What caddy mill, in a 55 chev gasser, and why ??

I AM STARTING TO BUILD MY 55 CHEVY, 2DR, INTO A GASSER. I WAS GOING TO GO 327, THEN THOUGHT, 348, NOW I AM THINKING, OLD, COLORFULL, POWERFULL, CADILLAC.....ANY THOUGHTS AND WHY....NO I AM NOT YELLING, FORGOT TO SHUT OFF CAPS, AND DID NOT WANT TO DO THIS ALL OVER AGIN

 

Given the choice, I'd go with the 348! That would be a killer mill for your gasser!

 

If you want tons of power a 472 or 500 would be nice. plus you would be able to run a TH400 without an adapter like the earlier Caddy motors

 

I've got no room to sugguest anything, but a 327 would look great under the hood.

 

ed cole double tribute

 

67 or 68 472

 

55 Chevys are sacred like 32 fords.

to desecrate the sacred 55 Chevy with a non Chevy mill requires much thought.

a "late model" giant motor... save them for big trucks. I say grab whichever factory mill was tri-power , I'm gonna toss a guess at 1959? 390? anyways.. one of those complete nut and bolt restored with the big fancy air cleaner even. then build to some sort of 1960 drag specs with nothing but NOS speed equipment availble in the day.

.... of course I just an hour ago washed the rest of the smell of nitro out of my mustache from CHHR. tomorrow I'll say put a stinking smallblock in it.!!

 

A 472 or a 500 Cad , the most toque you will ever get plus they weigh about the same as a small block. I run a 472 in my 50 Buick and its rad man. Rags

 

hey Rags, can ya get speed stuff for the 472, or dress up stuff.?? thanks, RR

 

Big 500-inch Cad mill would be great, but it's a gasser, so it'd need either multi-carbs, or a blower.

-Brad

 

the late caddy motor is a bit too new to look right in a gasser...but a 390 with a 6-71 on it would be bitchin

 

How about a 365 out of a 57 cad???

 

Not all that uncommon to find a Pontiac motored tri-five "back in the day", sitting on a Hurst saddle in front, running stock side mounts on the hydro, and sporting TriPower or dual quads on top.

 

If you are going for nostalgia I'd skip the caddy idea, but a '70 Eldorado 500 is an animal, and would run like a raped ape.

 

when it goes down the track the hood's closed, so run what you want...

the rest just depends on what kind of performance you want from the car; the Caddy has tons of torque but geared wrong you could run out of usable RPM too soon. A small Chevy can be built to rev higher, but at the sacrifice of torque unless you go all out on it.

 

ok, help so far good, maybe I should clear it up a bit.. NO racing, just fast street fun, and look kool at the same time.. keep them coming, something with multi carbs.???

 

Caddy 500 is my choice of engine.

Got one in my Lincoln.

.

 

hey rebel...a 454-427 chevy b.b. also bolts up direct to a 400 tirbo trans. but if your more interested in a cadillac mill. WELL a h.e.m.b. member- the worlds fastest vagabond runs the quarter in 9.96 e.t. with a 500 cube cad. engine. and it has a stock block with 1 -4 barrel carb. call me POP

 

I'd stay with period correct engines, solid cammed 283/327, or 348/409

a 409 with 2-4's in a 1955 would be sweet, because it belongs there. If someone had a '55 back in the early 1960's, they'd be eying the 409 as a swap.

early Cads are really cool looking, but not a popular swap into a '55 Chevy. The 396/427/454 just doesn't look right to me in a tri five. The 348/409 would be way better looking in there.

 

lots of speed parts are coming around for the 472-500 including blowers and tunnelrams, cams etc. I have a 472 I was going to put in my own 55 mated to my M-22 trans but decided to keep the 55 small block and keep the Caddy for my 36 Ford 5 window.

 

348 with multi-carb set-up are bitchin'

 

The Caddy engine is a cool idea but the cost of the speed parts for Caddy engines is high. Depending on how fast you want the car to be,it would be cheaper to go with the Chevy. Here's a couple of pics of Caddy engines and a link. http://www.cadillacperformanceparts.com/

 

lol - so I guess the 455 Buick I am dropping in my 55' would be a mistake?

 

who cares wut others think put wut u want in it

 

uhuh, we like them too

 

Build it they way you want to and if it is a "out of the norm" engine more power to you. But, don't ever think anyone else is going to see the same rationale or reasons that influenced you to pick that different choice of power plant. If you have a uncommon engine in your rod most folks will see it as wierd or walk away just asking themselves WHY? It is just the way it is like it or not but build it for yourself.
That said, Caddy motors aren't cheap to build but if you do go that way pick a "peroid correct" motor or at least looking the part. Maybe even fab up a steel dual-quad medium or high rise intake to fit the part better. Factory Caddy intakes are very low plenum heights and some later single 4 bbls look like the carb base is a little recessed.

M. McFly

 

so your building a "street freak" not a gasser if your not going to race it (poser) so do it how it would be done in the 70's

 

I'd go with a 59-60 Cad. 3x2 or 2x4 factory or aftermarket. Plenty of power and you'd have a crowd around your car every place you park. (yes we all want that) Sure more money and trouble than Chevy stuff but worth it.

 

hey Steel Rebel, good name... that is what I am looking to do.. a period piece, Caddy motor with decent power... what size would the 59-60, be and how new can I go, and still look old.?? Rockin Rebel

 

That's exactly what's going into my '55 pickup. Got it and the HydraMatic in exchange for a little labor (pulled it out), and the donor '57 Coupe DeVille's getting a stroked '60 390.

Rockin Rebel, the 331-365-390 all have the "look" and gobs of power (had to move some massive cars), the 390 was redesigned in '61 and looks somewhat less primitive. I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the 429. And watch out for the analog fuel injection systems on some of the later 500s. Not a problem if you plan on swapping intakes anyway.

Cheaper to buy than the 472-500s are the 425s from the late '70s, they're still out there, whole cars can be bought for cheap. My last DeVille was free, "get it out of the damn driveway." The 368 really isn't worth mentioning, unless you just want a Caddy engine for bragging rights.