1950s Updating 56 coupe deville

[cadman56]

Why not just set the body on to another modern frame and be done with all the mods?  You may need to modigy the body in a couple of places but hot rodders seem to do it a lot.

[Cadman-iac]

Why not just set the body on to another modern frame and be done with all the mods?  You may need to modigy the body in a couple of places but hot rodders seem to do it a lot.

That thought crossed my mind,  but it opens up a whole new can of  worms.  I was looking at my '63 front suspension an just briefly contemplated grafting the front section onto the "56,  but just as quickly dismissed the idea.

I've done frame grafts on 2 different Chevy trucks for friends.  One was a "55, the other a'56, (photos upon request). I used a Camaro/Firebird subframe for both.

Anyway, my intention was to get more power,  but also keep it looking like the original. Small modifications to fit the engine are much easier,  and I've seen the results of some total frame swaps. Not pretty.
I'd like to think  I'm good,  but I'm not a professional like some of the car shows have on the  tube.
I am a certified  welder, and so is my son,  who does it for a living. But again,  I want a '56 Cadillac with the '56 Cadillac ride,  just a little more  umph, if you know what I mean.

Thanks for the suggestion though.

[Caddy Wizard]

I'm currently working on restoring my 56 Cadillac Coupe Deville with a few upgrades that will give it more go power and stopping power, I hope.

Any ideas ?

For more engine power, there are a few things one can do.  First, if you are rebuilding the engine, find a rebuilder who can "blueprint" the engine as if it were a race car engine.  This involves carefully matching combustion chamber volumes, careful balancing, etc.  It will produce a bit more power and be smoother at the same time.  Secondly, you might consider a slightly larger diameter exhaust pipe and freer-flowing mufflers (and perhaps eliminating the resonators).  Third, improve the ignition with either an electronic ignition module or dual points, together with a hotter coil -- those things will give you a higher voltage spark.  Then open the spark plug gap to about .040" or so to take advantage of the hotter spark.  Get the vacuum advance unit rebuilt.  Send the carb off to Daytona or someone like that to have it carefully redone.  Or, switch to electronic fuel injection (not difficult, will give more power and use less fuel).  The 56 engine with these little tweaks will produce lots of reliable power.  Oh, by the way, the 56 engine runs hot due to its high factory power output and the old cooling capacity of the 49-56 radiator (Cadillac fixed this in 57 with a new radiator design).  So consider a high performance radiator from Walker Radiator.

Good luck.  I personally love to see an original engine operating at its absolute peak...

[Cadman-iac]

  I personally love to see an original engine operating at its absolute peak...

Art,
I really wish I could have the original engine and transmission redone.  The cost is the main reason for not going that route.
I've gone with a 472 out of a '69  Coupe Deville that I had  rebuilt almost 30 years ago.  It was going to be used in a  truck,  but I never got around to doing it.
  Fast forward 30 years,  I've got a  '56 Cadillac in need of an engine, and an engine in need of a car.
I have posted about that on a different thread here someplace.
But I  agree with you about the original motor. If I could,  I would.
Thanks.

[Gene Beaird]

The 472, while not original, is an amazing engine, and should be an excellent upgrade, in spite of the mods required to make it work. 

There is also a Cadillac Power forum:

https://cadillacmagazine.com/forums/

It was taken over by another admin a while back, and he was more modern car centric, but many of the old hands are still there.  There's a lot of knowledge about modded Cadillacs and the 472, specifically (Big Block Cadillac thread).  Good reference, too. 

[Cadman-iac]

 Gene,
I thank you for the info. I'll check it out. Always good to find another source.