1966 Cadillac Superior Flower Car Hearse on 2040-cars
Hacienda Heights, California, United States
|
Offered for sale is a 1966 Superior Cadillac Flower
Car. This is a rare car for an advanced
collector.
A flower car is a very unique version of a hearse. Very few funeral homes ever owned one. They are intended to be used only in the most lavish of funerals such as for extremely popular celebrities, politicians or gangsters. At these over the top affairs, floral tributes are sent in overwhelming numbers, sometimes by the hundreds. Delivered to either the church or the funeral home they need to make their way to the grave site. After the funeral service and when the casketed body has been placed in the standard hearse by the pallbearers, the ‘flower bearers’ each carry a flower basket or floral display from the church to the flower car. This mass of flower displays is then placed on top of the stainless steel deck. They are arranged against the little racks and bars. To ensure that they do not blow away or fall off on the way to the cemetery, the flower car driver lowers the stainless deck (hydraulically) so that the flowers ride low in the bed and out of the wind. The flower car then leaves the church first leading the hearse and the mourners to the cemetery. Upon arrival at the cemetery the stainless deck is raised again and the floral tributes are handed to each mourner as they walk to the grave site so they can place them upon the grave. How many funerals are ever awash in flowers? Even years ago when sending flowers to a funeral was customary, few funeral homes found a need to purchase a flower car. They were only ever purchased by funeral homes in areas of the country where the custom was for really lavish funerals. The east coast and Chicago area were the target markets. And then only a few funeral homes in these areas ever bought one. This one may be the first one you have ever seen. To justify and amortize the expense of such a specialized car for the funeral home the car was designed so that it can also function as a full hearse and carry a casketed body. A full flower car like this one has a rear door and casket rollers and bier pins to make this possible. This capability then allowed the flower car to also function as a second hearse in a multi-body funeral or as a first call car to make a removal from the place of death or possibly even carry a body to the airport for shipping to another city. Flower Cars are VERY RARE!! Because of their use in only the most lavish funerals, flower cars were really only ever built on the top line chassis. (Cadillac and Packard) When you take the total number of (post war) Cadillac commercial chassis used by each coach builder and then count up the total number of flower cars you find that the production for all flower cars in any given year would rarely top 100. Divide them up by each different coachbuilder and the number quickly falls to just one or two digits. In 1966 Superior built just 30 flower cars! This car is 1 of 30. What about THIS flower car?It was sold brand new in Akron Ohio to the Stewart & Calhoun funeral home. They are still at the same address on Thornton Street. A picture of this car in service can be seen on their website. http://stewartcalhoun.com/about/ The original professional car dealer was the American Limousine Service of Cleveland Ohio. This is all documented on the original owner’s manual, warranty booklet and protect-o-plate. The Stewart & Calhoun funeral home kept this car for almost a decade selling it in 1974 to the Palms Chapel funeral home in Fontana California. Palms Chapel was not well run and the owners themselves eventually died and the ownership of the business was tied up in probate for years. Finally in 2000 I was able to purchase it. By the time I got it, it had been sitting for approximately 15 years. The odometer shows 50,000 miles and based on the condition of the car I believe it to be correct. (You look, you decide) I did all the wake up repairs of flushing, tuning, cleaning, rebuilding and replacing including a new radiator, water pump and a full brake job with all the hydraulics replaced and a completely rebuilt front suspension. It tracks very straight. I rebuilt the driveshaft, including new U-joints, center bearing and balancing. I disassembled the instrument panel for cleaning and repair. During this time I added a correct 1966 Cadillac AM-FM radio and power antenna. I reupholstered the seat in cloth and vinyl using the original pattern. It looks very nice and correct and is very comfortable. The floor mat is the original gray. (The Cadillac commercial chassis did not come with carpet) I drove it for several years to meets and shows but it has
now been sitting for a about 5-7 years, and in a realignment of my collection I am selling
it. What is wrong with it? The carb could benefit from a boil out and cleaning as it is gummy. It runs and drives and would easily go onto a trailer but DO NOT expect to drive it any distance until you have checked and serviced all the systems. I have NOT replaced the L78-15 bias ply tires from back when I bought it in 2000. They hold air, but they are now likely 25+ years old. The lights and electrical system functions but there is damage to the Cadillac harness that leads to the rear end so the tail/brake lights are intermittent. A replacement harness is included. The body is straight, the paint is horrible! It is original
paint but it is cracked and lifting and is generally yucky. There are no dents
or accident damage. The rear bumper is bent as seen in the pictures. The car is
remarkably rust free. There is no rust through in the front clip or front
doors. There is some rust in the tops of the rear doors. The back door is rust
free. The rockers are good, the skirts are rust free and they are using their
original brackets and mountings. The really rusty area is the floor in the
back of load area. The floor area where the
lifting arms for the rear deck attach needs repair. Hence the hydraulic
system for the deck cover is not operational. (The pump and lines however are
all in place) The rear of the load floor is the worst. It is bad enough that
the casket rollers have sunk down and broken from their mountings. (a picture
of this area is included) This was likely a problem way back in 1974 as somebody
cut and installed a replacement plywood board that has been fitted with rollers
so that the car could still perform funeral duty. I have included lots of pictures of the underside, if there is something you want to see, please ask. ALL the trim that is missing in the pictures is in the back. Included also are extra 1966 Superior pieces I have acquired over the years. Anticipated buyer: This is a significant car that is intended for an advanced collector/connoisseur. When it is gone I know that I will never get another one like it. It has taken me a long time to actually decide to part with it. I am offering it with a low price considering the work I
have put into it that reflects just my minimum investment in parts. I am ready
to sell it, not play any dumb games. Hopefully you feel the same way about
buying it. Unfortunately I am relisting it because the last buyer could not/would not follow through with the purchase. If you bid please be ready to finalize the purchase and remove the car to your place. It is fully titled in my name. It has personalized California plates “FLWR CAR” that go with the car. It is currently on California non-operational status with no back fees due. If you have any questions PLEASE ASK!! If you would like to
see a picture of something in particular please ask. I will do my best to post
them or send them to you.
Legal Text: I am being honest about offering this vehicle to you; I expect the same courtesy of having you be honest about buying it. Bids from buyers with less than 10 positive feedbacks will be summarily rejected. Your winning bid is a commitment to complete the purchase, NOT re-negotiate the deal in my driveway. The vehicle will stay with me until cleared, certified funds are in my possession. There is of course NO WARRANTY of ANY KIND. Having it picked up within 3 weeks of the auction closing is expected and should be possible. I will work with you to make this happen, but of course I AM NOT paying for the shipping. Thank you for looking and reading this and Good Luck in your bidding. |
Cadillac Fleetwood for Sale
Classic cadillac fleetwood loaded(US $4,900.00)
Custom fleetwood broughham(US $18,995.00)
Mint pristine luxury survivor -1989 cadillac fleetwood brougham - 36k mi
1976 cadillac fleetwood brougham d'elegance sedan 4-door 8.2l(US $5,000.00)
1995 cadillac fleetwood brougham 27k miles all orig immaculate condition mustsee
1957 cadillac fleetwood 4 doors original southern california
Auto Services in California
Your Car Valet ★★★★★
Xpert Auto Repair ★★★★★
Woodcrest Auto Service ★★★★★
Witt Lincoln ★★★★★
Winton Autotech Inc. ★★★★★
Winchester Auto ★★★★★
Auto blog
Drive like a prince: Join us for a walk through Monaco's car collection
Fri, Dec 29 2023Small, crowded, and a royal pain in the trunk lid to drive into during rush hour, Monaco sounds like an improbable location for a huge car museum. And yet, this tiny city-state has been closely linked to car culture for over a century. It hosts two major racing events every year, many of its residents would qualify for a frequent shopper card if Rolls-Royce issued one, and Prince Rainier III began assembling a collection of cars in the late 1950s. He opened his collection to the public in 1993 and the museum quickly turned into a popular tourist attraction. The collection continued to grow after his death in April 2005; it moved to a new facility located right on Hercules Port in July 2022. Monaco being Monaco, you'd expect to walk into a room full of the latest, shiniest, and most powerful supercars ever to shred a tire. That's not the case: while there is no shortage of high-horsepower machines, the first cars you see after paying ˆ10 (approximately $11) to get in are pre-war models. In that era, the template for the car as we know it in 2023 hadn't been created, so an eclectic assortment of expensive and dauntingly experimental machines roamed whatever roads were available to them. One is the Leyat Helica, which was built in France in 1921 with a 1.2-liter air-cooled flat-twin sourced from the world of aviation. Fittingly, the two-cylinder spun a massive, plane-like propeller. Government vehicles get a special spot in the museum. They range from a Cadillac Series 6700 with an amusing blend of period-correct French-market yellow headlights and massive fins to a 2011 Lexus LS 600h with a custom-made transparent roof panel that was built by Belgian coachbuilder Carat Duchatelet for Prince Albert II's wedding. Here's where it all gets a little weird: you've got a 1952 Austin FX3, a Ghia-bodied 1959 Fiat 500 Jolly, a 1960 BMW Isetta, and a 1971 Lotus Seven. That has to be someone's idea of a perfect four-car garage. One of the most significant cars in the collection lurks in the far corner of the main hall, which is located a level below the entrance. At first glance, it's a kitted-out Renault 4CV with auxiliary lights, a racing number on the front end, and a period-correct registration number issued in the Bouches-du-Rhone department of France. It doesn't look all that different than the later, unmodified 4CV parked right next to it. Here's what's special about it: this is one of the small handful of Type 1063 models built by Renault for competition.
Don Draper's 1965 Cadillac Coupe de Ville up for auction
Mon, Aug 3 2015Few have ever nor ever will embody the sheer confidence and style of Don Draper, the main character on the hit AMC drama Mad Men. But if you can't quite match his style, at least you can drive his car. Now that the series has now concluded its eight-year run, the studio behind it is selling off a whole mess of artifacts from the show through ScreenBid, a specialist Hollywood memorabilia auctioneer. There's a good 1,300 lots up for grabs, from props to costumes. But the lot that's caught our attention is this 1965 Cadillac Coupe de Ville. Don picked this car up in the fifth season and drove it until the penultimate episode. These are the wheels he (spoiler alert!) drove across the country, got repaired in Oklahoma, and ultimately gave to a kid working at the motel before making his way by bus to the Bonneville Salt Flats in the final episode. At the time of writing, bidding had reached $25,000 with four days still to go. Cadillac first used the de Ville as a trim level on the Series 62 before spinning it off into its own model line. 1965 was the first year of the third-generation de Ville, stretching a massive 224 inches (over 18 and a half feet!) long. Powering over 4,600 pounds of personal American luxury was an equally massive 7.0-liter V8 that drove 340 horsepower through a three-speed automatic transmission. The name wasn't retired until 2005 when the final DeVille (as it was styled by then) was replaced by the DTS, which itself was shorthand for DeVille Touring Sedan. Cadillac produced the last DTS in 2011, finally putting to rest a name that had, in one form or another, been used since 1949. Few cars had the kind of presence that the third-gen Coupe de Ville did, though, and Draper knew it. Or at least the show's producers did.
2015 Cadillac ATS Coupe priced from $37,995*
Thu, 15 May 2014Cadillac has released pricing details on its new-for-2014 ATS Coupe. The new model, which will be available with buyer's choice of a 2.0-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder or a 3.6-liter V6 (the ATS Sedan's base 2.5 won't be making the trip) can be had with optional all-wheel-drive in place of the standard rear-wheel setup, while customers can also snag a six-speed manual or six-speed auto.
Prices start at $37,995, which represents a $2,900 premium over the 2014 ATS Sedan (pricing on the 2015 four-door isn't available yet) with the same 2.0-liter engine. Still, the ATS Coupe starts at just over $2,500 less than a base BMW 428i, which is also less powerful and offers less standard equipment. The Caddy is also less costly than the Mercedes-Benz C250 Coupe, although only by about $200. It's even cheaper than the Audi A5, which starts at $38,105, but that model includes all-wheel drive as standard. It should be noted that these prices are without their respective destination charges (*$995 for the Caddy, $925 each for the BMW and the Mercedes and $895 for the Audi).
Unfortunately, Cadillac hasn't released any additional pricing information beyond what we have here, so we can't tell you how much things like all-wheel drive, an automatic transmission or the 321-horsepower V6 will cost. That makes it difficult to figure out just how reasonable the ATS Coupe will be relative to its challengers, but so far, the value equation looks to be in the car's favor. When those full details roll in, though, you know where to look. Scroll down for the official press release from Cadillac.