Weber

Weber (Victoria)

From the information we've been able to gather, Weber were located in Melbourne's bayside suburbs, possibly around the Frankston area. They produced hearses from a variety of makes, although it would appear that they favoured Ford and Chrysler products. More information on this builder is welcomed.

One of the easiest ways to recognise a Weber body is the three perspex windows across the rear of the car. Another Weber trait was to place the fuel filler inside the car, perhaps not to destroy the clean lines of the car with a filler cap? Weber also appear to have had another interesting habit, which was the use of Chrysler and Dodge tail lights on a variety of other makes. For example, this 51 Ford uses Dodge tail lights.

This 56 Ford retains the Ford sidetrim, but has Chrysler Royal tail lights (57 Plymouth to our US readers).

"Photo to be supplied"

This 55 Dodge was last used for funerals in Ballarat in Victoria. It was purchased in 1972 by a Melbourne rock musician who used it to transport his band equipment for many years, before placing it in storage in the mid 80s. It was sold in the 90s, and the six cylinder engine was replaced with a V8. In 2003, it was offered for sale, in need of restoration. Compare the two pictures, one taken in 1973, the other taken 30 years later, in 2003.

This 1951 Ford was built by Weber, and last saw active service in the La Trobe Valley, in Victoria. It’s powered by a 239 CI flathead V8 with a 3 speed manual transmission. Note the use of Dodge rear tail lights! These photos were taken in 2001. This car is still owned by a funeral director, and is currently being restored.

This is an AP3 Chrysler Royal. The ‘AP’ series Chryslers were uniquely Australian, and were very popular cars in the late 50s and early 60s. They were big and powerful and were an extremely popular basis for a hearse conversion. This 1961 model was last used in Tasmania, and is now in the hands of a Sydney hearse enthusiast. The photo was taken in Tasmania in 2001.

This is an Aussie 1956 De Soto, built by Weber. It was originally powered by a flathead 6 cylinder, with a 3 speed manual transmission. In recent years, it has been repowered by a Ford 302 CI V8. The car was last heard of in Melbourne’s outer suburbs. These photos were taken in the early 90s.

This next picture is of a 55 Ford Hearse. It is believed that this hearse has been converted into a ute.

The 56 Dodge below was last seen in service in Ballarat.