Wouldn't be doing this anytime soon, but seeing some cheap Cadillacs and Auroras going for only a few hundred bucks has gotten me to thinking about one of these engines for a future project. I've read some threads on here about the Northstar, but haven't been able to find much about the 4.0. I know the Northstar weighs 400 lbs, but how heavy is the L47? Is the L47 fairly high revving? If the higher power output of the Northstar wasn't an issue, which of the two would you stick in a light vehicle?
northstar as in the newer front wheel drive caddys? if yes alls i know is the starters on those mothers are..... bad to replace.
I'm not sure of the hp ratings are, but i've driven both the Aurora and the northstar Cadillac. The aurora feels alot quicker of the line and seems to pull a bit harder at higher rpms. As far as changing the starter it wouldnt be hard to change once the engine was out, and its inside the engine (under the intake) so they do last a long time because there not exposed to extreme heat (exhaust) and water.
The Olds 4.0 is just a smaller NorthStar. Less size and power. If you get a 2001 or newer 4.0, they're lighter.
Haven't seen any '01+ Auroras, but there's one on Craigslist right now I'm considering that they only want $550 for. Supposedly only needs a starter... There's also a Deville for $700 that has a bad tranny. I'm thinking that it could probably be parted and scrapped for cost and keep the engine.
Different year and different model caddys had different horse power ratings. the ETC had 300hp if i remember and the others had 265 275 something like that. but just remember you need the right computer to run them. you cant swap them. some early northstars had trouble with the block seal, they start to leak water. 93-95 i believe. the northstars are great engines!
if you ever get one to NOT leak oil, let me know..... aside from that, they're not a bad motor....the olds or the caddy...
These are WAY O/T for the hamb.....however you can run a first gen (93-01') N* 4.0 or 4.6 off an early TPI ECM if your good with FI tuning.....and as for the oil leaks ...run a vaccum pump......watch out for headgaskets. they had a tendancy to pull the head bolts out of the block soo invest in timeserts or bigserts right off the bat....good luck
If you guys read the Bonneville Racing News there was a how to do it series on a Hilborn injected, Vertex mag Northstar for a roadster. Ran for 3 or 4 months earyler this year.
Maybe it's just me but that has to be one of the dumbest subjects lines I have seen on the HAMB, I'm sure I will here how hot rodders did it when motors were new and hot rodding is about innovation and all that but the reason they used NEW motors back then is because thats all they had if you were'nt going to run a flatty, my bad if I'm sounding like a bitch but is the next post going to be "Mustang II Independent VS. Corvette a frames"
If you're gonna use one at all use the 4.6. It will be easier and cheaper to get parts as they were just way more abundant. The last generation of olds' ran the 3.5 liter v6. The starters are easy. You just got to know the tricks to getting at them. any 95 and up it will take you a total of 30 mins to swap one. For the record they are actually very reliable and very few need service. In 13 yrs at the dealer I only had a couple that were bad. The 93-94 took a bit longer to swap. As far as water leaks they are not too bad. Some water pump issues and crossover seals. Oil leaks do plague the block halves a bit. There are a few different ways to remedy that though. Most of the time a reseal is good for 15-30k. Most of the time it will last ok but some "seepage" was considered normal. You can use the right sealers and make it last. Most of the trouble on them is head gaskets. When they go you got to usually "time-sert" all the bolt holes (yes, all 20 of them) if you expect to get the new head bolts tightened and stretched properly. Heads are a real pain in the ass though if your used to single cam motors. The n-star has 4 of them to time, and 9 feet of timing chain! I got real good at them over the years. There is a bunch of performance stuff out there. Real popular with the sand rail/baja crowd I think. If you ever need more info or opinions feel free to PM me or call me at the shop.
Personally if you want an injected V8, skip right by those two. Story was different a couple years ago and the northstar & aurora were more desireable, but now GM's been making LS2 & LS 3 powered front drivers for a couple years. LS series V8s are the best engine in the junkyards, hands down. Incredible bang for the buck.
No. you're right. Not Hamb friendly kinda stuff but if he wants to get some info from people he trusts (hambers) then he asked at the right place. He could've put an ot in there to calm us down. You know, Maybe we should have an OT section to reach out for non-traditional info/links. Not dedicating band-width to broaden the HAMB or anything but a forum to reach out to each other for help with our daily drivers and such. Maybe the forum could be dumped every 30 days or so to save space? Who would have known I did all those years at a gm dealer and could have helped a HAMB'r. Just a thought. And to put it out there I would be open to helping anyone here with those kinds of issues if I could.
You aren't alone. I can't think of anything further from the purpose of this board. Even if I had an interest, I wouldn't post it here.
Personally I think the Ford Modular is the one engine that has made DOHC 4 valves per cyl mainstream in this country. The pushrod vs. OHC argument notwithstanding. In other circles such as powering exotic sportscars and the Ford drag racing world folks are getting phenominal results from this engine family. They are salvage yard available and have a huge aftermafket following. Most are RWD apps so transmission fitment is not a problem. They are worth a look. http://www.karkraft.com/KKCat1 Cataloguepdf.pdf
An 8 cylinder FWD powerplant doesn't sound very traditional but there were Cords with Straight 8's and FWD back in the 30's and don't forget all the Millers that won Indy with FWD back in that era. I could see a far out custom taking advantage of the FWD. Have you ever seen Dean Jeffries 'Reactor' custom? It was based on Corvair engine/transaxle turned around to drive the front wheels. Not very traditional but pretty cool. With all the OT stuff like, "what kind of shop dog do you have", I wouldn't mind reading about an actual car project using an Aurora or Northstar engine (providing it's not a Lamborghini replica based on Fiero chassis that is). <O
Correction: It was Gene Winfield that built the Reactor. http://public.fotki.com/Rikster/11_car_photos/beautiful_custom_cars/gene_winfield/the_reactor/
I don't see how it's any different then any of us dropping a 350 Chevy in our cars. Isn't this what hot rodding is about? It is a traditional concept.
Maybe because a sbc is 53 years old or if we need to be technical 52 years old with the oil filter either way the sbc is traditional and was and is in many originally built hot rods so I belive that sbc motors do have a place in vintage hot rods.
Nobody would ever think of adapting one to RWD right? Go Fast Look Good is trad right? Googled up this pic of a Northstar powered Caddy from the 04 Indy Goodguy's show.
honestly if you are wanting to be different a northstar is NOT the way to go. Im a GM mechanic at a dealership and we have four different cars sitting out back right now that are newer than 2001 and less than 80,000 miles. There all leaking oil so goddamned bad that they are probably going to catch on fire just from sitting in the sun. It is a HUGE job to repair anything on theose pieces of shit and unless you really love your 270 horse power mill you would probably be better off using something else. Not calling you an idiot by any means, just sharing my experiences.
If that is your idea of a good looking motor you are in the wrong place.... At least find one that looks good.
I'm more of a 28-53 ford engine kinda guy. I love the sound of a flathead. I'm just pointing out that there are ways of adapting FWD engines to RWD configuration. It's not like we are talking FWD "hot rods" with 40" billet wheels. If he's got the hood down, who cares. FYI I google searched it just to find one in RWD config, at least the car looked good.
Thanks for your help, guys. For those of you that think this is off topic, my opinion is that hot rodding is hot rodding. You use whatever you can get for cheap, but to each his own. Yes, I would have converted the engine for RWD, but y'all have pretty much talked me out of it. I was just trying to think of something different to use. Nothing against them, but I want to stay away from an SBC for as long as I can since everyone has them. My current project, a '56 Chevy truck, has an Olds 455.
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