A Huntly funeral director has undertaken to bring a 1936 Dodge hearse back from the dead. Lindy Laird talks with Bryce Mounsey about the restoration of a vehicle that began its working life in Dargaville.
An old hearse that offered the last rides to Dargaville folk when they shuffled off their mortal coil is coming back to life after spending years buried in a Waikato farm shed.
The 1936 Dodge Ram was imported from the US new and first registered by Gerald Dunn, a funeral director of Dargaville.
Before being sold off to a west Auckland orchardist for use as a family wagon it carried its precious cargoes on their last journeys in and around Dargaville for 30 years.
The new truck body had most likely been shipped to New Zealand as a cab and chassis, the coachwork for life as a hearse then possibly carried out in Auckland.
he Dodge remained in service by the original owner then a second funeral firm in Dargaville until 1966 when it was sold in Auckland - to Dick Endt, an Oratia fruit grower who later turned his land into Landsendt tropical plant nursery.
He used it to cart tamarillos and other fruit to market and, later, as the nursery's delivery wagon.
His daughter Carolyn Endt is thrilled to know "the old family car" still has life left in it.
"I've always wondered what happened to it. We really loved that car."
Ms Endt said although the Dodge had been a bit of a work horse, it was never thrashed or trashed.
There were many funny stories the family could tell about it, she said.
The last time Ms Endt remembers work being done on the engine was "some crazy American guy beside himself with excitement over it, trying to loosen the spark plugs".
After over two decades of owning the former hearse her father swapped it for a family heirloom, an antique grandfather clock that had once belonged to his mother.
The new owner was a cousin of the Endts', a hot rod enthusiast who lived in south Auckland.
The trail fades between then and the hearse ending up in a Taupiri farm shed, little more than bare bones hunched over a chassis.
HAVEN FOR HEARSE
Enter Huntly's Haven Funeral Services director Bryce Mounsey who "heard about it", bought it in 2012, and embarked on a restoration project.
Inspection would show the vehicle had considerable motor work done at some time, possibly in the 1960s. Its last registration sticker and warrant of fitness are dated 1984.
A transporter delivered what was little more than "rolling body and bits 'n' pieces" to local restorers Neil Holstein and his brother-in-law Tim, who took the project on jointly.
"Neil has the expertise required to repair the body work and Tim the woodwork skills to tackle the all very important timber work," Mounsey said.
The Dodge was in dry storage for 18 months leading up to the start of work in April last year.
"Work began firstly on the big job of stripping the already removed panels, guards, doors, bonnet and roof all back to bare metal. Once the many layers of paint were removed an etch primer was applied to the bare metal. No real panel beating is attempted at this stage," Mounsey said.
Meanwhile, the timber framing was measured up in order to craft the new timber structure and floor supports.
Mounsey sourced white American ash for the construction, that timber having qualities well suited to coach building.
"Once the required 42m of timber had arrived from Auckland, Tim got underway cutting and building a side at a time, firstly the left, then the right side and at the same time tackled the tricky job of replacing the rotten floor structure. These also act as the main support for the entire wooden frame and go forward right up under the front firewall."
STRONG AND TRUE
With the two sides and the new floor pieces in place, next came reconstructing the rear end, namely the rear door housing.
"Once this was completed the temporary bracing, that was thankfully installed by someone at some earlier point, could be removed."
The bracing had been the hearse's saviour by holding the ailing timber body true, Mounsey said. The timber roof structure was largely sound and intact with only two outside edge braces needing replacing.
"At this stage, the project is really starting to take shape," Mounsey said back in April, a year after work began.
"We can now clearly see the form of the timber work that will be instrumental in supporting the metal panels to be pinned and glued on to the timber frame.
"The full replacement of the timber structure has resulted in a very strong and true project at the end of the day."
Recently, the fully refurbished timber body and the front firewall was lifted off in order to sandblast the chassis.
"So, one year on we're making steady progress on what could be classed as a bit of a big project, and I think we are pretty much on target and on budget."
And it is not a small budget, Mounsey admits. Redoing the timber structure, panel work and paint will come to around the $25,000-mark, with the figure for the motor work currently unknown - if any: "It did have a full rebuild in Auckland back in the mid-60s!"
The other big cost will be furnishing the interior, along with rollers and flower racks in the back, "estimated to cost a further $10k or thereabouts. So all up, we could be easily spending around $40k to get it back on the road".
"As far as a value goes, given the rare nature of the vehicle and the fact that it is a genuine New Zealand hearse, it could be worth between $65k and $85k."
With the venerable vehicle on its way back to glory, Mounsey is hoping more stories about its history will come out of the woodwork. And when it is roadworthy once more, the old hearse will not spend life just parked up looking like an expensive restoration piece - this vintage Dodge is going back to working for a living.