Making A Stretch Limousine

Ever wonder how they make a limousine out of a Hummer or out of an F-350 Ford? Its no easy job, building a stretch limo. You need engineers, welders, mechanics and a slew of well trained automotive professionals. We'll give you a brief outline of what goes into making that slick stretch limousine.

First, a shiny new vehicle arrives from the manufacturer. The car, truck or SUV is stripped and gutted and then cut in half.

The vehicles frame is then lengthened to provide a stable foundation for the stretch limousine. This is perhaps the most important step. If you do not have a good foundation, you have nothing. The frame must be engineered and fabricated precisely so that you are left with a drivable and safe vehicle.

The limousine builder must now add the stretch part of the body of the vehicle. They will have to fabricate a new body section and new interior that matches the original style of the vehicle. No off the shelf parts are available. The limo builder must use fiberglass, plastic and metal to come up with their own parts. Once all of the parts have been fabricated, the vehicle is prepped for painting and painted.

Next, its time to add all of the niceties that we have become accustomed to. The wiring systems are installed, the interior, the TVs, stereo systems etc, etc.

Finally the vehicle is road tested to assure that it meets the standards set by each individual limousine builder.