Projects Any 472 500 Cadillac Fans out there?

I done think you can go wrong with a big inch cad I'm doing a 472 p my 51 Cadillac

 

Check the cost of a gasket set, rings and bearings...
You will want to run the 76 (cuz it's complete )
Great engines..I have run them in a IMCA modified, on methanol.
Easy to get 13.7 compression with stock parts by mixing your years pistons and heads..
Yeah..500cid 650 ft lbs tq..It was a blast once we figured out how to hook up that torque !
Dave

 

I'm in the process of dropping a '74 500 into my '64 Chevy stepside. Going with the Edelbrock intake (insignia ground off), an MTS #10 cam, Holley 4-barrel, some larger valves, and other little goodies to keep the whole package understated and mysterious looking under the hood.
Going to initially give a manual transmission setup a try, we'll see how that goes, may end up with a TH400.
Planning on posting pics as I progress.

 

On a nuisance note the stock engine mounts went obsolete up here and got removed from the electronic catalogs soof course no one could order them. I changed over to 454 Chev truck mounts. You guys can probably still get them in the UA and they are back on rock auto again but were not available there either when I tried about 14 months ago. Just thinking for the future so I went with something that should hopefullly always be available.

 

I have a Caddy 500 in my Lincoln.

 

that looks great, lots of room to dance around too

 

I built a 500 inch Cad for my 68 ElCamino some years ago. Did some creative parts pulling and scored a set of 1970 heads on a 72 short block. It's bored to 513, has a mild cam, ported heads and stock intake, 3 angle valve job, mopar rod bolts, MSD ignition, and a Carb Shop stage 3 Q-jet on a 1 inch open spacer. It would drag that 4000 pound Elco to a 13.5 with a TH400 and a 2.56 open rear. Not a spectacular engine, but it was absolutely the most reliable hot rod I ever built. The car is still sitting in my shop and I'll fire it up once a year or so, and I think it's still running the same plugs I put in it 18 years ago. It's as reliable as a stone axe.

 

I'm running a 500ci in my 49 F1

 

I've got a 500 c.i.d. in my 32 Ford roadster and it smokes the tires at half throttle. Smoother and quiet running and boy does it go.

 

I stuck a 70 472 in my 56 olds. its not driving yet but should be soon

 

im running a 472 in my international truck, runs great, tons of power, parts are cheap, but if you want performance parts they are expensive

 

The neat thing about the 472/500 cads. is the torque and the interchangability of oilpans for different swaps. I once worked in a Cadillac/Olds/GMC dealership and darn near every mechanic drove a GMC or Chevy pickup that had been repowered with a 472 or 500 +TH 400 trans, made one hell of a great truck. One of our techs stuffed a 500/400 in a 2nd generation Camaro and it was a handful , a real sleeper, but well mannered. Yes , I am a fan !

 

Very true. It helps that its not a very big engine dimensionally, tons of power in a relatively small package. The big Caddy only weighs 50-60 lbs more than a SBC. Plus, if you can keep your foot out of it, you can get actually get decent mileage. I've been getting about 17mpg with a mixture of city and highway driving.

If you haven't already bought a copy, I highly recommend the book by Doc Frohmader "Big Inch Cadillac". Tons of great info, well worth the money

Bobby

 

The 472/500 Cadillac is a great motor for all the reasons listed above. I've owned a few, worked on many, and can say they are some of the finest ever built by GM. The nice thing is in stock form they make so much torque, and there is so little stress on the engine itself, they run forever. Back in the day, when 100,000 miles was a big deal on most cars, the Cadilllac was nicely seated in. 200,000 was no problem for most of them with minimal care. A few years back I had an '81 Coupe deville with that 4-6-8 sickness under the hood. I bolted in a 500 out of a rusty '76 I had. The '81 was about 1000 lbs lighter than the 76 and even with the 2.56 gears that thing would smoke the tires effortlessly.

 

Again, very true. Cadillac utilized a very high nickel content in their blocks that made them very resilient. They'd go forever.
I actually like the 8-6-4 systems. its a 368ci engine and is basically the same block as the 472/500's. The basic premise of the 8-6-4 is sound, just look at how many cars these day utilize dropping cylinders to increase fuel mileage. The big difference is that in todays word dropping cylinders can all be done electronically by killing individual injectors. Back in the early 80's they used a electric solenoids mounted on top of the rockers to alter the rocker pivots of individual cylinders to kill them. When the system worked it work great. The cars got great fuel mileage.
When the system started acting up it was easy enough to bypass. You could disconnect the one wire from the transmission to lock it into all 8 cylinder mode, no biggie.
The whole system seem primitive from todays standards but for the time it was pretty cutting edge, probably a few years ahead of its time

Bobby

 

Dude my dad had a 68 eldie restored in 1978 just after i got my license. I actually got drive to high school a few times and let me tell you that stock 472 would smoke those front tires,,haha front..back who cares...in reverse its the same as a rear wheel drive burnout. The 472 is a torque monster.

 

I had a 472 Cad engine I built for a fiberglas fiat topolino. Put in 10 1/2 to 1 pistons from a Hamber, made a tunnelram for two Holleys, had Lunati custom grind me a cam (new part # 30000) and put it in the Fiat. Kept me scared most of the driving time . LOL

 

Putting a 500 in the 56 caddy im building now. Should be fun.

 

Have a 70 472 in the 49 Buick I am building, and my son has one in his 47 International pickup. The pickup is frightening when you get on it. Cheapest horseepower around.

 

I just got into mine today. It was running when I pulled it but I want to go through it before I use it. Here's the ring wear you get at a minimum of 119,000 miles:



The lip there is just enough to catch a nail on and it looks like its all carbon buildup - not wear. In severe need of a tune up and bone stock, it smoked the tires on that 5000lb Coupe Devil. Internally, it seems simpler than an SBC too. I think it'll do just fine.

 

X2! We put one in an early 80's G body with stock suspension. 500" short block with Olds 425 rods and Olds 403 pistons (had to move the valve reliefs out), flat tappet cam, 472 cylinder heads with Big Block Chevy 2.250 Int valves. TH400 and 3.73 gears. 29.5 X 9.00 slicks. Car went 10.50's all motor through quiet exhaust.
Blocks are plenty strong, cylinder heads (from 472' and early 500's) will flow 242 cfm "as-cast" right out of the wrecking yard. 330cfm is available for an ambitious porter.
They're the perfect big inch "wedge" motor for anyone looking for hellish torque with relatively low rpm. My biggest gripe with them is limited offerings on rocker arm assemblies that will handle 140# or more of seat pressure and over 380# open (which most hydraulic flat tappet cams will never see). For the guy looking to get a heavy car into 11 second territory with mild gearing and real street manners; they are hard to beat. And no one will ever mistake one for a small block chevy..

 

these guys know more about cad 500's than just about anybody. Even set records at Bonneville: http://www.cad500parts.com/

 

Yes Sir! That's where my cam, lifters, springs and headers all came from.

 

Those 472/500s can be a ton of fun with a cam, intake and some headers. Keep the revs down and enjoy the torque.

 

Yup, and years ago Courtney used to make 10 second runs in a 70 Caddy at the local drags. From what I remember the car still had operational air conditioning and power windows, etc


Bobby

 

That old car there has run out at the old Penwell Raceway (right off of I20, just West of Odessa) a time or two. Kind of a "local legend", here in West Texas. Good to see that old pic.

 

I have a 75 500 Cad engine in my 49 coupe deville. Great engine.

 

I don't know if they are selling 'em yet, but aluminum heads are on the horizon!!

 

Bulldog castings or is something all-together new?

 

I do not know the answer to that question. email cad500parts.........