The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Big Bolts 454 Quadrajet, 454 TBI or Cadillac 500 Quadrajet

I've asked a couple other questions as I'm planning my '54 GMC 1-ton. Current plan is a GM 14-bolt rear with 3.42 gears. Transmission will be a TH400 if I go Cadillac, and either a TH400 or a TH475 if I go 454.

I plan to use this truck to pull my 18 foot flatbed trailer with loads as big as a 2-ton truck. I don't plan to run it very far but would not rule out a multi-thousand mile trip sometime in the future.

Most trips will be within 200 miles of home and while I am not likely to run faster than the speedlimit, I don't like to loaf, so maintaining highway speeds is important. And I want plenty of grunt for pulling loads uphill. I've already decided I can handle 10 mpg for a limited use vehicle even at $5 or $6 a gallon.

I have the three motors I mention as options. The 454 Quadrajet and the 454 TBI are both still in vehicles and with a battery they both start and run without smoking. Neither is low milleage, but both should have lots of life left. The TBI motor I've driven thousands of miles, the Quadrajet motor I've only driven a few miles, but know its history back about 15 years. Both 454s are truck motors, one in a 1-ton the other a motorhome.

The Cadillac I know less about. Knowing when Cadillac made the 500 I know its older than the other two, but know nothing else about its history. I've never seen it run and currently it sets on my floor in my shop. It was sold me as a runner, but I don't know that with certainty.

Which would you choose? I'm feeling inclined toward the Cadillac, but could be persuaded to use one of the others. What do you think? What would you want to know before deciding?

I hope to be mounting the motor in the coming months, so I really need to decide which motor... One of the motors not used in this project will be used in my COE project. I'm sure I'll use the third on something also.