Who knows about Victoria hearses? A friend wants to buy 2

D

Douglas Smith

A friend of mine just called me asking a few questions about hearses. Apparently a local funeral home is getting rid of two hearses and updating with a newer one. I could not really answer a ton of his questions so I linked him here but he asked if I would post for him (not computer savvy)
How much is a good price to offer for each given the descriptions?
How much is a windshield for the 79? Where would he get one?
What is the weight on each?
Anything super rare or need to be saved from the scrap one?
What is the difference between the two? one says Victoria the other says S&S Victoria

1: 1974 Cadillac Victoria model hearse (been sitting for years and has holes in the rear where vinyl roof held water but tarps protected interior. exterior is rusted in normal places) scrap car according to them

2: 1979 Cadillac S&S Victoria just retired from service and always sheltered so it is running and driving with little to no rust but a crack in windshield

He wants me to come with him to look at the two hearses on friday and I will try and join in. I will be bringing my camera to get pix for anyone that wants because we all know that smiley/icon will get posted demanding them. I also might get to take some parts off the 74 for my 73 Superior if he gets it to part/scrap but not sure how much is swapable to my car besides the generic Cadillac stuff so any help there I would be thankful for.
 
Douglas Smith said:
1: 1974 Cadillac Victoria model hearse (been sitting for years and has holes in the rear where vinyl roof held water but tarps protected interior. exterior is rusted in normal places) scrap car according to them
Click to expand...

I would like to know more about this 74. If it is considered junk you've got my attention. Are these cars in Jacksonville area? I need a few parts for my 73/74 ambulance too.

Richard
 
Sounds like the 74 may be too far gone to restore but may have good parts as Richard mentioned. Bumpers, windshield, crome, etc. Learned years ago not to scrap any hearse if you have somewhere to keep it as you always find someone needing parts off it. Wouldn't pay more than $500 for it. The 79 if in excellent shape also $500 because of windshield issue which will cost about a grand plus installation so you would be loaded up in it too. Hope this helps. More accurate price quote with pictures. Difference in name on the two is mainly due to changes over the years as to what coach builders call their cars. Weight in the 6k range.
 
glass is avable at any locale glass shop. not hard to get at all. some is kind of pricy. but there is no way to set a value on the cars. 5gs for a hearse is a lot. but not if it's one you want and it in nice condition. the 74 would be a S&S built by S&S the 79 is a S&S built by some one els. as the compeny had folded by then. not a lot of parts will interchange with them. S&S was good about creating there own stuff. if the interier is good in the 74 don't let the rust shy you away from a nice car. it could be cleaned up and a new top put on
 
...About the S&S production, S&S didn't get gobbled up by Superior (now Accubuilt) until late 1981 & production moved to Lima, so they are both true Hess & Eisenhardt S&S coaches. A windshield shouldn't be too pricey, i'm told they are still available through Accubuilt for 1978 & up for much less than any other commercial glass but i've never had to inquire about one yet.
As for pricing, like everyone else says it all hinges on condition. I paid $5000 for my '80 S&S because it was by far the best value at the time for the condition, it was very hard to find one in excellent shape with no rust. Prices are all over the place so use your best judgement... but don't shy away from it because of the windshield they are still plentiful & the least expensive of all commercial windshields.
 
Richard Vyse said:
I would like to know more about this 74. If it is considered junk you've got my attention. Are these cars in Jacksonville area? I need a few parts for my 73/74 ambulance too.
Richard
Click to expand...

I am not sure of the location yet but they have to be semi close to jacksonville or he would not bother thinking about both. My friend is going to pick me up if he can sometime on friday to hopefully check them out. (schedules permitting)

Danny Ryder said:
Learned years ago not to scrap any hearse if you have somewhere to keep it as you always find someone needing parts off it. Wouldn't pay more than $500 for it. The 79 if in excellent shape also $500 because of windshield issue which will cost about a grand plus installation so you would be loaded up in it too.
Click to expand...

I don't think he has room for the rusted one but I know he wants to strip what he can and scrap it because he said it is too far gone. Apparently the roof has holes big enough to fit your head through.

From hearing about the condition of the 79 I am pretty sure they will not even entertain that kind of offer on it. They are very proud of the condition it is in or they sound that way and I am usually pretty good at judging stuff like that because I have purchased lots of cars and sold lots of them as well as garage sales and craigslist. I will wait and see until I see it all face to face first to judge. I was hoping for a very generic range. LIKE: Scrap $500 light rust 750 daily driver 1000 good 1500-5000? Sound like good fair advice or am I too low?

Dwayne Brooks said:
...About the S&S production, S&S didn't get gobbled up by Superior (now Accubuilt) until late 1981 & production moved to Lima, so they are both true Hess & Eisenhardt S&S coaches. A windshield shouldn't be too pricey, i'm told they are still available through Accubuilt for 1978 & up for much less than any other commercial glass but i've never had to inquire about one yet.
Click to expand...

I will check into that or give him the info to check into that because that is the only issue with this according to them.
 
I was also just asked how to tell the diff between the 472 and 500. The vin is the only way I know. When was the 500 first available on commercial chassis Cadillacs?
 
74 came with the 472, 75 and 76 500. 79 would have the 425. I'm not enough of an engine geek to tell the difference just by looking at outward appearance.
 
Dwayne Brooks said:
...About the S&S production, S&S didn't get gobbled up by Superior (now Accubuilt) until late 1981 & production moved to Lima, so they are both true Hess & Eisenhardt S&S coaches. .
Click to expand...

true built in the H&E plant in 79. but thanks to coachbuilder we know that only the 73 was built by the real H&E. who bought the S&S tade mark them selves

George L. Strike - a Cincinnati millionaire and currently a co-owner of the Cincinnati Reds - bought Hess & Eisenhardt in 1974 from Willard C. Hess and Charles A. Eisenhardt. The two former owners remained for a while as part-time spokesmen.
During 1981-82, Strike sold off two of the firm's three divisions a couple of years prior to purchasing an interest in the Cincinnati Reds baseball team. First to go was the Sayers & Scovill professional car division which was sold to Tom Earnhart, the former owner of Armbruster/Stageway in 1981. Earnhart had recently purchased Superior Coach from its parent company, Sheller-Globe, and transferred the S&S tooling and trademarks to the Superior plant in nearby Lima, Ohio.

one more case of who's on first in the pro car world!!!

but, holes big enough to put your head threw in the top are not a problem if your going back with a vinyl top. it would just depend on the condition of the rest of the car. that would determine if it was worth patching or not. you don't need a finished patch for to cover over with vinyl.
 
The 1974 is a different chassis than the downsized 1979, and the only parts that might be the same are the wheels and tires. Everything else is different for the most part. The windshield for the 1979 should run about $600 installed, since it is newer, and there is still plenty of old inventory of them. There isn't that much demand for the downsized hearses, and as a result, the values are not that great, unlike the downsized ambulances of which very few were made. Miller Meteor stopped production of the ambulances in 1977, and Superior only made 10 each year for 1977, 1978, & 1979. Of those, I no longer have the exact figures, however, I believe that only about 20 exist today. An interesting fact is that even though they were slightly narrower, they were just as long as some of their predicesors...
 
Pix!

The 74 was pretty sad and is now my friends after having to use a tractor to pull it out of the woods. They had to leave before talking much over the 79 but he wants a lot for it and it has 4 spots that need care that I can see. Passenger fender has a dent, a door has some rust on the bottom on the inside, the top is peeling a bit on one corner and there is a bit of rust there but not much or deep, lastly the windshield is cracked. Going to talk to them tomorrow about the 79.

Here is the 79
img0344small.jpg

img0346smalls.jpg

img0348smallt.jpg

img0351largesmall.jpg

More Pix and larger pix here: http://img585.imageshack.us/gal.php?g=img0344large.jpg


Here is the 74 (how does the table slide out?)
img0323small.jpg

img0320small.jpg

img0339small.jpg

img0332small.jpg

More pix here: http://img403.imageshack.us/gal.php?g=img0320small.jpg
 
The 79 looks to be in decent shape for a $1500 car. more than that? doubtful. The coach lamps on the sides of the 79 are mounted upside down.
 
Richard would probably like the rear bumper, if it is close enough to him to retrieve it. Might take a hot wrench to remove it based on the rust that can be seen. If he is serious about parting it out, then he should consider removing everything that is commercial chassis related. Just keep in mind that a car in parts takes up a lot more space than a whole car.
 
the back bumper has one dent but is otherwise good I think but I know his plans are to strip the car and sell off the parts and I get a few of them I wanted
 
$2.00 tarp would have saved that 74. I was betting the interior was trashed. so now we know what the Shriner's could use for the parade wagon. or one could make a wrecker out of it. maybe long pickup any number of things. the S&S will separate leaving a clean body line vary easily. one can't make a 74 S&S with a extended table out of it with out a parts car with a good interior. . the windshield is worth a easy 200 to some one that needs one. providing you can get it out with out braking it and they can get down to pick it up. you can't give the rear bumper away. I tried just last month. but there are pieces on the car that are like gold to someone that needs just that one. all 5 doors the quarter panels, front clip. in all the 74 is worth more in parts then the 79 is in one piece. but you will sit on the parts till someone needs them. if you don't store them correctly they will rot away before you sell them. the front clip complete is worth 1000 to 1500 if you need one. this one maybe less as the bumper has some damage. parting one out is a long term project. the 79 is a nice 1500 to 2000 dollar car providing you can get in it and start it and it will move under it's own power.
 
The '79 definitely looks worth saving. I had a '79 Sedan DeVille years ago...that 425 engine was one of the best engines I ever had in a car, it ran forever and never used oil. The '74 on the other hand, wow.....that roof is unbelievable! Like Ed said, if you knew someone who needed parts, there sure is alot of good/rare parts there to save. Would be alot of work to take them all off, but you just might make someone who needs that stuff very happy. :my2cents:
 
after getting all of the jungle out of the back of the 74 as well as the other stuff there is not much worth saving on it but it did start up right away somehow. The body panels are all rusted out besides the back door and not worth saving. The frame has almost no rust besides the very rear. It has way less rust than my 73 superior. I want to try and ask if I could have the frame and swap them since it will not change the scrap value. I can save the glass out of it IF I can pull it without breaking it that is. The transmission does not pull and the rear end leaks and the rear most drive shaft has a slight bend on it due to I guess a trailer or something like that. It does only have 61,000 original miles I was told.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top