Hello everyone, can you tell me will a 455 and th400 fit into a 79 electra without major modifications? Are the motor frame pads and cross member the same? Would the drive match up? The 79 electra currently has a 350 engine and 350 trans.
I'm in the process of building a '79 Coupe DeVille. The car will have a Stage 2 455 in it. I will be using 1968-'72 GS Big block frame pads and motor mounts. The frames under these cars (Deville & Electra) are very similar to the frames under the 1973- '77 Gm "A" body cars. My Coupe Deville came from Cadillac with a Turbo 400 trans. If you go from a turbo 350 to a turbo 400 you may need to shorten the drive shaft or have a new one made. The 455 and TH400 will fit. It has been done , there is a guy on this board I believe that has a 4 door Electra that runs really good( 11's I believe).
Short version is you're putting a drivetrain in a a car that was never designed to accommodate it, but at least it's all GM stuff...expect to have to modify just about everything a little bit, but it can be done..Jeff is right, the 77-95 B and C body cars are essentially 73-77 A-bodies, so if you look hard at how that 455/400 drivetrain sits in a 73-74 Century Gran Sport you'll be more than half way there. I have one to take pictures of, so let me know if you need reference shots.
Yes definately send me as many shots that you can of it, im looking to sell my engine and trans to a guy and the 79 is what he would like to put it in to. I kinda figured the same for drive shaft length etc, but I wasn't 100% sure on everything that' needed.
He's looking to pull his engine this weekend so hopefully I can have the pics by then if possible, thanks so much.
Car is buried for a week or so, but tell the guy to join the group here and ask questions when he's ready.
Just joined the site. I actually own the 79 Electra and was unsure but after a lot of Google research and reading on this site I have decided to swap the 350 for a 455. Thanks for all the comments and this site is a huge +.
