Last Ride Project: 1959 Cadillac Eureka Hearse
Because of its size and luxurious appointments, Cadillac is one of the most popular cars to be converted into hearses and ambulances. This 1959 Cadillac was built by the Eureka Mfg. Co. whose roots go back to 1871. It was likely retired from service many moons ago and has slowly deteriorated. But not to the point that it couldn’t be brought back to life by someone with the vision, time, and budget to do so. Located in Adolphus, Kentucky, this “last ride” is available here on eBay where the bidding holds at $9,201.
A lot of companies have come and gone over the years that specialized in converting luxury cars into transports for the dearly departed (or those who may soon be). Eureka began in business by making school furniture in the late 1800s and morphed into building specialized vehicles in the early 1900s. It was not until the 1950s that the company shifted from using wood to steel to make the bodies for many of their coaches. The company closed up shop in 1964, but remnants of Eureka reappeared in the 1970s and its variants would soldier on for many more years.
This 1959 Eureka hearse began with a commercial chassis provided by Cadillac and the front clip is compatible with those from their car business. The custom work began from the cowl back, but the huge tailfins made popular by Cadillac in the 1950s are still right there. Above the dashboard is a sign referring to Ecto-1, the 1959 ambulance that was popularized by the movie, Ghostbusters. That vehicle was built by one of Eureka’s competitors, Miller-Meteor.
No history is provided by the seller, probably because it’s not known. Unless it was used by a small funeral home, this hearse may have been out of a job after just a few years because the styling of later Cadillacs was far more subdued and in line with the somber business that funeral directors are in. Assuming its original, the motor should be a 390 cubic inch V8 that produced 345 hp when paired with a 4-speed Hydra-Matic automatic transmission.
We assume the hearse rolls but doesn’t do much more. The body is a little rough, but it looks to have spent more time indoors than out. Much of the expansive glass on the Cadillac has been broken out, but the seller has secured extra pieces to replace some of what’s missing. We can’t talk much about the interior, but it, too, will probably need a ton of attention. If you bought this hearse, what would you do with it? Fix it up some for Halloween, go into the haunted tour business, or clone the ambulance from the movie that made it famous?
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Comments
I used to have a 59 Cadillac Hearse Ambulance and sold it to MGM for the movie Ghost Busters.
I thought GB was a Columbia picture and not MGM
I believe you’re right! They got a few things wrong on this Hearse too, for instance, the 1959 Cadillac 390 only had 325 hp. The 429 that was next in line from 64-67 had 345 hp.
Cut the roof and make a custom truck ..
I sure it gets kess than 10 mpg and the roof gone could asd 1 npg 😉
Watch out for evidence of leaking head caskets.
You are my hero
Would be cool with flame throwers.
Saw a very similar unit in and around Santa Rosa CA. that was set up like an ambulance. It belonged to a company named “The Deck Doctor”. They built and repaired decks and fences. As a general contractor I was envious of their unit as it was obvious what they specialized in without too much info. Fantastic advertising!! Set up to haul a substantial amount of lumber and tools also.
I day scrap it and do your self a favor and make garage space
Surf City, Here we come!
I have a 1950 Miller Combination that I’m building. There is a great network for parts for these vehicles.
To the prospective purchaser: Please don’t ECTO this coach!
I’d use it for a haunted tour. Went to a car show (in New Hope, PA) years ago which had at least five hearses. Talked to one of the owners who told me there are clubs dedicated to the ambulance, hearse owners. Good source for parts and/or advice.
FREE would not be cheap to acquire this car, restore this car and have any chance of gitting HALF your money spent on restoration back when it’s time to sell\!
As a general rule, unless you’re in the very high end luxury, or exotic sports cars, cars make for lousy investments. Classics are no exception to that rule.
Given the rarity of this car when new, it’s even more rare now. A full return to original would be cost prohibitive [even taking the resale out of the equation] I hope that someone takes it on, getting her back on the road again. I’d hate to see this turned into yet another [yawn] ECTO-1. That cloning has been done to death, let it go already
Strategically spray bombed to look like less of a basket case
The “Baddest of the bad” was Farmtruck and AZN’s (from “Street Outlaws”) diesel powered hearse.
The “Baddest of the bad” is Farmtruck and AZN’s (Street Outlaw’s) Diesel powered hearse!
I bought a 96 Fleetwood S&S hearse and a 95 black Roadmaster “First Response/Flower Car . I drove the Caddy home the first evening I bought it and my wife flipped the F””# out . I took it back to my shop . I returned in the Road Monster , which was all stock , albeit a chrome emblem that looked like the old dealer trunk tags on both front fenders . I had planned on keeping the Buick but the following morning my wife saw the emblem on her way to work and refused to ride in it . They were both beautiful cars that had never sat outside overnight . I will admit the Buick had a parculiar smell about it . The Cadillac had 31K and the Buick 42K miles .
Turn it into a pickup, weld the back side doors shut fill in where the door handles are. Or you can just use it like that and pretend its a early model Escalade
Rode around Miami/Ft.Lauderdale area in practically the same ’59 Caddy hearse. Big plus was the over the top refrigeration in the rear for transporting the deceased on long trips. Used the sirens and flashing red grille lights in rush hour traffic jams.
I bought a 59 Caddy 30 years ago that was beyond repair, and cut off the back of the car and made a sofa out of it. You actually sit in the trunk. It is all ready for paint and leather seat but the only problem is my wife won’t let me bring it into the house. Do I keep the sofa or the wife????????????????
Sofa, wives can be replaced.
Restomod a camper out of it and tour the country! Put some curtains in the back for privacy, Make a scale model coffin on one side of the cargo area to conceal a fridge and stove! Modern drivetrain for better MPG and reliability!
I’d use it as an UBER car… Lying down is optional…
I’ll take the ’64/’65 Imperial next to it.
I live in a community where the average age is over 80. My neighbors would not appreciate this vehicle, even if fully restored (as it should be) parked out front.
I restored several ’59 Cadillacs in the 1980s, and would warn anyone looking at restoring this hearse that the cost of quality chrome “triple” plating may well end up more than the vehicle is worth when completed.
And Angel, once again we are in agreement, I’ve owned several ’64 to ’66 Imperials, including a convertible for each year, and a Ghia limousine. I miss all of them.
Last Ride, Growing up my Dad bought a 1959 Caddy Limo for $200 bucks and all it needed was exhaust work and tires. It had been a funeral car and only had about 22,000 miles on the odo. Dad bought for trips as we always seemed to bring along “extras” (aunts, uncles, grandmothers, etc.) on our trips. I actually drove that car quite a bit when on my learning permit. But the fuel economy on the highway with the A/C blasting (and my Dad “blasting” down the highway) was a respectable 15-16 MPG. I happened to be driving “the monster” when we came upon a gas war in Vincens (sp?) Indiana. We filled up at $0.235 per gallon. Good times in that car! (my Mom hated to drive it!)
The bids are already over 15K. Someone knows something that I don’t.
Wow! Bill Mc…
What a great collection. Wish I had known you back then.
’67/’68 was the last years for Imperial conv.
And they had those HUGE taillights
Superior, S&S (Hess and Eisenhardt), Miller, Meteor, (later M&M), were the major manufacturers of Cadillac funeral coaches in the late 40’s till the later days. The main body styles were the Funeral Coaches with the landau rear window and rear floor with rollers for the casket. The most popular were the combinations that could be used as an ambulance or hearse (funeral coach). On these, the rear floor had reversible rollers that could be left as rollers to roll the casket in, or flip them over to have a smooth flat surface to roll an emergency stretcher in. Attendants seats were also fold down for funeral coach use. Sirens were under the hood or attached to the roof, reached from the zipper compartment over the front seat. Also these companies made flower cars, in essence, Cadillac pick ups. Ohio was the center of all these companies.
Angel,
I only had one 1967 Imperial, but it was a rare one . . .
It was a rare color, gold paint and a gold leather interior with black vinyl “halo” roof, it had only done about 15,000 miles when I bought it, the car had spent most of it’s life in Phoenix AZ, always garaged. It was loaded with options, even AM/FM [Stereo, I think], dual A/C and the Mobile Director’s option!
The original owner shipped it out to the Washington DC area in the mid 1980s when his job came east. I saw it in a parking lot and talked with him for a few months before he decided to sell it to me. He wanted a pickup truck because he had bought a house with a barn & acreage.
Of the hundreds of vintage cars I’ve owned, there are a few that I regretted selling as I watched them drive down my driveway, including this car, the 1966 Imperial convertible in triple black, and the 1965 LeBaron Ghia limo. The Ghia had only 5,700 miles on it when I found the car in DC.
Bill Mc
Those Ghia limos are super rare. Didn’t they make only 4 of them?
Angel,
They made 10. My limo sat on the lot at Al’s Motors, the Chrysler dealer in Northern Virginia, until early in 1969, when a Mr. J. Jones bought it. Mr. Jones was an insurance company executive who wanted a vehicle to attend Redskins football games when he was in Washington, which was very rare.
The limo was stored in a special internal garage at the bottom level of a high-rise office building he owned on Connecticut Avenue. Very few people knew it was there. When I bought the limo, it had accumulated a total of 5700 miles, and was original right down to the M-78X15 tires
Nice surprise – the air cleaner is still on!!!
creepy…