It’s almost Halloween, so we’re featuring this 1961 Cadillac hearse to put you in the mood. It’s advertised here on craigslist for $8000 – and if you want the seller’s limo as well, he’ll do a package deal for $12,000. Both are located in Portland, Oregon. Normally, I won’t tackle a find with only two photos, but Curvette dug up this tip for us, and he’s had a great eye for bargains in my backyard. Besides, to provide your final ride, it doesn’t get much better than a finned Cadillac. Cadillac was the king of professional car chassis, facing only minor competition from Lincoln, Oldsmobile, and Packard over the years. Of course, the chassis was one thing, the body was another. Coachbuilders were myriad, including Flxible, Miller Meteor, Sayers and Scovill, and Superior. Speaking of Miller Meteor, the pinnacle of hearse collectability is the 1959 Cadillac Miller Meteor, sporting a pair of the tallest tail fins you’ll ever see.
In the 1960s, Cadillac’s professional car wheelbase was 156″. The mechanical components were drafted from the Series 75, which meant a 390 cu. in. V8 and an automatic transmission. Funeral cars are heavy, but performance requirements are modest, so the 390’s 325 hp output was plenty. Unfortunately, our seller reports that the engine needs a water pump, though it will run. Worse, the title and keys are missing. The seller will provide a bill of sale, but if he isn’t the last registered owner, Oregon DMV is not going to fork over a title without a lot of work. If you’re even remotely interested in this hearse, ask the seller to solve the title problem. And paperwork is only one of the ghouls lurking around this car: See all that moss on the ground in the first photo? Yeah, this car’s crypt is damp nearly all the time, and the front edge of the hood has already rusted.
This is what we do when sellers don’t give us enough photos: we post photos of someone else’s similar car. Here is a nicely finished ’61 Cadillac hearse, showing the upside to this project. I like the seller’s car better, with its glass rear corner windows. Restoration will bury your wallet: there are acres of paint on these cars, and working the long slab-sided panels will be costly. There is one way out of the tomb, however: make a Ghostbusters recreation and hope for the best. Technically, that car was based on a ’59 Miller Meteor, but both Barrett-Jackson and Mecum have auctioned Ghostbusters recreations that have topped $100k. This one sold for $176k. More likely, since our subject car is a ’61, it will be mired in a more modest range.
In my younger years, I was tempted to buy a hearse for use as a daily driver, just to spook the neighbors. Silly, I know.
Not silly, I thought about same thing.
Nope not silly at all, I wanted one too, daily driver during the week camping on the weekends.
The first two photos show a `60, not a `61 Cadillac hearse (If that’s the featured car). The third photo IS a 1961 model which sold not long ago.
No title, no keys, ad which contradicts itself several times when saying it runs and the exterior is in great shape when the bottom inch of the hood has rusted away, all for $8,000. No thanks, there is too much downside risk placed squarely on the buyer.
Steve R
I have a pal who says he’ll never buy another vehicle that he cannot live in. This would be a mansion to him! I wonder if this would make an OK camper conversion, or if the wheelbase is just too long to be practical for anything other than hauling a casket at low speed…
Agreeing with Will Fox, the black hearse is a 1960 (first 2 photos).
The burgundy hearse is a 1961.
There is no photo of the available limousine and the car in front of the 1960 black hearse is a 1961 Cadillac convertible.
And Zen, I felt the same way. When I was in my mid 30s I wanted a hearse as my daily driver. Husband and I almost bought a 1967 Cadillac hearse. Bought a 1972 Buick Riviera boat tail instead.
There’s something wrong with the year 1961 and the car shown. Additionally, most funeral directors would’ve bought the Landau version.
Great write up Michelle, the Halloween theme is perfect. These metal behemoths are not projects for the faint of heart or thin of wallet.
Ambulance- resuscitation
Hearse- resurrection
👻
I got confused! …. thanks to everyone who pointed out this is a ’60. I took the word of the seller without thinking about it enough.
I have 1962 Miller Meteor with a rebuilt motor. purchased in 1976. Needs body work and a new hood. These cars are hand made from several body parts from 1960, 1961 and 1962. front doors are from convertibles. The top is custom made. Mine is a ambulance/ hearse-combo. I have extra bumpers.
Looks to be a 1960. The 1959 had tail lamps in the fins. They say it runs with no key. It could be by passed under the dash though.
listed at 8,000$
now after this post was made its selling for 16,000$
Hmm
Torn between the 4×4 version prior listing or the rusted version 😛
when people loose their keys they need to pull the door lock on 1960s cars and go to a lock smith to get the number on lock punched in an older machine and have the key mare for under 20 dollars?
The missing title is a show stopper and suggest to find a place to put it on blocks and live in it 🤪
In my youth .. I remember a 1959 caddie with ghouls painted on it and remembered tvat I wasn’t interested then either as goth was not really a thing yet 😂
Okay some Halloween and hearse fun.
Driving behind a hearse, my wife asked “How fast do you think a hearse can go?”
Me: I don’t think very fast at all
Wife: Why not?!
Me: Well I mean they have all that dead weight in the back…
What was the hearse doing at the gym?
…dead lifts 😛
As the son of a Mortician, I have a sift spot for Hearses. I remember my dad’s first hearse was a gray Packard. Next was a used 56 Cadillac, and his last one a used 65 Cadillac hearse. I got the honor of driving it for funerals and was paid $5.00 for every funeral. No raise in pay as I had a roof over my head, food on the table, and was dressed in the times. College came and I was still expected to help out. Those were simpler times. Now a used hearse can cost $50,000 and up. There is nothing like a hearse with the mufflers rusted out and roar of the big V8.
Based on a similar 1960 Hearse (https://www.autoblog.com/features/1960-cadillac-hearse-for-sale), this one was built by the Superior Coach Corporation. Yes, it’s a lot of glass for a full-time hearse, but if it were a hearse-ambulance combo, I would expect to see some built-in cabinets for medical supplies.
Love this one, thanks for posting it, and it gives a good benchmark for prices too. At least, for asking prices, ha ha. These words from the description:
“…According to the seller, there’s rust in the body, a leaking transmission, rot in the rear wood floor, and exhaust leaks. If that’s not frightening enough, the seller says, “I’m sure there are many other things wrong with it.””
But I bet he has a title! And keys!
My hearse still has rollers and facing side seats. the division panel with sliding window is behind the driver. plexiglass embossed cross with chrome streamers are on the inside. I still have the siler metallic streamers. I have custom made coach lamps mounted next to the huge chrome landeau iron.
Gone…
What can you expect from a commercial vehicle 65 years old?
Why is the loss of the title as a showstopper? The last registered owner can write a bill of sale. And the keys were lost because the man is 87 years old it’s hard for him to keep track of something for that long thank you very much. And $16,000 for both cars and they are in great shape. And the reason for the confusion is because I ran the ads and I’m a female and they weren’t my vehicles I did it to the best of my knowledge. And they sold for $14,000