Considering removing old 331 for ??

I've got 51 Cadillac Superior ambulance still running the original 331 V8 and 3-on-the-tree trans. I've had it 'bout a year (bought it from board member "dummy") and had/have plans to use it as a tow rig for a vintage racer (original mini) but so far am just enjoying it puttering around town in an unrestored state, but I think time has come to get movin' on it some. My initial thought was to swap in an older diesel powerplant since the beast itself weighs in at almost 6K lbs and plans are to haul around probably another 3K lbs in car/trailer and stuff and I somewhat like the concept of running it off of waste vegetable oil.

But with an engine swap it only seems logical to upgrade the whole front end including steering, suspension and brakes and then the whole thing becomes a big can of worms that I'm not qualified to fish with nor can I afford.

Can any of you advise me of a powerplant option (engine/tranny) that I should consider as a feasible first step either diesel, gas or even "reliability upgrades" for the original 331? I don't plan on ever going above 65mph, if that matters, but I also hope to not be passed by motorized wheelchairs going over the occasional mountain pass.

Unfortunately, I do all of my own work on my minis, but I've never really turned a wrench on this big American stuff before so it'll all be new to me.

--Spank

 

Id stay with the 331. They are really good engines, if anything id switch it out for a caddy 365 which is newer (late 50s) and has more horsepower yet you wouldnt need to alter anything to put it in since they are basically the same engines

 

let me know if you want to sell that caddy motor I have a friend looking for one

 

Evel, I'm sure I'm a long ways off from thinking about selling it. But if I do, I'll contact you.

I have to admit I'm a bit surprised that someone would suggest keeping the 57-year old 160hp 331 and 3-speed for towing 8-hour hauls and over mountains. But I'm all for simplicity and if keeping it is the best route for me, then so be it!

I just don't know a-n-y-t-h-i-n-g about this motor other than it probably has never been split apart, speedo/odo probably stopped working a looooong time ago so I can't trust the 25K or so on the clock, and I know the cap/rotor and points I tried to order for it don't look like what is in it now. Likely still the original plug wires, too or at least 20 years old. Might not be firing on all cylinders at the moment.

Glass bowl mechanical fuel pump, 6 volt, 1st gear grinds and 2nd gear crunches when engaging them (are these non-syncro / "crashbox" transmissions?) and a Carter (?) carb with oil bath filter. Oh, there's an oil filter can of some sort on there too. Guess I should think about changing the oil for the first time since I've owned it...

Any pointers you could offer to this newbie regarding what I should attend to first would be great. Heck, I don't even know what grade of oil to put in here or if the rumours of using a roll of toilet paper as an oil filter is even true!

Someone told me to put a 9-volt battery in there because all of the electricals can handle it, but it would give a little more cranking power before running out of juice (I've got a drain somewhere and the regulator points stick sometimes which completely drains the battery).

 

VNCDuke-- I guess I'm also concerned by the dated front steering linkage and the countless grease/pivot points and I'd like to consider something that would allow me to update that without screwing up things too much.

Someone this weekend suggested to me that I graft in a mustang II or camaro front end because of the parts availability for mods. I think if I'm going to go to the extreme of cutting the front portion of the original frame out then I'd go through the trouble of putting in a diesel.

Any other thoughts or imput?