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Caddy big block in a K5/10??

No reserve, sitting at $970 right now for a 1 tonned, 205ed, 472 powered K5 with a lift and 35-37" swampers. I couldn't find just the front axle for that much.
 
Mmmmhmmm...if I had money and time I'd put a bid in. I have neither...in fact the money is a negative...
 
I'm loving this.......


108.jpg
 
it looks to me like the drivelines have no room for compression...

the wheels are quite ghay... along with the visor...:rolleyes: lots of potential there for a starter wheeler tho
 
90k5blaze said:
My decision for the Cad 500 was based on the quality and high nickle content of the block. Weight was also a big factor. A stock 454 weighs 685 pounds and the Caddy with 46 More cubes weighs in at 575.

More..

Why Build a Caddy?

Lets start with the advantages of using the 472/500 engine family as a basis for your next engine. This engine family has earned a reputation for longevity and power, partly due to the high initial build quality. You are starting with an engine with tighter specs than many new 'high end' cars, to include the square-ness and uniformity (lack of casting shift) usually expected only in high dollar full race engines, from the bore centers, to the deck surface, to the rotating parts centerlines, to the exceedingly high nickel content of the castings (like a 'Bow Tie'™ block that costs more bare than your complete core engine).
These engines are also very light for their size, being within 60 Lbs of a small block Chevy, while still being tougher and more wear resistant due to the high quality materials and castings. They have numerous other advantages, including easy access to the distributor and oil pump, dry (no coolant passages) intake, individual ports (not siamesed to lower production costs while hurting flow), conveniently angled spark plugs (easy access in the tightest of installations), and internally balanced, eliminating the need (and inefficiency) of external balancing.
Another prime advantage is that due to the stock 11 degree valve angle, and well designed chambers and ports, It is not unreasonable to expect in excess of 700 real HP out of a normally aspirated engine, with common ported production heads - no exotic machine work or aftermarket castings required. For the milder builds, this means that you are well within the range of easily attainable power, without stratching the limits of the stock block and heads.
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Who or where did this come from? First I'm a moderator on the Cadillacpower.com forum. What I highlighted is pure BS. Can 700 be gotten too? Yes but it will take spray or boost to get it. With a stock bottom end and some (not much really) head work I got 395hp/525tq on a superflow dyno. This was done with 8.4-1 compression and 87 octane pump pee.

Is the caddy the end all be all engine for everyone, nope not even close. But its different, its fun to play with and you can make all day every day for years power with one. And more importantly it will require more skill and the wrench when working on it, to make it last. Sean P shoved a 500 into the nines with a junkyard bottom end, ported heads, and 8.5-1 compression in a 3200 pound fox body mustang. So it can be done but it takes skill and talent to tune.

More and more high end aftermarket parts are becoming available from quality vendors like MTS www.500cid.com and Cadillac performance parts www.cadillacperformanceparts.com

I'm not trying to pee on anyone's parade I just don't want to see someone get screwed over or lied to by those people out there who seem to come out of the shadows and do just that.

BTW with the oiling problems a Buick has uhuh no way :shame: but a pontiac could be fun:wink1:
 
One other thing to remember, with the distributer in the front if you do a lot of water fording you need to seal it or bad things like stalls will happen...
 
I saw my first bbcadillac 500 in a mid 90s chevy truck about 3 years ago and I had never thought of it before then. Then I remembered my friends 70 caddy he had when we were kids and the many many smoke shows and how easy it was. some of those tracks were so long I bet there are still there 15 years later! I have done quite a bit of research on the subject and had I thought of it before I bought my 3500$ 383 stroker, I probably would have gone the caddy route.I have a friend who is a very reputable big block f%^d builder and he has said that for the same money he would help me build a 454 to do the same thing. Thats all well and good but the way I look at it is if it takes work to make a 454 put out what a stock 500 can then why do it? I have talked with a few cad. companies that have told me that if the high dollar amount is scary then pick one up from a junk yard and throw a 400$ rebuild kit in it and save the money for a th400. Besides all that it is a fact that cad. engines are built to tighter tolerances than most other engines and that alone is a big factor when it comes to buying parts, they may cost a little more but they will last longer. Plus theres nothing cooler than looks from the gahy a$$ ricer drivers with their fart can mufflers when you leave them in the dust!
 
When I was in college I had a 1970 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham with the 472 BB, TH400 and 12 bolt (I think) rearend. 70,000 origianl miles. I loved that car. It measured 21' long and could seat about 7 people. I'm just guessing that it weighed around 7,000 lbs., so you can guess that it was pretty slow. I think I timed it at 12 seconds 0-60. The motor was definately a torque motor. It revved really slow but it would drive up hills like they weren't there. It felt almost like it had an RV cam or something. Want to see some tire smoke? No problem. The air compressor for the air shocks was broke, so the car sat real low. It had about 14" of down travel. No kidding. I used to drive over speed bumps at 35 mph and not even know they were there. I once got two flat tires that way. Anyway, it had the owner's manual in the glove box. The estimated mileage was 9 mpg. I think that was about right. I want to say that the advertised HP was 300 or 325 and the published torque was 375 ft./lbs. I really can't remember. My point is, the engine would be great for a 4x4. Tons of low end power and tractability. Sounded awesome too. Seems like the distributor wasn't in the back like a Chevy engine. (That's one of my pet peeves.) I never could get the timing right though, so it knocked a little when you got on the gas. I think an HEI or some kind of electronic ignition would really wake it up.
 
I bought my last 2 running 454 trucks for under $600 for a whole truck. The one in my truck now is a 80k marshal rebuild with a intake, cam and headers and it makes approx 336hp and 500lbs of tq. Thats with peanut ports and 7.8 to 1 compression. It pulls 20k lbs of nh3 trailers way faster than it should. I wouldn't consider anything but a 454. I bet I have $300 in the swap + 454.
 
I think that the 454 is the right choice for most of us if you just want a straight forward reliable engine that is completely capable of good power and torque. The reason I would go for the cad. 500 is if I was doing a complete restore job on my 72 blazer ( which I plan on).I am always looking for ways to make people go huh, I never thought of that before... I guess one bonus for the 454 is because you don't have to look to hard to find a mild built one in good condition for a fair price. where as you probably wont find a cad. 500 with any real power adders for the same price. I don't know, I guess I just love them and if someone can love a ford with no good reason than damn it I guess I'm entitled to love the cad. 500....
 
80' 427 said:
I bought my last 2 running 454 trucks for under $600 for a whole truck. The one in my truck now is a 80k marshal rebuild with a intake, cam and headers and it makes approx 336hp and 500lbs of tq. Thats with peanut ports and 7.8 to 1 compression. It pulls 20k lbs of nh3 trailers way faster than it should. I wouldn't consider anything but a 454. I bet I have $300 in the swap + 454.
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Not sure now with the economy down and people selling their toys but a few years ago in Michigan you COULD NOT find a big block in rebuildable shape. A few friends of mine were looking and getting nothing.
 
500 Cads have cool points associated with them. That is why I am using one in my buggy build. Stock they put down over 300HP & 400lbs/ft and are almost as light as an SBC. Just mild upgrades and they come to life and are legit 350-400hp motors. I also plan on one day putting a BB Cad in my K5. I have a custom set of motor mounts that makes it bolt right into a K5 and with that adapter plate mentioned earlier it will be almost bolt in.

http://locooffroad.com/gallery/displayimage.php?imageid=4143

displayimage.php
 
One in the tow rig,

crewcabengine.JPG


One in the wheelin' rig, being rebuilt currently.

blazer engine install.JPG

crewcabengine.JPG

blazer engine install.JPG
 
I looked into the 500 also. I think the custom parts to install one in a chevy ended up being about 500$ ish? Thats if you order everything from cad500 or maximum torque specialties. I've seen 500s going for 500$ on craigslist, I rarely see 454's that cheap around here for some reason. Cad500 dyno'd a stock 76 500 at 493.5 Lb-Ft at 2600 RPM and 302.1 HP at 3600. They also dyno'd a 70 500 at 323 HP and 504 Ft-Lb of torque. Which dispels the 200hp difference of the 73 and later 500s myth.

Loads of info here
http://www.cad500parts.com/catalog/
 
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