Cadillac Catera?

Any love for the later Catera (2000 - 2001) as a daily driver / family mover? They're only available with V6/AT AFAIK, but they're right wheel drive and prices look pretty low to me. There's a sport package with stiffer suspension and a few other bits, and IIRC they're built on the same platform as the GTO so it shouldn't be too hard to tweak one out a little.

I'm especially concerned about the 4L30 transmission, as I'd never heard of it before. Apparently it was also used in some BMW 3- and 5-series cars.

terrible. just terrible.

great platform for a drivetrain swap imo. wouldn't consider for much else.

4L30E is based on the old Trimatic, and is a pretty decent transmission if level is maintained and rilter changed. Sadly, there is no dipstick to check level in them because obviously Caddy owners don't want that, so you actually have to remove a plug from the side of the transmission with the engine running to check level. Yeah, really. It was also used in Isuzu Trucks, but with a different gear set for truck ratios.

The 3.6L motor seems to have fared better than the 3.0 and 3.2L motors, but I can't remmeber if that was offered in the Catera or only in the CTS. Timing belt changes are expensive to have done and manditory on all the motors. Early Cateras had suspension bushing issues that would eat front tires fast, but the later ones should have had it fixed, especially with the sport suspension.

They shoe-horned an LSx motor into the basically same chassis CTS, so worst comes to worst you could always do a GRM-ish v-8 swap.

I thought they were based on Opel Senators, which might be the same thing as the Holden platform. There was a Lotus tuned version availible in Europe that was an absolute monster. The euro engines were actually capable, but GM insisted on ruining them when they got here (big surprise). But I bet an LT or LS would fit rather nicely and would end up as a wicked sleeper.

i've heard that there's one in the employee parking lot at GM's proving ground with an LS1 / T56. i know the earlier ones had issues (head gaskets IIRC) but the later ones have that fixed and a bunch of other fixes too. i'm keeping it on my short list as i look for other options.

what other similarly-sized domestic RWD sedans are out there, MY99 or later?

Lincoln LS. You should be able to find one in a similar price rance.

I've driven neither, but it meets your criteria.

I work at a Caddy dealership. All the techs refer to them as the Ca-terrible. They have lots of 'issues' and are not that easy to work on. Run away...

The Lincoln LS is decent not great or not bad at least to drive. It has some poke if you get the V8. What about a Crown Vic with Interceptor package?

It's the Caddy that zings!

I believe that the 3.0 liter motor has oil cooler issues, read: leaks, and they sit in a coolant bath in the V of the block. Around $900 to repair and they all do it eventually. Also, the valve guides appear to be short lived so they blow smoke on first start. This is essentially the same engine as the Saturn L300. Check the Saturn forums (beware fanbois) to discover the typical issues.

My advice is to stay far, far away from these.

http://www.lincolnvscadillac.com/forum.php

Note there is no Catera forum, but a "Lincoln LS High Performance" forum. That should tell you something.

Here is a cheery article on used Cateras - http://www.canadiandriver.com/articles/cc/1997-2001-cadillac-catera.php

i saw in my seaches alot of them with bad engines for cheap.

i wanted to do an LS1 swap. lingenfelter has parts on egay right now for the swap but they sold some of the stuff from the kit they assembled.

Didn't they have a manual trans option at one point?

The auto trans cars were all over the retirement communities in Florida a few years back

Don't do it Angry, not unless it is a swap candidate.

The early Catera's were known for being just terrible cars. The later ones got a bit better, but you'd still be rolling the dice in a big way. (electrical gremlins, head gasket failures, etc,etc) http://www.cadillacforums.com/forums/cadillac-catera-cimarron-forum/11719-considering-older-catera-read.html

Save your pennies for a used CTS-V if you want a badass Merikan car. Or of course there is the P71 route, or older Caprice/ Impala SS.

David S. Wallens wrote: It's the Caddy that zings!

Isn't is: "The Caddy that zigs!" ?

as in Zig Zag (not the rolling papers)

yeah, i'm probably going with a P71, since the newest caprice 9C1 is now 12 years old. besides, the caprice is butt-ugly and the P71 is not.

Mental wrote: I thought they were based on Opel Senators, which might be the same thing as the Holden platform. There was a Lotus tuned version availible in Europe that was an absolute monster. The euro engines were actually capable, but GM insisted on ruining them when they got here (big surprise). But I bet an LT or LS would fit rather nicely and would end up as a wicked sleeper.

In Oz we have the Commodore (now sold as a G8 here) and it was based on the same Zeta platform as the Caterra, with a few differences such as the LS engine, T56 trans and more, they could be purchased new with around 500 hp.

We had an Aussie 5.0 or 308 ci engine until around 97 (unsure don't quote me) when we went to the LS series.

http://www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au/car_info_holden_hsv_commodore_vp.htm

don't do it. you can find V6 CTS for under 12k now. As long as no ghetto blaster has owned it before hand you'll be good to go.

my price cap is $5k, and of course lower is better. looks like P71s are available in that range. Haven't looked at LS yet. i'm digging the idea of towing my '09 challenge car with a P71. too bad there was no P71 wagon.

in the same price range you can get a really nice sub 100k mile P71 or a clapped out 200k mile POS LS with lots of problems

no brainer

dude Buick Roadmaster with an LT1 and wood side panels, you can't go wrong. Pick up some 95-96 Impala SS wheels for it and you got a sweet looking ride that has lots-o-torque.

I have the L05 5.7 Roadmaster woodie wagon. Not an LT1, to be sure, but it seems I get to play old-school hotrodder with this one. This is my better-than-free car and it runs great now, so it has to wait until the P71's T45 goes in for space in the garage this winter.

I've never done rust repair on a car, the RMW will be the first.

The Lincoln LS in no way compares to the Catera. The Catera is fantastic until it breaks, which it will, over and over and over. There's a reason why you can pick them up for about 3gs. Ive wanted one since I first drove one but its just not a smart buy.

Hey all,

I'm bringing this thread back because I just ran across this on the local CL: http://columbiamo.craigslist.org/ctd/952854379.html

So...I have to ask. How easy is an SBC swap into one of these? Or is an LS the only way to go? I don't have the budget (I don't think...I can't imagine I could find one for a grand or less in my area) for an LS swap...but if another popular GM swap were doable...this could make

One

Heck

Of a

Sleeper!

My curiosity is piqued...and that might be as far as it goes...or not.

Thanks, Clem