1927 Henney Hearse

In the late 1920s, less than 100 professional cars were being produced each month by coachbuilders such as the John W. Henney Company. Since neither sophisticated tooling nor machines could be justified for such low production numbers, highly-skilled craftsmen were required to do the work.

Located in Freeport, Illinois, the John W. Henney Company built the majority of their coaches on other automobile chassis, most often Packard. Other chassis used included Velie, Buick, Auburn, Pontiac, and Oldsmobile. Occasionally, a hearse or ambulance was built on a chassis from Cadillac, LaSalle, Rolls-Royce, Cord, or Lincoln.

This unique hearse is one of only a few built on Henney's own assembled chassis. It was originally sold to a funeral home in Virginia and has since then been used in several movies including Woody Allen's 'Radio Days,' Neil Simons' 'Brighton Beach Memoirs' and most recently 'Get Low' with Robert Duvall, Bill Murray, and Sissy Spacek.