i done some tradin and ended up with a 67 fleetwood with 58,000 miles and an extra 66 model 429. i was thankin bout buildin me a hot rod caddy motor for my 50 gmc and dumpin tha 350 chevy. anybody got any suggestions. just wonderin if anybody has built one of these. i know it was only around from 64-67 and parts are kinda hard to come by but from what im reading they make 340 hp and 480 ft lbs of torque stock. sounds fun...and different
speedway and kanter has some stuff. just wondering which trans your gonna use. the later 429s are supposed to be simple to hook up to chevy autos. I haven't built one but I considered one of these when I started on my 49 gmc. They look cool and there is a lot of old speed parts for these still out there......I got a lot of kindfolks in Jackson, nice place to be.
They may have made that power back in '66, but the rating system was different then. No accessories were used on the front of the motor, they were high static compression ratio and used leaded fuel which is not available today. I'm not trying to dissuade you from building the motor. On the contrary, if you pay attention and build it max 9.5:1 static compression ratio, with cam to match, it will be a neat prime mover that will operate on currently available pump gas. At 9.5, I'd use a cam that closes the intake valve at about 35 degrees after bottom dead center, as measured at 0.050" tappet lift.
Had a 67 DeVille Convert with a 429. Learned that the valve train was changed to individual rockers rather than rocker shaft in 67 like the follow on 472 in 1968. The oil pumps can be a problem. They wear on the face internally so check carefully. I'm pretty sure the trans was a TH400 style in my 67 but not positive.
I had one in my 64 Cad 62 series back in the 80's.... ran real strong in that big heavy car. Do a little web search, there are several people that are making some pretty good parts for them and they are making some serious HP with them. A lot of the 472/500 parts will fit them too.
That Cad STOCK is a big step up from the 'tree fi'dy. Low end torque will move the Jimmy much easier than chebby can. Do it.
I have a 67 DeVille with the 429 with 54k miles. I had the engine rebuilt (2 cracked pistons) 2 years ago. I still have a few adjustments to make on the kickdown switch and having the throttle fully open. It isn't super fast from the light but I am also trying to get a huge car moving and the transmission likes to shift up quickly for smoothness. Once up to speed it will haul ass on the highway. I bet it would do great in a smaller and lighter car. I was able to find parts easily on rockauto and a few local places.
If you have a 429, then it should have BOP bell pattern, and you should be able to bolt TH400, 350, or 2004r transmissions to it. If you have the transmission with it, then it should be a TH400 with switch pitch converter. Right there that transmission is what I would keep. The switch pitch feature is a fun thing to have, as it is like another gear.
I have three of those engines. Solid runner all the torque you will need and trans is bullet proof. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Had one in my '64... good stout engine. TH400 was behind it but used the Buick pontiac olds bellhousing....... Not an awful lot out there for performance parts, but there is some stuff.... The engine was always a solid runner, I did rebuild mine in 1996, but it really did haul my CDV around pretty good......had the car about 18 years, and sold it regrettably Tom
I went through 3 in 3 years... Cooling problems and piling problems. Sale that anchor and get you a 472/500. The 429 is shit
Tha one in my car is strong I think I'm just gonna rebuild tha extra motor stock except for a little cam and some headers. I didn't realise tha bell housing pattern was different. I was gonna use a b.o.p pattern 350 turbo with it but since I'm gonna have to adapt it anyways I think I'm gonna put a 700 in it. With some 3.42 gears it should b pretty stout. Thank you all for the encouragement. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Had one back in the late 70s in a 64 DeVille and it ran real good. I do remember having to fill up with gas multiple times in a day I drove it so much.
The 429 has a different pattern for the trans, so you will have to have an adaptor for any trans besides a 65-67 Cadi trans
If this is true, and I don't doubt it, then just keep the turbo 400 trans, if that is what is bolted to it. 1968 might be the year Cadillac went BOP pattern.
I have always thought of building a Caddy motor, there is a lot for the 472/500 motors but less for the earlier stuff, I would think if you could find a cam and intake that it would go along way with some good home head porting, especially if you are going to drop it into a much lighter car. Good luck with the build, nice to see a build thread! Found this link to a Cadillac site http://www.modifiedcadillac.org/forum/index.php?action=printpage;topic=5436.0 and an old hamb thread http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=119269
There are 2 different 429 blocks..... both from 64. The early 62 series (like the one I had) used a hydramatic, the later 62 series and all Fleetwoods and Devilles used the "new" turbo 400.... BOP case.
Is this one of the cad engines that you can adapt a 460 ford intake to? Though I heard that sometime back
I have had several 429 Caddy motors, they are much more akin to the earlier 331, 365, 390 motors than the 472 series. I believe they even use the same head, intake and valve cover gaskets. The 67 only engine uses rockers like a 472. They do not have the BPO pattern. They run beatifully and have adequate power but don't like to be overheated at all one bout of overheat and things go very baddly fast. My $.02.
WRONG. 472/500's have NOTHING in common wth the 429, it's a completely different engine. We have a 67 Deville convert, and a '63 Coupe deVille, I had a 472 powered '36 (my avatar), and believe me, they are not the same engine. Brian
WRONG... I had to get an adapter to use my 1965 400 on my 1970 472... Therefore the bolt pattern is not the same. Check out CAD500 for the adapter and for more info...
Greybeard, you might want to re-research what you know about the 429-472/500's. You have given false information on two attempts in the same post. People like you are the reason I had multiple issues with my 429 transplant. I had to learn the hard way! Now I am glad I know and can help others the right way!
Early 64 429 uses hydramtic from 58-63 Later 64 429 uses a one year only "Buick borrowed" 400 trans with a factory adapter 65-67 use there own Cadillac 400 trans 68 up uses the BOP trans. Don't forget the Cad only trans is set for low RPM as a 429 itself, they make very little perf mods for the 429, if you are looking for perf cad 58-62 or 68-76 cad is the way to go IMHO, otherwise cool engine!
Just a thorny detail but the "429" motor was really introduced in 63 as a "390". Betty Blue is correct in all his trans info! He does know what he is talking about.
Funny you mention that...I remember my father (he always drove a big Chrysler in the 60's) telling us that at work the guys who drove Caddy's were always having trouble buying good fuel because they had high compression.....higher than even premium pump gas would support.
That is correct, the 63 only 390 was a brand new design and served as the base for the 429 (the 429 is a bored and stroked 63 390). Also In 1965 Cadillac changed the frames from the x-frame and hence the engine mounting points (mounting bosses moved up) and I believe the 65-67 429 uses a front sump pan & the oil filter is mounted off the front of the oil pump so that could cause mounting issues for your pick up. Another thing about the 64 429 is that it has the 63 390 Hydramatic bolt pattern on all the blocks, the difference is that the later 429's used the "Buick" 400 trans and had a factory adapter ring and different crankshaft / flex plate that would accept a torque converter, the Hydramatic does not use a standard type torque converter.
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