If you come across a hearse driving around town, fret not, no one close to you has passed away. What you鈥檙e witnessing is local car enthusiast Cliff Stronstad whipping around in his fully restored 1941 Cadillac Eureka three panel carved hearse, of which only two were ever made.

Lakes District 亚洲天堂 caught up with Stronstad about the process it took to restore the classic vehicle. 鈥淚 purchased the car in Vancouver in 1989, and drove it 600 miles to 亚洲天堂 Lake. For the first few years I drove it around, and then my wife and I began fully restoring it.鈥�

Stronstad, who鈥檚 been working in auto shops since the 1960s, owned and ran Pluto Auto-body shop in 亚洲天堂 Lake from 1979 until he sold it in 2008. He鈥檚 been a fan of Cadillacs ever since he was a young man, mainly through car magazines from when he was a teenager, that he still has to this day. 鈥淢y first car was a 64鈥� Cadillac coup deville. I鈥檝e loved cars, and Cadillacs ever since.鈥�

According to Stronstad, the restoration of the car took 25 years and over 3,500 man hours to complete. Every piece of the exterior is all original, and everything mechanical has been rebuilt.

As for the history of the car, it turns out goes back much further then when he first purchased it in 1989. According to Stronstad, the car was first in use in St Louis, Missouri for Peoples funeral home until the mid 1960鈥檚. Peoples was run at the time by then-influential politician Jordan Chambers, who was a prominent figure in the civil rights movement.

After the funeral home closed down in 1968 following Chambers鈥� death, it was bought by Bill Small and eventually moved up to Victoria. The car was put up for sale in 1988, and then re-sold in 1989 when Stronstad became it鈥檚 owner.

Stronstad鈥檚 told Lakes District 亚洲天堂 that his affinity for the car has nothing to do with any kind of morbidness or fascination with death, it鈥檚 all about the beauty. 鈥淎 car is partly a study in art. I looked at this hearse as an art form. Visually, it鈥檚 quite striking,鈥� he said.

Today, Stronstad and his wife can be seen using the car in the summer time, in fact, he says that he鈥檚 put over 6,000 miles on it over the past few summers, and claims it couldn鈥檛 be a smoother ride.

鈥淲henever I get asked how it feels to drive it, I usually tell people that it鈥檚 like a space shuttle just gliding into a landing,鈥� said Stronstad. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 feel bumps at all, it just feels like your floating. It鈥檚 very smooth.鈥�

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