I"m thinking about buying a 1978 Cadillac. I can't remember what model it is as i only briefly got to look at the car. I have a few questions as these cars are new to me (I'm a N* guy).
1. How can i be sure it's actually a 1978, and if it is, do all 1978 Cadillacs come with the 425 engine in them?

2. How hard is it to switch from a 425 to a 472 or 500?

3. What are some major mechanical functions or things that my mechanic can specifically check for?

4. The guy is selling it for 900 dollars and says that there is nothing wrong with the car other than a large paint scrape on the front hood, how much do these cars normally sell for, and is this a too good to be true deal and somethings definantly wrong with the car.

I would appreciate any advice as i really want to buy this car ASAP after finding out how much power they are making on these engines for cheap, but i dont want to get ripped off at the same time.

Big Block Caddy Power = :worship:

couple of more questions

couple of more questions

I have minimal experience with cars, I used to have a 95 eagle talon and i can do minor maintance changing belts, changing fluid, and other stuff like that. Would me and a couple people with medium mechanical experience be able to install a 472 or 500 in a 1978 seville Chassis. Also i'd be using this car as a daily driver for about six months, how reliable would the car be with around 350 hp. Would i be able to learn to work and mod the car with just some type of manual, or would i need someone with expertise to advise me before i started working on it myself?

I don't know what they go for but take it for a lonnnnnggggggggg ride. Put $5 gas in it (that'll take you at least 20 miles). During the trip stop the car , shut it off, walk around it, three (3) times minimum.

Usually, esp when younger, you miss way too much because you don't drive it far. A day or two later you start with "it didn't do that when I test drove it". If you don't find anything wrong with it $900's a fair price.

The 425-472-500 are the same family and interchange easily. Like a SBC.

If its a seville it has a olds 350 with 180HP and 275FTLBS backed by a TH400 which should bolt right to a 472-500 but the frame is diffrent from say a 78 DeVille which the 472-500 will drop right into so I'm not to sure if it would be an easy task or if it would even fit I don't know much about the seville.

what about the el dorado does that have the 425 in it or the olds 350, cuz i honestly cant remember whether it had 2 or 4 doors on it.

The Eldorado did come with the 425 and front wheal drive a 472-500 will fit in there just fine. All of these cars are very easy to work on. I didn't know a thing about working on cars when I first got my 77SDV now 4 years later I'm in the middle of rebuilding a 472 to swap out the 425 and never have take the car to a garage to be worked on and she runs great with every thing working at 159k mi and its my daily driver they're good cars if you keep the basic maintence

so the the el dorado and the deville have the 425, but the deville has rwd and the el dorado has fwd, but both cars are direct swaps into a 472 or a 500correct?

Everything from that model year will accept a 500. The RWD cars are the best candidates, with stronger transmissions, real close to being a bolt in. The Eldo will take a 500 as well, with a bit more work than the RWDs - but you're still stuck with FWD and you'd burn the tires all the time. The Seville would be the hardest but still possible.

well i found out that the car is a sedan deville, so it is rwd and has the 425 in it correct? Also how hard is the swap from the 425 to the 472 or 500. What exactly is involved, ex. Do i have to change motor mounts, harness, anything else like that. The engine should bolt right up to the transmission also. How much hp can the stock transmission take reliable without having to replace parts?

From what I understand, there's no switching mounts or anything to make the swap. Externally, all those engines are supposed to be identical in terms of dimensions and where the mount points are. As for the TH400, if it's good condition, it can take all the torque you can give it. I don't know exactly where they max out, but it's not something anyone ever seems to worry about unless they've got one hell of an engine.

All you need are the motor mounts from the 425 they bolt right to the block and if you use the exhaust manifolds from the 472 the upper A arm bolt on the passenger side sticks out just a little far and has to be cut back so its not hung on the manifold one more thing you'll need to swap the oil pan and oil pickup tube from the 425 it is a rear sump pan and most if not all 472-500 used front sump except the eldorados I think other than that theres not much else. The TH400 is used alot in dragracing and they are very capable of handling the torque prduced by 472-500

Car turned out to be a ghetto cruiser lol. 3 hours of driving wasted lol. The guys said that it had had a ford f100 engine in it before and now it has a Cadillac 307 in it. I was like what the hell. I don't know what kind of engine the car had in it but it was definantly not a 425. When I would accelerate the car would barely even take off. Oh well lol on to the next.

Haha, yeah... that sounds like an Olds 307 alright.