The Hot Rod Hearse

Oakdale Funerals team up with Detroit Chassis to deliver a classy Model A worthy of any hot rodders final ride...

- AL O'TOOLE

Back in ASR 351 we published a Rod Building article featuring some of the projects that were in the Detroit Chassis workshop during their March 2019 open day. One of them was this amazing Model A that John “Duck” Wood and the team were in the process of constructing, transforming it from a stock Model A Ford Tudor into this classy hot rod hearse, affectionately known as, “Herman”.

Three years ago, directors, David and Anne Allison from Oakdale Funerals were laughing at their memories of the old TV show, The Munsters and started chatting about the Munster’s hearse. Soon enough the question was posed, “How much fun would it be to own a working hot rod Hearse?”

Anne and David searched the internet and after exhausting all efforts came to the conclusion that there really wasn’t anything like this superb Model A Ford hearse available for use in the Melbourne area.

David said, “When we decided to build it we realised there was an opening there for people who love cars, Fords, hot rods or for families who just wanted to use a really special hearse. There are some vintage hearses around but nothing like our hot rod. We briefed an engineer and found a reputable and willing builder, Detroit Chassis in Bayswater, Victoria.