For readers who’ve ever been curious what it would look like if a vintage Cadillac hearse were blended with a camper, wonder no more! The answer can be found in the form of a 1955 Caddy Camper, and believe it or not, this isn’t some sort of one-off custom build. The story goes that Superior Coach Company in Lima, Ohio, actually built a few of these contraptions, with this example here on eBay still ready to provide some RV-type service. This one’s located in Elkview, West Virginia, with the opening bid of $6,700 yet to materialize. However, it can also be yours right now for the buy-it-now price of $16,500.
Interestingly, these creations didn’t begin with a fresh car, as the Caddy Camper advertising provided by the seller states that a pre-owned Cadillac Funeral Coach chassis was used as a base to build upon. The coach company would perform a reconditioning first, remove the back section of the body, then add a camper where the coffin area previously resided. The seller refers to this one as a survivor, so it’s possible that much of the paint could be original, other than the hood. Some rust repairs will be needed before the exterior is ready to be repainted, should the next owner decide to make any cosmetic improvements on the panels.
While the outside could stand some improvements, this one appears as though it’s already mechanically sound, as the 331 V8 is said to have been rebuilt. According to the Caddy Camper literature, this vehicle weighs in at 6,340 pounds, so the 250 HP the engine provides isn’t exactly excessive. The automatic transmission is stated to have been professionally restored using Cadillac parts, so hopefully, this one will be dependable, even if its performance isn’t all that spirited.
The camper section not only looks classy inside, but it’s in very nice shape overall, with more amenities than I would expect to find for an offering of this vintage. Along with the table, there’s also a stove with an exhaust fan, plenty of cabinet space, and even a dual-section sink. Whoever selected those curtains and hand towels did a good job of color-matching with the outside shades, and this is truly camping in style for fifties standards.
The front seats and dash appear to be in surprisingly good condition, and check out that vintage mini TV above the trio of gauges! The glove box and section under the radio are showing a little wear, but these could likely be made to look a lot better in an afternoon’s time, plus the surrounding components already seem OK. I understand that there’s probably a limited audience for this one, but for the right buyer, this 1955 Cadillac Caddy Camper seems to have plenty of positives to offer. Could you envision yourself spending a few rural nights inside here?
Angel, I’m in love! No, not you, the Caddy motorhome,,,BEEEEEautiful, okay, you too, point is, I doubt you’d get kicked out of any hoi-paloi campground with this. I don’t care if you were born last week, instantly recognizable or should be. To be clear, this isn’t something you want to see the world in, good heavens, it would be a slow go, and quite frankly, I don’t have that much time left. However, for regional jaunts, say, couple hundred miles tops, what fun this would be. I’m sure the mileage is accurate, and may bolster what I just said, it didn’t go far. Nice it has no toilet, disgusting things, and emptying them, even more so, besides, most campgrounds have facilities of some sort, heck, I’ve even dug a hole in an emergency, and some places charge to “blow the tank”,,,,pee-yew,,a cushier retro camper I doubt you’ll find.
Now, I can come up with the $500, Angel, got the rest? :)
You should buy this, Howard, but just about anywhere you take it, you’re going to have to tackle a mountain pass, like, say, Monarch, Wolf Creek, or Cottonwood. Pack a lunch!
Howard, luv,
You got $500 and you were taking me to McDonalds???
BUSTED!
I understand the restroom issues, my parents first TWO small trailers were facility free.
I bought a 18′ trailer that at least had a restroom with a sink and shower. Lived in that with hubby & two cats. In fact, that was the trailer that ruined the transmission on his ’72 Jeep Wagoneer, which while it was in the shop he used my ’72 Riviera to get to work and that’s when he totalled it. Series of events.
Anyway, this is way cool. Not $16,000 cool but way cool. It just upsets me when people take a Cadillac hearse or ambulance or any Cadillac for that matter and cut it up to make a Frankenstein.
This looks pretty good, but it’s still a no.
And Howard, I’m making reservations at Ruth Chris
Regarding “It just upsets me when people take a Cadillac hearse or ambulance or any Cadillac for that matter and cut it up to make a Frankenstein” —
I agree. But I think this one gets a pardon on that front, since it was done way “back in the day” by a company whose entire business was building these things. See the brochure pictured in the eBay auction from “The Caddy Camper Co.”
Also found this thread on the Prof. Car Society site which has pics of a couple more of these, and the second page of that brochure (go to post #21): https://professionalcarsociety.org/threads/caddy-campers-company-info.1337/
As several folks noted in that thread, if the alternative was the crusher, then God bless ’em for saving some of these vehicles!
Actually, that McDonalds offer expired, and what or who is Ruth Chris. I don’t get out much, I see an upscale steak house where guys like me are cleaning tables. Hey. I see Paul McCartney is planning a stop in Denver in Oct. ( um, Mr. McCartney, you’re down to your last million, you’ll have to do another tour,,,oh for cryin’ out loud)
Where I live in the Southwest, we refer to these as “Casalacs”.
@Godzilla
Would have been fun to use my Satillac to pull a casallac.
At first, I laugh. But, Mebbe, this is not too bad!
Got to give the old gal some credit. Still got a great rack, :0, okay the caboose a little bigger, but still a class act.
@Howard A
Appearently big caboose are “in” right now with all these Brazilian Butt Lifts (BBL) going on
Dare to be different?
That’s gonna turn some heads at the local campground!
Definitely a head turner…
In the spring of 2009 at the Charlotte Speedway April show, someone had a 55 Mercury done up like this. It was in the east field next to the speedway. I have receipts :-)
Had a HS friend’s dad that had one of these only on an Imperial chassis. Looked cool, but never got up close to see inside. Know alot of people gave it alot of looks back in the day (60’s)
My dad’s pride and joy was his 1955 custom Cadillac similar to this one. We pulled our 4,000-pound boat from Ohio to Florida and had plenty of power, you barely knew the boat was there. It had truck duals in the back, weighed 8200 pounds and never got stuck in the snow. My dad put a hitch in the front to easily put the boat in the water.
Back when trucks putting boats in the water were the minority!
When seller refers to this one as a “survivor,” is it safe to assume that he isn’t referring to the original back half of the hearse?
Oh yeah….the ol’ CAMP de VILLE. I had one and used it as a tow vehicle for a mate’s Henry J race car. They were both painted white with flames,what a great combo…!! It was a common (yet somewhat bizzare) sight on the California Highways in the late 80’s…great times..!!
Saw a lot of these growing up in the mid to late ’60’s before I started touring. Some were good
and some were really bad. It all
depended on who did the building. A friend of mine named
Roger Phelps would build you a really nice one if you had the dough to pay him. Roger ran an
auto body shop in Bloomington
and was known for his bodywork.
His painting, not so much. You’d
go and inspect the paint and sure
enough, you’d see places where he didn’t take his time and ran the
paint. But his bodywork was beyond reproach. As for this one,
redo the brakes and get it useful
again. Just think of the places you’d go and the things you could
see. I think I could become a traveller with the right lady at my
side. Or, I could get permission
from the owners of my store 🏬
to park it in the back lot for the
days I have to help close the store and open it just two hours
later. Been there, done that, and
my ass was dragging when I did it. Hey Angel, wanna go see some country with me?
Sorry, Ken, back of the line, I asked first,,, :),,in my dreams,,we’ll see about that, zzzzzzzzz,,
A buddy of mine had something similar sitting behind his house in the late 70’s. I was a mid 50’s GM car with a camper on the back of it. Never really looked it over and can remember it being red with a lot of rust. I just assumed it was something his dad threw together.
There’s a hot rod/rat rod restorer builder in my are in upstate NY that has one of these. He occasionally displays at shows with his vintage patinad tractor and two tiered trailer filled with cool old jron…
@Howard A
I’M going to expire waiting for you! LOL
Ruth Chris is an upscale steak house in Vegas as well as down by the harbor in Baltimore
I’m shocked this hasn’t been at any recent vintage RV gatherings. It is so weird, so wrong on every level, but so damm cool. If my lottery numbers are any good this week this will be restored in my garage ASAP
Ended at $6,900.
Reserve Not Met.
3 Bids.