Guest bigjim240z Posted December 19, 2002 Share Posted December 19, 2002 ok..this isnt for my z car..i have another project car..its a 1965 cadillac coupe deville..body work is almost finished and she will be freshly painted in a few more weeks..ok..for the question..the car has a 429 cadillac motor, im not crazy about this engine since there are no aftermarket companys making parts for them and since its tired and very expensive to rebuild..i was considering dropping a mild 350 chevy and turbo 350 or 400 trans in it. im not trying to make a fast car..this is a weekend cruiser..and i want to take advantage of all the cheap chrome and aluminum dress up goodies..i want this to be a head turner.. i figured a stock 350 rebuild with a rv cam and a dual plane intake with a carter or edelbrock carb should do the trick. maybe ill throw on some shorty headers as well..a freind said the 350 would be a dog in the big caddi..i dont agree since they put these motors in large motorhomes and they did ok...so why not a caddi?..any sugggestions ?..thanks for any info..jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike C Posted December 19, 2002 Share Posted December 19, 2002 The 350 would be OK with the RV type setup, but If it was my car, I would get a 472 or 500 cad from a later model Cadillac. There are a couple of companies that make hot rod parts for those motors, and you can keep your Caddy all Caddy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted December 19, 2002 Share Posted December 19, 2002 I think the 350 caddy is probably a good idea. I'd personally tend to go for a 400 small block in a very heavy car, since the greater torque would make it less doggy. One other thing I'd do is use a modern overdrive tranny. I don't know what kind of gears you've got in that thing, but I think the 700R-4 has a lower first gear than say a 350 turbo, which is just the ticket for a larger car. If it already has high gears in it, like 2.73 or 3.03, then you might not get much use out of overdrive, but if it is geared any lower than that, the extra gear will make highway cruising quiter and more efficient. of course, the 350 is going to look tiny if I remember what a 65 caddy engine compartment looks like. The headers are a definate yes, you shouldn't have much trouble finding space for them. But wouldn't a big-block fill up that engine compartment nicely? Whatever you decide to do, have fun with it! Jevil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bigjim240z Posted December 19, 2002 Share Posted December 19, 2002 im pretty positive that the 350 will go in..along with a th350 trans...a 700r4 sounds nice but i have a th350 already so i might as well use it and save the mon ey for chrome goodies..the engine compartment is huge..but thats ok...ill semi gloss black it all and put a pretty chrome motor in it to take away from the wasted space...again im not building a high horse power car..just a nice cruiser..its getting air bag suspention too...and its shaved..no door handles or side moldings..should be sweet when done...once its all finished ill get back to my real passion..240z cars..thanks for the advice..keep it coming! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bigjim240z Posted December 19, 2002 Share Posted December 19, 2002 also, this beast will get cruised to vegas alot so the 350 will be a huge difference when it comes to the gas stations! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike C Posted December 20, 2002 Share Posted December 20, 2002 Check out some of these links before ruling out the Caddy. I do a 67-72 truck board www.67-72chevytrucks.com and several guys there have done the caddy swap it is only about 75 lbs heavier than a small block but makes tons of torque so you can keep those 3.08 gears AND run an OD if you want. http://members.tripod.com/~CadillacMan/79cadpage.html http://www.500cid.com/ http://cadillac.neobiz.com/ http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Pit/9364/guide/Engineid.html A hopped up Caddy is much more interesting than just "another" small block chevy IMO. Keith Black makes pistons, Edelbrock makes a Performer, Crane grinds a cam. 500ci, just sounds cool, too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bigjim240z Posted December 20, 2002 Share Posted December 20, 2002 MIKE...MAN..WHY DID YOU SHOW ME THOSE LINKS..LOL..now you got me looking at 500 cid caddi motors...lol...man..a 500 with a cam, edelbrock intake and nice carb is starting to sound interesting...and i know the junk yards are loaded with em...im still not sure though...the 350 is sooo easy to build and sooo cheap..im gona keep looking at those links..ill decide then..thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Z-rific Posted December 20, 2002 Share Posted December 20, 2002 My uncle dropped a slightly built 350 in a huge early 70's Impala, and it worked out nicely. Sure the big block fills the compartment more, and has more CI's for torque and power. But you'll also lose a nice chunk of weight with a TH350 and a small block. Lighter front end means better braking, small improvement in handling, gas mileage and much cheaper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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