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Roadside Sighting: 1978 Cadillac Wagon

Some of the best finds are just parked along the side of the road! Reader Mark S sent us a great one that a friend recently spotted while driving through Pennslyvania. Mark hadn’t ever seen one quite like it, so he did a search of the Barn Finds’ Archive and discovered that there are actually quite a few of these Cadillac Station Wagons out there! His friend made sure to snap a photo of the seller’s information, so if you are in the market for a Cadillac Wagon, you might want to take a closer look.

From Mark – Hi Everyone, My friend Scott found this car for sale parked along the road driving through PA. I have never heard of a Cadillac before. However a quick search at Barn Finds told me otherwise, they are out there. The link here to Cadillac Station Wagon tells me that they are rare, not many made. Enjoy.

Given that we didn’t hear from the seller, we won’t post their phone number here the text, but it’s easy enough to read in the photo. They claim it has just 61k miles and that it’s all original. It looks original, but it could use some work. The $6,500 asking doesn’t seem to bad considering how much they’ve put into it and the fact that it’s a Cadillac Wagon! Hopefully one of you jumps on this cool find and will send us more photos of it once it’s cleaned up. Special thanks to Mark and his friend Scott for sharing this one with us! If you come across an interesting find along the side of the road, we would love to see it. Just attach the photos of it to an email and send it to us at mail@barnfinds.com!

Comments

  1. Avatar Andre

    hubba hubba

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  2. Avatar Nathan Avots-Smith Member

    Excellent spot! Interesting, too, in that it’s a “downsized” C-body, but the wagon conversion bits are still based on the old “clamshell” design offered from 1972-76. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a cross-generational design like this; the ’77-89 Cadillac wagons I’ve seen before have used the rear quarter glass, tailgate, etc. from contemporary GM wagons. This is much sleeker!

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    • Avatar Bill McCoskey Member

      From what I remember, the 1977 GM “downsizing” was basically done by chopping off overhang front & rear, and the passenger compartments for the B-O-P & Cadillac remained the same. Ford did the same thing for the LTD2. So it should come as no surprise that the roof line would be the same dimensions.

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  3. Avatar Joe Stent

    Up in Canada we would already have cut half the top off of that and made a 4 place ranchero Joe

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    • Avatar paul f

      not all Canadians do that , a lot of Canadians i see never drive their cadies in the winter while they preserve them in their heated garage …

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    • Avatar Scott Easton

      Why ruin a beautiful, rare piece of automotive history like that when you could find a Cadillac Mirage and have what you want to make that?

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      • Avatar David

        A lot of funeral homes paid for conversions like this, they were used to carry the flowers.

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  4. Avatar nessy

    Did anyone else notice the wagon conversion area on this 78 model looks to be from the earlier and much larger 71 to 76 GM Clamshell design and not the 77 and newer GM station wagon design? Why?

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    • Avatar nessy

      Oh, Nathan also noticed the older wagon style on this smaller body. Excuse me Nathan.. Good call.

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  5. Avatar Mattyou63

    That looks messed up ..is it a chopped up 4 door with a Chevy wagon welded on the back..

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  6. Avatar MRE2ME

    Is it beige or Mary Kay pink? Can’t tell on my computer.

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    • Avatar Anastos

      I believe that’s Arizona Beige…and it faded just like the Eldorado I had in that color did.

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    • Avatar Ken

      My 1978 Cadillac brochure describes this color as, “Scrotum”

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      • Avatar Mike H.

        I just sprayed a little coffee reading that. Thanks!

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    • Avatar russell spreeman

      I think my late father would have called it ‘Baby Poop’.

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  7. Avatar Coventrycat

    I never get tired of seeing Cadillac wagons. The color is awful, though – a darker metallic of some kind really highlights the features of these, no matter the year. I’d love one.

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  8. Avatar Wiil

    So it’s basically a funeral hearse

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  9. Avatar Doug Gleim

    Great keep them coming Maybe some day will see one in person

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  10. Avatar don

    COME ON! we all know no such thing as a Cadillac station wagon, these were all custom made for hotels, funeral homes etc… 61k? B/S not worth the price! it is
    J UNK!

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  11. Avatar Robert

    Never heard of a Cadillac wagon until now

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  12. Avatar Snow Dog Farms

    I just passed this car yesterday on Rte 6 in Wellsboro, PA. I immediately thought of BarnFinds, only to return home to find it here. Good work detectives!

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  13. Avatar Joe Nose

    Wow. Hope his portfolio has performed better… $13,900 invested, will take a bath on half at $6,500 or closest to that. All things considered, though, a little sorting and a respray might make an interesting grocery getter.

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  14. Avatar dm

    Was working for a Cadillac dealer in the ’70’s when one of these wagon conversions came through Make Ready. Always figured they were Olds or Pontiac wagons with Cadillac front sheet metal. That one was a converted 4-door sedan because anything else “would not be a Cadillac”.

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  15. Avatar Ron

    It’s on eBay!

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  16. Avatar whippeteer

    The proportions don’t look quite right due to the old Olds parts on the downsized Caddy. Knock a zero off and I’d take it! The rear suspension is shot, probably due to the weight balance.

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  17. Avatar Dave

    Looks like a cross between a Mercury Colony Park and Olds station wagons. lol

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  18. Avatar Maestro1

    I’ve seen several of these on the Left Coast, some made by ASC and others by Hess & Eisenhart, a converter for GM regarding convertibles from hardtops, Cadillac Hearses, Flower Cars and so on. I’m not familiar with this one but the price is right if everything works and the thing gets over the curb.

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  19. Avatar John

    See the Internet sales listing for this car with many more photos at http://topclassiccarsforsale.com/cadillac/385664-1978-cadillac-deville-station-wagon.html. The Internet price is listed at $7,000.

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  20. Avatar Rufus

    We had one of these at USA in Tacoma back in the 90s and it was used for moving pro golfers and vip around the circuit. It was white with red leather and had no miles to speak of. They were tanks and loved premium gas.

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  21. Avatar George of WV

    Back in the 90’s I tried to buy a Cadillac Wagon off of a Used Car Dealer Client we had. It was owned by his friend who bought it at an auction and wanted to make a quick buck. I made at least two offers, maybe three. and the guy never took my offer. It was a later model than this, the back half was more in sync with the front half than this. The car was white with a red leather interior. By the time they called me it sat for too long and was rusting out. It ended up rotting away on the lot and being towed to the junk yard. That’s what happens when someone thinks their car is worth so much more

    Like 0
  22. Avatar Whippeteer

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