I have a '37 LaSalle (Cadillac) V8 flathead with the 3 speed toploader transmission and rear axle and it is in excellent running condition, it came out of a La Salle coupe that was driven, the engine was rebuilt in the early nineties and only has about 16000 miles on it. I might want to sell the whole deal, what do you guys think it is worth?
as I´ve been told it´s almost worth nothing. maybe you should keep it and build like an old style salt lake racer out of it .
by the way-- i can verify that this motor runs and sounds good. come to think of it..... Johnny-- check with you know who and see if we can get our hands on the dual carb intake and performance heads for this baby. Maybe it would be a good fit for a roadster im thinking about? These old 346ci Monoblock Caddy motors were used in our tanks in WWII... Also-- a lot of people think that Ford was the leaders in Flathead innovation. The Caddy flatheads were a step above in several different aspects... -scott noteboom
Yeah... if you pay the shipping to San Jose-- i'll take it off your hands Im doing more research on this motor and am courting a possible relationship. I think we might be falling for eachother -scott noteboom
If you guys have access to an intake and heads, there is no doubt what to do. NOTHING is as wild as a Cad/Lasalle dressed up with hand formed headers coming over the top of the heads!!! Unfortunately, the engine other wise has low resale value. But man they look wicked in an open engine bay all dolled up.
The tranny is definitely a keeper. In the fifties, I ran one behind my caddy powered Henry J and never fazed it. 6000 off the line in second, time after time.
you oughta keep it. i've got a '38 caddy that i'm building to power my diamond t rod that's in the works. they are super cool good luck on finding some performance heads for it though...to my knowledge the only ones available are the cyclone heads and i believe there were only 10 sets made. due to the head design and the fact that the exhaust doesn't run through the cooling jackets ala ford flathead, you can get away with a fair amount of compression. that combined with some head work and a dual carb intake and a better cam profile can make some decent power...that's the route i'm going anyway. plus the long stroke on them makes some monster torque. in '37 that engine made about 130hp and 265ft/lbs. it also used hydraulic lifters and had several other features that were very advanced for the time. the last version of that engine in '48 made over 140hp and 280ft/lbs. not too shabby for an "L" head design. take a look at the valve relief on those outta the factory, they are already set up like a modified ford flatty. listen to hotrod1940 about the tranny, those are TOUGH!
I've been doing some research on these old Caddy flatheads and they were tough as nails, as Scott said, they powered some of our tanks in WWII and took a beating. I think I might get those Aluminum heads and the dual carb intake from my friend (they are N.O.S.) and build a hotrod. I might even have somebody to invest/sponsor it.
Hey my buddies and I cruzed a 37 La Salle 4dr to LIONS dragstrip in 1959 or so, wotta cool ride flathead and all. ggggg ran good! They were great cruzers, kept up with traffic, rode smooth and quiet all the way. They were modern compared to our rods.
There is a lot of good information here on the HAMB, search Caddy Flatty, or Cadillac Flathead. The Lasalle is actually a 322. Which if you ever though of running XXF at Bonneville thats the motor to have so you can run custom heads. Vs. the Cadillac is a 346 which would knock you out of running aftermarket heads. They share everything. Their were two manufactures of heads for the Cad/LaSalle flathead. Cyclone, and Edmunds. "Cyclone Kevin" here on the hamb is has started up production again of the Cyclone heads. You can search under my name for a comparison between the Edmunds and the Cyclone. No comparison. There were also two manufactures of aftermarket dual carb intakes. Burrell and Edmunds. Edmunds made a handful of different versions. The Burrell is currently being remanufactured in small quantities. As everyone said the motor alone isn't worth much, but the tranny you have if its the '37 toploader is the sought after tranny. They bring big $'s on ePay.
well, jason, I will run the org engine as long as I can. probably till juli and than swap it for a caddi big block, hehe. you know I like it a little faster ! and reliable. ;-)
Ha, just kidding my friend. You run um like you want. I'm sure that La Salle will be one sweet ride when you're done. Funny seeing you here on the HAMB!
hey jason, did you ever consider investing yout budget in an old style salt lake racer with a caddy flat head ????? would make you the only one on the island !!!! have a good one ALOHA !
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