We once before spoke about a big block Caddy swap and kind of accepted it was too wide to work.
Some backround how I came to know now what I found.
I am a member of a forum for old time hot rods.The kind like roadsters,bucket "T"'s 32 Ford coupes etc.From my age group when cars like these where built,Caddy engines where some of the engines of choice.So I posted why more are not in use......you know the pro's and con's.From that I found the following info that "could be" applied to a swap in a Astro.
One point I am making is our vans push 4,000lbs or more in wt. and could benefit from as much streetable torque as we can afford.We have seen Caddy front clip's and taillights,so we could complete the deal with a Caddy engine.
The subject of size is handled in this link:
http://www.carnut.com/specs/fengdim.html
As we see the height difference is 5" in the measurement "C" and is only wider in a difference of 1 1/2 from a BBC which we have seen a least three BBC's installed in Astro's.I think with the same body lift as Peter's ZZ that could be doable.
The other thing is what tranny could be used??.Well I found this company that sells adapters to a 700R or 4L60.Here is the link:
http://www.transmissionadapters.com/index.htm
So Why do this swap??.Well the engine is a torque monster and is only 75lbs heavier than a SBC.Here is some dyno numbers with some mods to the valve train,cam,heads:
Can you imagine these kind of numbers??.
RPM LB-FT HP
2,900 611.6 337.7
3,000 621.5 355.0
3,100 642.7 379.3
3,200 645.6 393.4
3,300 649.1 407.9
3,400 649.3 420.3
3,500 640.1 426.6
3,600 636.1 436.0
3,700 629.0 443.2
3,800 633.4 458.3
3.900 635.9 472.2
4,000 625.6 476.4
4,100 621.1 484.8
4,200 610.0 487.8
4,300 602.9 493.6
4,400 603.5 505.6
4,500 593.6 508.6
4,600 586.1 513.3
4,700 581.6 520.4
4,800 572.2 523.0
4,900 561.0 523.3
5,000 552.9 526.3
Over 600lbs of torque at 2900 RPM's???.It idles at 600 to 800RPM and purrs like a kitten.
Now for some that might worth all the trouble to make the mods to make it fit in a Astro.To make that kind of output in a SBC would make it highly unlikely streetable and could cost tons more money.It is also likely you get this kind of performance out of a Caddy without spending the kind of money that Peter spent.
You certainly would have to beef up the tranny for it to hold up under this kind of torque and you could do the rear end swap that Mr_Roboto did with a Ford Econoline.These engines are not a high RPM engine mainly because they came from a car who's rear end gears where 3.23 or less.So for performance a range of 3.40's to 3.50's might be just right.
The Cons of a swap like this.Well in all fairness,Caddy's valve train is the weak link.Stock it is likely going to have valve float at only 4,800 RPM.The valve springs are not for any high RPM use and the rocket arms will not hold up under any performance application.The heads in stock form are not very useful either,but can be ported.There are aluminum after market heads available.This where the expense come into play.The after market valve train and reworked heads or aluminum heads are expensive.But still not the money Peter told me he spent.Here is a good read to see what I am talking about:
http://www.hotrod.com/techarticles/engi ... index.html
Of course this is the ultra build that you expect Hod Rod magazine to do and you do not have to go to that extreme.
Here is a parts source where some of it is more practical to do builds at different stages:
http://www.500cid.com/Home.htm
All and all,even Peter had some doubts,while still building thought he might be making a mistake,because everyone thought it couldn't be done and he wasn't sure himself.But from what I researched,it looks like this could be done.You would have to get around the 5" height problem of the intake/air cleaner and the 1.5 wider issues compared to a BBC.
A little old school hot rodding in a Astro I guess.I hope some of those old school hot rodders on this forum find this read interesting.
