Looking at an Oldsmobile Hearse

[works4me]

Hi. I want to buy a Hearse as a collector car but was planning to look this year and buy mid next year. Until I saw one advertised that is near home. I need a little advice. The details are a little bit sketchy, but here goes:

1976 Oldsmobile 455cid Burgundy with white roof and burgundy interior. Runs great. Good shape.

The set-up
I am in a province in Canada with really strict collector plate car insurance rules. The vehicle must be 25 years old and original/stock with add-ons only from the year before or year after allowed. So, no metallic paint on a 1975 British car, no CD players, no mags etc. This would be an event car but would be driven more frequently in October as I am a Halloween Freak.

The questions:
I am assuming that burgundy was available in 1976 and that it wasn't metallic. Is this correct?
I am also assuming that the 455 motor would be typical and available in 1976. True?
I hear that front glass can be difficult to obtain for some years of car. Is the 1976 OK in this respect?
Do all the "correct" Hearse have a conversion company emblem somewhere? If so, where? Any companies I should steer clear of?
Anything else I should look for in a 1976 Oldsmobile?

I love the colour combination as it is not typical and neither am I.

Thanks for any help you can give. I hoe to go see the car this weekend.

[R U INJRD]

Oldsmobile would most likely be put together by Cotner-Bevington. I have heard from people that own them that C/B construction was not too exact, and can become a pain when trying to restore one. Of course, that's really only an issue if the car is a mess and needs to be refurbished. If it is, be prepared for measurements to be off, or otherwise not make sense.

Some other Olds nut can help you with the other specifics you asked about, but off the top of my head none of that seems unusual for '76.

[Shawn of the MPCC]

C/B ceased in 1975, so this by them, Im not certain but it could be a Miller-Meteor as they built on a few Oldsmobile. C/B and M-M however, were both owned by the same company, so if it is an M-M, it might be similar to the C/B. I cant be certain who built it without seeing though, as a few other, mostly smaller coach bulilders also built some Olds at the time. And yes most likely there should be some coach builder badges on it so you should be able to identify it yourself.

[Mohawk Freak]

76 was the last year for the 455 so you're in the clear with that. I'd think a coach builder could offer any color they chose to, even if the factory didn't. Unless it's something radical, it would be hard to argue it didn't belong on it.

[works4me]

Thanks.

As a person who has restored several British cars, I am all too familiar with parts that don't fit. lol Thanks for the heads-up.

I'm sure the current owner can point me in the direction of the badging but I want to show up prepared so I can sift through the information I receive.

Glad to hear I'm clear on the engine size. Gas mileage, or lack thereof is gonna hurt but I'm prepared for that, I think.

I hope it is everything it appears to be, If not, the bank account gets a reprieve for a while.

[works4me]

Looked at the car yesterday. It is a C/B and is completely stock. The interior is great.

But, we have decided to pass on it. We were officially planning to buy a car next summer but this one came up so we looked at it. Right now, the car needs too much bodywork for us to take on to get collector plates. Collector plate insurance is about $250 per year vs regular insurance at about $1400. If the car does not meet collector plate criteria, you must get regular insurance which also includes an emmissions test every year. We are in the process of finishing a collector plate project which is taking longer than expected so don't want to take on another so soon.

At least now I have narrowed the search parameters. I am now looking for a mid 80's car as I believe they are smaller and lighter and I think I can find something that needs a bit less work.

I also plan to talk to my local funeral home one of these days and see how often they change out their cars.

Thanks for all the assistance.

[hotroddwayne]

Since you've changed your search paramaters... i'll sell you my 1980 Cadillac S&S Victoria hearse for $5500 and it is as close to mint condition as you'll ever find. No rust ever, never seen salt or snow (in service it's entire life in southern Georgia/Florida). I'm a 2 hour drive from the Windsor Canada border crossing if that helps to have someone drive whatever you buy to the border. If you're interested the classified ad is here on NHAA, click the link below...

http://www.nationalhearse.net/forums/showthread.php?7379-1980-Cadillac-S-amp-S-Victoria-hearse

This is a fresh photo taken 2 weeks ago

[works4me]

Thanks. Looks fabulous but I think we will now try to stick to the original plan of buying a car next year, once the dust settles from the current project. It gives us time to make more changes to the garage so it can handle three cars.

We are on the west side of Canada. If I decide to buy in the US, I'll get a garage to check it out for me and I'll have a hauler bring 'er up.

Thanks again.