Just picked up a 1955 Caddy 331 and trans for my coupe! Hope it wasn't a mistake!! Hope to dress it up a bit and run it. The gentleman said it ran great and was an original 45k mile motor and trans. What would you do to it if you had it to play with? Wish me luck! Jeff Sent from my SM-G960U1 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
45k mile motor? Sure, just like all 327 SBC's are 'Vette motors...… At least invest in a gasket set & valve stem seals & pull it down, lap the valves, check everything for wear(maybe hone for rings?)! Then you KNOW what you have for SURE!! Probably also pull the trans pan, clean the filter & check for condition, change the front & rear seals, & you'll be good to go!
I bought the 49 331 caddy in my 40 on eBay back in 03. The guy claimed 50,000 actual miles. I saw the car he pulled it from and believed him. I fired and ran it on my garage floor and did an oil pressure and compression test. Checked out great. Then I put a timing chain, oil pump, water pump and gaskets in it. One thing I didn’t do and wish I would have is a rear main seal.... runs and looks great ......
Do like Moriarity says. The first thing with an old Cadillac that's been sitting is to see if it will turn over. If it is complete & will turn over, put a mechanical oil gauge in the hole, a line from the fuel pump to a can of gas, a battery for cranking power plus spark. Block it with 2x4's & fire it up. If it runs, use a handful of rags at the exhaust to muffle it. I've done this many times to determine if that lump on the floor is worth fooling with.
Yup, I used flex exhaust pipe and mufflers and hooked a radiator to it and really warmed it up. It is important to pull the oil pan afterwards because mine had lots of sludge inside...
Crank it up and bring to temp. If ya got good oil pressure, compression and vacuum, reseal it and run it. I will add that doing an overhaul now is cheaper than later. Just saying
BEFORE you run it, keep in mind that detergent oil was pretty new-fangled in those days. Few used it. Definitely pull the pan & look for Goo. This goo has also filled the rocker shafts and should be emoved with a bore brush. Lots of great engine resuscitation threads on the interwebs.
Yep! First thing I would do is remove the valve covers, valley cover and oil pan to see what's in there.
I know exactly what you mean! The engine does look clean and original. He showed me the car it was suppose to have come out of...like you say though, proof is on the inside. Jeff Sent from my SM-G960U1 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
# 1 : Run a compression check. A lot of tar based oils were used in those days. Once that crap sets up you will have all kinds of oil blockages. Do a head job on it and soak and check the lifters. If even one is dished replace them all and the cam. Also replace the valve springs and while changing out the oil pump and replacing the main seal remove an insert. If it looks decent, put in new cap bolts and torque to specs. to avoid stretch error. Purge the block and replace the water pump, freeze plugs, timing chain/gears and fuel pump. Put Marvel Mystery Oil in the cylinders and let them soak while doing all this to free up any carbon stuck rings. After assembly, spin it up several times without plugs and valve covers to confirm oil flow to the lifters. Sounds like a lot but it won't cost that much and you will KNOW what you've got.
Kinda ugly right now but maybe one day she will be a beauty! Sent from my SM-G960U1 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
What transmission are you running? That thing is amazing looking!! Sent from my SM-G960U1 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
X2 on making sure it’s clean before cranking. If the pan is nasty ya might want to clean the pump and oil galleys
I forgot to add : a new timing set & new oil pump would complete what I recommended above! (I thought cleaning as you went was understood!!)
New oil pumps and pickups are not available for the old Cads; just some rebuilds for a lot of money. Or you can put a kit in yours if the housing is in good shape.
I bought a Buick nailhead in the car and drove it home. It ran very good except for a little lifter tick when first started. A good buddy who built a lot of cars said to clean and paint it then drop it in the car since you already know it runs good. However, I just can't help taking things apart. Bottom end was in great shape, but all the lifters were concave instead of convex. One had almost worn through. It didn't have any real sludge, but a lot of baked on oil. A complete overhaul including knocking out all the oil plugs, hot tank, 0.030 overbore, new cam, lifters, pistons, oil pump and all new bearings gave me peace of mind. And, it was a lot easier to do before I installed it in my Model A.
I picked up a low mile 500 cddy ran great, great oil pressure. The plan was for a new timing set and a reseal. We removed the pan to start the reseal and looked at a bearing while we were at it. The crank journals looked great, the bearings had dark spots. This condition was worse on the cam bearings. So we had the crank polished, block honed and installed new rings and bearings. The heads got checked and new valve stem seals. All this added another $500 to my initial investment. An engine is super easy to fix on a stand compared to a finished car.
One Im puttin in my buddys coupe, cant wait to get it in the road Sent from my SM-G960U using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
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