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454 or 500 cadde ???????

R

redbeast

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Still cant decide on the engine type .. I like the numbers on the caddy mtr but a little spooked on the on all the little problems that go with it.. The 454 sounds like it's a drop in an I still can use my 700r with out any adapters !!!! Help the 305 is dying so I need to make up my mind... Thanks.. Rick G..

1985 Blazer, 305 soon to be a TBI 350, 700r4, msd ign, 3.43s, headers, 31x10.50x15s
 
caddy!!!! a buddy of mine has one in his long bed. its bad ass!! check this link out. they sell conversion motor mounts and all kinds of goodies for caddies. i want one bad!!!
<a target="_blank" href=http://cad500parts.com/categories.htm>http://cad500parts.com/categories.htm</a>


<font color=blue>Striving for K5 world dominance</font color=blue>
 
I would recomend a Pontiac 455. They are cheper than the BBC and the Caddy, and are torque monsters. If you cant find one, then go with a Pontiac 400. They have kits to make the 400s into a 455. See, Pontiac didnt have a small block and a big block. All the blocks were the same size. They just used different pistons, and cranks. Bore a 400 over .032, buy the stroker crank(its a 455 crank with the mains ground down to 3.00), use stock bore 455 pistons, and yove got 455 CI. RTW the new crank is only 400 bucks. You can reuse the stock rods because all pontiac rods are the same exact size.


86 Jimmy 4"lift 35"MTRs Other cars 69Firebird w/525 hp,and 70GTO live in PHX,AZ<a target="_blank" href=http://www.geocities.com/modifierperformance>My vehicles</a>
 
does anyone make motor mounts for the pontiac swap? i know a guy with a 400. do you know what the stock hp and torque figues were on those old 455s?

<font color=blue>Striving for K5 world dominance</font color=blue>
 
I know they make motor mounts, but not sure on how makes them. The 455s out of the Firebirds and GTOs were 325hp and 500 ft lbs or torque. When the smog crap came in is when it killed the hp and torque. But thats bedause most of them only had 7.5 to 1 compression. But if you put 400 heads on the 455, it bumped up the compression, and made about the same hp. Hot rod did an article not to long ago on how to build a 500 hp and 500 ft lbs of torque on pump gas. I will look for the articl if your interested.

86 Jimmy 4"lift 35"MTRs Other cars 69Firebird w/525 hp,and 70GTO live in PHX,AZ<a target="_blank" href=http://www.geocities.com/modifierperformance>My vehicles</a>
 
I got the crazy idea of installing a junkyard Caddy engine in mine just for kicks, but if I had an opportunity to have a 454 Chevy big-block, I could not turn it down. It is hard to top the versatility of a Chevy big-block. And you can always upgrade in stages if you don't have all the dough at once. Check out the October Hot Rod and it has a good article on a junkyard 454 buildup...

"Constipated people don't give a crap!"
 
so how did the caddy turn out? was it worth it? how expensive was it?

<font color=blue>Striving for K5 world dominance</font color=blue>
 
big in doubt always go large dude the 500 is a lot better than a pontiac455. check out what they make fer em now days u can find junk 500 cads for like next to nothing, a 455 pont will bring alot of money, speaking of ole indians my friend just bought a 428 pontiac with 4 bolt mains.
 
400s are dirt cheap though. And you can do what I said earlier. You can pick up a 400 in a junk yard for 50 bucks.

86 Jimmy 4"lift 35"MTRs Other cars 69Firebird w/525 hp,and 70GTO live in PHX,AZ<a target="_blank" href=http://www.geocities.com/modifierperformance>My vehicles</a>
 
why exactly would you want to go through the hassle of putting a BOP/CAD motor instead of a chevy? If you're looking for performance from big cubes go with a big block, if you're looking for budget performance and you want to build the motor up, go with a small block. The hassles and headaches of retrofitting stuff will not be worth it in the end, IMHO! So.. you're going to dump a 20+ year old 500" caddy in your ride? No you're not if you're sane, you're gonna have it worked.. if you dont you're going to have a tired unreliable POS with the smogger heads, cast iron intake, etc.. and people will still be smoking you on the street, in the dirt, up the hills, with their intake/exhaust/cam'd small blocks... not to piss in your cheerios or anything I just think its a waste of time when the greatest most versatile motors ever made, the BB &amp; SB chevy, are so abundant and you probably already have one or two of them... if you're going for wow factor, because it'll be different, then well maybe you have a point.. but 454/502 brings just as much wow as anything, if you ask me.. thats just my $0.02 :) good day!
 
I like small blocks. less weight, parts are easy to find (just yank 'em off you neighbor's ride in the middle of the night- J/K) and the power to cube ratio is pretty good. But, cid rules, so if you bent on going w/over 434 cubic inches, than go with the G.M. big block due to parts avalibility.

Althow I've heard caddy's 500s weigh less, I would think the price to build one would out-way just about anyother positive aspects of the caddy 500s. Just my oipinion.

If your still sold on going the caddy rout, check with Donnovan (on this board), he's seams to know his way around 'em.

Sometimes life just makes you want to say,
"F*bleeeeeeeeeep*K !"

<font color=blue>Twiztid</font color=blue>
 
I personally like Pontiacs. I have two extras laying around. One is a spare motor for just in case I blow the motor in my car, and the other ont I am building a race motor.

86 Jimmy 4"lift 35"MTRs Other cars 69Firebird w/525 hp,and 70GTO live in PHX,AZ<a target="_blank" href=http://www.geocities.com/modifierperformance>My vehicles</a>
 
Hate to rain on your parade but unless you are going to be pulling something real heavy (not a good Idea with the blazers short wheel base) or racing in serious competion, you are pissing your money away on any of these big block options. unless you have already fully modded your suspension and chassis your money will be better spent there. You can easily get all the usefull power out of a 350 and will not need to modify any of the other components in your vehicle. The 500 cad motor is a piece of junk if you must the 472 cad is more powerful and more plentiful but still no 454. The pontiacs are excellent motors but will easily cost you 3 times as much to build as a 454 and have no where near as many aftermarket parts available. of course if money is no object (if you are thinking about a big block conversion it better not be 'cause the motor iself is the tip o' the iceberg) and you really want something to make the Jones' piss themselves with jealousy get the GM/Merc. 502 and really twist some drive train parts up. Remember that a big block will require at minimum all new brackets pumps power steering interface devices radiator, Ignition, engine mounts clutch or torque converter, complete exhaust, possible front suspension mods to compensate for increased weigh. the wise will also have new drivelines made as these are often the first victims of new found glory. of course once you get done with all this fun stuff you get to spend endless days and cases of beer working the bugs out. However, you will only be able to do this in the brief times between replacing all the other drive train components your new beast will bend, twist, shear, and shatter every time you get throttle happy. So while it can be done it is not for the faint of heart or light of checkbook you will spend no less than about $7000 to do this correctly by the time you are done and this is if you find a motor that require little or no work.
Consider your needs and spend wisely you can acheive far more with exceptional suspension and chassis and a mild motor than you can with a hot motor and half a-- suspension.

Subvert the accepted paradigm.
 
Come awn Ben!! It's not that bad!! Don't scare him up that way.

Here's the budget for my 454 swap so far:

Holley Fuel Pump
Felpro Cam Change Gasket set
Felpro Oil pan Gasket
Summit Valve Cover Breather
B&amp;M Tranny Cooler
Summit Freeze Plugs
Energy Susp. Motor Mount Inserts
PAW Timing Cover
PAW Oil Dipstick
PAW Timing Marker
Edelbrock Carb Choke Kit for BBC
Summit Timing Set
Ebay 4bbl Intake Manifold
Cheap Ebay Chrome Valve Covers
Radiator from Radiator.com
PAW Alternator. Brackets
Felpro Rear Main Seal
Felpro Q-jet Mounting Gasket
PAW Starter Brace
PAW Header Bolt Set

All this totals so far $695. This is the actual total including a few tax and S&amp;H charges to Miami, no freight or taxes to my country.

I bought the 454 for $320 in good condition.

I'm going to reuse the following parts from my 350 engine:

HEI Distributor
Starter
Engine mount metals
Chrome water neck
Carb
K&amp;N filter
Torque converter
All dual 2.5" exhaust with Flowmasters 40 series and an H-pipe.

All I'm probably missing is the $20 I'm going to pay to rent a cherry picker and about $7 of paint.

Sum it all and it barely goes over $1K.

Now lets say you want to go big, add a $450 Summit racing engine rebuild, $500 of quality block and cylinder prep jobs, a new B&amp;M TH400 tranny for $1000 and a $250 advance adapter for the T-case of your choice. It's still $3,200, not even half of what you mentioned.
smile.gif


<font color=purple>//////
<a target="_blank" href=http://blazer79.freeyellow.com>blazer79.freeyellow.com</a></font color=purple><font color=black>
Soon a 454 K5!!</font color=black>
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I think the Caddy motors are a cool deal. Heck kinda like the Olds 350 swaps in a way. Yeah then a Pontiac conversion will cost a few more bucks in some areas, but like DD said the 455 is basically a small block stroker motor w/ big cubes. Anyway you go they are all different and I love different stuff personally. Who wants to look at 200 trucks, drag cars, or street rods all built exactly alike? I'm usually the guy going around the car show going look at this little mod or that... the little subtle things can make a ride. Of course at the track us racers are pretty protective of the stock
laugh.gif
LOL.

Also there are many kinds of wheeling here... Mud boggers and sand duners need the big HP... main difference is the guys in the sand also want to keep the weight down (someone correct me if I'm wrong...) You also have mud and sand draggers. Add in rock crawlers who want the torque, but then you need strength to go with it. But a stock 350 or 355 isn't gonna give you the same kinda power and torque as a BBC... a 383 stroker or 406 can, but I'd like to see a 350 cid pull 450+ ft-lbs of torque.

I say build whatever you desire... Now my personal OPINION of the 502's is they scream "Bought.... not built" I see way too many crate 502's dropped into things... But I would definetly take one in my truck
smile.gif
, although I really like the sounds of the 541 strokers
cool.gif


-Mikey
1987 Chevy K5 Blazer- 350 TBI
<a target="_blank" href=http://coloradok5.com/gallery/captcrunch>http://coloradok5.com/gallery/captcrunch</a>
 
Having done the 500 Cad thing in a Suburban, the 383 &amp; 350 thing in a K5, now I'm going to try the 454 thing in a Sub or crew cab short box. The 500 Cad was STRONG, the 383 is verrrrry good, the crate 350/300 nice but looking forward to the 454.

87 K5, D60 & 14FF, 5 sp & NP208 & 383 stroker. Build it Bulletproof and take it fishing!
 
cads weigh 75 lbs less then a bb chev and have almost 50 more cubes. with a stock rebuild they will make 500 ft lbs of torque. will a 454 do that. now i will admit it takes some doing to get one stuffed in and hooked up, but how much would it cost to get your 454 to loose 75 lbs and make those torque numbers. as for the pontiacs, you could find an old junker with all the brackets and junk you need, get a bop adaptor and make some motor mounts and be on your way. rebuild kits for 400 and 455 are only about $100 more than ones for 454s. plus there's the cool factor. like captcrunch said, everyone has a chevy.

<font color=blue>Striving for K5 world dominance</font color=blue>
 
hey dummy get informed .check out the above link. they have all kinds of parts to make those old cads scream. and take the paint off your p.os. ride. try checking somethings out before ya start shooting your mouth off. just my 2 cents.
 
HELLO!!!! like wake up dude are you on dope? 500 cads are not junk you stupid idiot. they have building them for years.with alot of success,also just because you are stupid dont try to tell someone that you know any thing. CMD cadilac motor development has specialized in cads for 20 plus years they make intakes headers and mounts,camshafts, and oilpans to put cads in 4x4 aplications,so i hope you can keep your ignorant mouth shut from know on. there 500 cid with all adaption parts cost alot less than $7000.00 and will tear a 502 chevy in half!! and they can build em up to like 560 cubic inches. they also build the 472 engines. they weigh less than a bbc. and cost only slightly more than a bbc. but you can pick em up for cheap.
 
Ben, must have never had a caddy power vehilce because you would know how much better they are than a Big Block Chevy. Lets just put it this way in 1970 the LS7 was rated at 460hp and it had 2.19 valve in it but the 1970 Eldo was rated at 400hp and it just had a 2.00" valve in it. What does this mean to you, well the caddy is going to get way better mileage than your 454 will ever get. Infact they get around 4 mpg better and they also have more torque then a 454 will ever think of having. As for building one up it is going to cost right about the same as a big block to build up. The only thing you will have to do is build motor mounts and it is not that hard to do. The weight of a Caddy is 75lbs lighter than a big block and 25lbs heigher than a small block. You put a aluminum manifold on the Caddy and it will weigh in at about the same weigh as a small block. If anyone wants to build one let me know and I can help you pick the parts out.

Donovan
Nitro Fumes makes me Horrrrny
 
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