“Bella Morte”
A big thanks to everyone who has rated my PT! And now over 16,000 hits on my page! Don't forget to look at the other cruisers on Cardomain though, my Bella is pretty, but there are a lot of sweet and sick rides out there!
This is my 2006 Chrysler PT Cruiser, and her name is "Bella Morte", or just Bella. Bella HAS become my hearse! You don't think I'm serious? My friends and family do. My mother has already told me she wants to be delivered to her resting place, some day, in my car. Possibly folded in half....
I bought her (my car, not my mother) new in October of 2007, with only about 300 miles on her from the delivery. But the story starts before that.
In 2005 and 2006, I started visiting car shows and cruise nights in my area. On a couple of occasions, I had seen some old Cadillac and Pontiac hearses tricked out and hot -rodded. Aside from my love of cars and morbid sense of humor, the cars looked fantastic. An old GM or Pontiac based coach can have almost anything done to them a same period standard car can have done, plus some.
In 2007, the car I had, an old Buick Century, was on its last legs. I had to get a car, and though I had been looking for a coach, it became a decision between an older coach that I would have to keep up and work on, or get a new car with a warranty. After looking around for cars in my price range, a friend at work with a 2003 PT Cruiser suggested a PT Cruiser, as the prices had come down since they had originally come out. I drove hers one afternoon, and loved it. I went to the dealership with three requirements, black, air conditioning, and a 5 speed. It took some looking, and turning down of many versions of the car I didn’t want, but mine was finally delivered after a 300 mile trip fromIowa.
Before I bought the car, it had occurred to me that the PT Cruiser was vaguely hearse shaped, and a few reviews I had looked at had mentioned the same. But it wasn’t until almost a year of owning the car that a little old lady walked up to me while I was pumping gas one day, and told me, “That damn thing looks like a HEARSE!”
I hear differing opinions on what qualifies a car as modified, or customized. I've also heard there is a difference between what you want to do, and what you have done. My car is customized, and will continue to be for as long as I have a vision of what I want her to become. And I'm afraid I'll have to be one of those people who always has something they want to do, because I'm one of those people who doesn't have the reserves to always do what I want to do.
When I go to a cruise or a car show, I am very aware of the fact that my car is a theme car, not really a custom. Vary little has been physically done to it, and the only mechanically related changes have been the addition of a K&N air filter, and quality plugs. It has its place and categories it fits into at the cruises and shows. But these guys, and gals, that spend time and money on body work, interiors, paint, and custom parts know the difference, and so do I. One thing though that really helps out, is that even the custom car guys and hot-rodders know and understand what I am doing. It’s my thing, and they can appreciate that.
Here are photos of the most recent addition to Bella, my coach lights from a 2000 Cadillac, and landau bars from a 65 Pontiac. For now, The lights are up with only reflective white strips in them, until I work up the courage to start drilling holes for the LED wiring. The coach lights were moved to the center pillars after the addition of the landau bars, and now need to be replaced. They came off of a straight panel, and have cracked and weathered after been secured to a curved panel.
Page 2 - Mods and additions Page 3 - PT Hearse concepts Page 4 - Other PT Cruiser concepts
