The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Cadillac V-8

I've been offered the V-8 from a frontdrive 1989 Cadillac.

My first thought was that I wasn't interested, but it occured to me that I really don't know anything about that motor. Anyone here have any experience with them? Might it make an interesting swap for one of my old trucks?

If you have been given it for free, find out about the motor first and make sure it is in good shape, then sell it. Easy money right?

- Shane

You'll encounter a couple of problems in attempting a swap- - - - -bell housing pattern and motor mounts. Front-drive engines are difficult to mount in a rear-drive vehicle, lots of mount fabrication, and the bellhousing bolt pattern isn't even close to most of the rear-drive applications. Also, that's going to be a fuel-injected engine, with little or no way to adapt a distributor, or a fuel system without going to the full computer system along with it. Electronic timing advance and injector operation is all computer-controlled on engines of that era. It's doable, but difficult!
Jerry

Or build one of these:
Caddy powered convertible pickup

As one poster said, the engine is probably not one of those noted for greatness. But if it runs well, it might make for an interesting swap.

Heck, folks on this board are forever bashing small-block Chevies for being "belly button" common... why not go for it?

Most GM FWD engines use the same bellhousing pattern as the RWD V-6 engines, e.g. 2.8/3.4L, the 3.8L (I think) and the Cavalier-based 2.0/2.2L fours but NOT the 90 degree V-6 engines based on the small block Chevy V-8 (179, 229, 4.3L) or the old "iron duke" 153ci four, which have the standard V-8 pattern.

So, it can be done, if you get the auto trans or manual bellhousing from an S-10 truck with a 2.8L V-6. Get the computer and all of the wiring harness from the donor vehicle and have at it.

The motor mounts can certainly be fabricated. You might have to rework the intake manifold to allow clearance for the throttle body and neck. For inspiration, check out this 3.1L transplant: V-6 conversion for VW Vanagon

Thanks for the helpful info guys.

I once saw a '53-'56 F--d panel with Cadillac FWD. It was lowered with a handicapped access ramp at the rear. I don't need the wheel chair ramp but always that it was cool.

I'm going to see if I can get a little more info before I commit either way.

I was looking at an '87 FWD Cadillac just the other day at the local pick-a-part. The front fenders and hood were off but the engine/trans was still in it. It looked like the front end, engine and all were all on a separate chassis which could be removed from the body as an assembly. I measured the width from the center of one front tire to the center of the other (59"). A front wheel drive AD? Hmmm?

Have you seen those VW Rabbit pickups?

I knew someone who drove one back when they were still common. Based on his experience front drive pickups are worse than rear drive pickups when the roads are slick.

I don't think I'll be building a front drive AD. Now a mid-engined AD might be interesting...

Some place around town there is a 54 Chevy,,, NO, it is a GMC on an olds Toronado front drive chassis . The olds was from about 71 to 73.

I used to dream about putting a Toronado drive train in a volkswagen. Reckon it would pull wheelies?

i worked on one of those aluminum 4.1 caddys for a freind . it had a massive oil leak that came on suddenly. i felt obligated as i gave it as a gift.i replaced the rear seal[major pain], and it still leaked[more major pain].i could not see where the oil was coming from, so i ran the engine without the flywheel and found a crack in the aluminum 4 inches above the rear seal at the back of the block[super ,super pain]. it did not show until the engine was running. so i got another engine, no oil leak, yea yea!. he drove it a week, then more pain. crack in head over exhaust port. no more pain, called salvage yard.

Somewhere I've got a book with pictures of a mid-engined AD built on Toronado or Eldorado stuff.

There is a COE with the big GM front drive unit, probably from a motorhome, with a very low bed that looks like a car trailer grafted on the rear, that I've seen at the Puyallip Goodguys show.

But this car isn't that stuff and I think I need to pass...

If its a 4100 stay awy from it,they put them in the rwd cars as someone I worked for had a 84 limo with one and it had no power. Those motors had soft cams and had head gasket sealing problems,I would not recommend that motor to a worst enemy.

I've worked on a couple of late 80s 4.1 liter caddys. They'll run for about 130K miles, then go BANG. Not worth fooling with.

I must have gotten one of the good 4100 because my 84 Cadillac Fleetwood went nearly 200,000 miles. The big problem I had with it was keeping that silly 200R4 tranny going. After two of those, I put in a Pontiac turbo 350 tranny and drove it some more. It finally died when the pressure regulator went out and my wife tried to drive it 55 miles home, said it took 3/4 of a tank of gas, and sounded terrible.

I'm talking about one of the later FWD caddys. The trannys would start slipping, but they were some kinda FWD unit. The engines would exhibit cooling system and engine harness problems when they got some miles on them. The water pumps are a joke and hard to get to. I don't know if any speed parts are available, so you'd be stuck with the stock parts/electronics.

Now if you had a 472-500 CaddZilla motor, you'd really have something.

What year of caddZilla engine are we talking about.
Greg

Late 60s-mid 70s caddys had huge displacement V8s in the 472-500 CID range in their RWD cars. Carburated, non computerized low RPM torque monsters. 500 ft/lbs torque stock. Found in DeVilles, ElDerado, other large models of that era. Used a BOP bellhousing (I think).

chip

I've got a 75 model 500 engine and Turbo 400 trans that's scheduled to go into my 59 Carryall. There's a growing list of high performance parts for the 429/472/500 series engines, and they're all only slightly heavier than the small block Chevy engines. They have the same bellhousing pattern as Buick, Olds, and Pontiac, too! These are really great engines, and they're relatively plentiful and inexpensive.
Jerry

There was a chev COE in Classic Trucks magazine last year? with a caddy fwd and it looked pretty solid! I would love to do a mid engine truck. It would be pretty easy if you used an auto trans with one of those solenoid push button shifters that Moon is selling. Just run the rad lines along the frame or maybe go with a rear rad like that truck on the hamb recently.