Milestone Motor: The 1949 Cadillac 331

[fuzzybear]

Originally Posted by jrblack30

Stromberg WW Backdrafts, mounted forward facing

thanks mate i thort they looked like some sort of stromberg. they're cool looking, are they any good?

[flamingokid]

I love those old Caddy motors.Thaks for the great read.

[39cent]

'CADDY'S WERE THE CHEVY BIG BLOCKS' of thier day! But Olds were the ones we usually got because they were more plentiful, cheaper, and easier to get.

[Smokey2]

"Good Posts", Very Interesting Info...............Thanks!

Was surprised, that Parts for these Engines, are Most Resonable. Good deal !
Luciel..........
Smoke'
__________________________________________________ _________________

"rain water, blow'in, under my hood.........,
Knew, it was doin' MY Motor GOOD..........."

[ss34coupe]

Here's my 1953 Cadillac 331 in my 33 Ford coupe. The second pic is the rebuilt long block.

[autobilly]

Originally Posted by Hank37

Been running my caddy mill in the 37 for 46 years and it's still running strong. I always say if it blows i'll put my 454 bb in it. Maybe thats whats holding it together.

You're a cool cat Hank!

[Abomination]

I think they're pretty awesome... but then again, I have one as my avatar.

~Jason

Originally Posted by fuzzybear

thanks mate i thort they looked like some sort of stromberg. they're cool looking, are they any good?

[Abomination]

Absolutely.

They're not THAT hard to come by, if you bark up this tree:

http://www.professionalcarsociety.org/forums/index.php

http://www.professionalcar.org/forums/

If you ask around there, DO NOT tell them it's for anything BUT a replacement for a hearse you're restoring. So you can speak the lingo and fit in, here's a primer on who built what: http://www.coachbuilt.com/

Tell 'em it's for a '57 Miller-Meteor or Superior.

~Jason

Originally Posted by swissmike

Good information. That explains why flywheels and manuals are hard to come by for reasonable money.

[hoboy56]

Gotta love those Caddy motors.

[badlefihand]

331 was one of the engines of choice in the 50s contrary to popular beliefs just does not get enough credit as one of the first. 195 horses (52)and strong.

[CutawayAl]

Originally Posted by Pir8Darryl

Cant speak for every year, but I've personally seen a '59 with a 3 on the tree and 3x2v from the factory. Guy who owned it told me it was ultra-rare.

I'm sure it was rare, but the manual trans wasn't on GM's option list for that car. The 3x2 carbs were probably from an Eldorado of the day.

Originally Posted by batt69nova

Great article. I've read a lot online about the early OHVs, and there's a bunch of articles saying Olds was first. Anyone have more info regarding that? I know Caddy was working on the OHV prewar, if memory serves, but I have read multiple accounts saying that Olds engineers had running motors prior to Cad.

I don't have any first-hand knowledge of this, and I haven't done any first-hand research. What I have read about the programs and the people assigned to them is that the Cadillac project was underway before the Olds. Whether Olds ended up having the first running engine I don't know.

Originally Posted by Bomb

The '51 I used to own seemed to have adequate power to get the car going. It was only rated at 160 hp but the 312 ft lbs of torque made up for it. It only had a 2 bbl carb and single exhaust. It was by far the smoothest running V8 I've ever seen and it ran like a Swiss watch.

In good condition those engines were so quite and smooth there were times you can't tell if it was running. To keep people from trying to re-start an already running engine, the early cars the starter button was disabled when the engine was running.

The car's power should be judged in the context of what else was being made at the time. Compared to most of the cars being made at the same time they were quick.

[retroauto]

I have a real stupid sounding question for you guys. Just got a 49 caddy model 62 with the original 331. Question is, is it possible for it to not have come with an oil filter? I know most gms had the canister style back then but this ones got nothing. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

[CutawayAl]

The add-on filter is a bypass type filter. It is better than nothing, but not even close to what a modern full flow filter can do. There is no easy way to adapt a full flow filter to the engine. Bottom line, even with a bypass filter, change the oil frequently.

[Rocky]

Originally Posted by hotrod-steve

A very high quality engine. I have an old newspaper article about some guy in New York who put over 1 million miles on a 56 Cad with only 1 valve jop. I also read somewhere that Cadillac used better aloys in their blocks.G.M. has always had a strong engineering team and it shows.I drove my 56Cad from Texas up to Canada after it sitting around for 30 yr.I think 331 cads were used in 2nd WW army tanks? Anyway, you cant beat quality!

Close...WW2 ended in 1945 and the caddy OHV wasn't released 'till '49...but the old sherman tanks used a pair of late 30s-early 40s caddy flatheads in them.

[EnVoloNosFides]

Hey fellow 331-heads:

I have run into a stumbling block with my 331. I broke some of the teeth off my distributor drive gear (as you probably know, it is the distributor type with the two tabs that fit into the top of the drive gear, which is on the oil pump shaft) when pulling the original cam. I tried to have a machinist pull the gear when he was machining the cylinders, but he said he couldn't get it out of the top. Have since rebuilt the engine but realized that I need to replace the drive gear with the broken teeth.

I am having a hell of a time finding one - I keep finding GM and early chevy gears, but am unsure if they will work. Can anyone help me out with this?

THANKS!!!

[EnVoloNosFides]

The one on the bottom has the tabs that I was talking about that fit into the drive gear.

[terd ferguson]

Send a PM to GMCBubba. He will get you sorted.

[sololobo]

These Caddys are so cool. I have always thought it was the ultimate early o.h.v hot rod mill. Just the prestige of the Caddy name is neat. I had a 49 Olds coupe with it's little 303 that ran very hard as well. I had a 46 Ford tu-door sedan with a 53 Merc flatty that was quite warmed up and the stock Olds would smoke it. Love that big ol Caddy with the amazing LeMans finish, also dig some old film footage of those road races with the big Caddys and Olds tearing it up. Nice to hear the Offy two deuce manifold is still available as well. Excellent thread. ~sololobo~