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Aug 22, 2012 16:03:57 GMT
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Aug 22, 2012 17:31:27 GMT
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I keep seeing Sevilles on Autotrader for very low amounts of money and ive always liked this era of Cadillac as its the last to have the horizontal front and rear lights, before the cheap and nasty styling of the 00's...
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Aug 22, 2012 17:57:22 GMT
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Northstars aren't supercharged (in the STS) but they do respond to it well. They have a tendancy to kill headgaskets though, stock, and replacing them is a pain. Be very wary about any cheap STS as a result...
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Aug 22, 2012 19:54:58 GMT
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Seen one of these fitted to a mk2 golf  |
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The whole concept of a V8 which was designed from scratch for transverse front-wheel-drive mounting is completely ridiculous. They do look like good engines though. You would have to say that they're dying to be mounted complete with transmission in something mid-engined. I don't really see much point in turning it around to use it longitudinally, there are so many other V8s for that. How many affordable production V8s come with driveshafts sticking out the sides? They even have a hefty subframe, so you could just drop the whole subframe out with suspension and all, then build a chassis off the front of it.
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v8ian
Posted a lot
Posts: 3,828
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They do turn around, a real pain in the posterior, We ended up using a adapted bellhousing and fitted a Supra 5 speed because we wanted to go 5 speed,, cant remember how we got around the flywheel, one problem that manifested itself when turned around was the front cam cover is magnesium and the rear cam cover is FUGLY black plastic, another mag one was eventually acquired from the Cadilac Ranch, (I Think) expensive and matching the other cover,
But after saying its a pain, I'm sure the engine is now used in a traditional format.
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Atmo V8 Power . No slicks , No gas + No bits missing . Doing it in style.
Austin A35van, very different------- but still doing it in style, going to be a funmoble
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ive always quite liked those cadillacs lol!
been very close to buying one a few times!
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Last Edit: Aug 23, 2012 12:04:42 GMT by gouldygtr
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Aug 23, 2012 11:32:49 GMT
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There are factory applications of the Northstar in longitudinal orientation. The SRX for example, I'm sure there are others. Although not common. They STS / Seville range are nice luxo barges. I wouldn't go so far as to lick one though Its always been the FWD-ness which has put me off them, I just can't accept an FWD luxury car as being "right". Also not all Northstars are 300 bhp. They vary on application, there are some like 260 and some at 325 as well. IMO its an unnecessarily complex engine for a transplant. Although you can't argue with the price of the donors. I'd still rather have a "proper" pushrod V8 like an LS1 There are a couple of specialists doing tuning and retro-fitting parts for these but they aren't cheap so I guess you could be on your own with most of the stuff you'd need to do it |
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Last Edit: Aug 23, 2012 11:37:48 GMT by akku
1941 Wolseley Not Rod - 1956 Humber Hawk - 1957 Daimler Conquest - 1966 Buick LeSabre - 1968 Plymouth Sport Fury - 1968 Ford Galaxie - 1969 Ford Country Squire - 1969 Mercury Marquis - 1970 Morris Minor - 1970 Buick Skylark - 1970 Ford Galaxie - 1971 Ford Galaxie - 1976 Continental Mark IV - 1976 Ford Capri - 1994 Ford Fiesta
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Aug 23, 2012 11:38:12 GMT
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Starts/Drives- Yes/No That sounds ominously transmission related to me  |
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...proper medallion man chest wig motoring. |
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Aug 23, 2012 11:40:01 GMT
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The irony is the big luxury cars probably work better as a FWD than smaller cars, because for a start you're unlikely to hoon it about much and secondly they have enough weight to limit any traction issues. In most of the big FWD cars I have driven you be hard pressed to tell which end was driving under normal operation. Still somehow seems wrong though I'll admit.
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1962 Datsun Bluebird Estate - 1971 Datsun 510 SSS - 1976 Datsun 710 SSS - 1981 Dodge van - 1985 Nissan Cherry Europe GTi - 1988 Nissan Prairie - 1990 Hyundai Pony Pickup - 1992 Mazda MX5
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Aug 23, 2012 12:42:34 GMT
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The irony is the big luxury cars probably work better as a FWD than smaller cars, because for a start you're unlikely to hoon it about much and secondly they have enough weight to limit any traction issues. In most of the big FWD cars I have driven you be hard pressed to tell which end was driving under normal operation. Still somehow seems wrong though I'll admit. I agree, without the other thing of having a tunnel though the middle of the car wasting space. I wanted a Seville for ages! In the end I got the Volvo, from a practicality point of view i made the right decision. I DID get a 1:24 scale Seville in black and some high quality press photos, i'm more than happy with that  |
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Aug 23, 2012 12:55:41 GMT
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FWD luxury cars may have more weight on the driving wheels, but they also have more power and more overall weight to get moving in the first place, so it evens out and they are just as likely to spin the wheels as lighter less powerfull car.
FWD is just wrong on any car.
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Volvo back as my main squeeze, more boost and some interior goodies on the way.
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Aug 23, 2012 13:15:06 GMT
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FWD luxury cars may have more weight on the driving wheels, but they also have more power and more overall weight to get moving in the first place, so it evens out and they are just as likely to spin the wheels as lighter less powerfull car. FWD is just wrong on any car. Yes but the point is you don't tend to drive a luxury car that way. M10 Prairie disagrees with FWD being wrong... if it wasn't FWD it couldn't do what it does... be an awesome load carrier. They cope better in icy conditions than a RWD too. FWD is only wrong for ultimate performance. There it will always fall short. |
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1962 Datsun Bluebird Estate - 1971 Datsun 510 SSS - 1976 Datsun 710 SSS - 1981 Dodge van - 1985 Nissan Cherry Europe GTi - 1988 Nissan Prairie - 1990 Hyundai Pony Pickup - 1992 Mazda MX5
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Aug 23, 2012 13:27:03 GMT
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There it will always fall short. ...and AWD wins ;D |
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Aug 23, 2012 13:27:52 GMT
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Starts/Drives- Yes/No That sounds ominously transmission related to me Someone's written "steering fault" on the passenger window. I'd love to shove one of these engine/transmissions into a BL wedge, preferably a quad light Wolseley variant. Sadly I lack the space/skills/willpower to make it happen. |
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Aug 23, 2012 13:36:41 GMT
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FWD luxury cars may have more weight on the driving wheels, but they also have more power and more overall weight to get moving in the first place, so it evens out and they are just as likely to spin the wheels as lighter less powerfull car. FWD is just wrong on any car. Yes but the point is you don't tend to drive a luxury car that way. M10 Prairie disagrees with FWD being wrong... if it wasn't FWD it couldn't do what it does... be an awesome load carrier. They cope better in icy conditions than a RWD too. FWD is only wrong for ultimate performance. There it will always fall short. They don't cope inherently better in icey conditions than RWD, drivers cope better with FWD cars on road tyres in icey conditions. Anyone who knows what they are doing or who has fitted the proper tyres will do much better in a RWD. aaaand before anyone brings up Minis and the Monte carlo rally, that has more to do with the Minis brilliant handling and light weight in conditions where lack of power is often an advantage rather than a handicap. The simple fact is a a tyre only has so much grip, if you use some for steering, you have less for grip and vice versa. There is no way round that. FWD is adequate for what most people will ever want. But its still wrong. |
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Volvo back as my main squeeze, more boost and some interior goodies on the way.
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ImpManiac
Part of things
Imps... Imps... Imps...
Posts: 868
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Aug 23, 2012 15:54:09 GMT
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The Northstar is a great engine, IMHO. I remember reading about them in the car press when they came out. They can take lots of punishment, it seems - running with no coolant and minimal engine oil, for instance!  I'd love to have a play with one, to be honest but already have one project too many for the space I have available. One day... "I'm" |
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1966 Singer Chamois sprint/hillclimb car in white over blue two tone
1975 Triumph Stag long term project (over 20 years so far) in colour TBA
2003 Vauxhall Vectra GSi 3.2 in black sapphire
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Aug 23, 2012 15:56:20 GMT
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Yes but the point is you don't tend to drive a luxury car that way. Exactly that! I didn't buy a big barge to do skidz and drive around like a Vin Diesel drift king wanna be. I Bought it to tow, and be nice to drive. Which it does, very well. |
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RobinJI
Posted a lot
"Driven by the irony that only being shackled to the road could ever I be free"
Posts: 2,995
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Aug 23, 2012 20:50:01 GMT
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They don't cope inherently better in icey conditions than RWD, drivers cope better with FWD cars on road tyres in icey conditions. Anyone who knows what they are doing or who has fitted the proper tyres will do much better in a RWD. I'm sorry but I don't really agree with this. I spent 2 winters in a row with my Scirocco and my MX-5, both a similar weight and size car, and both were running on the same size, make and model of tyre. The Scirocco was a lot more capable in the snow despite the MX-5 having an LSD. The MX-5 was still not as bad as people would make out, but it simply couldn't reverse in the snow. If you could get it going, it was fine, but getting moving with so little weight on the driven wheels was nigh on impossible in reverse, (and difficult forwards), which was a big issue at times. And that's even a car with 50/50 weight distribution, so it's got about as much weight on the rear as you could hope for in any front engined rear driven car. The Scirocco on the other hand was actually really capable; very easy to drive, never got stuck and had the advantage of not pushing on with zero steering like the MX-5 could at times, as you could use the driven wheels to drag the front around. I'd say I'm a pretty competent driver in loose/slippery conditions, and there was a definite advantage to the Scirocco. The simple fact is a a tyre only has so much grip, if you use some for steering, you have less for grip and vice versa. There is no way round that. That's true of the rear wheels on a rear drive car too though. When you're cornering it's not only the front wheels taking the lateral loading, the rear's having to work just as hard to get you around the corner (well, in proportion to the weight distribution). Both given 50/50 weight distribution, there's no difference in the available forward traction between the front and rear wheels. The difference appears once you are accelerating as weight transfers onto the rear wheels, making more total grip available. (increasing the traction circle if you will.) Personally if I want a car to drive fast I'd go RWD, unless it's something pretty light and not too powerful. But if I want a car purely for practicality, a FWD car will have lower transmission losses, less parts to wear out, lighter weight, more cabin space and typically a lower boot floor/entry, and likely a shorter bonnet and longer crumple zones. As for northstars, I'm sure I've seen a mental Fiero based buggy thing on Youtube with one wedged it in. I'm pretty sure they could make a good option for some really cool rear engined toys. Edit, found the video, and ok, it's not a Northstar, but it's a transverse V8, so the same could be done with a northstar, making it close enough for me, and it's also awesome: |
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Last Edit: Aug 23, 2012 20:56:25 GMT by RobinJI
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[*]
I'd love to have a play with one, to be honest but already have one project too many for the space I have available. One day... 