I have a 472 sitting in a shop that I ran years back.................stock , but a hard spirited bastard! 160k miles. I keep thinking--what if i dropped it in one of these? 1,900 pounds, back of the engine is 50" from the front axle. Powerglide mated to a torque-tube, and a quick change. HAVE SOME BALLS, TELL ME WHAT YOU REALLY THINK. I am so tempted to run it on dirt.
That is what has kept me from using mine, sofar... But I guess with some valvetrain improvements & a bigger cam it can be made to rev a bit higher. How costly is that? What kinda redline is practical for a street engine? And after that, the biggest thing is making it breathe, right? ( I was thinking a U-Fab type intake with about 6 or 8 carbs, and headers...)
Hmm. I'm not sure If I'm going to do the swap in my pickup. Gunna have to find out the cost of the engine, a transmission, mount kit, etc.
You could simply put a turbo on the 2.2 to accomplish that. A built V6 will do the same and sound better than the turbo 2.2 as well as fit. An SBC will put a grin on your face from ear to ear and still fit and get you up to 24 mph on the highway. The Fat Caddy is too big for the S-truck engine bay period. So you will be moving the firewall, re-building the trans tunnel, removing the inner fenders, and possibly doing some suspension work, especially if you intend to bag it for the simple fact that the track width is narrow, the engine bay is short and the firewall is too far forward from most anything. At 5" wider than the SBC or V6, you will also run into the brake booster. At 3" longer than the SBC you will have to move the firewall back 3" or stretch the front end by 3". If I read correctly that this is a Blazer, then you are only dealing with 108" wheel base. you will have to make sure that your rear doesnt change geometry too much using bags as the driveshaft will need to be about 2' in length. My recommendation is if you want to keep the fat caddy, then find something with a larger hole to stuff it into. If you want to keep the Sonoma then sell the caddy to pick up something that will fit into the vehicle without a year of fabrication work. A LT1, LT4, LS1, LS2, LS6, etc. If you are still intent on putting the caddy engine in the truck, then pull the body off the truck, put the engine and driveline in the truck, then start hacking at the body to drop it on.
1970 was the last year for high compression. I bought a 70 eldo with the 500 supposed to have only 1200 miles on a fresh rebuild. had to pay $400 about ten years ago. drove it home and haven't started since. I also have a good set of 68 472 heads. is there any advantage to the early heads?
Here's what you need to get the valve train ready for some higher RPM's. I got the stuff from Schrader's Speed & Style. Don't remember the actual cost but it was very reasonable. The purple anodized bits are the only custom parts. They allow the adaptation of the shafts and rockers from a different engine, I think it was a Buick.
I like the caddy TQ but you may be better off with an sbc swap,(you said it didnt have to be a race car) a sbc swap would be reletively simple and would probly put out all the power you would need. your car, but thats my thoughts hope it works out witchever way you do it!! later cobey/o.m.71
I haven't boughten the Cadillac engine yet. My truck is a regular cab fleetside. Its not a Blazer. Plus with a SBC, I can purchase everything I need to put the engine in my truck. I want to go with something carb'd. I don't really want to deal with computers and stuff. I want something that is as simple as possible. Hard thing is for me to find a SBC. I know everywhere else you can find them cheap and stuff, but not me. I've got a 305 myself, but I'm going to throw it out. Its in really rough shape, and sat outside in the snow uncovered. I've priced out a longblock engine. I think around $1700 I could have a rebuilt 283 shipped from Spokane, WA to here. I think the SBCs from them were cheaper. I would like to find a source closer to home. Does the Caddy have a place for a mechanical fuel pump? Have a look at this http://www.jagsthatrun.com/S-10_Order.html I think there's everything on that site for a V8 swap in my truck
You're in Alberta and you can't find a SBC? I could find 10 of em tommorow, you must be looking in all the wrong places. What major city are you by?
Well, Ft Mac is far from being a car mecca. You might have to scour the classifieds, and buy a cheap runner. Give it a leakdown and a compression test, if it passes that roll it over and pull the pan to inspect some bearings. If that looks ok, roll it back over, swap the intake, camshaft, and stick it in the truck. A 300hp 350 will make that thing snakey. You won't find many places in AB offering rebuilt stock shortblocks anymore. There's a reason none of 'em are left around. The stuff they were selling for $900 were pieces of crap, just ask the guys who had to R&R them when they kept blowing up. Something will come your way...
See I was gunna buy an engine from edmonton. However most people who emailed me said that I had to buy the whole vehicle and drive it home, and I cannot do that yet as I don't have my full license. I may just drop in a new crate. Maybe not. I'm low on cash right now.
Guys and Gals That is the beauty of the big inch cadillac, they dont need to to rev high,they make all their power down low. its tough to get used to but once you do,its kick ass. Go to Potter automotive and check out their caddy stuff. They make some serious horsepower, like 750hp and 1000ft torque and under 3500rpm, so if you want rpm get you a small block chevy like everyone else has, or try some reliable,big cube,lightweight, horsepower. Phil
You can also use pontiac th400's on caddy motors. They have short tailshafts like the chevy's, and bolt up using the pontiac convertor. I believe you have to drill new holes in the flex plate, but I might be wrong about that.
Best site I've run across for this swap is www.v8s10.org .As you can see by the pics the swap is possible. The website has a few posts on this swap and also the ford explorer 8.8 axle swap that you would also want to do if you swap to a caddy motor. The stock s10 rear ends barely survive a stock 350 let alone a torquey caddy. Hope this helps!
LOL. Yea not really the topic I'm used to on the HAMB. Could be handy though for people doin frame swaps.
I had great luck dealing with Maximum Torque Specialties when I had a 500 in an old hearse. http://www.mtscadparts.net/servlet/StoreFront Any good BOP 400 should do what you need, especially with a good shift kit in it.
Jason, yea, I figured that out from a thread about fabbing Caddy valve covers, very knowledgable guy Thanks Bobby
Great motor, and if its a Eldo motor it should have the rear sump. lots of speed parts available as already stated. my only recommendation is a rev limiter. dont over rev a cad 500
Not being a GM person but an idea that intrigues me, what would it take to stick a 500 into a '57 Buick do you reckon? (besides $$$$) ...
There is no 452. The 500 family consists of the 500 and the 472 ( I there was even a 512 but my memory is a bit fuzzy), later on things were detuned to the 425 and then down to the 368. The Eldo's typically had the larger 500ci engines, while the rest of the line got the 472. Bobby
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