1979 Cadillac Miller-Meteor Coach

Philip Scanio

PCS Member / Super Site Supporter
Finally photos posted.
 

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Thank you Joe and Noah. Here is the history. The car was purchased new by a Southeast Texas funeral home and was white. When we opened in 1997, I wanted a Lincoln fleet and knew that a body change was coming. Arrdeen had this car, so he changed it to black for me and we used this car until receiving the first 1998 Lincoln Eureka Coach built. The 1979 became our backup coach until we purchased another Lincoln Coach. I did not want to let it go, so we now use it for a third backup and for the old car club members services. I need to call McVey's for a new wheelcover medallion and will soon replace the tires (old). The original mileage is under 50k and it still has the original spare. The a/c still works, but for some reason the 1979's were known for blowing the circuit breaker on high fan speed and I cannot convince all drivers to leave the switch on low. Does anyone know a solution besides replacing breakers?
 
Beautiful car, great lines.

I had the dubious pleasure of driving a similar late-70s MM coach in the mid 80s...side loader with seatbelts that apparently didn't work quite right so somebody cut them off. Charcoal gray, black top, maroon velour interior. It was an internal trade from an SCI location in TN, to our location in STL, and we sent them an 82 S&S in trade. We had white on white livery with blue interiors, this thing stuck out like a sore thumb and was VERY tired when we got it.

This is a MUCH nicer example, it looks well-loved.
 
Sorry Jay for replying to you as Joe. I took bookkeeping instead of typing in high school--probably should have taken both.
 
It's ok Phillip, we all get names wrong occasionally. I really like that it has a painted roof instead of vinyl or crinkle paint. Looks great.
 
Jay, it had white vinyl when I purchased. I knew it was a steel car when I purchased, so I told Arrdeen to leave off the vinyl when repainted. He thought I was making a mistake, but I wanted that clean look. Thanks, I'm glad that you agree.
 
No way would I put vinyl back over steel. Asking for problems from unknown moisture trapped between the 2. You made the right decision. I like the Superior Premier/S&S Imperial look.
 
Over the years, I had a gorgeous black over Admiral gray MM limo-style hearse that I wish i kept. A 1978 MM Lifeliner, a 1977 MM limo-style combo, a 1978 Fleetwood limo and a 1978 McClain Cadillac flower car. I guess you could say that I like the 77, 78 and 79s.
 
Wow, that is sure pretty. I love the inside, it is very different. I had a '79 Cadillac Deville when I was in college. The 425 V8 in those is indestructible and one of the best motors I ever had in a car. I never had ANY problem with my A/C, in fact, it blew so cold, that if you had the dash vents pointing toward the steering wheel, it would leave frost on it. Drove mine until at almost 200,000 miles, it developed an intermittent electrical problem where some days it would start right off, and some days it might not, until hours later. Cadillac dealer said it would cost more to find the short than the car was worth. Also, my rear frame rails were rusted so bad that the car wouldn't pass PA inspection any more, but the body was still perfect. Gotta love the salt on the roads here in PA :(

I know it isn't a professional car, but here is a bad quality picture:
 

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Over the years, I had a gorgeous black over Admiral gray MM limo-style hearse that I wish i kept. A 1978 MM Lifeliner, a 1977 MM limo-style combo, a 1978 Fleetwood limo and a 1978 McClain Cadillac flower car. I guess you could say that I like the 77, 78 and 79s.

Oh, and it was the one that got away Bill...
 

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No way would I put vinyl back over steel. Asking for problems from unknown moisture trapped between the 2. You made the right decision. I like the Superior Premier/S&S Imperial look.

Me, on the other hand, that would be the first thing to go back on. If the car is garaged, and top prepped correctly, it should last a LONG time.
 
Wow, that is sure pretty. I love the inside, it is very different. I had a '79 Cadillac Deville when I was in college. The 425 V8 in those is indestructible and one of the best motors I ever had in a car. I never had ANY problem with my A/C, in fact, it blew so cold, that if you had the dash vents pointing toward the steering wheel, it would leave frost on it. Drove mine until at almost 200,000 miles, it developed an intermittent electrical problem where some days it would start right off, and some days it might not, until hours later. Cadillac dealer said it would cost more to find the short than the car was worth. Also, my rear frame rails were rusted so bad that the car wouldn't pass PA inspection any more, but the body was still perfect. Gotta love the salt on the roads here in PA :(

I know it isn't a professional car, but here is a bad quality picture:

Shawn, I just noticed that your DeVille had the aftermarket pillar chrome and chrome vent shades. Very classy. I had both on my 1978 Deville and the vent shades on my 19787 GMC pickup. They looked great and helped ventilate the vehicle for those of us who were stupid enough to smoke.
 
.......... The a/c still works, but for some reason the 1979's were known for blowing the circuit breaker on high fan speed and I cannot convince all drivers to leave the switch on low. Does anyone know a solution besides replacing breakers?

You can replace the fuse with a circuit breaker that will reset automatically. The other way would be to remove the wire that controls the high speed fan position. The best place to remove this wire, would be at the switch, however, I can't tell you which one it will be. That will take a little detective work on your part, using a test light. The other place that you can remove it, is under the hood, where it hooks into the heater fan resistor block (assuming that they used a resistor block in 1979. I have a 1978 Cadillac ambulance, but it is still a work in progress, so it has no batteries presently installed, so I can't use my car to determine which wire to remove.
 
Oh, and it was the one that got away Bill...

Thanks Kent, I know you liked it too! Truthfully though, I believe this coach was much prettier, than the picture seems to show, it looks dirty. This was the first car of any kind that we owned that won an award and it was awarded a First Place in the Hearse class, which you know is a crowded class and full of beautiful, well cared for hearses. We were shocked and proud and even though it was back in 1997, I treasure that award.
 
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