1948 Henney Landau 3-Way Hearse
356 cu. in. straight eight. 160 BHP @ 3600 rpm. 3-speed manual transmission. Hydraulic drum brakes. 156” wheelbase. Curb weight 6,100 lbs. $6,735 when new.
In the 1972 Francis Ford Coppola movie “The Godfather,” mob boss Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) is taken to the cemetery in this beautiful 1948 Henney Landau 3-Way Hearse. “The Godfather” was nominated for ten Oscars and won three, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Brando.
Henney Body of Freeport, Illinois produced a total of 1,941 professional cars in 1948, the majority of which were hearses and ambulances. This hearse is called a “Nu-3-Way Side Servicing Car” because it enables the user to load and unload caskets from both sides and the rear of the vehicle.
In 1948… Mahatma Gandhi is murdered. Israel is declared an independent state. First Polaroid camera went on sale for $89.75. Cost of a house: $7,700. Average yearly wages: $1,650. Gallon of gas: $0.26. Average new car: $1,250
Going in Style: 1948 Henney Landau 3-Way Hearse
The Henney Motor Company
Jacob Henney started an Illinois carriage works in 1854. Through the years, the company went through a number of changes and in 1916, descendent John W. Henney, Jr. opened the John W. Henney Co., building trucks and funeral hearses. Henney soon became well known for its hearses but also built taxis, ambulances, limousines, and other commercial vehicles using chassis and engines from other firms, including Packard. In 1927, Henney introduced the NU-3-Way coach, a funeral car equipped with a three-way casket table that could be loaded from either side or from the rear. the Henney Hearse on display at America’s Packard Museum uses the NU-3. Henney went out of business in the 1960s. CREDIT: coachbuilt.com.