For many of us, our very last ride is likely to be in a Cadillac – a Cadillac hearse, that is. And a lot of them were built by Superior Coach Co. out of Lima, Ohio. In 1975, Cadillac produced 1,328 “commercial chassis” units which were likely delivered to companies like Superior to convert into hearses and ambulances. After years of service, this ’75 Fleetwood was retired to the garage of a Georgia funeral home where it sat for several years. It has been mechanically revived, but more work needs to be done. Located in Covington, Georgia, this “final ride” is available here on eBay where the opening bid is $5,000 but that won’t break the reserve.
We see hearses like this pop up here on Barn Finds from time to time. Some are in better shape than others (like this one). The question that always crosses my mind is what do you do with it if you bought it? I can see turning a beat-up hearse into some sort of Halloween gimmick, but if it’s in good enough shape to be used regularly, what’s the end game? Open your own funeral parlor?
The seller found this 1975 Fleetwood three years ago and invested $6,000 just to get it going again. As a result, the big Caddy is drivable but still needs some adjustments, like the brakes. It comes with a 500 cubic inch V8 which I believe was the largest engine offered by a Detroit automaker in those days. While black is the most often used color for these types of vehicles, this one was originally silver but changed to a dark color later on. Rust seems to be at a minimum and the car looks better from 20 feet than when you get close up.
Inside the hearse, things seem to be fairly nice, although the carpeting in the front looks to need replacing and I was surprised to see roll-up windows since this is a Cadillac. The seller’s aunt made new side curtains for the vehicle as the originals were dry-rotted. The seller has added four new tires, so it should be fine once the brakes are looked at. The title disappeared years ago, so the buyer will have to accept a Bill of Sale which will work in Georgia for vintage autos, but I’m not sure about elsewhere.
Not to go off topic BUT. I can’t wait to see when EVs start pooping up on here Hahahaha… The “LS SWAP” is going to lose their minds when they can’t go all “Lego” and just pop some motor that arrived in a crate and bolt it in and think they are a car guy. Lmao 🤣😂
I don’t know how to put this to you guy, but I’m going to come out and say it:
You can buy crate motors, as in electric motors, from GM and Ford today. And the aftermarket is coming right along. Just think: soon all those LS graybeards will be beefin’ about all those kids plugging in motor retrofits and complaining about how they’re building overgrown RC cars.
It’s all a matter of perspective.
A significant amount of modification will be required to fit all the battery and support systems into a ICE vehicle. It’s not a simple drop and go. That is coming from a Grey beard BTW.
It would be a Abomination to convert this 75 Caddy to a Electric Vehicle.
I can’t wait to see when EVs start pooping up on here Hahahaha…
“pooping”? (Actually, that DOES make sense.)
Yes the 💩 pooping was intentional. Electric crap boxes. The electric car is not being pushed to “save the earth” they want to track our movements. Everywhere you plug in “they” will know immediately where you are and how far you can go.
Can’t imagine the expenses to redo or replace battery pa ks and motors for starters. Crate motors run maby 6 to 10 large for a 5 to 600 hp .cheap really.
I see this as an extended cab panel wagon 🤗
I definitely have 1000 more uses for this than any of my classics
My great uncle Bob owned Palmer Industries in Aurora, IN and made all the decorative chrome pieces for all those hearses up until the 90’s.
A Caddy with manual windows and locks, now thats heresy. I could actually like that machine
I would fix the brakes, freshen everything else up and take it to a car show or two, you’d definitely be the only one there that has one!
You could wear a tux and be sure everybody will avoid you.
“ You’re next!”, I read once on a hearse license plate. They actually cruised it around and was always a great laugh! That was in the 1990’s, Mesa AZ. ANYWAY – lots of great ideas for this hearse and others too. I think this one is probably a 4-5 grander. I would say that this hearse CAN be a lot of fun, for sure, just not much more than about 8k TOTAL. ( I have to eat too you know). Final thought – it’s too bad that the driving quarters aren’t as luxurious as the passengers are out back! I guess I’d rather drive. Great article!
“three years ago…..invested $6,000 just to get it going again.” Wonder what that expense represented, specifically.
I’m with you 370…6 grand where?? Very nonspecific…I’d repaint it back in the original shade of Caddy Silver, take out the rollers and make a killer bugout ride you could sleep in and WAKE UP the next morning, unlike some of it’s previous passengers. I think the Silver would go much better with the Blue Interior for sure…You could always source the power windows out of a Pick n pull junkyard to bring it back to Cadillac standards also. I’ve seen Silver Hearses with Maroon Interiors back in the late 80s when I worked part time at a Northern VA Funeral Home. Our fleet was all
white. I digress, That 500 was STOUT! I had a ’73 Eldorado Vert back then too and I could SMOKE BOTH FRONT TIRES in my Front Drive Eldo! Not sure how much it was detuned by ’75 though. Mine had a 4bbl Rochester and factory duals. That tank would get out of its own way and pass plenty of Mustangs doing so…Fun times…
‘A ride you could sleep in and WAKE UP the next morning, unlike some of it’s previous passengers.”
LOL!
Those front doors are different than the Cadillac doors, and the glass is much taller. If you did manage to get the GM power window mechanisms to fit in place of the manual units, the problem is the “arms” that lift and lower the glass are too short.
This is why the hearse and ambulance Cadillacs didn’t have power windows, it would have required a completely different mechanism. I know all to well of this problem, My shop had a customer with a 1966 Caddy hearse who asked us to install power windows into it. We managed to do a conversion, but it wasn’t with GM parts.
Back in my late teens a friend had a mid 50’s hearse. That thing was a perfect party wagon with one exception. It didn’t meld into traffic like most any other car would, but what a perfect party wagon. Do you have any idea how many kegs and cases of beer you can fit into that thing?
If I was young again, I’d take a look at it. But I’m not so I won’t.
Still like the idea of using a hearse like this for the cadaver transport
duty. Those guys make $70K+ a year
and boy, would I like to get in on that!
Nothin’ morbid or creepy about it. After all, this is the only industry that’s
totally depression/recession proof.
Saw that hearse with the U NEXT plates on it in the ’90s. It belonged to
a life insurance salesman in Oklahoma. What a way to sell your
clients insurance!
You can have some bippity boppity muscle thing but everyone’s head turns when one of these pull in. I bought a 65 Caddy Superior hearse from the original funeral home that bought it new in 1985 for pennies. Talk about putting FUN back in FUNeral. I used it on Monday’s and Fridays to commute to work. Equipped with casket and fake flowers you could motor along in the horrid traffic, signal to merge and be let right in, always received the utmost courtesy. That unit made my 3 year stint at that jobs 70 mile one way commute a breeze. I took extreme care of the unit. I bought it with just over 40k miles on it and when I warehoused him he had just under 70k. The biggest expense on these is GLASS. Mine had a cracked windshield. I finally found one two years ago and paid twice what I paid for the car in 1985. For all you gearheads out there these sometimes have 3:73s in them, mine does, along with a 429 with a th 400. Of all the cars I own this one is the only one I ever received a citation for spinning wheels. My 65 unit does the most impressive smoky holes hot. The car tops out at 75mph with the gears but moves effortlessly slow cruising which is what he is supposed to do. Most of these get hacked up, not sure where they spent 6k on here. Mine from years of sitting its headgaskets rusted away. I did the top end all new brakes,lines, bushings, exhaust, radiator, windshield and had the front seat redone,”the leather was as hard as a brick” , a set of tires. I haven’t broke the 3,500.00 mark yet and it is running like new. A 500 in this one so it will be a fun unit. You can get more goodies for the Caddy 500 than the 429. I hope it gets a good home. One of these is enough for any collection as they are big require lots of care, mostly cosmetic. It can be a full time job keeping one of these up and parts from the fenders back don’t exist and each coach company’s work aka trim and so on varies. but I have managed one for nearly 39 years now.
“Equipped with casket and fake flowers you could motor along…”
Shame on you.
To review, why are there no luggage racks on a hearse? You can’t take it with you( rimshot). I’m sorry, a hearse to most, represents the toughest thing about life,,,, dying, and nothing more. People that feel the need to drive one NOT under those circumstances, are depressed, lonely people, and should be dealt with accordingly. I know, probably another “0” likes, but I don’t care. It’s a depressing time in most peoples lives, and draws closer everyday and Friday, I have my 1st funeral to attend since moving here 5 years ago. A local cowboy, end of the trail and good friend. You should see the cemetery. It practically requires a 4×4, not sure how the hearse is going to make it, a decrepit, unmaintained place, with headstones from the late 1800s, looks like something out of the Rifleman, and with several unmarked graves, I bet more than 1 gunslinger that wound up on the wrong end of a gun, and are buried there. The view is breathtaking( another pun), and if you believe that location upon death is important, it couldn’t possibly get better than that.
We know Howard loves a great restoration car. How about they just take it out once in a while, put a casket in back. Car show ? It’s ready if you ever need it ! A Fleetwood 75 Chassis, right ?
I remember visiting Virginia City, Nevada, and walking through the cemetery. It was like a visual history lesson.
Also, back when there was no entrance fee, Knott’s Berry Farm had a barn full of 1800 and early 1900 hearses. It was kinda creepy,
OK, I’ll say it.
“People are just dying to go for a ride.”
Sorry.
Too bad it’s got two strikes against it coming to a mortuary near me here on The Left Coast: it’s registered in Georgia (a beautiful state) and it’s a 1975 vehicle, such that it cannot pass CA emission requirements. The plot thickens (sorry, couldn’t resist).
I would hope that California would have Emissions Exemption for a Antique Car like this. If not, what a way to kill our hobby in California.
“In California, your vehicle does not need a smog inspection if your gasoline-powered vehicle is a 1975 year model or older.”
I just looked it up and I was a year off. 1975 and older vehicles are exempt. So we’re off to the cemetery!
Be a fun ride to load up the grandkids and take them trick or treating dress up like the munsters
Covington, GA is where “In The Heat Of The Night” TV show was filmed after the first season.
Perfect for the band that is on the road much of the time. Three in front, all the drums and electronics in the back.
As a musician I can say you couldn’t be more wrong. With all the traveling we do the last thing we want is a 500 cubic inch engine. With the weight of all the equipment you would end up owing money to play a show.
Say what you will but roll up to a car gathering and all heads turn your way and lookers abound. These are fun but there are draw backs. From the doors back everything is unique and unique to the coach builder’s run. Glass is scary if broken. I have a 65 Crown Superior that I purchased in 1985 from the funeral home that bought it new. Upkeep is tough as these are big and need lots of cosmetic attention and outdoors is a no. I used mine for 3 years as a commuter on Monday and Friday as it made the 70 mile oneway drive in beltway traffic a breeze. Equipped with casket and flowers merging, not having to go ludicrous speed was a joy. I warehoused it after that job where is stayed for decades. Still looking great I did have to find a windshield which had a small crack at the right top side. That glass cost me twice what I paid for the vehicle. On a positive note this unit has a 500 and maybe 3:73 gears
Mine is a 429 th400 and 3:73s a gearheads delight. Not sure where they spent 6k, even doing the headgaskets on mine,”rust from sitting” tires, complete brake system, lines and all, fuel system, front seat redo, some suspension items, and the biggie, the windshield I haven’t broke the 3500.00 mark. Fun unit here but you only need one in a collection and it is truly a fair weather creature, and one that needs a big garage.
See how well it goes for you when you roll up to pick up a first date in this thing …
Neil,
I’ve owned various hearses over the years, the first one was when I was in college. You might be surprised just how many cute and interesting young girls like riding in a hearse!
Were their names Morticia Addams and Lilly Munster?
Two happily married ghouls?
Cars in general… Any money you put into a basic car. Is lost money. Because you bought some crap box and dumped a few thousand into it…. Sorry but it’s never coming back… This way to the great egress… HhhhaaAa