Hi everyone. I am a newbie to the H.A.M.B and kind of a newbie to the hotrod world. My brother in law got me into hotrods with his 55 Cadillac. Long story short, I have aquired a 54 4door Cadillac through him with no motor or trans. We put air ride on his 55 and a caddy 500 to push it. I am wondering what options there are as far as the front clip goes. I have heard about an olds cutl*** clip that works, but I dont know that much about it.. I am looking for something that doesn't have such a bulky steering box, has better brakes, and will take an airbag easier. I am wondering what clips people have used or if there is somewhere else I should be looking for info on Cadillacs. I figured if anyone would know it would be in the H.A.M.B! Any opinions would be much appreciated. Thank you. And yes I have tried searching, but I really **** at searching, so please forgive my ignorance If there is tons of info on here and I have missed it.
Camaros, late and early, Firebirds, late and early...MII's, S-10's, Sevilles, you name it, it's prolly been used... Me, I used a Trans Am...see this: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=329070&highlight=the+best+55+caddy+build and try this: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=295530&highlight=cadillac+cruisers R-
I used a '75 SDV- Clip, brakes & entire driveline including axle +radiator. worked out swell & saved a wad...
Yeah, right, uhh.. I knew that, I was just testing you guys... HA! Thanks for the input guys, I really appreciate it. I guess I should have kept the SDV that we got the 500 out of.. Did you use a 500 or 472 in your caddy Betruger? If so, did the SDV clip allow you to use the front sump oil pan?
Sounds like you've got a good start if your bro in law has been there, done that, and willing to help. I've clipped a several cars, and am here to tell you it's a big job for a first time build. You can bag that front end as easily as anything, and Scarebird has the adaptors to put late model full size GM disks on your Caddy spindles. You'll save yourself a ton of work. A Camaro or S-10 box will bolt in the Caddy frame, you just have to make a mount below the frame rail for the third bolt, and you can use the stock Caddy column as well. Well, you can if it's the same as my '56 was... You'll have to have a front sump pan for a 472/500 in the stock frame, but they are readily available. MTS supplied LOTS of great info and the cam/valvetrain for my 472, very nice guys and helpful. I put a 400 Pontiac in my '56 Caddy 'cause I had one, it was a very easy swap, and looked "right". Not that the 472/500 isn't a good idea, it'll just be a little bit more work. Good luck! Brian
On my 49 Cad. I made brackets and put disc brakes on the original front end. I used a 75 or so steering box for power steering. The car handles and stops well. It rides very smoothly. I think the subframe approach is a large job that isn't really necessary, except be just like everyone else. I think subframes transplants are good in vehicles with deficiencies, but the cadillac isn't one of them. Keep the project from overwhelming you. Have fun. Alden
Thanks guys. I acctually did a most of the work on the 55. I am very confident that I could put a clip on, I just don't have all the knoledge that you guys have about what works and what doesn't. We did not clip the 55, we put the air ride in the stock front end and we did have to get ahold of a rear sump pan off of an Eldorado, but we had some clearance issues with the stock steering box. That was going to be my next question and thank you for the info on the s10 box. I would much rather make the stock front end work than to put another clip on it. We also used the scarebird disc conversion on the 55. I think I will do what I can to make the stock clip work. Does anyone have any pics of the s10 box mounted?
No photo but it bolts to the frame exactly in the stock location, using two of the stock holes in the frame, at the same angle as the original. The rag joint bolts right up, and the pitman arm from the Cad slips right onto the output shaft, same splines so you can use your Cad cross link, tie rods and idler. I had to make a third mount for the box, welded a tang to the bottom of the frame, a short piece of tubing, and bolted the box right up. Easy.
Sounds like you may have decided to rebuild instead of clipping. However, if you aren't condensed yet you might consider a Jag front from the mid '80's. I'm considering one for my '51 Chevy. zman did a really slick install on his '56 Buick so I figure it'd probably fit the Caddy with no problem. If I were doing a big old Caddy I'd limber up the old tape measure and go to a bone yard and measure up a '94 Fleetwood Brougham front end, (same as Impala SS and Roadmaster.) It's probably too wide and a half dozen other things that would keep it from fitting but, I spent a couple hours under one yesterday and couldn’t help but admire what a big beefy front end it had under it.
If I can get a different steering box to work, I think I will be fine with the stock caddy clip. the stock caddy stuff isbeefy enough, it was just the clearance issue with the header hitting into the steering box. It might be ok with a different motor, but the 500 was hitting. I could raise the motor up, but it would involve some fire wall and floor mods. I am with 40studedude, what year Camaro or s10 will work?
The one I used was a mid 80's as I recall, the later Camaro/F'birds were rack & pinion. The S-10 and Camaro boxes are physically the same, but the trucks have a slower ratio, so more turns lock to lock. I THINK all the Saginaw boxes like that are the same dimensions, but do some checking before you take that as gospel. Early ones have SAE fittings, later ones are metric, so watch for that. If the stock box is hitting the manifolds, you may find the same problem with the newer ones, they are about the same size.
redfj<SCRIPT type=text/javascript> vbmenu_register("postmenu_3762543", true); </SCRIPT> - For lots of Caddy info checkout the Kustom Cadillac Cruisers social group here on the HAMB. Go to the community under the big HAMB logo and then to the KCC. Some of the replys here on your post are from KCC members. CRUISER
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