My buddy has a 1967 (?) Cadillac DeVille flower car with the 429 V-8. He wants to pull the engine for a rebuild and over the weekend I helped him prep it for removal. However, he's run into a snag: He's not sure how hard it will be to remove both the engine and transmission at the same time. He wanted to separate them, but he only has bottle jacks to support it. He's worried that if he tries to support the transmission with the bottle jacks, he could either damage the ATX fluid pan or the weight of the bottle jack and trans could leave a divot in his dad's driveway. Has anyone removed an engine-tranny combo from one of these beasts? If so, how hard is it to do?
cwh
SuperDork
8/2/10 3:50 p.m.
Plywood under the work are should eliminate the divots, but those are heavy suckers. Probably MUCH better to separate them. Talk Dad into helping- a bonding moment.
429? I thought only Ford made a 429...
Yup, a 429. Cadillac-only motor, and 1967 was the last year for it. Everyone knows the 472/500 engine that replaced it.
I've never pulled the complete engine from one, but I do remember there being a lot of room. It might be easier if he yanks the front bumper/grille off the front.
we pulled a 472/th400 from a 70 deville without even removing the hood, there is tons of room.
I'll let him you all of your opinions. IDK if he has any plywood he can use as a transmission brace so yanking the whole thing looks like the prevailing option. I've suggested removing the A/C condenser/radiator/front bumper anyways since he's ditching the A/C and the radiator probably needs rebuilding/replacing. He just wants to avoid doing so because of all the rusty bolts we've encountered so far. For example, the alternator is stuck to its mounting studs on the block!
trust me.. spending 10 bucks on a sheet of plywood is well worth it. Home Depot and lowes even sell them in 2x2 foot squares