Has anyone done this? Yes, the 390 and Hydro were fine when I took them out. But, I want the reliability of a SBC, A/C, and a modern transmission. Will I have to change the motor mounts? What other mods? Also, has anyone changed the front and rear end so you can have 4 wheel disc?
Been done...check with one of my caddy board members Externet at http://www.61-62cadillacs.com Scarebird makes disc adaptors for the front but I don't know about the rears.
You can have all that with a 472" or 500" Caddy...I do, I used a 500" Caddy in my '55 Coop DeVille... R-
Why the Hell would you remove one of the best V8s ever designed for a Chevy small block? Sorry thats horrid...
I'm a SBC kinda guy...but after getting a couple of rides in Chris Dunn's chopped 390 powered Caddy, I wouldn't even consider such a swap IF I had a good Caddy 390 to drop in. Those 390's pull like a train. I was major impressed at how that car could accelerate in a passing situation...pretty much ANY situation really! I'm betting Cadillac only went to the 472 and then the 500 to have claim to the biggest available domestic engine...not because the 390 was a dog or anything!
I'm with Hackerbilt here. I'm Mr SBC at least as far as a daily driver is concerned but as far as relaible you can't beat a Caddy motor. If you must go later model snag a 500 or a 472 and bolt any BOP tranny to it that you want. Aside from everything else they are a low buck motor and pretty easy to find in good shape.
We ordered up some plates from the cutters so we can properly machine some bracket for the rear of the 60's Caddys...
They look lost in there ,Guy in my x club has one ,Looks stupid ,You can ride on either side of motor,If you narrow the car it will look right
Perfect opportunity for a Cadillac 500/TH400 swap. You really need a low RPM torque motor, not a SBC, to move that size of a car around decently. But, if you must use a SBC, start with a 400 block and lower end, and build it up from there. Good luck with the project. Butch/56sedandelivery.
Supposing i was to consider a sbc in something like this, I would go a long stroke motor like 383 or 400. That said, you ever wonder why caddy didnt run sbc's??? Because they had a good motor and were proud of it
It is not a bad idea. I'm guestimating the cost of rebuilbing the 390 + Hydramatic is DOUBLE the cost of a SBC 350 + 700R4. Plus you get O/D with the 700R4. I'm I wrong? However, the money you save will be spent on the SBC specifics (brackets, exhaust manifolds, trans cross member, etc), unless you already have those parts. Hmmm keeping the 390 is sound better......
After driving a Pontiac with that same transmission, I'm a believer in them - they're a 4-speed, they're a ton more fun to drive than a TH400, and with a big torque motor you can run a high 2's/low 3's rear gear and get decent economy without an overdrive. Mine would go 75 down the highway all day if you wanted. I never get this "reliability" thing, when those cars were new guys would run them anywhere they needed to go and put 100-125K and you never heard of issues, other than the slim-jim Roto-Hydramatic they used in some Pontiac and most Oldsmobiles. And if something did go wrong chances were you could fix it by carrying some hand tools and a few spare parts - back in the day, of course, the parts were more available so you didn't even need to do that.
Everyone kept trying to tell me, SBC is the way to go when I realized my 365 was seized beyond repair(and now in a thousand parts in my garage, awaiting rebuild when I have cash). I found a running '61 Caddy, she wasn't pretty, but that motor purred. I didn't have to change the motor mounts or anything with that conversion. I don't know, plenty of my friends have Cadillacs, and those motors are tried and true. Nothing like lifting the hood and seeing "Cadillac"...guess I'm just a caddy girl. Guess I'm just saying I wouldn't do it, but if you do, sent your parts my way
I love a sbc, especially a 400, it has the torque to work well in a heavy car like your caddy, but please don't do it, it's just wrong!!!!
This one comes up every once in a while so I copied my response from an older thread on the subject. 350 parts are a lot easier to find if you have problems out on the road somewhere.... A 350 will drop right in there using the existing motor mount holes on the Cadillac. - Use circle track/ NASCAR type motor mounts and 283 Chevy motor mount donuts. - Switch to ram horn exhaust manifolds. - Remove Cadillac front transmission crossmember. - Fabricate a tab for the GM tranny on the rear Cadillac crossmember. - Buy a lokar column shifter linkage on-line. - Very tight squeeze near the steering box but a good exhaust man can do it. - Rebuild your 390 and set it aside for later installation if you don't like the 350/350 set up. - Keep your hood closed and cruises and car shows.
Your going the wrong way. I say fix whatever needs to be fixed on the 390 and trans., if anything, and drop it back in. If they are properly taken care of they are no more unreliable than a SBC, probably less so because they are better and cooler motors. Nobody is going to be impressed to hear you put a SBC in a Cad, come on that's lame. And no one is going to want to pay you squat for it if you ever decide to try to sell it.
ouch! this is for a customer and he really wants a SBC with EFI. I have tried to convince him to keep the 390 with an updated carb. The customer is always right! LOL
As far as I'm concerned the customer is not always right! Im a master plumber by trade and I have some "expert" customers that try telling me how to plumb the way their brother-in-law told them or what they read on the internet. Most of the time they are not right! Now you can pretend they are right and persuade them into doing it differently and then everyones happy. I dont think you're asking this at the right place if you're trying to swap out a traditional caddy motor for an EFI sbc and install disk breaks. Let me guess, he wants 20" rims too.
Yes, he wants 20's. This is a custom build, not a restoration. I think a 6.0L and auto trans would be cool with a custom engine cover. Anywho....... with the responses Im getting here it sounds like it will be easy to sell a running (and updated) 390 (with PML valve covers) and newly rebuilt hydomatic.
If its for a customer just explain to him that he would be happier with a cad mill but you will do what he asks because that is how you make your house payments. problem solved.
Ahh, for a customer. Well, the customer is always right, even when they're an idiot. Which they often are. I can see where a novice might be scared of the rebuilt trans, I know mine was for sale because the previous owners thought it a money pit, they had completely replaced the trans in it before I got it. I then took and put 30,000 miles on it with pretty minimal hassle -
His money and if you get the 390 in the process someone on here is already in love with it. If I was going different engine in that car I'd go with the engine out of a late model Escelade though. Real Cad engine with over 400 real Cad horsepower that work. Funny thing is that I am pulling out the 350 and 350 in my 71 GMC and putting in a Cad 500 and turbo 400 because I want reliability, gas mileage and to be able to tow up the pass at more than 40 mph. The wheat farmers who live 50+ miles out of town in Eastern WA drove Cads in the 60's for a reason. They were reliable when your wife had to make long trips to town and the cell phone hadn't become available yet. They figured that a Cad would get her there and back safely without worrying about a breakdown.
A 1961 Cadillac weighs about the same as 1998 Suburban. Guess what engine and transmission they put in 1500 series Suburbans?
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