I was informed recently of a late fifties (58-59) four door caddy parked in the weeds back home. My uncle found it, says the car is rockers deep in the dirt, body beyond all but the glimmest hope of salvage. Says the engine looks complete, and it's a v8. I forgot to ask if it's the tri-power option. What might I be looking at? Engine wise? Somebody told me a 390...
It's a 390 IF it's a '59 (to 63). If you cannot tell a '59 Cadillac from anything other than an extraterrestrial land exploration vehicle, you need help. Tri-power ONLY on Eldo from '58 to '60, dual quads '57 ONLY. '57-'58 are 365 cid. Eldos from this era are very different than standard Cadillacs. Automatic trans only, all series. Cosmo
You see, the car is in Maine, and I'm stuck here in W. Pennsylvania. I've seen the car from a distance driving by with other people (if I was driving I'd have stopped. hard to get the non-car people to care...) never really got up close... I won't be going home till june... Any way to really tell what it is when i get there?
The common 390 block casting numbers are 1469230 and 1473267 and heads 1468025, 1473449 and 1479831. My 331/365 page is missing... dang boss, thinks he owns the place. The '63 is clearly different, with distributor in front instead of in the back. The 365 and early 390 are really hard to tell apart. Look at the data plate on the cowl for the year, if you're lucky. The '59 was a whole new body style, and looks like a flattish 60's car, while the '58 was still the late 50's bulbous design. Picture pages: http://www.search.com/reference/Cadillac_Eldorado If you're just buying it for the engine, and it's a '59, the rear clip is worth about $1500+ shipping, in salvageable condition, to the right couch builder. If the quarters are gone, we need a fin(s) (from tail lights up) to go above the chute on our dragster (which is why I know what the couch builders pay). I bet the boss would trade you for some engine parts if that's the case...
most likely a sedan deville, series 62, or a fleetwood. '57-'58 fleetwoods have enormous aluminum trim panels on the lower quarter panels, devilles/series 62 more simple (and attractive IMO) '57 have fins that lean toward the car up top, '58 lean away, '57 have 1 headlight per side versus '58 with 2. As noted before, there's no mistaking a '59. A '60 has similar lines with more sedate grille and smaller fins w/o the double bullet tail lights. The list goes on, but maybe this will help.
Both of the pics you posted are of the 58 caddy. They all came with the 365 in '58. Good luck with it if you get it.
so its definitely a 365? thats what i wanted to know.. Where can I find good rebuild info, and trans adapters? I'm dead set on running this motor in a '51 shoebox with a Borg T5 out of an 88 s10... I know the trans is newer, but i want the 5spd for the street. The cars gonna be a daily, It will be my only vehicle when done. So, anybody got a lead? How about speed parts, I know it's a caddy which makes it really expensive, but tell me something! maybe a tripower for rochesters? Im picking up some 2gs in need of a rebuild from a buddy in class.
There were factory and aftermarket dual quads, tripowers, and probably more exotic aftermarket stuff as well. The only new intakes are the fabricated stuff (see pic), everything else is swap meet only. I have a nice clean dual quad intake here the owner wants $400 for (it isn't ours) and a complete dual quad setup on an engine that has been in the weather quite a bit for $500 (all I know is it looks complete but very weathered - the carbs may or may not be salvageable, but it looks to have the linkage, fual lines and galss seperator, etc intact). We carry rebuild parts, rockers, performance cams, header flanges and headers, fab'd intakes, and a few dress up bits. There isn't a whole lot in the way of off the shelf speed parts that are still available new. I'd post a note in the 'wanted' section for vintage speed parts for the 365, and see what turns up. I've also seen the occasional listing on e-bay, craigslist, etc. For the tranny, I would check with Eelco and see how they are coming on the bellhousing project. I'm sure their solution will include accounting for the whole tranny swap (bellhousing, flywheel, and pilot). If they are not ready when you are, we carry adapter kits for automatics that come with a flexplate, starter, and adapter plate. I'm sure I can come up with a flywheel, too, but I have no idea how the pilot bushing bit works out. The automatic kits are $850 (yes, I know that's a bit steep). There used to be a place called Wilcap that made adapter plates, bellhousing, etc for vintage swaps, but I haven't really heard anything about them since they changed hands. If you decide to come up with your own conversion to mount the trans, the place that makes our billet steel 500 flywheels will make a flywheel for just about anything - I just need a flexplate for the crank bolt pattern (I probably have a 365 one here) and a ring gear spec (i.e. tell me what ring gear you want on it).
Shoebomber, If you're driving all the way up to Maine to pick up a rusty hunk with a siezed motor, stop half way up in Boston and check out my buddy's car. He has a 61 sedan running and driving that he is about start advertising for cheap. Motor and trans were just rebuilt professionally, new exhaust, etc... I believe he will be selling the whole car for less than he has just into the motor alone. Drive the the thing as-is, or yank out the drive train, and part out the rest of the car. PM me and I'll pass on his #. -TORR
TORR- Thank you for the offer, but I'm from maine anyways. I'll be going home for fourth of july, and i can get the car for a couple hundred, all i want is the motor. I'll buy it, yank the motor and part it from there.
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