When I think of the Fourth of July, I think of parades and — as a car nut — the parade vehicle. It’s always fun to see your local firefighters or police in their gleaming apparatuses, lights aglow and sirens blaring. Sometimes a community’s military re-enactor groups bring out their WWII equipment, celebrating American military history. What I don’t want to see in my town’s parade, and far too often do, is a late model Chevrolet Camaro sandwiched in between. For today’s July 4th edition of Good Find Friday, I wanted to find a worthy parade vehicle that will have utility the rest of the year and not break the bank. Today’s car, a 1980 Cadillac hearse/ambulance combination, just might fit the bill.

Sayers & Scovill was a company based in Cincinnati, Ohio, that built carriages and later automobiles. It was started in the mid-1800s and became known for making high-quality horse-drawn hearses and ambulances. As cars became popular, the company began building bodies for motorized vehicles, especially for professional use.

In the 1900s, Sayers & Scovill focused on making special cars like ambulances, hearses, and limousines. These vehicles were used by hospitals, funeral homes, and businesses that needed custom transportation. The company was acquired by the newly revived Superior Coach Company in 1981 and transferred all production to Superior’s Ohio facility. S&S Coaches is still producing luxury funeral coaches, and even limousines, on Cadillac chassis today.

This hearse/ambulance combination for sale in Madison Heights, Virginia is apparently one of just 2 combination coaches built by S&S in 1980 and the only surviving example. It’s now for sale by owner and listed on Facebook Marketplace for $10,500.

Hearse and ambulances are an active sub-group of the collector car community, and like all anoraks are highly knowledgeable on the history of their favorite vehicles. I can’t claim to know much about vintage hearses and ambulances, but I am mildly obsessed with any public service vehicle, especially if it sports flashing lights.

This particular car appears to have been built from a base Cadillac Fleetwood and lengthened to accommodate the hearse/ambulance space at the rear of the coach. Exterior features include fully functional grille lights, Federal Signal dome light and #28 siren, Eureka coach landau bars and standard Fleetwood turbine hubcaps.

The car is claimed to have just 42,000 original miles, and appears to be in decent condition. The driver’s side fender is said to need a repaint and there is some rust and corrosion. Built as an S&S Victoria model, the car was reportedly refurbished by Eureka coachbuilders in 1991.

The interior seems like it’s in pretty nice shape for a 45-year old car. The front seats, in particular, are quite nice. The rear compartment features a jump seat, flip rollers, rear air conditioning, cot bar and dual oxygen cylinder mount. Apparently the AC needs to be charged.

No engine or underside shots are included. The motor on this beast is apparently the original 368, not particularly known for its performance but is said to be bulletproof in terms of reliability. Any interested buyer would be wise to put this on a lift and examine the chassis for rust, though the seller states the frame is solid.

Use of a passenger car or station wagon as ambulances started their decline in the 1970s as federal regulations required new equipment and more space, making this possibly one of the last of its kind as a combo ambulance/hearse.

If you’re into this kind of thing, the 2016 Ghostbusters movie famously reimagined the original 1959 Miller-Meteor Ambulance “Ecto-1” for a new generation by using an S&S Victoria of a similar style. Most ambulance/hearse enthusiasts revile such modifications, preferring to keep them in their stock configuration.

Such a car would be a fabulous parade car as it has all the eye candy you’d need to attract attention, plus an automatic transmission for low-speed driving. Remove the gurney equipment and you have a fairly practical runabout for daily use as well.

You may have missed your chance to run one of these fun vehicles in your town’s parade this year, but there’s always Labor Day or July 4, 2026!

Have a fantastic Fourth of July holiday, everyone.

Wolf and Mare provides car finding, appraisal and auction services for sellers and buyers of collector European cars. We also provide importation services. Give us a call or drop us a line!