through the entire post. I picked this started project up this week so I will have to go back and read it all for some tips.

Later-

Hi Tom,

It's great to know that someone else is working on making the same crazy conversion that I am. It'll be cool having someone to share ideas with.

I like where you're going with the roof on yours. I still toy with the thought of doing that for mine, I guess some of that will depend on how the interior turns out.

Thanks for posting the photos, I look forward to seeing more.

David G.