Still More about Brewer’s Funeral Cars, Part 3
It’s not every day you come across an enthusiast of funeral cars like Florida’s Pat Brewer. Here is our final installment in discussing this man and his unique hobby.
After restoring his 1938 Packard, Brewer discovered the 1937 Packard limo at an Orlando dealer. He traded his Model A roadster for it.
“It came out of Miami,” Brewer recounted about the limousine. “A land sales dealer used it for driving people back and forth. It had spring a leak in the roof and rotted out all the material.” Brewer believes Jack Dempsey, the legendary boxer, owned the limo but has no concrete evidence to prove it.
Brewer “souped up” the limo with a 500-cubic-inch Cadillac motor, two batteries and dual air conditioning. “We have to use these cars so they have to be reliable,” he explained. The front seat still has the original leather but the back has burgundy nylon velour because the roof leaked for years and damaged the original interior.
Of all his funeral cars, Brewer appreciates the 1947 Lincoln Continental the most. He has customized it with parts from various automakers to make it his own. Back in its day, it was used as a moonshine runner in West Virginia. He is currently in the process of working out some kinks in the ’47 Continental before putting it on the road for his business.
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