1962 deville sedan

[blue.collar.2236]

hey everyone, ill be to the point i got a 62 deville and i cant seem to find any information on the engine bay on this site or any other for that matter, im trying to find whats the best engine i can put in there other than the northstar. any info would help out alot thanks!

[KHE]

The engine was a 390 cu-in V-8 with 325 HP.

[BodybyFisher]

What is wrong with the existing engine? You can not put the Northstar in there without TONS of work, the Northstar is a front wheel drive platform.

You MIGHT be able to put a 429 engine in there, I think it came out in 65, but you would need to research that. The turbo-hydromatic came out 64, some 64s had the hydromatic and some had the turbo hydromatic.

There are parts available for the 390

http://www.kanter.com/p17-can.html

[Cadillac Jim]

This car weighs about 4800 pounds dry. The transmission was designed for the 390 cid 325 hp engine (or possibly the 345 hp Eldorado engine which might have been available as an option), which would be rated today at something like 260 hp (280 hp for the Eldorado engine). Thus the Northstar 275 hp might look like a good option -- but that engine was designed for a car 1,000 pounds lighter, and it is fully computer-controlled, so you need an aftermarket PCM with it for retrofits. Also, that engine is only 350 pounds and replacing that 650 lb Cadillac 390 will leave you with some front suspension issues that might be best solved with four 75-pound workout weights bolted around the engine bay area.

The tone of your message tells me that you want this car for a daily driver, and thus a reasonably inexpensive retrofit engine that works well with the car to give good driveability, fuel economy, and reliability. This I'll focus on that here; ask if you want something like high performance, just ask and we'll respond. Are you considering a used or rebuild Cadillac V8 of about the same model year? That would seem to be the most obvious choice.

I believe that the transmission is a THM-400 which is good to go for just about any GM V8 as well as any of the big-block Cadillac V8s. Any of them up to the DFI versions of the 1982 model year (some models came with a carburetor in 1982, though) should be an easy transplant; others with experience working on those model years will likely chime in with very relevant experience. My thinking is that cars with DFI (1982 and later) will require the module to come with them and thus provide a lot of headaches.

If price is important, you can broaden your options and consider Chevrolet, Oldsmobile, and Pontiac V8s but I wouldn't go below 350 cid for that big a car because its driveability would be poor except in stop-and-go around-town stuff, and not very good in even that. I recommend one of the 350 cid or 400 cid GM V8s of any model that used a carburetor on the engine. For fuel economy's sake, don't go above 455 cid.

[Edit] Whoops, BodybyFisher came out with a better post. See above.

[BodybyFisher]

Cadillac Engine info

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadillac_V8_engine

1962

http://www.motorera.com/cadillac/cad1960/CAD62.HTM