Steve, GM used the 700R4 & later OD trans in the 1/2ton & up trucks from the early/mid 80's & up.
I had a 84 burb w/a SBC & a 700R4 in it & drove it untill it started to slipp at 250,000. Out of thoughs miles at least 150,000 was pulling a fully loaded 16-20ft trailer. As I told my friends, I didn't use my truck I abused it horriblely. I'd start it up, rev'd the mtr a couple of time & back out of the driveway & while still rolling backwards I'd shift into drive & hammer the pedal & away I'd go & it still lasted 250,000miles. Now I did change the fuild 2-3times a year because of the mileage & alway dump a bottle of (so-called snake oil) Lucus Trans fuild in it.
Yes I know its not a BBC but I do have a friend who has a 98 Chevy 1ton w/a 454 & OD trans in it & he used it as a courier truck & pulled a 20ft trailer to haul supplies to highway construction sites for 5yrs w/o any problems.
In my owners manual they adviced NOT to pull a trailer in OD but I did it all the time BUT ONLY on a flat haighway & NOT on any hills. If you're worried about anything I'd add a trans cooler like they did on the later & heavier trucks, maybe add an extra spin-on filter & just be sure to change the fuild a couple of times a year and you shouldn't have any problems.
As for running the Caddy mtr w/a OD trans, why not it's no different then what Chevy was doing other then it being a Cadillac...joe
a trans cooler on any vehicle that is being used to tow a heavy load or on a regular basis MUST have a trans cooler. Heat is what kills transmissions.
the fluid chemically breaks down and loses its critical friction and lubrication propertys which is when the trans starts to slip.
running full synthetic transmission fluid is also recommended (dextron Six, redline ATF)
