Attn 80's model hearse owners!

[jlprigmore]

I'm considering another daily driver to replace my '90 FWD since I pretty much have to take it to a shop to get anything done on it. So I was thinking of an early 80's model to fix up and take out on the road with me so what I'm needing is info on your coach. Gas mileage, comfort, ease of access to mechanical parts, and such. Any info would be helpful, thanks.

[hotroddwayne]

The coach I drive the most is the 1980 S&S Victoria end-loader. It has the 368c.i. V-8 with no overdrive & still gets 16 M.P.G. on the highway & is a pleasure to drive. As for comfort, it's comfortable to drive, but since most of these coaches no matter how elite they are they don't have cruise control or interval wipers. Drove it over 1100 miles home from Florida, and since have taken it on several 2 - 4 hour trips with no problems. So far there's been no troubles finding parts either. The gas mileage did surprise me... I was told to expect 12 M.P.G. but swear to it that she gets 16. Another plus is the huge storage area under the floor, it's plenty big enough for whatever you need to take with you & keep it all out of sight. Hope this helps ya.

[jlprigmore]

Yes it helps me greatly thanks for your input. Looks like I'll lose gas mileage but, I shouldn't have to run premium like I do now which should equal out on my long roadtrips. Storage is always a plus too, mine has some storage space, but on one side I have my amps tucked away and on the other is my jack and my spare so not a whole lot left so my tools,luggage,motel fridge,and such all ride just in the back. Kinda spoiled on the ole cruise control too, but... it sounds like making the switch to an older one will be a good thing. I don't have plans to get rid of my '90 since it is my first hearse but its getting pretty costly to maintain since I can't do any of the work on it myself.

[Boogeyman Con Carne]

The biggest complaint I have on my 81 S&S is the transmission. Can't keep one in it. Maybe it's just my luck with transmissions though... Think about an external trans cooler if you're gonna be seeing a lot of highway...

[Guest]

i would make sure you get a rear wheel drive model - they are much easier to work on.

i have an 85 eureka fleetwood brougham. i can get about 21/22 mpg on the highway if the roads are flat. HOWEVER, i have that HT 4.1 engine - the sucky aluminum one that melts easily. the gas mileage isn't bad, but the car is severely underpowered and has a hard time with hills.

i think you'll like the way the rear wheel drives handle, too

[jlprigmore]

Transcooler will definetely be considered since yes it will see alot of highway use as long as I'm stuck traveling so much. Is that why you're droppin tranny's boogeyman? No transcooler?

[jlprigmore]

Thanks again for the responses and yes I do plan on getting rear wheel drive this time for sure. I do like my fwd, handled great in the snow and ice in Pennsylvania and the fact its mostly fiberglass that 4.5 pushes it great especially in the mountain ranges I get 18 in town and 22.5 on the highway, when its running good. But... I do love the RWD's so much more!

[hotroddwayne]

Looks like I'll lose gas mileage but, I shouldn't have to run premium like I do now which should equal out on my long roadtrips.

I will tell you that these 1980's rear-wheel-drives run like ASS on regular unleaded... they lose power & the valves ping like hell during acceleration. I learned this quickly on the trip home from Florida... even running mid-grade gas wakes that coach right up. She suffers some on regular unleaded, but fill up with mid-grade or premium & the power is there, no valve pinging, and mileage goes up. I also had dual exhaust ran on Matilda... through Flowmasters & no CAT convertors now, just doing that seems to have helped even more with performance somewhat.

[jlprigmore]

Oh I did not know that they still needed premium in the 80's models, that kinda sucks, but that won't be a total loss. I'll still run premium and just deal with the mpg loss, thanks to the respones so far I'm pretty convinced on getting one now. Theres one not too far from the house, next time I'm home I'm gonna go take a look at it.

[hotroddwayne]

i have an 85 eureka fleetwood brougham. i can get about 21/22 mpg on the highway if the roads are flat. HOWEVER, i have that HT 4.1 engine - the sucky aluminum one that melts easily. the gas mileage isn't bad, but the car is severely underpowered and has a hard time with hills.

Thank you for that info Ryan... i'd found a 1984 Collins hearse a while back, had a suitcase packed & ready to go buy it. One day before my trip I was warned of the 4.1L engine (which this Collins had) after reading about them on a Cadillac technical site & through a fellow hearse owner. It was (at the time) an experimental all aluminum engine for the upcoming front-wheel-drives... leading up to the Northstar series engines. Smaller coachbuilders such as Collins & Eureka bought Cadillacs from dealers instead of through Cadillac directly... that's how the dreaded 4.1L ended up in some hearses. The seller assured me that the Collins ran great & wasn't underpowered, but I avoided it anyway just because of the engine. I loved the non-commercial glass though... here's a couple pix of that Collins in case some of you haven't seen the lesser-known coaches:

[cean]

I have a 84 S&S victoria with the carbed 368. CALI. EQUIPED rwd. IT handles smooth great shifting, decent milage for gas. it has 50,000 miles on it but it HATES the hills,she is a slug on upgrades with the 368. plus with all the smog emissions and crap in there,but I don't wan't to take anything out because in oregon it used to be any car 25 years or older did not have to pass DEQ, but now that has changed ;and any car from 1975 or newer has to pass deq.So I will leave all the emissions in there .From what I have found parts for the 368 are almost nothing out there. all the places I have called and on the internet have very little for this motor. even the gm parts or caillac dealership can't get some parts now. I need a new blower fan resistor and there isn't anything out there that will work, things like the wiper switch with out the delay is almost impossible to find, but the good thing is that there are alot of the 80's cadillac's in wrecking yards so I CAN find aot of other used parts for it. I find on long drives that the bench seat is not comfy after a while beacuse of the glass divider behind the seat for the back. it makes the back of the seat sit too upright and I can't move the seat forward ,for the seat won;t tilt back any further; so after a while I will get out and stretch...one great thing I have found is that you CAN STILL GET A WINDSHIELD COMMERCIAL GLASS EVEN for these car.s I got a new one for my hearse for 150.00 so now I have 2 new extra's sitting in the garage for just in case. I have noticed that I have become a packrat for this car. I think it is better to have it and not need it; then to need it and not have it so I have been stocking up on everything for this car lol lol OH SNAP I NEED HELP!!! oh well, I have to have something to spend my money on . hope I could give you some info you where looking for

[Guest]

i have always put regular unleaded in mine, and it runs just fine

[jlprigmore]

Ok so avoid the 4.1 due to lack of power since I'm constantly roadtrippin, but on the 368 can you go into a parts store and get parts for it fairly easy? What other motor options came in the early 80's?

[Tulsa Guy]

The seller swore our '88 Lincoln with the 302 got 20MPG.......
BULLSHIT!! 11.4 on the first tank, and about a mile less comin' back from Joplin.......It's a sweet comfortable ride, but still dealin' with alternator and cooling gremlins.

[jlprigmore]

Well now wait a minute there tulsa guy, you should be getting close to 20mpg I think, my brother had a lincoln 4door around '88 and it was getting about 22mpg, so I wonder if there isn't an unseen issue your having that isn't causing the bad gas mileage.