---
title: "Meet “The Thundertaker,” a Four-Ton Hotrod Cadillac Hearse"
description: "It took more than 10,000 hours to build this 1960 Cadillac Fleetwood. Totally worth it."
date: "2016-02-12"
modified: "2016-02-12"
authors:
  - name: "David Traver Adolphus"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/david-traver-adolphus"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/vintage/2163/meet-the-thundertaker-a-four-ton-hotrod-cadillac-hearse"
categories:
  - "Cadillac News"
  - "News"
  - "News by Brand"
tags:
  - "Auction"
  - "Cadillac"
  - "Hot Rods"
---

# Meet “The Thundertaker,” a Four-Ton Hotrod Cadillac Hearse

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/archive-images/thundertaker-limo-hero.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

As Barrett-Jackson says: “There are custom cars, and then there are those that have earned their own name.” Boyd Coddington’s *[Cadzzilla](<https://boydcoddingtonsgarage.com/cadzzilla-2/>)*; Jerry Pennington's *[Scorpion](<https://www.penningtoncollision.com/history2.htm>)*; Dave and Joyce Emery’s *[‘32 Revolver](<https://www.mecum.com/lot-detail/CA0810-96593/0/1932-Ford-Revolver/>)*: Anyone can give a car a name; to be remembered, it’s got to be earned. Bryan Fuller’s *Thundertaker* is going to be called that for a long, long time.

Fuller, host of [Velocity’s *Naked Speed*](<https://www.velocity.com/naked-speed/>), spends more time building bikes than cars. But every now and again, he does something really special on four wheels. See: *The Thundertaker*, completed in 2013 after a four-year-long, 10,000-hour build. Yes, it’s a 1960 Cadillac Fleetwood hearse, a true “full custom” hotrod. That means that every single inch, inside and out, has been touched by a craftsman. The entire rear half of the car was fabricated; the interior is upholstered in what’s thought to be the world’s last bolts of authentic 1960 Cadillac limousine fabric.

![thundertaker-limo-art-1.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content/archive-images/thundertaker-limo-art-1.jpg>)

The shell is chopped five inches and channeled, but retains the full-size original glass recessed into the body. The 156-inch wheelbase frame is reportedly one of the longest hotrod frames ever built, helping hit the four-ton mark. (*Hot Rod* broke a dolly trying to move it). Fortunately, it has a GM ZZ454 crate engine, factory rated at 468 horsepower. And that’s the really crazy party: Fuller says it’s “built for speed.”

“It’s got an Art Morrison chassis, a Strange 9-inch, a big-block…strap a couple turbos to the 454, take that thing to Bonneville, and hammer down,” [he told *Hot Rod*](<https://www.hotrod.com/cars/featured/hrdp-1305-thundertaker-1960-cadillac-superior-coachworks-hearse/>).

![thundertaker-limo-art-2.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content/archive-images/thundertaker-limo-art-2.jpg>)

Barrett-Jackson [has no reserve on it](<https://www.barrett-jackson.com/Events/Event/Details/1960-CADILLAC-FLEETWOOD-CUSTOM-LIMO-THUNDERTAKER-192455>) in their April 8-10 auction in Palm Beach, Florida. It’s hard to pin a value on a far-out custom, and you never get your money back. But this one? It’s going to bring the money. And, of course, the thunder.

![thundertaker-limo-art-3.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content/archive-images/thundertaker-limo-art-3.jpg>)

![thundertaker-limo-art-4.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content/archive-images/thundertaker-limo-art-4.jpg>)

![thundertaker-limo-art-54.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content/archive-images/thundertaker-limo-art-54.jpg>)

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