The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The HiPo Shop Caddy 500

A while ago there was a thread concerning putting a 500 caddy motor in an AD. Anyone got an update?

Hey,

I'm not sure about any posts on this site but check my post over at the Chevy Duty website. someone replied to my post about big blocks. He said he put a Caddy 500 in a '51 AD.

sounds iteresting
I am thinking about
puting a hipower 427 in my 53 it would be close to the same size as a 500 caddy

I met a guy that always used older caddy engines
in his chevy pickup he said thay were much cheeper the standerd chevy engines (I dont think thay would be any cheeper to rebuild)but mabe the used ones are cheeper

personly I would wrather use a 502 chevy
much beter to get parts for

howziit guys!

i'm out in the middle of the pacific ocean, so i need to use what's readily available.

the 500 caddy is not too easy to find, and more expensive to rebuild/modify.

SBC's are plentiful, 396/427 BBC's not too easy to find, but the 454 always seem to pop up, at a good price.

good price, readily available parts, easily adaptable, power to spare...

back in my younger days, i'd probably go Caddy 500.

nowadays, i like BIG belly-buttons!

Here's a Link to the original thread. Anyone heard from any of these guys lately? Thanks for your link evers310.

Sorry, I forgot to put the link in my post:

http://iserver.chevyduty.com/cgi-bi...ad_count&om=809&forum=DCForumID3

I have thought about doing it myself. With all that extra power would have to do some reinforcing of the frame of which didnt want to get into. Here is a picture of one from anther site it looks good! www.hotrodders.com/vehicles/55.html

im putting one in my 64.

Any chance of a progress report etc. If you are taking photos etc we can help you post them if you dont have a web site. Seems to be a bit of interest in this swap. Hey Solowookie saw you over at the HotRodders forum asking about this too. Any new info. Did you see that VW with the caddy motor insane stuff.

Caddy bigblock advantages:

1. MASSIVE torque-400-500 ft-lbs

2. packaging-not much bigger than a smallblock

3. weight-about the same as a smallblock.

4. If you don't need to modify engine, you should be able to find good runner CHEAP.

Just my $.02.

Regards,
Wannabe

The caddy motors are torque monsters. The specs that Wannabe quoted are for STOCK engines. I think that they are lower-RPM motors, stock redline of 5,200 RPM or so. You don't have to revv them up like a SBC, just gear them to take advantage of torque, and to keep the cruising revvs down. Similar to a 455 Pontiac.

When comparing the performance of two different motors, you have to look at the bore and stroke, not just the CID. A Chevy 427 has a higher powerband than a Caddy or Poncho, but at the expense of some low-end torque due to shorter stroke.

Rough rule of thumb:

Bore bigger than stroke: Oversquare- High RPM IE Chevy 350 4" bore, 3.48" stroke

Bore about equal to stroke: Square- midrange/high RPM
Poncho 428 4.12" bore, 4" stroke

Bore less than stroke: Undersquare- Low RPM Torque monster.
Poncho 455 4.151 bore, 4.21 stroke

Here's some links and another from hot rod magazine re 500 build ups.