1966 Coupe Deville suggestions

Hey guys, I want to get some opinions from people would know, so here's my dilemma.

I just recently purchased a 1966 Coupe Deville that doesn't have an engine or a tranny, and I'm really in a bind as to what engine I'm going to put in it. I have an old 390 sitting around that would need to be rebuilt, but i also found a 460 with transmission (not sure what exactly) in running order and the guy only wants $500 for it. The problem is that I want this car to be my daily driver and there is no way that the 460 would be affordable, right? So here's my question: In your opinion, what kind of engine should I drop in the beast? Should i stick with the stock 429, or should i jump to the 460, or should I drop down to the 390? I want a car that can go, as well as be at least reasonably fuel efficient. I'm pretty sure i'm asking for too much, but does anybody have any suggestions as to how I could achieve such a feat?

Someone suggested to me at one point to turbo as well as supercharge the engine. Any input on that?

I really appreciate all that you guys have to say, so thanks in advance!

Welcome to AF. What engine is a 460, not a Cadillac.

The 460 is a ford, i believe it's commonly referred to as the torque king

Going into a classic Cad, come on you are kidding here!!! If any change, go with a 472 or 500 Cad engine.

The 460 is a ford, i believe it's commonly referred to as the torque king

Maybe for a Ford, but the REAL torque king is the Cadillac 500!

What is your budget for this project? I cringe at the thought of anything but a Cadillac engine in a classic Cadillac, but a EFI 350 Chevy would be a more fuel efficient choice with decent power. But if you are looking for raw power, I'd go with either a 472 or 500 Cadillac. The supercharger or turbo on one of those would produce unreal HP, but you would have horrible gas mileage. It would be more like gas footage!

Haha, no kidding. It is kind of sad to put anything but a caddy engine in a car like that, but budget wise caddy engines are usually kind of spendy, aren't they? My friend found a cadillac 503 (i believe) that a guy was selling with a transmission for i think it was 800, but just like the 460, that would get terrible gas mileage, and since I want this to be a daily driver, I don't think that would work out for me.

So opinion wise, should I try for EFI, or do you think I could settle for carbouration? I'd like to do EFI, but my budget is about a grand for the motor/drive train because I still need to redo the entire enterior (which I was considering applying for sponsorships to do). My other quesiton is are there specific engine years that I should be looking for since i'm striving for maximum HP/torque with reasonable gas mileage? I'd really like to have something pretty gutsy, but still get 20-26mpg freeway.

Am I dreaming?

That engine would have been a Cadillac 500. That was the largest Cad engine ever made.
With a budget of a grand, you don't have much to work with. If fuel spendings are your major concern, maybe you should get a newer more fuel efficient car until you can fix the Caddy up the way you want it. It's still a 4,500 pound car, so you'd be lucky to get 20 MPG with it.

It has to weigh more than 4500 lbs, because my current '95 chrysler LHS weighs in at 4350 and gets 35mpg. Admittedly it's a v6, but regardless..

It has to weigh more than 4500 lbs, because my current '95 chrysler LHS weighs in at 4350 and gets 35mpg. Admittedly it's a v6, but regardless..

4,460 is the listed weight for the 1966 Coupe Deville. And you're comparing apples to oranges! A 40 year old car that was not designed in a computer controlled wind tunnel vs. one that is, isn't going to get good fuel mileage. Plus the Cadillac has a carbureted V-8 and a 3 speed transmission.
Really, at best, you'd be lucky to EVER get much over 20 MPG even by upgrading to a modern powertrain.

Oh yeah, I know that. I know that the caddy is not much more than a brick, so i knew i wouldn't be able to get very good mileage to begin with, I just wanted to know if anybody had any suggestions for a motor that would get me decent mileage as well as being at least moderately gutsy.

I would suggest a fuel injected small block Chevy. But with your budget, a used one would be pushing it.