Topic: Solved TGF-119: Cadillac 60, 1937 by Boonacker (?)

[targhediferro]

Make, model and coachbuilder, please.

[Bill Murray]

Well, no one else seems to be taking a shot at this one so.....

1937 Cadillac Series 60 hearse.
The location seems to be Sweden if I interpret the colours on the flag correctly in a black and white photo.

In spite of a lot of searching, I cannot find this exact car in books or on the web but I have found similar type vehicles done by Gustaf Nordberg so I will choose that coach builder as my best effort for today.

Bill

[targhediferro]

The base car is obviously a Cadillac, I'm not sure it's a 60 series, but it's not a Gustav Nordberg's job.
The picture was not taken in Sweden.

[Bill Murray]

OK, I found the car photo on flickr but no coach maker id.
The photo was taken in Amersfoort, Holland.

I have to take my wife to the hospital in a few minutes for a minor surgery and will try to follow up this afternoon my time.

Bill

[Bill Murray]

Back again:

It is possible that the coach builder is called Boonacker

What is confusing is that the same photo appears on multiple Flickr sites and on at least half of them it is mis identified as a Lincoln.

Further research today shows that Boonacker did in fact build a number of hearses on the Lincoln chassis in a slightly later period and it seems at least one Cadillac limousine from that era.

So, for now I will say it is a 1939 Cadillac 60 Series with body by Boonacker and I will do further research during the day.

Bill

[Bill Murray]

OK, this one is becoming a fun challenge..............

I will post here a photo of one of the Boonacker Lincolns which was owned by the same company as the Cadillac in the quiz photo.  This is a post-war photo and the Lincoln is a post war model.

The original of Fabrizio's photo showed the registration plate number, L-26251 when that photo was taken and I believe this was before the war looking at the car behind it.

Now, the post war photo shows the Lincoln with that same registration plate, L-26251 and behind that car is what looks to me like our elusive Cadillac and I think the registration plate on that one is now L-26250.  As we say here in my country, "How you do dat?".  Doesn't seem very legal to me.

Anyway, I am still pursuing the final answer and will post again if I come up with anything more.

Bill

[targhediferro]

Wow Bill...Boonacker is the name I have, even if I never heard of such a coachbuilder, so the point is your. I haven't seen the other picture with the Lincoln 76H, but the plate-plot is very interesting indeed! I hope you'll get something more about this hearse.

[Bill Murray]

Continuing this long funeral procession..............

Further research indicates that Boonacker appears to have started in business after WWII and therefore is not the builder of this particular Cadillac.  They did build a number of hearses on Lincoln chassis' for not only this company but others as far as I have been able to find out. Boonacker went bankrupt in the 1990's and there have now been two successor companies that have tried to continue the business using mainly Mercedes chassis.

Through some very exhaustive use of Google and Wiki, I think I have come up with a way to contact the daughter of the founder of the funeral car company that owned this Cadillac and I have sent several emails to various addresses hoping to get a solution.

In the meantime, I thought the members here would enjoy this photo of a genuine Boonacker limousine with a unique business purpose.

Bill

[targhediferro]

Thank you Bill.  I had that name, possibly wrong but possibly right (that 37 Cadillac may have been coachbuilt after the war)...so I get it for solved.