As much as I’d love to own a vintage camper, the big turn off is often the condition of the living space. This 1958 Cadillac Camper here on eBay is an intriguing alternative to a Winnebago, but one look at the interior and you’ll know this Caddy will need a cleaning before its next road trip. The seller notes that this example is based on a Eureka conversion, which typically churned out ambulances and hearses based on Cadillac chassis. Since the only consensus on a professional camper conversion I can find seems to center around the motor homes made by Superior, some detective work will be required to identify how and when this particular example lost its fins and grew a kitchen sink. Of course, if any Barn Finds readers can weigh in on which company likely did the work, leave your thoughts in the comments below!
I think this could be really cool but it would need a complete gut job. That said the price is already over where I would feel comfortable with. Restoring or Redoing and old car or camper is not cheap. My wife and I gutted and redid an Airstream trailer camper about 7 years ago which we still enjoy. We have toyed with the idea of getting a motorhome and doing route 66 or whatever. We may still given the right situation.
I think you’d find that IF Cadillac would have licensed any motorhome conversions they would have NEVER approved astroturf dashboard coverings! ^o^
I remember ads for ambulance/hearse motorhome conversions as a kid. I believe that the various companies advertised in Popular Mechanics and other like publications. My father and I even looked at a couple of them, although we ended up with a 16 foot Shasta TT and a 59 Buick wagon. Later we graduated to a GMC pickup and slide in camper. In my teenage years, we converted a former Trail Ways bus into a motorhome. The computer I am looking at this blocks E-Bay, so I’ll take everyone’s word for it, that the interior is a mess. The outside body does not look too bad… The problem with restoring a beast such as this is that when finished, one will have a curiosity, but probably not much of a resale value, so it should be a labor of love, not a flip. The old girl will probably attract lots of attention at the car shows, but no one will want to take her home. Still, if one wants a vintage RV, it could be fun. There are clubs of vintage RV owners who travel together, and have events all over the country. The problem with restoring a vintage RV are the appliances. Parts are even more difficult to find than other old items, and some of the propane powered stuff is dangerous. I remember a camper that had an early absorption type refrigerator. To light the burner, one lit a long tube with holes in it that carried the fire under the fridge to the burner. It looked like the whole world was on fire under that thing. Once the burner was lit, you turned a valve turning off the gas to the lighter tube. Propane heaters are just a bad. if one retro-fits later model RV appliances in place of the vintage ones than the look of the unit is no longer retro, since most of the appliances have vents and such that are part of the outside of the rig. Than you have a patchwork quilt of appliances and outer skin on the coach. The only alternative is to re-skin the coach. The body structure is probably wood, so beware of rot. In those days the outer skin is usually steel, although there is no reason one could not use aluminum and paint it. The costs can quickly sky rocket.
This is a no-go. When the engine bay is cleaner, tidier, and better set up than the living space that’s a problem for me.
Looks like a homebuilt that’s been run hard and put up wet – literally looking at the water leak evidence in rear wall! Most of the hardware in house grade, not RV style fixtures and the outside screams homebuilt.
What can I say other than Good Grief!!
I’ll just look at that interior, that will save me sticking my finger down my throat next time I feel ill.
I think I’ll sleep in my pick-up. That puppy is just nasty
I’ll bet money that you open that toilet lid and see the ground below.
Then you only use it when driving in the rain. A driving rain.
I’ll bet you open that toiled seat and you see skid marks.
I remember one like this along my bus route in McKean pa. Allways tjougjt it was a home built thing. Now I wonder. Never knew these existed.
Home conversions were a really popular thing to do in the days of full-framed cars with enough power under the hood. I remember seeing ads for them in my dad’s Popular Mechanics magazines back in the 60’s.
My father inlaw had one in the 60’s-70’s.He took his family from Helena Mt to gulf coast of Mexico and back in 1967 with never a problem. It was still around until the late 70’s doing local duty. My memory’s of it are ambivalent at best
You guys are too hard on this. Looks like a professionally built camper. I’ve seen this knocking around on the Internet for a while. Why this seller buys it and flips it seemingly immediately kind of says it all. What worries me more is the rust by the front door and windshield on the drivers side. I’ll bet there’s plenty of rust. Also wonder where the bench seat went….probably replaced so you can get into the camper. If I had twenty grand to blow on a eccentric project I might be tempted. Needs a complete tear down and rebuild. But once done would be pretty neat.
Goggle “Cadillac Camper Conversions” you’ll be amazed how many Camper images “pop-up”! No pun intended!
Mike L.
I had a similar one as the red 1956 pictured in a google search of images. A large number of these were built by Coach Craft of Florida [Sarasota?]. I lived in mine for about 4 years while I built my apartment above my restoration shop.