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Home-Built “Antique” Hearse Built From Scratch
Ted Hawk built an old-style hearse on a 1925 Ford Model TT cab and chassis. The antique-looking hearse has an ornate box on the rear that is long enough for a casket. Reporter Rachel Wagoner captured the effort recently in an article for Farm and Dairy and shared it and the photos with FARM SHOW.
Hawk built the hearse at the request of an older brother. “My brother said, ‘When I go, I want to have a wake in the parlor and be buried in the family cemetery’.”
Hawk has held wakes in the 1898 family home and buried 5 siblings and his parents in the family cemetery up the hill. The problem he thought about with his brother is that he lives 90 miles away. Hawk’s solution was to build a hearse to bring him home.
Hawk has restored a line up of old Fords from 1912 to 1929. He naturally chose to use the 1-ton truck version of a Model TT for the base. A pickup truck when he bought it, the Model TT was designed for multiple uses, such as milk truck, van or even a hearse.
As part of the restoration, Hawk and his nephew, Mark Runk, swapped out the original 2-gear transmission for a Rocky Mountain 3-speed. That boosted top speed from 17 to 25 mph.
He built the basic box for the hearse out of wood he cut and milled on his own property. Hawk purchased decorative moldings online to embellish the sides. His daughter created a stained glass window for the front of the box and 2 more for the rear. Four windows line each side, and an antique fire extinguisher is mounted to one side of the box.
When his brother dies, Hawk plans to hold a funeral procession with the hearse and other antique cars owned by the family. The cortege will bring his brother home in a trip expected to take 7 or 8 hrs. on side roads.


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2020 - Volume #44, Issue #2