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32V NORTHSTAR SWAP..... TOO DIFFICULT?


Guest PROJECTRB240SX

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Guest PROJECTRB240SX

HOW HARD DO YOU GUYS THINK IT WOULD BE TO SWAP A 32V NORTHSTAR INTO A 70-78 Z CAR? I MEAN THESE MOTORS ARE COMPARIBLE TO THE LS1 AND GET BETTER GAS MILEAGE. HELL MY FRIENDS 4200LB CADDY RAN A 14S QUARTER WITH A STOCK 32V NORTHSTAR.

 

WELL I'M LOOKING AT ONE ON AUCTION COMING UP AND THE LAST ONE WENT FOR ABOUT $700 SO I FIGURE IF ITS NOT TOO MUCH OF A HASSLE (READ: SIMILAR TO LS1 MOUNTS) I SHOULD ATTEMPT IT.

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Guest 73TPIZ

I thought that would be a great swap too. I'm too deep into my setup to go different but those at auctions have caught my eye too. I saw a complete caddy w' northstar (slight rollover) bring $1200 the other day. Not that you could use anything other than the motor and harness but i thought not a bad deal.

 

Do a search for "Northstar" maybe in "other engines" . i've read some interesting posts in the last few months with links to adapters to fit T56's and 700R4's to it.

 

Oh, and welcome aboard!

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The Northstar is a great engine but the highest stock HP engine in any Caddy is 300 with 295 lb ft of torque. No way that pushed any 4,200 pound car to a 14 second 1/4 mile!

 

There are conversion kits to drop it in a Fiero and the President of our club has one. It's actually a Ferrari 308 kit car on a Fiero chassis so it ends up looking pretty exotic with the Northstar in it. He says it makes for a nice conversion and very streetable. The engine is about the size of an SBC so it probably could be done. Since I've seen them in rods (even saw one with a GMC blower! :shock: ) you must be able to get trans adapters, etc.

 

Be sure to post pictures if you do it.

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We own a 94 Cadillac with a Northstar motor. I have looked at it and I believe it is too wide but maybe it will fit. I changed the plugs and plug wires in it yesterday and that was not fun. The back plugs are hard to get to (FWD) and you have to remove the coils to change the plugs.

 

I will stick to the LS1. It makes much more power, many more aftermarket goodies available and I know it fits.

 

But I would love to see someone try it.

 

Best of luck!

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Guest 73TPIZ
The Northstar is a great engine but the highest stock HP engine in any Caddy is 300 with 295 lb ft of torque. No way that pushed any 4,200 pound car to a 14 second 1/4 mile!

 

I punched in 4400lbs (w/ driver) in the horsepower calculators and it said 297hp to run a 14.3 sec quarter. I run .4-.5 sec faster than it says i should run with the 229 hp i got from the dyno yesterday. So actually that sounds about right.

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Guest JAMIE T

I had planned on using the Northstar in my Z. I sold it to a guy who is putting it in a Fiero. I had it in the frame rails and it fits between the shock towers with very little room to spare. The T5 out of a 4th gen F-Body V6 will bolt-up with a couple of miner mods(the great news is that it is a WC). The intake can be turned around 180* with no mods. You can do it if you have extensive fabrication skills, or a good friend that does. Use a remote mounted waterpump(my idea) I told Allen at chrfab.com about that idea and he is offering kits for it now I think. The F-body T5 was my idea also. Prior to that everyone was T56 crazy, and spending huge amounts on adapters and such. Headers will be your biggest obsticle. I think chrfab has some block huggers though. You'll need a stand-alone engine computer or re-program a '94-'95 caddy ECU. the Aurora ECU should work also.

 

I decided not to go with it since I needed some money and I have a built LT1 anyway.

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I don't think the Caddy has much if anything over an LS1 in the weight department.

 

The Fiero crowd seems to like them. I recall reading several articles...one of which was in one of the Kit Kar magazines that a NorthStar in a Fiero would turn 13.5 second 1/4 mile times with automatic transmission. Didn't seem to be all that quick considering how light a Fiero must be. If you wish to see more about NorthStar power look at this website: Click here: Design 1 Systems | Northstar Engine Conversions - Heart Pounding Performance! If this link doesn't work try a google search on Design 1 systems.

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Guest PROJECTRB240SX

WOW, THANKS FOR ALL YOUR RESPONSES AND SURPRISINGLY I GOT NO NEWBIE BASHING....

 

AS FOR THE CADDY IT WEIGHED ABOUT 4275 WITH THE DRIVER (I DON'T KNOW WHAT MODEL IT WAS) AND IT RAN LIKE A 14.7 IIRC FROM A DEAD STOP.

 

TRUST ME I KNOW WHAT THE EXPENSE IS WHEN IT COMES TO OHC, I HAVE TWO RB'S USED TO HAVE THREE AND WHEN IT TAKES $800+ FOR BASIC CAMS IT REALLY SUCKS, BUT THE EFFICENCY AND TOPEND POWER MAKES UP FOR THAT.

 

SO DOES ANYONE HAPPEN TO KNOW OF ANY NORTHSTAR Z'S?

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Guest Aaron

There is some information on the Northstar in the archives. I believe it all was from Jamie T, so you want to do a search.

 

This forum is different than a lot of the others on the net. We won't bash a new person (unless they really deserve it :-D ). You may want to turn off your caps lock though, it looks like you are shouting.

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Guest PROJECTRB240SX

YEAH I PUT IT IN MY SIG AS A WARNING, BUT I CAN'T TURN OFF CAPS WHILE AT WORK.

 

WELL SOMEONE OFFERED ME $6K FOR MY CAR AND I'M PROBAB;Y GOING TO TAKE IT AS LONG AS HE HAS THE CASH..... THEN I'LL HAVE TO FIND A Z CAR AND FIGURE OUT THE ROUTE I WANT TO GO.

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  • 4 months later...
Guest Magnum Rockwilder

I just bought a '94 Caddy Concours with a 270hp Northstar for $100 from an elderly man, and the only difference between it and the 300HP Northstar is the cams and exhaust. I have a buildup where you can get 400/400 with intake, exhaust, ECU, and cam regrinds. If the car wasn't so nice, I would insall the engine in one of my Z's, but it would be a shame to pull the motor from such a nice car. Oh, and most Northstar Caddys do indeed run high 14/low 15 second 1/4 miles, with enough trap apeed for a mid 14 with good traction. There are tons of people with 2 ton Cads running 13's with basic bolt ons. Imagine that same motor in a 1 ton Z!

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Saw one of those motors apart yesterday in an El Do. It was in for a burnt valve and had the intake and one head off. This is the only way to get a good look at the starter! Not what I'd call a really service friendly motor. Still, if I could get one complete for a hundred clams I'd do the swap. 400/400 with bolt-ons?!?! That would be one bad hybrid. 8)

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Guest Magnum Rockwilder

Actually, mine had a bad starter when I bought it, and it was apretty easy fix. I just removed 4 bolts that hold the intake down to the heads, removed a couple vacuum lines, and propped the manifold up with a piece of 2x2. The starter was held on with 2 10mm bolts.

 

I like the fact that the starter and spark plugs are on top, so no matter how tight the engine is squeezed in, you can easily access them.

 

I bought this one for $100 from a 76 year old guy who didn't know what was wrong with it, and all it needed was a $25 rebuilt starter from Ebay. It has high miles, but is REALLY clean.

 

The local salvage yard sells all engines for $149.95 with everything that's attached to them included. Just a bare engine is $99.95. Trannies are $34.95. The engine swap possibilities are unlimited.

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We have a 94 Cadi Seville that my wife drives. We got the car from my grandmother. It only has 40,000 miles on it. That Northstar is one sweet motor. In stock form the car pulls really nice. It will cruise at 100 all day. I drove it home from florida last year and at first, I thought it was slow. Then I really pushed it on the highway and at around 5500 rpms it blew out a huge cloud of black smoke and all of a sudden it took off. I guess my gramdma had never opened her up before.

 

While I was changing the plugs in it a while back, I thought that it would be a great motor in a Z but the wife would kill me if I took apart her car so I got the LS1 instead.

 

I say go for it. I would love to see a Northstar Z.

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