okay so today ive noticed a definate knocking sound coming from under the hood. nothing too loud or serious, but i figure its one step down a long road... so im seriously wanting to replace the ht4100 with a nice 5.7 or something of the sort. the 4.1 is seriously lacking in power and its murder to get it up past 70...

im a total newbie when it comes to swapping engines... but thats why i got this old car so i could work on it and learn myself.

so ive got some Q's

where should i get my engine?
what size engine should i get? im thinking 5.7
what conversions/modifications would i have to do to my car to support the 5.7

basically, i just want to know what to do. should i do this myself or should i get a professional shop to install it?

thanks guys, i dont know if this is a retard question or not:thumbsup:

Well a big body car like yours can fit just about any engine in there. As long as emmisions regs in your state allow it. A 350 would be a good choice. That with a decent 4 speed auto trans would make a sweet ride! If it's not something you've ever attempted, or can get someone to help, it might be best not to attempt it.

I have just ordered a remanufactured HT4100 engine for my 86 FWD Deville from Jasper Engines and Transmissions because I didn't know how to or want to deal with things not matching up properly with computers, transmission mouting, etc...so that was my solution. I know that everyone talks about how underpowered the HT4100 is, but honestly it has been just fine for me in normal daily driving. I have a heavy foot and I have driven many powerful cars, but I can only say that taking a steeeeeep hill from a dead stop is the only time that I have to grin and bear the lack of performance. I hear that the 4100's were worse in the bigger RWD cars as far as power goes, but it does an adequate job in my FWD model. So for my needs and considerations, it made more sense to drop in a fully updated engine that will require no modifications. Just drop it in and go. If you are looking for high performance then I have come across several threads on this forum regarding engine-swapping options during my searches. I personally would be wary of the potential problems I might encounter along the way when going with something not especially designed for the car, but if you know alot about engines, feel like tinkering (and its not your only source of transportation) then you can find help in those past threads. Best of luck! If you decide to buy an engine then you should definitely check out Jasper because they have been soooo helpful and I know a shop that puts in quite a few of their engines and never had one fail or wear out early. Best of luck!!

Slightly off-topic but not really...does anyone know what a fair price should be for a shop to charge in labor (not counting all the extra parts, hoses, etc) to install an HT4100 and transmission? I contacted a guy who used to work for my uncle at his Caddy dealership in the 70's-80's and he said he has lots of experience with these engines and will cut me a deal since he is retired and bored. One thing I was going to mention is that if you get it installed by a "real" shop then you will probably get some type of warranty which is pretty important to me but maybe not to everybody. If you do it yourself (or get "some guy" to do it) and make a mistake...well...oops.

The shop I have been talking to about doing my installation is being slow to give me a hard answer on the labor cost and I was under the impression that it should be a pretty standard thing in a book somewhere. Of course in older cars you will encounter things that need to be replaced in the process such as mounts and hoses and vacuum lines and such. But I just don't want them to rip me off because they know I love the car and it is (from what I hear) a pain in the ass to work on/install. One website said the average remanufactured engine installation in the United Stated costs $885. I have NO idea where a transverse mount HT4100 installation would fall in the spectrum much less going with a swap like lochenjons is considering.

Anybody with a labor book out there or can share the cost of a shop doing it vs. doing it yourself?

Paying someone to keep your car alive will eat your wallet alive.
Any engine change from an HT-4100 will require a bunch of extra parts. The best way to make this happen is to have a whole donor car available or an uncle in the auto recycling business. If you have skills and are not in a hurry the whole thing gets easier.