i am going to buy a 500cid caddy engine . i am tring to find out bore size stroke and all the good stuff about them(1st time i will be dealing with the mighty 500). and how hard it will be to put it in a 69 camaro.

The 500c.i.was available from '70-'76 with a 4.30 bore and matching 4.30 stroke. In its original form it was listed at 400bhp and 550lbs/ft torque. A badge with 8.2liters was often fitted on the Eldos. A large shoehorn lubricated with plenty of benjamins should get it in the Camaro! Good luck,keep us posted!

thanks alot . i have been tring to decide on what i can put in the camaro. i think i have fond it. hehe

for good Caddy info go to Maximum Torque Specialties site

well i am doing the desktop dyno. and i am only getting 566hp @5500rmp and 599ft/lbs @4000&4500 rpm.this is project is a steet strip . 10.1 . where can i get more hp.without spending way toooo much greenbacks.

sorry make that 590ft/lbs @4500rpm

A lot of the left coast street racers have been sneaking these in Camaros and firebirds for years now. It doesn't take much to make one of these a killer on the street, all under 5000 rpms and they sound almost stock (can we say Sleeper?) Phat Rat is right about Maximum Torque Specialties and they will also have the mounts you need to put it in your Camaro. You will also need a rear sump pan I believe. That would have to come from a Eldo.
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Digger
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DSRA Member

I threw it away yesterday, now I have to go buy one
Just when you think you have won the Rat Race along come faster rats

Forgot to mention that with a aluminum intake The Cad weighs about the same as a smallblock Chev.
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Digger
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DSRA Member

I threw it away yesterday, now I have to go buy one
Just when you think you have won the Rat Race along come faster rats

i know . hey do they make alum heads for the 500?

You can't run these engines safely over 5000 rpms without spending some serious cash on a complete rocker arm system, that is their weak link but you can make a ton of torque in that range. If you can find a set of pre smog 472 heads (70 is the best year) you can bolt on a lot of horses, however you may have to run octane booster all the time. I may be wrong but I don't think anybody makes alum heads for these.
Good Luck
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Digger
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DSRA Member

I threw it away yesterday, now I have to go buy one
Just when you think you have won the Rat Race along come faster rats

Shaft rocker systems for 500's can be purchased for aout $250. Roller rocker systems are also available, they are a bit more pricey. Maximum Torque and The Cad Company both have good info on Cadillac 425/472/500 engines. Don't mean to put down any of the previous posts but building a 500 can be done without breaking the budget. And yes, you can also spend a fortune on them as well if you want a sheet metal intake, special heads etc............
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baker53

i live in wisconsin , no emish thank god.

About 10 yrs ago after hearing all the hype on the torque and power of the 500 ci Cadillac engine, I decided to try one in my tow vehicle, a 1976 Suburban. I was drag racing at the time. After a fresh rebuild and fitting it in I could never get the thing to run under 230 degrees. I tried radiators, fan clutches, fan blades, pressure caps, you name it. Local Cadillac guru said it wouldn't hurt the engine to run that hot, but I never liked to see that gauge over that far. I was kinda dissapointed with the power, also, and the hotter the engine got, the less power it had. I don't know, maybe I did something wrong in the rebuild. It was my first Caddy rebuild (and my last). Not long after, I built a 400 SBC and replaced the Caddy engine with that. No more overheating, and believe it or not, it pulled the race car better, too. I sold the Caddy engine for $100 and was glad to see it go. As I said above maybe I missed something on the rebuild or maybe this is an isolated situation. I hope you have a better experience with yours than I did w/mine. Oh, and Digger, with all due respect, I think that Caddy engine is a couple hundred lbs heavier than a SBC. It put my engine crane in a bind! With all that front end weight, I don't think you'll ever hook those rear tires up, lol. I'm not trying to talk anyone out of anything, this was just my experience with the 500 ci Caddy.

Lynn

Lynn
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'32 Ford Tudor

Lynn;
With the aluminum intake the Caddy weighs 40 lb. more than a smallblock.
I have done several of these and have never had the power or overheating problem. I am getting ready to put a 425 in my 91 pickup right now. The last one I used for towing worked better than any big block I have owned and got about 13-15 mpg doing it. I think you just got a bad one bud.
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Digger
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DSRA Member

I threw it away yesterday, now I have to go buy one
Just when you think you have won the Rat Race along come faster rats

i read that too. that is another reason for the choice .big hp & lbs/ft .all in a light package.

Daryl;
I was just informed that "Cad Company" will have aluminum heads in April. If it were me, I would wait until they have been on the market for a while in case there are any problems.
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Digger
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DSRA Member

I threw it away yesterday, now I have to go buy one
Just when you think you have won the Rat Race along come faster rats

Al over at the MTS board will likely have the heads very soon. He's ordering up a bunch of them, and by buying thru him there will be a better chance at working out a problem, should one arise. Al has been talking with the guys at Bulldog Performance for some time about these, and most of us on the MTS board have known about them for almost a month now...

http://www.hwforums.com/2089/

And for all the naysayers out there, I have been running a Caddy 500 in the '28 for the past 3 years now, and I have been VERY HAPPY with it. It's got so much torque it does'nt even feel like I'm running the tall Boggers when I punch it. Just flat-out SCOOTS!

I've also had the '54 Kustomsledd running a Caddy motor, believe it or not but I did'nt see any difference between the old 223/3-speed and the 500/TH-400 when I did the swap.

I'm so hooked on them that everything I own is Caddy powered. I don't count the Olds, that's Maggies kid taxi...

Doc

That last should read "I did'nt see any ride height difference..."

The 223 I-6 and it's cast iron 3 speed weighed a ton. The Caddy motor with it's much lighter aluminum TH-400 basically DOUBLED the power to weight ratio, easily, and for about the same weight. I even kept the stock 6 cylinder springs up front, and never noticed any sagging...

Doc

i have a 68 skylark with a 2 speed(alum i think) . will that bolt up or no , and do i have to get new frontend springs or no?

The Caddy motor would likely bolt up physically to your Powerglide, but I would'nt trust the trans any farther than I'd care to walk home. A TH-400 is the way to go. '77-up RWD Caddys had these with short tailshafts.

Doc

why dont you like the powerglid drchop?

It's not that I don't like a Powerglide, per se. Its the simple fact that a STOCK Powerglide behind a 500 Caddy motor just is not gonna hold up to all that torque for very long. The short tail TH-400 will do it for YEARS.

And yes, I know the Powerglide can be beefed up to handle tons of torque, you can get Ultrabells and the performance trans cases, and a ton of stronger internals and it'll last a long time.

But that's not a STOCK trans then, izzit?

I know a lot of guys around here that have broken Powerglides in worn-out stock 60's musclecars. They turn around and buy another Powerglide out of the trader papers that nobody else wants, swap it in, and a few months later its also broken, and with a mild 350 motor to boot...

There was a large-car 2-speed trans available, was'nt it the Dynaflow (Dyna-flush)?? Don't remember if those were a B-P-O-Caddy pattern bellhousing tho... something tells me they were'nt...

I remember my old shop managers Buick had one. The motor used to race out in First to about 15 MPH, then it'd shift and the car would lug like crazy in High gear until it got up over about 30.

Doc

it is just an option that i have. this will be street stip car. and u kow how that is , more strip than sreet. hehe. i am hopping that ill be mid to low 10s in the 1/4 before all is done.1 fast damn yellow car. no tubbing involved. that is the good part. pluse the wife wont let me spend that kind of money.hehe.