[Dusty82]

I've been offered an '88 Cadillac Seville with a fuel injected V-8, free for the taking if I go get it. I have a buddy with a flat-bed trailer, so that's not a problem. The problem with the Cadillac is the transmission is fried. (Owner hit something that punctured the trans fluid pan, and drove it until it fried itself.) The engine runs smooth, and had no problems at all. The only reason I'm considering taking the car is for the engine and several other parts, bits and pieces for a 53 Chevy Truck project.

My question is will that Front Wheel Drive engine bolt up to any Rear Wheel Drive transmissions? Specifically a 700R4? If that won't bolt to the engine, are there any other automatic transmissions beefy enough to put into a pickup that will do some towing and light hauling that will bolt up to it?

Any help in this will be greatly appreciated.

[BOBCRMAN@aol.com]

No, a 700R4 will not bolt up. Do you realize that is only a 273 cu. in. engine.. 4.5 litre NOT a good engine even if free!

[Dusty82]

I'm doing a bit of research on it now, and I have discovered it's only a 273. Thanks for the reply. That's why I'm asking here before I go get it. I'm thinking I'll just pass on this one. Hey, it was worth a shot, you know?

But hey, check this out. While looking up many things Cadillac, I came across a site by a guy putting a NorthStar V-8 into a Toyota MR2. This could get interesting if he gets it on the street.

http://www.v8mr2.com/index.asp

[BOBCRMAN@aol.com]

Now, that should be like riding on a rocket sled!! Interesting

[ckucia]

Dusty,

I'm a little late to this thread, and I agree with the posts here.

There's nothing particularly "wrong" with the engine. I believe in '88, it was only a 4.1, but the engine itself is a cast aluminum block with cast iron cylinder sleeves. You can swap in the larger diameter sleeves and pistons out of a later model and bump it to 4.5l, and if you get a crank out of the still later models, you can end up with a 4.9. If you can find Allante parts, specifically the tubular intake, that will help a little. The engine itself is almost completely aluminum, with the exception of the heads and cylinder liners, including the oil pan. Stock valve covers are magnesium.

That said, there are zero performance parts for this engine.

As an engine, its great for low-end torque and longevity if properly maintained. For the right application, it could be an interesting swap because it weighs just a little bit more than a 3800. The Fiero guys are swapping them pretty routinely, and this is a perfect application. Another might be any of the smaller FWD vehicles, like Berettas, Sunbirds, even Luminas. Might also be cool in a 90's Riviera or Toronado. Depending on the packaging, it would be a great candidate to replace an inline 4, inline 6 or V6 if you had a light vehicle that could benefit from low-end torque. It is a pretty wide engine, however, as it was designed to be transversely mounted.

They have a bit of a bad reputation, mostly due to owner negligence in the maintenance area, specifically the cooling system which needs regular care. I've had mine apart in my '89 Allante after about 120k. The cylinder sleeve walls still had the original hone marks, bearing journals were beautiful. I replaced the rings, bearings, gaskets and seals and away I went.

This probably isn't much help to you, but I thought I'd post it in case anyone ever stumbled onto the thread.