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Caddy Motors = Chevy Trannys?


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I've had this question in the back of my head for years. Will Cadillac motors be that a Northstar from a 93-97 STS, SLS, etc, or a 4.9L or a 4.5L V8 bolt up to a Chevy transmission such as a Turbo 350, 400, 700-R4? I was at a car show here a couple weeks ago and a guy had stuffed a Northstar into a VW Golf, the owner wasn't around so I never got to ask what kind of tranny he used or anything like that.

If these motors do not bolt up, is there an aftermarket adapter kit that will make them work?

I've got a 89 Parts car with a TBI 4.5L and an old 40's style panel truck on the farm that I would love to make work together. As always any help is always appreciated.

Spence

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Yo spence,

I talked to u before I think. Check this site out. tranny's This site is a little pricey, but , if you got the money why not? It took me forever to find, I stumbled upon it one day.

Anyways, the 700-r-4 matches right up except for 1 ear. 1 ear needs to be moved about an inch to line it up. It will bolt right to the northstar without interphering with the coolant flow part(manifold or whatever) . My father and I have a 700-r-4 from an old s-10 emptied and bolted to a northstar block ready to be tig-welded, when I go home this wkend I will take some pics and post them. We also have a computer and everything. We plan to build the whole thing outside the car before we disable the droptop.

Does anyone have any opinions about the NORTHSTAR pulling the big boat? We plan to freshen up the tranny and put a shift kit in there. Any thoughts?

Take Care

Christopher Petro

94 sts

67 coupe de Ville

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You're puttin' the Northstar into your '67? I'd just advise using the LD8 version (more torque) and a pretty short gear (like 3.73 or higher) to help that little 4.6L engine move that big monster.

I read a Hot Rod magazine article where a guy put a Northstar into an '84 Hurst/Olds (which came from the factory with a 200-4R and 3.73 gears) and he wasn't that impressed with the performance. I don't know the details of the swap, but I know he said he wouldn't do it again. That's not at all to advise against a Northstar swap in your '67, though. I'd just put as short a gear in there as I could (without compromising highway cruise RPM) to make sure that 4.6L engine will be able to pull it.

Jason(2001 STS, White Diamond)

"When you turn your car on...does it return the favor?"

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We're pondering the idea, the car is nowhere near anything original. We havn't done anything to the powertrain, that is our main concern, does the Northstar have enough juice... The 429 runs pretty good but it would be sweet to see a northstar under the hood and have it fire up nice and smooth each time. To be honest, I really don't know much about gear ratios and all that, this isnt going to happen anytime soon. But... we have the basic components ready to go, 3 northstars ready to be pieced together, the tranny and the wiring harness. Of course this would take all kinds of custimization of who knows what. We basically built the whole car anyway, why not continue?

Chris

Christopher Petro

94 sts

67 coupe de Ville

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Hey All, the thought has crossed my mind more than one occasion to put a N* into the 67. Way back when I had seen a magazine article about a guy had put a Northstar into an older Caddy, looked like quite the set up. But I'm happy with the 429...for now. But knowing that the N* will just about bolt up to a 700-R4 is deadly sweet. Just wondering what does an "ear" mean on the transmission? The bolts on the bellhousing? The bolts on the flywheel? Should I grab a rabbit and chop a piece of its ear off to make the tranny fit :lol: ?

Another question, I still don't know if an older 4.5L will bolt up to a 700-R4. I've already got donors for both the motor from my 89 Fleetwood and a 700-R4 from an 84 Chevy half ton. If the two of them would bolt up, I would be tickled pink :rolleyes: . Does anyone know of a website that has info or if anyone has tried this I would greatly appreciate the input. Thanks.

Spence

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Did u look at the pics on the website? On the last picture you can see on the bellhousing where it is welded. One of the bolt holes (ears, haha) gets moved 1" on the bellhousing, it fits real snug, I'll post pictures of my setup at my house when I get home later. Until then....

Christopher Petro

94 sts

67 coupe de Ville

user posted image

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  • 3 years later...
I've had this question in the back of my head for years. Will Cadillac motors be that a Northstar from a 93-97 STS, SLS, etc, or a 4.9L or a 4.5L V8 bolt up to a Chevy transmission such as a Turbo 350, 400, 700-R4? I was at a car show here a couple weeks ago and a guy had stuffed a Northstar into a VW Golf, the owner wasn't around so I never got to ask what kind of tranny he used or anything like that.

If these motors do not bolt up, is there an aftermarket adapter kit that will make them work?

I've got a 89 Parts car with a TBI 4.5L and an old 40's style panel truck on the farm that I would love to make work together. As always any help is always appreciated.

Spence

FYI the tranny was the STS tranny/eng with the axles modified..just thought I'd throw that in there..and it was "CWS tuning"

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Anyways, the 700-r-4 matches right up except for 1 ear. 1 ear needs to be moved about an inch to line it up. It will bolt right to the northstar without interphering with the coolant flow part(manifold or whatever) . My father and I have a 700-r-4 from an old s-10 emptied and bolted to a northstar block ready to be tig-welded, when I go home this wkend I will take some pics and post them. We also have a computer and everything. We plan to build the whole thing outside the car before we disable the droptop.

Careful here this is only somewhat correct... 700-R4s came in two bolt patterns a 60* V6 and a Small Block Chevy. The Northstar will ONLY bolt up to a 60* V6 700-R4... You need to find one from a 2.8/3.1/3.4 V6 Camaro/Firebird or S10...

The V8 700s WILL NOT WORK!

PS the "newer" the 700 the stronger it is... 1988 and newer are the best, before 1985 are all total crap.

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Easin' down the highway in a new Cadillac,

I had a fine fox in front, I had three more in the back

ZZTOP, I'm Bad I'm Nationwide

Greg

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Yo spence,

I talked to u before I think. Check this site out. tranny's This site is a little pricey, but , if you got the money why not? It took me forever to find, I stumbled upon it one day.

Anyways, the 700-r-4 matches right up except for 1 ear. 1 ear needs to be moved about an inch to line it up. It will bolt right to the northstar without interphering with the coolant flow part(manifold or whatever) . My father and I have a 700-r-4 from an old s-10 emptied and bolted to a northstar block ready to be tig-welded, when I go home this wkend I will take some pics and post them. We also have a computer and everything. We plan to build the whole thing outside the car before we disable the droptop.

Does anyone have any opinions about the NORTHSTAR pulling the big boat? We plan to freshen up the tranny and put a shift kit in there. Any thoughts?

Take Care

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