Oddball 1941 Cadillac

[Dosmo]

I saw this image on the "Vintage Shots From Days Gone By - Pt. 2" thread on The H.A.M.B.  The poster calls it a Hi-Boy 4 door coupe.  I'm thinking this is some sort of coach-built flower car or hearse application.  It sure does sport a tall nose.

 

I'd just like to know what some of the more knowledgeable folks on here think it is.   

[TAKerry]

No expert but it sure looks like a flower car to me. 

[58L-Y8]

It is a 1941 Cadillac flower car by Flxible, the professional car coachbuilder.  Flxible worked primarily on Buick chassis, though did some on Cadillac.  Their cars are easy to identify by the taller sides, they actually added section height to their cars, most noticeable in the hood as compared to the regular production models of the same make. 

[John_Mereness]

Flower Car - if unfamiliar with the concept, in larger cities they carried flowers to gravesides in often a matching vehicle to the hearse (which the hearse could also double as a Ambulance as many cities did not have ambulances as we have today and if you needed medical assistance of an ambulance you sought help from an undertaker - aka private ambulance service). 

[Y-JobFan]

Flxible coaches and professional vehicles are always easy to pick out 

[kgreen]

Why the taller nose on the hood?

[Marty Roth]

Some were actually designed to be used as a combination hearse/flower car

[Zimm63]

Undertakers operating ambulances was the original definition of conflict of interest.  

 

[JACK M]

1 hour ago, Zimm63 said:

Undertakers operating ambulances was the original definition of conflict of interest.  

 

 

The "brother in law" lawyer following close behind ?

[Y-JobFan]

1 hour ago, kgreen said:

Why the taller nose on the hood?

To compensate for the taller overall profile of the vehicles 

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Zimm63 said:

Undertakers operating ambulances was the original definition of conflict of interest.  

Not Really.  It brought ambulance service to many communities that would not otherwise had any ambulance service.

As late as 1975 the Funeral Home where I worked was called by a hospital 50 miles away wondering if we still had our ambulance/hearse.  They had a patient with a major aneurysm that had to go to Winnipeg and they thought the Pontiac Ambulance (1960) would be the smoothest.  In the middle of the night I drove 50 miles up to the hospital then back down past my town and 120 miles on to Winnipeg.  Fast and smooth.  The man went directly in to the operating room and had a successful surgery.

This was a case where we had a modern ambulance that served both communities plus two others.  The Funeral Home in the other town only had a straight hearse.  No conflict here and a life saved.

Edited July 17, 2020 by Guest (see edit history)

[58L-Y8]

2 hours ago, kgreen said:

Why the taller nose on the hood?

Taller section height was a hallmark of Flxible, the professional car coachbuilder.  The reason was to provide more headroom for the attendants in the ambulance tending to a patient.  That additional section height extended forward through the cowl and hood.  It was functional but does render an odd appearance.  The building practice extended to hearses and flower cars such as this 1941 Cadillac as well.

http://www.coachbuilt.com/bui/f/flxible/flxible.htm

Edited July 17, 2020 by 58L-Y8
Added Coachbuilt.com link to Flxible topic (see edit history)

[wayne sheldon]

Thank you all. Some very interesting history here, and I enjoyed reading it. 

I am sorry, but it does annoy me that so much of society is only able to relate to things through their own limited vision of the world. Seeing such a thing as a "Hi Boy four-door coupe" denies the car its rightful place in history. It played a very important part in many peoples lives (and deaths). It honored many people, both great and common. It should be remembered for what it and so many others like it were. Vehicles like it not only brought closure to people experiencing one of the toughest times in their lives? Its brethren also saved peoples lives. A thing of beauty indeed.

[Lebowski]

9 hours ago, Dosmo said:

"Vintage Shots From Days Gone By - Pt. 2" thread on The H.A.M.B.   

 

They finally went to part 2? The original thread had what-over 1 million posts and 100 million views? Or was it more than that? I belong to a lot of old car forums and that thread had the most posts and views of any that I've ever seen. Thanks for starting this thread.... 

[Dosmo]

35 minutes ago, Lebowski said:

 

They finally went to part 2? The original thread had what-over 1 million posts and 100 million views? Or was it more than that? I belong to a lot of old car forums and that thread had the most posts and views of any that I've ever seen. Thanks for starting this thread.... 

Ryan, the H.A.M.B. Admin, said the original VSFDGB thread had gotten so large it was about to threaten the stability of the HAMB database.  Thus, the original thread is closed but lives on as Pt. 2.

[JamesR]

Were flower cars a regional thing? In defense of the person who misidentified the Cadillac, I don't ever remember seeing a flower car at a funeral or graveside service, even when I was a kid (1960's.) Not at mortuaries, cemeteries or anywhere else. I would see hearses frequently, though. I lived/live in the upper Midwest.

 

 

[wayne sheldon]

Not really regional. More a matter of economics. Such elaborate flower cars were usually used for very expensive funerals, state funerals, celebrity funerals. I have seen news footage of all sorts of funerals with flower cars, sometimes several of them. I saw something just a year or so ago, it wasn't someone I personally cared about so I don't remember who. But I remember seeing the flower cars. In my years in this hobby, I have seen a few really incredible matching funeral coaches, hearses, and/or flower cars. I attended an auction about 25 years ago that had two of the most elaborate matching funeral cars I have ever seen, in person or photographs. They were circa 1940, with some of the most incredible wood carvings I have ever seen anywhere!

These flower cars were always very expensive to build. And most of them were never driven more than a few thousand miles. One such car I saw years ago was over fifty years old when I saw it, and had less than five thousand total miles. I imagine the funeral directors charged a pretty penny just for bringing them out.

[TG57Roadmaster]

This is a '49 Cadillac Flower Car and Hearse by Superior. The casket could be loaded from the rear doors on either side or from the rear.

 

 

TG

 

[Lebowski]

12 minutes ago, TG57Roadmaster said:

This is a '49 Cadillac Flower Car and Hearse by Superior. The casket could be loaded from the rear doors on either side or from the rear.

 

It's a flower car and hearse? Isn't the flower car usually used only for flowers and the casket is carried separately in a hearse? Maybe this combo one is used for those on a budget.... 

[TG57Roadmaster]

3 hours ago, Lebowski said:

 

It's a flower car and hearse? Isn't the flower car usually used only for flowers and the casket is carried separately in a hearse? Maybe this combo one is used for those on a budget.... 

 

Yes, the same configuration as the white '41 Cadillac Flxible that began the thread. Depends on the funeral budget, I guess - why use two cars when one will perform both functions.

[Dosmo]

10 minutes ago, TG57Roadmaster said:

 

Yes, the same configuration as the white '41 Cadillac Flxible that began the thread. Depends on the funeral budget, I guess - why use two cars when one will perform both functions.

 

Hypothetically, there could be a situation where using two vehicles could be appropriate if, for instance, a husband and wife died at the same time.  If the funerals were held together, there could be one vehicle for the husband and one for the wife.  I can't say whether or not I've ever known of funerals being held at the same time, but, it has probably happened.