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LaSalle Hearse

Started by Bob Dziewit, November 03, 2005, 08:29:08 AM

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Bob Dziewit

Did anyone notice the beautiful 40 LaSalle hearse used in Rosa Parks funeral procession yesterday?  I couldnt help but notice that it started the one hour-plus drive with the headlights on, then off after about 10 minutes and finally pushed by hand the last few feet at the cemetary.  Tense moments as I was watching, but it seemed un-noticed by the news media and most spectators.  I hope that the Swanson Funeral Home folks get that resolved before the next funeral!


Doug Houston

Ah, that aint a LaSalle!!

I didnt see the program, but Im guessing thet the procession was very slow, and the generator wasnt keeping the battery up while they were going. They probably had headlights and other loads on the system durning the procession.  

Its one of the hazards of slow driving with a DC generator system. While I dont recommend changing electrical systems, alternators  charge at idle, and DC generators dont.

Back in the days before passenger cars got alternator systems, the police cruisers were using alternator systems, made by Leece-Neville, with a big selenium rectifier stack under the hood. That was the way they got around depleted batteries in those days.

Denise


   Why dont they just gear the generators, or put smaller pulleys so that they spin faster?

Rusty Shepherd CLC 6397

Doug, I think one of your flathead Sixteens is a 38 model and, if so, it would have the one-year-only generator that had gearing and/or pulleys to make the generator turn at twice the speed of the engine although Im not absolutely sure how it worked.  Did it significantly increase the output of the generator (especially at lower RPMs)? Why was it discontinued for 39 and the generator itself moved from high in the (extremely wide)"V"
to low in it?

Rusty Shepherd CLC 6397

I think I got the locations of the 38 and 39 Sixteen generators reversed in my previous post.

Yann Saunders, 12588

Yes - I caught a glimpse of it on the news, pointed it out to the wife. A historic hearse for a historic mement in history.

BTW I find offensive the picture posted by Denise on this thread. Seems we dont all share the same sense of (black) humor.

denise


   Sorry.  I removed the picture.

   Some people might find your "black humor" pun just as offensive, though.  Its hard to get out of bed without offending somebody.

-d

Tim Pawl CLC#4383

There were three very good photos of the 1940 LaSalle Carved Side hearse in the Detroit Free Press 11/03/2005 ( freep.com).

The story is: they were going to use a horse drawn carriage for the procession, services ran very late (seven hours instead of scheduled three hours) and then someone figured out that the nine mile jaunt from the church to the cemetery would take two to three hours by horse at 3 to 5 miles per hour....it would have been close to eleven pm.  So they used the Lasalle Hearse only someone forgot to check fuel gage.  Hearse ran out of gas as it entered cemetery and was pushed rest of the way.  Those pushing the car made it look like they were running along side.  Only sharp eyes like Doug Houston would notice that the lights were off and the car was not running.   A little bit of gas and she was running again.