Technical 1950 Cadillac change from 2 barrel to 4 barrel intake

Hi, has anyone changed a 1950 Cadillac 2 barrel intake for a 4 barrel intake? What I need to know is, how easy is it to connect/adjust the kick down bar to the new carburettor? The carb I will be using will be an Edelbrock cfm 500.

Regards,

Wayne

 

Bump....

 

Cadillac started using a four-barrel in 1952. Might be easier to transfer a stock intake and four-barrel than trying to make the e-clone work.

Don't know what intake manifold you plan to use, but if one of the early 1950's Cadillac manifolds, the e-clone will not fit without an adapter. Running through the adapter, the e-clone may not run as well as the original two-barrel that you have.

Jon.

 

That hydramatic shift rod is more than a " kickdown" . The transmission will not function properly without it. It's not like a TH Hydro that you can simply do without it. The early 4 speed Hydro has to have that rod.

Unfortunately that's all I know. You have to have it. It's been done, so maybe one of the 4 speed Hydro guys will show how it's done.

 

I will be using a genuine early 50's Caddy intake. Where would I find the adaptor you mention?

 

Thanks for the info. I'll wait to see if someone comes up with the answer.

 

Any of of the online parts vendors have them......Speedway, Summit, Jegs, etc.

 

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/installing-a-hydro-matic-into-a-55-57-chevy.911067/

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/1950-hydramatic-help.941119/page-2

 

thanks F-ONE I'll give that a read in a bit.

 

It is difficult here in the US to find 4 speed Hydro support. (At least at the local level) In the U.K. I'm sure it's more of a problem.

I do know that WWII vechicles have a strong following in the U.K. The M5 Stuart and the M24 Chaffe Light tanks used twin Cadillac Flatheads and 4 speed Hydros.
You may want to reach out to the military vehicle collectors in the U.K. For Hydro tech...,

Incidentally, my Great Uncle was killed in a M24 crossing the Muese River in the first week of Febuary 1945.

 

If you are set on making this conversion, be careful when you order the adapter.

There are two issues to consider with the adapter:
(1) Bolt mounting pattern
(2) The required taper of the adapter, as the bores of the e-clone will be wider (the secondary will be much wider) than the original manifold.

Unless you do major machine work on the manifold, think of the manifold as the bottle neck for airflow. Even if you could set a Holley Dominator on an adapter without manifold machine work, the finished product still would not perform any better, and probably not as well as the original two-barrel. If you watch NASCAR, think restrictor plate engines.

Jon.

 

You must consider a fact - the '52-'53 factory 4 GC setup, intact, will work perfectly as is, & deliver 20 mpg in a 4,000 lb. '50 Fleetwood. The ''conversion" **** & experimenting you will go through cobbling all of it together vs. locating the above - it boils down to what you want it to look like, how well you want it to run, & how many $$$ you can muster. A little skill won't hurt, either.
As a side note, the aforementioned '50 60S would light the RR 8.90 Royal Master upon sudden full throttle, and got 21 MPG at 60 MPH.

 

Small base Carter WCBF and Rochester 4GC are available and the linkage will be real close. May need some extending. I've bought them cheap even on Craig's List. The Rochester was a replacement for the Carter at the dealership if warentee work was needed.

 

That linkage runs the throttle valve which controls both up shifts and down shifts in the old 4 speed hydro. You should be able to find service information on how to adjust it properly

 

I'm beginning to wonder if it's worth the h***le fitting the edelbrock. I take it that fitting the 4 barrel Rochester will be reasonably straight forward then?

 

The 4-barrel Rochester will fit the intake, will be correctly calibrated for the engine, and, if you have it, the original 4-barrel air cleaner will fit.

You will need to fabricate a fuel line (highly suggest bending one from steel tubing).

The throttle linkage may need a slight tweak, or may not.

I do not know about the transmission hook-up (automatic transmissions are to be recycled into beer cans, and replaced with real transmissions )

Personally believe you will be MUCH happier with the Rochester in all categories except "shiny"

Jon.

 

If you're able to find the complete setup - all linkage fits as is. The fuel & vacuum lines (dist. advance & dual diaphragm fuel pump if used) are altered to fit, and a steel heat tube made for the choke.

 

Thanks for the advice. The job now is to find a good one at a reasonable price. There's a few out there from different cars & years, so what sort of CFM would I be looking at?