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Posted: **February 3rd, 2019, 11:01 am**

Yep, you read the headline correct.

After a long time of searching I went and looked at a 1959 Miller Meteor Hearse yesterday. I liked it so much I went ahead and bought it.

The engine runs strong, the transmission had been rebuilt, the interior is immaculate. It was just a really nice car.

Now the next question for everyone, is there anyone that knows anyone that might have the rear glass and window trim for the Miller Meteor?

Everyone keeps telling me to leave this as a hearse, but if I find the windows and trim I'm going to install them, instead.

Any help is greatly appreciated, and I will definitely keep you all up to date on how this project rolls along.

James

Posted: **February 4th, 2019, 6:39 am**

She's a beauty, though I have to wonder why the previous owner drilled the driver's door.

Your best bet would be to start checking out salvage yards and part traders, though it's going to be some substantial modification work you'll be going through to make that hears look like a combo.

Posted: **February 4th, 2019, 7:32 am**

That is one NICE ass lookin' car. Congrats!!!

Posted: **February 4th, 2019, 2:53 pm**

very nice find ,you will have some work in searching for the parts .

Martin

Posted: **February 4th, 2019, 3:53 pm**

Thanks everyone, I appreciate the excited comments. I'm worried and excited to take on a large project like this.

You have on one hand the die hard purists that tell me to leave it a hearse. Then on the other hand you have people telling me to make it an Ectomobile.

The reason I bought it is to turn it into an Ectomobile. That's just a car I've wanted since I was a kid, and now it's in my grasp.

What do you all think? What would you do if you were in my situation?

Kingpin wrote: ↑February 4th, 2019, 6:39 am She's a beauty, though I have to wonder why the previous owner drilled the driver's door.

Your best bet would be to start checking out salvage yards and part traders, though it's going to be some substantial modification work you'll be going through to make that hears look like a combo.

That's the weird thing about previous owners, you have no idea why they did the things they did? People are strange.

You know, I'm up for the challenge to getting this converted over. By the end of it though I may want to buy a gun. lol

James

Posted: **February 5th, 2019, 1:37 am**

Well, on the one hand I can see the point of the purists' argument, as these cars are getting rarer each year.

But... At the end of the day it's your car, and as with every Ecto-1 owner before you, it's your property to do with as you wish - including not having to listen to the purists, some of whom are rather arrogant.

Posted: **February 9th, 2019, 11:38 am**

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So I'm still waiting for my car to arrive. The shipping service told me between February 4-8. When I called yesterday they told me it would probably be at the end of next week.

So, I told them to take a hike. From my personal experience, don't use Nexus Auto Transport. With conversations I've had with them they were super unprofessional.

Anywho, I found another company that says they will pick it up Monday. So we shall see what happens.

As for what I'm going to do to the car. It is going to be turned into an Ectomobile. The purists are going to hate me, but as it's been said, it's my car and I'm going to do what brings me the satisfaction.

I'm still on the hunt for the windows and window trim though.

Also, I found this mirror on eBay:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Retro- ... SwQd5cW5lL

Is this the correct mirror that goes on the passenger side fender?

Thanks everyone!

James

Posted: **February 12th, 2019, 10:27 pm**

Hearses come in every year, different companies, different styles on and on.
You have a 1959 MM Cadillac.
You know what must be done. Go for it.

Posted: **February 13th, 2019, 9:43 pm**

I'd Ecto it right out.

What is a better thing to have, something as morbid as a hearse? Or a badass movie car? It'll still be haunted, sure...

Posted: **February 13th, 2019, 10:23 pm**

slaysghosts wrote: ↑February 12th, 2019, 10:27 pm Hearses come in every year, different companies, different styles on and on.
You have a 1959 MM Cadillac.
You know what must be done. Go for it.

Posted: **April 27th, 2019, 7:29 pm**

Yes you are crazy, but the good kind!

Posted: **April 27th, 2019, 9:15 pm**

Do the thing! You know you want to do the thing!

Posted: **May 12th, 2019, 1:02 am**

You know, there are some very talented people these days who can do phenomenal paint work, including simulated chrome trim that looks real until you get right next to it. Might be something to try while you work on hunting down conversion parts.

Posted: **May 13th, 2019, 10:45 am**

Hey gang! Sorry, it's been a while since posting in here.

To answer a few burning questions, yes, this is going to be turned into an ambulance model.

Good news is, a few weeks ago my wife and I traveled all over the USA getting parts for the car. Now, I've got all the exterior trim pieces, along with the interior trim pieces, plus some extra little goodies.

I wish I could actually post pictures on here, instead of providing the links (like in my first post.) But I have no clue how to do that?
If anyone does, please point me in the right direction.

There is a bunch of stuff I'd like to show off, like interior pieces, etc. Also, on our travels, we were able to pick up the correct mortuary cot for the Proton Packs.

So stay tuned for additional updates.

James

Posted: **May 19th, 2019, 12:10 pm**

So, good news, I FINALLY figured out the whole photo posting thing. lol

There are certainly plenty more photos to share. But for now, here is the 100% correct Ferno Mortuary Cot, used for the Proton Pack Racks.

Enjoy!

James

Posted: **May 19th, 2019, 2:16 pm**

Nice!! Great find! Those are hard to find. I'm on a hunt for one myself and ain't no easy task.

Posted: **May 19th, 2019, 3:46 pm**

Thank you kindly.

I hear ya, finding this one was incredibly difficult. My wife and I drove cross country to pick it up.

Oh, the crazy things we do for our hobbies.

Also, I just PM'ed you a link. Maybe they have a Mortuary Cot for you?

James

Posted: **June 7th, 2019, 2:28 pm**

Very envious of your purchase.

Please be sure to keep us updated with the progress of your build.

Posted: **February 7th, 2020, 8:11 pm**

Hey everyone!

I know, it's been a while since I've updated anything on here, and I apologize for that. 2019 was an insanely busy year, and I still can't believe its over!!!

Anywho, a few updates to add. Back in December I finally took the plunge and started removing the rear, passenger side panel.

Let me tell you, that was no small task. There were so many spot welds. Holy cow! But, I'm doing everything in my power to preserve each individual piece, and not destroy anything. That way, if, by some unfortunate circumstance, I need to sell the car and someone wants to turn it back into a Hearse, all the pieces will b there and usable for them.

Plus, some other exciting news, I've been quite fortunate to find a bunch of the accurate pieces and parts. Persistence pays off. lol

Also, a buddy of mine is building my roof rack. He's nearly finished with it, just have to go over a few minor things to make it a truly screen accurate look.

There are plenty of things to post, but I'll share a few photos with you for now.

The die hard purists are absolutely going to HATE me. hahaha

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Posted: **February 7th, 2020, 8:41 pm**

Looking pretty damn good!

Posted: **February 7th, 2020, 9:18 pm**

Thanks!

Best part, after I removed the panel, I found out someone is well on their way to reproducing the 2 rear curved glass pieces.

So, I timed that just right. lol

James

Posted: **February 8th, 2020, 4:05 am**

Nicely done.

Please excuse my ignorance on this, but was this an actual panel that you removed to open up the window area? Or did you cut the part out to the desired shape?

You seem to imply it's a welded panel?

Posted: **February 8th, 2020, 10:11 am**

mwilkinson wrote: ↑February 8th, 2020, 4:05 am Nicely done.

Please excuse my ignorance on this, but was this an actual panel that you removed to open up the window area? Or did you cut the part out to the desired shape?

You seem to imply it's a welded panel?

Thank you! This was actually one giant panel, that ran from behind the passenger side door, to the back, where the rear door is. Let me tell you, it is heavy. You can also see that reddish cross member frame below the panel, which also had to be removed.

When I start working on the driver side, I'll take a picture of that panel when I remove it.

Here is a picture that I took when I slid the whole panel back.

Here are those 10 billion spots welds I took a Dremel to. There were just as many on the inside.

Posted: **February 8th, 2020, 11:24 am**

Thanks for the explanation and photos James.

Looks incredibly time consuming, but amazing that it can be removed to provide the correct aperture for the windows.

Will it be a relatively straight forward job to install the windows. Or will there be a good amount of fabrication required?

Posted: **February 8th, 2020, 12:09 pm**

mwilkinson wrote: ↑February 8th, 2020, 11:24 am Thanks for the explanation and photos James.

Looks incredibly time consuming, but amazing that it can be removed to provide the correct aperture for the windows.

Will it be a relatively straight forward job to install the windows. Or will there be a good amount of fabrication required?

You are quite welcome. Just wish someone could have explained it to me when I was working on this. I went in completely blind, without any prior knowledge of what to do. Definitely, nerve racking.

Sure, I can tell you 2 other people that have turned Hearses into Ambulances, but they have only posted the after of what has been done, not the during. For the driver side, I plan to do a few videos of what is being done, now that I have a better idea.

I am just super thankful to the Miller- Meteor folks for putting all the necessary window areas under everything. Makes it a tiny bit easier. lol

As for installation, it should be pretty straight forward. I have all the aluminum trim pieces. The only thing I can see is adding some body filler to fill in areas where the lead melted out.

Transforming the car into an Ecto-1 is great! I also think de-Hearsing it is also a fascinating part of the build, as well.

Stay tuned!

James

Posted: **February 8th, 2020, 5:08 pm**

Nice uptate my friend it is first time i see the preceding of the removal panel pictures ,thank you for sharing James .

Posted: **February 9th, 2020, 6:53 pm**

Thank you so much for sharing!

Posted: **February 9th, 2020, 7:18 pm**

drcaron wrote: ↑February 8th, 2020, 5:08 pm Nice uptate my friend it is first time i see the preceding of the removal panel pictures ,thank you for sharing James .

Hey Martin! Thank you.

Stay tuned, I'll post a few more things as I move along on this.

James

Posted: **February 14th, 2020, 2:09 pm**

awesome job removing that rear section!!! might i ask how you found the trim you spoke of, as well as whos working on reproducing the corner glass? also, i know that some cadillacs had double paned flat windows, do these large side bay windows have to be custom made?
good luck on the build!

Posted: **February 14th, 2020, 4:04 pm**

dyfea wrote: ↑February 14th, 2020, 2:09 pm awesome job removing that rear section!!! might i ask how you found the trim you spoke of, as well as whos working on reproducing the corner glass? also, i know that some cadillacs had double paned flat windows, do these large side bay windows have to be custom made?
good luck on the build!

Thank you. It's been quite the journey getting these removed. I'm about to start working on the driver side.

As for the window trim, honestly, I just kept searching till one contact lead to another, and I was able to stumble across what I needed.

I wish I could give a better, magical answer, but that's all I've got. lol Just a lot of leg work.

There is a gentleman on the Ecto-1 Facebook group currently in the process of putting the glass together. If you want more answers, my recommendations is to join the Facebook group. That way you can stay up to date on all the interesting things going on.

As for the regular side windows, those are regular flat pieces of glass. So thankfully any glass shop can do the job of cutting them out.

Thank you for the kind words, and if you have any other questions I'll be happy to answer them, to the best of my ability.

James

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I'm crazy and bought a 1959 Miller Meteor, Now the Transformation Begins!

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