I'm bringing my 60 coupe out of storage and want some advise on the motor. It has a tired 390 with two speed tranny. Should I rebuild the 390 with a 700R4 through an adaptor? Or is it ethical to place a 350/ 700r combo in this mild custom build? The only reason I am figuring the idea is that a caddy 390 rebuild is around $3500 - $4500. What do you think. Be real. Thanks
Its your car, People will rag on you no mater what you do. If you can't afford the 390 rebuild, put a SBC in it for a quarter that and drive it. And unless your going to 3 deuce the 390 or 2x4 it its just another expensive V8. Just don't get hung up on what everybody else thinks. My 2 cents, for what its worth.
Hey Shop Rag, Keep the Caddy motor. There's nothing like a dressed up Cad engine! FYI the transmission is a 4 speed auto even though it only shows drive & low on your indicator. F$&%K the Chevy motor, leave them in the Chevys! Rocketmotors Lower Schellville
I decided against a 472/500 in mine. The crossmember hacking involved freaked me out. I have a '64 drivetrain with a TH400, but to each his own. Man, if you want to drive it, and it's reversible, go ahead and put a 350 in there. Drive it. Have fun in it. They were meant to be driven - besides, nobody's looking under your hood at 35 MPH. Meanwhile, you could be snagging trick parts for that 390, including a 4L80E, 4L60, or 700R4 adapter. Eventually you can rebuild it and swap it out, but in the meantime, you can be driving and enjoying the hell out of your car. Who knows, maybe you'll end up keeping the Chevy. God knows, you can take it on road trips, and can get any part pretty much immediately at any podunk auto parts store out there. No need to keep your ride down, or make your project be at a standstill. Hell, when you're driving the hell out of it, you can justify the bucks you spent on the Chevy with all the fun you'll have in that thing. And you can always flip the used 350 later. Just my .02 cents. Then again, I'm tired of mine sitting, too. Don't get me wrong, normally I'm totally against putting a Chevy in a Cadillac, but if it makes the difference between driving the car and having it sit, I say do it. It's the lesser of two evils - ESPECIALLY if it's coming out someday in favor of the 390... something nobody will really give you shit for. ~Jason
I have a 350/400 circle track engine in my 60 De Ville and it gets the job done: nothing like cadillac torque though. If you're on a tight buget, you may even consider a big block out of a Buick or Olds.
If you plan on keeping the car for a long time.... put what ever you want in it to get it going. But, if you plan on selling the car anytime in the near future, keep it all Cadillac. A chevy motor in a caddy will definitely hurt the resale value of the car.
Back in the 1990's we rebuilt a 390 Caddy engine. We had trouble finding pistons so I started going through books looking at compression heights and bore sizes. We ended up using either 351M or 400M pistons. We had to redo the small end of the rod, it's been a while so I don't remember exact detailes but I think the pins in the ford pistons were bigger. We owned a machine shop at the time so that helped. We balanced the assembly and it worked good. I'd keep the 390. To many smallblocks out there already. Jeff
I am a strong proponent of 'keeping it in the family'- no chebby mills in a Cadillac in my book. BTW- I was researching a 4L80E and the ballpark on them is $5000 (this was to go behind circa 550 HP). I also was not interested in putting a computer unit in my '59; something about that makes me nauseous.
Keep in mind the crossmember hacks that need to happen to clear the oil pump to get that 472/500 in there. Seriously, unless you make your own crossmember, it's pretty scary. BTW, Egge has 390 pistons, etc. There's bunches of us here on the HAMB that can source 390 parts - even the 1-year-only '63 390. Just ask. I'm also not one to tell you not to drive your Model A for 5 more years, just so you can buy a $5k 200 hp flatty. As much as I hate 'em, I have to admit that there's a lot of guys actually out there actually driving their cars because of a temporary SBC transplant. Hey, it at least gives you the opportunity to do a burnout in front of the guy's house who gives you shit about the mill you're running, but whose project has become just another place to stack boxes in his garage while it sits, waiting for that ultimate motor that's in the process of being saved-up for, but may not be there even 10 years later. Enjoy it now, dude. You can always swap the SBC out later... like 50k miles later, if you do so desire. Sometimes, "someday" never comes... don't be caught in the trap of saving for that 390 when you can drive it now. I was saving up, got married, had kids, she split, and am now so broke I'm pessimistic my '60 will ever be done. ~Jason
I love the 4L80E. In my old age, I'm getting closer and closer to plugging it all into a computer and letting it run the show. Now, I love carbs, and I love to build 'em so much there was a time when I'd BEG folks to let me build theirs for free, but fuel injection, etc ain't so bad - especially when it's cold. You should shoot me a PM about what you've found out about the 4L80E. I'm interested. Who knows - you may just change my mind! ~Jason
I own a 62 caddy coupe deville. I rebuilt my tired 390 for about $1700, and the tranny for about $1000. The tranny is a a cruisers tranny your not meant to haul ass in a caddy. Personally i would never go the 350 chevy route. A stock 390 has about 325HP and even a whole lot more torque. If anything keep the 390 and update the tranny. Nobody can tell what tranny you have anyways, unless they look underneath your car. BTW I believe the stock HYDROMATIC transmission is a 3 speed not a 4 speed.
Me and my dad swapped parts around 2 69 and 2 70 coupe devilles and I have to say if you can get one the 472/500 cubic inch cad is as close to a nuke reactor power as you can get from a stock motor and there is a guy in florida that makes performance parts for them. http://www.mtscadparts.com/MTSHome.htm That being said do what gets you on the road man a chebby is all good if you really wanna piss someone off put a ford in there (I woulndnt) but the important thing is gettin her down the road man miles o smiles.
Jesus was a Ford man. He walked everywhere he went... http://bp2.blogger.com/_KO-GzpflKQc/Rn5AZT9Z1CI/AAAAAAAAAF4/gxjZAwwJG24/s1600-h/jesus1.jpg ~Jason
Chris from http://www.cad500parts.com is a HAMBer. He's the best Cad 390/429/472/500 guys I know. But seriously, I'm warning you, it's gonna be a huge BS hassle to put one in there. I kicked it around for years, and have talked to a bunch of guys about it.
keep the 390 and use the 700r, i used to cruize at 70 -75 with rebuilt stock 390 and the stock trans and got about 18 mpg
Finally! You know, nobody believes me when I say I can scrape 18 - 20 MPG out of the beast... I'm glad you said something. I was starting to think maybe I really was dreaming after all! ~Jason
Shop Rag, If you decide to rebuild the 390 hit up Chuck Flanagen at CF Machine in San Jose. His shop is off of the Almaden Expressway near 85. He is an old-timer that knows his stuff. If you decide not to keep it, hit up Scotty Weeks (flamed 60 convert from the Strangers) at Marks of Art as he is always in the market for 390 stuff. Personally I would rebuild that 390 or find a 472. You can get a BBC in there with a Scotts crossmember.
hey, im a cadillac guy, i guess, there is a place in hemmings called tyrell machine, that guy has every thing for a caddy engine you can think off and he has some of the best prices you can find. the parts are really good. i would keep the engine and trans, the 4 speed is really nice on the highway. im not a big chevy guy so my opinon is my own. im doing a 59 coupe and they are who im using for parts. i trust them so give them a call
now, i know im gonna catch hell, but we are in the process of putting a lt1/4l60 combo in a club members car . seems to be a pretty straight forward swap with no real clearance issues. we are building a set of "fenderwell" headers to get the exhaust outside of the x-frame because he drug off the first 2 sets of lead pipes. he was just sick of not being able to find parts and the cost of the ones available. then he lost 3rd gear coming home from Breeders b-day bash. that pretty much sealed the deal. we had the engine trans already from a rolled 94 firebird, so the swap will be on the cheap-o. it will run the tpi an computer, and will be shown with the hood shut. the 390 and jet-a-way will go in the shop for a rebuild at a later date, but it is doubtfull it will ever make it back in the caddy.more than likely will end up in his 32 pick up.
There's also a list here of Cadillac parts places that had no web pages at the time here: http://www.cyclepsycho.com/caddy/parts2.html ~Jason
Me, Rebuild the 390 and if the tranny is questionable, put a Turbo 350 or 400 behind it. The old Jetaways are good, but when the break, be prepared to shell out some major coin.
check the manhattan kansas craigslist.. under car parts... there is a caddy 500 for sell... dirt cheap!
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