Hey there, I've been a long time lurker on this site, but haven't had a good excuse to post. I just scrounged up a neat Flathead Cadillac motor on ebay, cost me $275 I didn't think it would go for so cheap, but apparently the description "Late 30's Early 40's Cadillac V8 Flathead Motor (PICK UP ONLY in Pasadena, CA)" must have been unappealing. I actually spend a lot of time near Pasadena (I live about 1/2 time in highland park), so I figured it would be worth a bid... I've been obsessing about tinkering on a flat head of one kind or another.... I actually wanted to get a spare engine for my 57 Plymouth (flat head six) to tinker on so I could avoid the temptation to disassemble a functioning vehicle to satisfy my compulsion to make adjustments... but given the rather large number of projects making painstaking progress in the garage, I needed a sign to show me that the car gods had decreed it was meant to follow me home. The conditions I set were: The seller has to be ok with waiting 2 months for me to pick it up (I'm currently out in Ogden Utah working on a project and won't be back in LA for a while) It had to be under $300 out the door A few other projects I was bidding on (guns mostly) had to NOT follow me home before I would let myself bid. Well the stars aligned, all the gun auctions I was bidding on fell through, I was the only bidder on the motor ($275), and I talked with the seller and he was ok with holding her for me till I get back to LA.... (the guy was actually an amazing old time car enthusiast I'm looking forward to spending several hours chatting with him in the process of picking up the motor) According to the seller its just a spare he has had laying around, no machining done to it, just an old motor he had for spares. So now I get to try tinkering on an old flathead..... I want to try to keep this as cheap as possible, but barter is always an option, as is bribery with beer.... I think the less cash I throw at the project, the more interesting the final result will be... If I can't find super cheap parts, I'll have to get creative with fabrication. Once I have a complete running motor, I can start thinking about scrounging together a vehicle to put it it..... I know of a few old abandoned wrecks up in the hills that I might be able to drag out if i can get enough friends together. I've always wanted a roadster... but that might be slightly more difficult to come up with.... unless I am able to talk my buddy into swapping something for the rusty shell of one he has in his backyard that he found out in the desert years ago Exciting stuff. Is there any info/threads/website I should be looking at while getting mentally prepared to tinker on this? Is there any way to tell what year it is? or maybe what its out of? Are there any major issues that can be seen from the pictures (I know they are crummy)
There is a Cadillac flathead group here.Check with 38flattie and fiftyv8.And search Cadillac flathead you'll find more______oh and welcome.
oh dear... caddy flatty... rad! (btw: go do an intro in the introductions forum... then be amazed at the vast knowledge here on the HAMB...)
Staring at pics of Caddy motors, I think this might be a 1937... the heads don't have any ribs, or markings... and I think the 37 was the only year where that was true
I guess if its a 322 not a 346 it could be a 1936 I think the monoblock started in 36, and as near as I can tell this looks to be a monoblock.
Yeah, Carb (s) Exhaust manifold (I can weld up something that will work) Distributor (probably would have needed to get swapped out anyway) Generator Starter Fuel Pump Oil Pump spark plugs plug wires Anything else I'm forgetting?
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