I admit that I’ve been slacking a bit in any kind of automotive work around my house lately. The 360 build hasn’t made progress, the Mustang hasn’t seen the new suspension pieces I was hoping to get on by now, and the Cadillac…well, it’s still running and hasn’t caught fire, so I guess that’s a plus. Actually, that’s being a bit unkind to the big black barge. The Caddy has done more work for me than any truck I’ve ever owned, making plenty of trips to home improvement stores and greenhouses in the area. It’s Spring…the time of year where native Kentuckians suddenly sprout a green thumb and proceed to work over their yards with the fervor of peasants planting the King’s crops. So I decided to do something nice for the boat and picked up some metal polish and a buffing pad for a drill and got to work seeing if the American Racing wheels could be returned to their original glory. The results are pretty decent, but that’s not why you’re here.

The Cadillac has a date with destiny, that’s a given. And overall, I’m not going to miss a damn thing about that car. It’s wiring is hacked, the interior is disgusting on a nice day and apparently it’s a wasp haven. Plus, the roof is front-to-back pure Bondo. So when the Fleetwood Formal finally gets bent into the shape of an overcooked hot dog, I won’t shed a tear. But the one endearing thing about the limo I like is the 368ci V8. Yes, it’s a lump and no, it’ll never romp like a 472/500 mill can and will. But for a smogged V8 with a completely FUBAR’d Quadrapuke on top, I’ve never had a more reliable and easy-starting time. It hits on the first hit of the key the moment the gas makes the 20 foot trip from the tank to the carb, even in cold-ass weather. It moves that nearly three-ton tank around just fine and easily runs highway speeds, and so far the fuel economy has only been predictable and not in the toilet. Add in the TH400 automatic and I can’t see sending the powertrain to the scrapyard. It’s not going to be a stomper at all, but ditching a ton of weight from the Caddy would help out a lot.

So when the day comes that the Cadillac is beyond hope and it’s time to collect the scrap money, what would you shove that engine into? The first engineless G-body you can find? A square-body pickup? How about a Nissan 350Z with a blown-up V6? It doesn’t make much horsepower but it makes a useable amount of torque, and reliability does go a long way!