1950 Dodge Coronet hearse

carchaeologist · 13-07-2009 6:04pm #1

In this months Classic van and pick up mag theres an article on a 1950 Dodge Coronet hearse,which was irish built by a coachbuilder,John Kelley and sons of westport Co mayo.
Previous to this it was apparently a Canadian Embassy car.It was used as a hearse is Westport for many years before being sold to england where it was ran into the ground and then subsequently restored.
It was since been sold and has returned to ireland .
Does anyone know of it when it was originally here,what was its reg,and has it retained its original number now that it has returned to these shores?
This is the only pic i can find of it,it seems to have been removed from the hearse clubs gallery.

Max_Damage · 13-07-2009 6:36pm

Where abouts in Ireland is it now do you know?

carchaeologist · 13-07-2009 8:58pm

Max_Damage wrote: »

Where abouts in Ireland is it now do you know?

The article didnt say,just that it was now owned by a funeral director,but doesnt say who it is.I like the history behind it,its nice to see stuff like this being restored and escaping the banger track.

MercMad · 14-07-2009 10:19am

I reckon Kevin Herron will be along to provide some details soon !

sogood · 14-07-2009 4:16pm

carchaeologist wrote: »

The article didnt say,just that it was now owned by a funeral director,but doesnt say who it is.I like the history behind it,its nice to see stuff like this being restored and escaping the banger track.

I know you have a bit of a thing for old reg plates, go on, dont deny it! So, just for you, here's a couple to be going along with, though you probably know them intimately!! Apologies for the poor quality.

Kevin_Herron · 14-07-2009 8:21pm

I have seen that photograph before, the Oldsmobile Fiesta hubcaps ring a bell with me. The pic was taken in the U.K.

There were a few of those '50 Dodges around, all were assembled by O'Neills of Pleasant street, just off Camden street.
I have always maintaned that there were never as many around as people seem to remember.
A friend of mine owns the one that was featured on the front cover of Irish vintage Scene not too long ago. This car is ZL5735.
AFAIK it is the only one left on Irish roads. He also broke up 2 or 3 for spares.

I have never heard of John Kelley in Westport, maybe he wasnt a coachbuilder at all, maybe he was an undertaker and converted hearses for himself? Like Pat Gleasure in Tralee..
Also there were alot of Irish assembled Limousines and hearses shipped across to England over the years so it would be very hard to trace.
I had not heard of this car in Ireland yet.

carchaeologist · 14-07-2009 8:43pm

Kevin_Herron wrote: »

I have seen that photograph before, the Oldsmobile Fiesta hubcaps ring a bell with me. The pic was taken in the U.K.

There were a few of those '50 Dodges around, all were assembled by O'Neills of Pleasant street, just off Camden street.
I have always maintaned that there were never as many around as people seem to remember.
A friend of mine owns the one that was featured on the front cover of Irish vintage Scene not too long ago. This car is ZL5735.
AFAIK it is the only one left on Irish roads. He also broke up 2 or 3 for spares.

I have never heard of John Kelley in Westport, maybe he wasnt a coachbuilder at all, maybe he was an undertaker and converted hearses for himself? Like Pat Gleasure in Tralee..
Also there were alot of Irish assembled Limousines and hearses shipped across to England over the years so it would be very hard to trace.
I had not heard of this car in Ireland yet.

I was waiting for your reply,thanks kevin.
I saw that car in the irish vintage magazine alright,a nice example.
I think you could be right on the coachbuilder thing,i suppose alot of that kind of thing went on in those days,compared to modern hearses the older stuff seems so crude in comparison.

Kevin_Herron · 14-07-2009 9:21pm

Crude is not the word.
There used to be two '47 Chrysler Windsors in John Newmans in Ashbourne.
One was a saloon and the other a hearse, they were both owned by the Guinness family. Both were 6 cylinder fluid drives.
They bought the hearse as a parts car for the saloon, it was in rag order but all original, the amount of isopon that was used in it was unbelievable!

I was told a story by a panel beater that used to work for Ryans in Ringsend, that done a few hearse conversions and later webasto sunroofs etc. that they used to use the roofs off Volkswagen vans as the roof for their hearses!

carchaeologist · 14-07-2009 9:44pm

Kevin_Herron wrote: »

Crude is not the word.
There used to be two '47 Chrysler Windsors in John Newmans in Ashbourne.
One was a saloon and the other a hearse, they were both owned by the Guinness family. Both were 6 cylinder fluid drives.
They bought the hearse as a parts car for the saloon, it was in rag order but all original, the amount of isopon that was used in it was unbelievable!

I was told a story by a panel beater that used to work for Ryans in Ringsend, that done a few hearse conversions and later webasto sunroofs etc. that they used to use the roofs off Volkswagen vans as the roof for their hearses!

Yes,i had a good look at a Granada mk2 once that looked like it had been home converted.there was some pretty amazing woodwork (as in amazing how it all held together) in the rear end.The vinyl roof covered alot of stuff too,in all it was pretty nasty.
I dismantled a Woodall Nicholson converted MK2 Granada once also,and the quality of the body in that and the finish was unbelievable,there was very little filler in it also.They must have cost a fortune when new,as im sure they were built from new cars,not converted from older ones?

Big Nasty · 15-07-2009 7:26pm

Newman's still have some quirky stuff for sale (the father not the son, but he's got some unusual stuff too!)

http://www.cbg.ie/SearchResults.aspx?DealerID=14520

MercMad · 16-07-2009 10:17am

MCMLXXV wrote: »

Newman's still have some quirky stuff for sale (the father not the son, but he's got some unusual stuff too!)

http://www.cbg.ie/SearchResults.aspx?DealerID=14520

........terrible to see an early Mustang left to rot !

Kevin_Herron · 16-07-2009 1:24pm

Thankfully its only a Mustang:pac:

That car used to live in Douglas in Co.Cork up until a few years ago.

G Luxel · 18-07-2009 7:05pm

MercMad wrote: »

........terrible to see an early Mustang left to rot !

I remember that car, it used to be driven by an elderly lady and had black and silver reg plates but I often wondered where it ended up. It never had wheel trims and looked in better condition than those pictures.

Max_Damage · 18-07-2009 8:46pm

Newman's still have some quirky stuff for sale (the father not the son, but he's got some unusual stuff too!)

http://www.cbg.ie/SearchResults.aspx?DealerID=14520

Wouldn't mind that Dodge Intrepid he has for sale!

He'll never sell that Econoline though!

G Luxel · 18-07-2009 10:45pm

Ive a picture of a Dodge Coronet hearse from 1950 but its a Fletcher built hearse.

carchaeologist · 19-07-2009 4:53pm

G Luxel wrote: »

Ive a picture of a Dodge Coronet hearse from 1950 but its a Fletcher built hearse.

Nice,any idea how old that pic is

G Luxel · 20-07-2009 1:53am

It was taken in August 1994 at a hearse show at the National Motor Museum in Beaulieu.

junkyard · 20-07-2009 12:27pm

Kevin_Herron wrote: »

Thankfully its only a Mustang:pac:

That car used to live in Douglas in Co.Cork up until a few years ago.

A friend of mine bought that Mustang from the old lady and sold it on for around €1000!! Nice profit margin there but it's well rotten and nothing special tbh.

Max_Damage · 20-07-2009 1:36pm

Ive a picture of a Dodge Coronet hearse from 1950 but its a Fletcher built hearse.

The vehicle details for BSK 327 are:

Date of Liability 01 04 2008
Date of First Registration 02 05 1990
Year of Manufacture 1950
Cylinder Capacity (cc) 3773CC
CO2 Emissions Not Available
Fuel Type Petrol
Export Marker Export
Vehicle Status Unlicensed
Vehicle Colour BLACK
Vehicle Type Approval null

carchaeologist · 20-07-2009 9:21pm

Its the same one as in the magazine,BSK 327.

Max_Damage · 20-07-2009 9:32pm

carchaeologist wrote: »

Its the same one as in the magazine,BSK 327.

British reg.

carchaeologist · 20-07-2009 9:35pm

Max_Damage wrote: »

British reg.

Yep,1990 age related plate.

mamakevf · 21-07-2009 10:07pm

Some pics of a local Dodge hearse, supposedly 1948

carchaeologist · 21-07-2009 10:35pm

Wow!!Thats rough!!Great shots though! What the number? DI? 677?

mamakevf · 21-07-2009 10:40pm

carchaeologist wrote: »

Wow!!Thats rough!!Great shots though! What the number? DI? 677?

Possibly DIH 677 as it's in Donegal but that would leave it a mid 60's reg.

carchaeologist · 21-07-2009 10:42pm

Is that the drivers cap still on the seat?:eek::p

mamakevf · 21-07-2009 10:44pm

carchaeologist wrote: »

Is that the drivers cap still on the seat?:eek::p

Yeah, You don't want to see what else is at that site:eek:

carchaeologist · 21-07-2009 10:47pm

mamakevf wrote: »

Yeah, You don't want to see what else is at that site:eek:

Why so...

mamakevf · 21-07-2009 10:51pm

carchaeologist wrote: »

Why so...

Funeral parlour still there(abandoned) with a load of unused coffins including a babies coffin

carchaeologist · 21-07-2009 10:56pm

mamakevf wrote: »

Funeral parlour still there(abandoned) with a load of unused coffins including a babies coffin

Any other hearses?Thers a merc beside the dodge.And we need a Kevin Herron ID on the model of that Dodge.:)

mamakevf · 21-07-2009 10:59pm

carchaeologist wrote: »

Any other hearses?Thers a merc beside the dodge.And we need a Kevin Herron ID on the model of that Dodge.:)

Yeah, theres a Merc hearse, circa 1980 as can be seen in one of the photo's

1950 Dodge Coronet hearse

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