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Im planning on putting a big block in my 1984 buick electra estate wagon (mint 42k mile car), and im a bit torn between the Oldsmobile and Cadillac giants.
Objective of the car is to have a fun 400hp/500lbft+ daily driver/sleeper and comfortable cruiser for moderate to long distances. backing up the big block will be a moderately built th350 or 400 and the stock wagon 10bolt/8.5 with the g80 removed and open carrier with lunchbox locker (2.70 gear)
Originally the plan was to go olds all the way, but the thickheaded old geezers in the midwest seem to think their junk cores are worth their weight in gold. so ive started looking at different big blocks that could be swapped into the C body leading me to the cadillac big blocks.
my prefered engines would be a 66-67 toronado 425 or 68-70 caddy 472. both engines come with some of the best heads ever fitted to their respective engine families and are pre-smog high compression units. i've already located donor cars on craigslist.
my conundrum is that for certain the oldsmobile would be cheaper to build/easier to swap (way more aftermarket support, and stronger valvetrain), where im sure the caddy would make a bit more power and torque (more cubes and slightly better flowing heads) but require a little more fabrication and money. They both weigh about the same (various sources put them both in at between 620-640lbs depending on what theyre dressed with)
Beauty with both of these engines is that they basically bolt in. The car originally came with an olds 307 and the 77+ cadillac fullsize cars were on the c body platform with 425 engines (externally the same as the 472/500 but smaller bore). So both should bolt into the car with minor fiddling.
I just don't really know what direction I should go, the cadillac has the cool factor of being different, but will require some valvetrain tom-foolery and i'll be stuck buying a edlebrock intake or making my own.
Objective of the car is to have a fun 400hp/500lbft+ daily driver/sleeper and comfortable cruiser for moderate to long distances. backing up the big block will be a moderately built th350 or 400 and the stock wagon 10bolt/8.5 with the g80 removed and open carrier with lunchbox locker (2.70 gear)
Originally the plan was to go olds all the way, but the thickheaded old geezers in the midwest seem to think their junk cores are worth their weight in gold. so ive started looking at different big blocks that could be swapped into the C body leading me to the cadillac big blocks.
my prefered engines would be a 66-67 toronado 425 or 68-70 caddy 472. both engines come with some of the best heads ever fitted to their respective engine families and are pre-smog high compression units. i've already located donor cars on craigslist.
my conundrum is that for certain the oldsmobile would be cheaper to build/easier to swap (way more aftermarket support, and stronger valvetrain), where im sure the caddy would make a bit more power and torque (more cubes and slightly better flowing heads) but require a little more fabrication and money. They both weigh about the same (various sources put them both in at between 620-640lbs depending on what theyre dressed with)
Beauty with both of these engines is that they basically bolt in. The car originally came with an olds 307 and the 77+ cadillac fullsize cars were on the c body platform with 425 engines (externally the same as the 472/500 but smaller bore). So both should bolt into the car with minor fiddling.
I just don't really know what direction I should go, the cadillac has the cool factor of being different, but will require some valvetrain tom-foolery and i'll be stuck buying a edlebrock intake or making my own.
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