If youB次元官网网址檙e driving through the northern British Columbia town of Burns Lake, and happen to notice a hearse coming your way, fret not. This is not a B次元官网网址渨orkingB次元官网网址� hearse, but rather local car enthusiast Cliff Stronstad whipping around in his fully restored 1941 Cadillac Eureka three-panel carved hearse. YouB次元官网网址檇 be forgiven for thinking this set of wheels was something special, though: Only two were ever made.
Lakes District B次元官网网址 caught up with Stronstad about the process it took to restore the classic vehicle. B次元官网网址淚 purchased the car in Vancouver in 1989, and drove it 600 miles to Burns Lake. For the first few years I drove it around, and then my wife and I began fully restoring it.B次元官网网址�
Stronstad, whoB次元官网网址檚 been working in auto shops since the 1960s, owned and ran Pluto Autobody shop in Burns Lake from 1979 until he sold it in 2008. HeB次元官网网址檚 been a fan of Cadillacs since he was a young man. B次元官网网址淢y first car was a B次元官网网址�64 Cadillac Coupe de Ville. IB次元官网网址檝e loved cars, and Cadillacs ever since.B次元官网网址�
The restoration of the car took 25 years and more than 3,500 man hours to complete. Every piece of the exterior is all original, and everything mechanical has been rebuilt.
The history of the car reaches back much further then when he first purchased it in 1989. According to Stronstad, the car was first used in St Louis, Missouri for Peoples funeral home until the mid 1960s. Peoples was run at the time by then-influential politician Jordan Chambers, a prominent figure in the civil rights movement.
After the funeral home closed in 1968 following ChambersB次元官网网址� death, the car was bought by Bill Small and eventually moved to Victoria. The car was put up for sale in 1988, and then re-sold in 1989 when Stronstad became its owner.
Stronstad says his affinity for the car is all about its beauty. B次元官网网址淎 car is partly a study in art. I looked at this hearse as an art form. Visually, itB次元官网网址檚 quite striking,B次元官网网址� he says.
Today, Stronstad and his wife can be seen using the car in the summer time; in fact, heB次元官网网址檚 put more than 6,000 miles on it over the past few summers, and says it couldnB次元官网网址檛 be a smoother ride.
B次元官网网址淲henever I get asked how it feels to drive it, I usually tell people that itB次元官网网址檚 like a space shuttle just gliding into a landing,B次元官网网址� Stronstad says. B次元官网网址淵ou canB次元官网网址檛 feel bumps at all, it just feels like youB次元官网网址檙e floating. ItB次元官网网址檚 very smooth.B次元官网网址�
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