The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The HiPo Shop 472-500 cadillac swap in AD truck?

Anybody done this? know where there's some pics I can look at? steering solutions?
they'll probably banish me from inliners for such sacrilege but the more I learn about these engines the more attractive this idea becomes. these engines made 400 foot lbs. factory stock & weigh little more than a sbc. I could really pull a load with my 50 3800. thanks in advance for any info.

guess not?

If it won't make you sick to your stomach you can wade down through my junk at http://s32.photobucket.com/albums/d41/coilover/ you can see a 500 cad in a 51 GMC. Now has well over 200k miles on it so I guess the steering set up is safe. It's in the 14th row of pictures down. I'm sorry I don't know how to make a picture high light in blue so you could just click on it. Pictures also show how to make a drivers side door lock, a few inline 6 intake manifolds, and bear claw door latches in a 48 ($20 junkyard ones), and a few of my completed and in progress projects among other things.

The 3800 front axle should handle the engine weight OK, especially if you add a couple of leaves to the springs. My 59 Burb is going to get a Caddy 500/Turbo 400 setup, and it's already got a Dana type 60 3/4 ton rear end from a 70's vintage GMC. I'm planning to narrow a disc brake equipped 3/4 ton independent front suspension system to replace the 1/2 ton 6-lug front axle that's under it now.
Jerry

It's possible to do it, but i haven't done that type of swap. I'm currently putting a 455 Buick in a 46 GMC, but it's on an S-10 frame.

I know what you mean about the torque, with a cam, intake, and timing chain and gears my 455 should be around the 500 ft-lbs mark, and in the mid-high 300's for horsepower. It's hard not to do it with those kinds of numbers. The big luxury car motors are glossed over by a lot of people that don't realize most were superior to the chevy motor technology in the day.

BlueChev

I put a 455 Buick in a 51 panel. I like the big torquey GM lightweight castings
from the late 60s/70s, too. I kept the stock axle, but upgraded to discs and the CPP power steering system. The truck stops great and steers like a 70's Coupe DeVille!

I also like to build these motors up in my newly "retired" state. I have two Buicks in process and a completely rebuilt 500 Caddy all done on the stand (and on eBay right now!).

The Cads and Buicks are very close in dimensions as far as motor mounting.
I was going to modify a tubular mount from TransDapt that was intended to put a small block in a stove bolt 47-54. However, after measuring about a a hundred times I found that TransDapt's mount to place a 460 Ford in a Ford F100 actually was better fit (roughly 17 1/2 inches centerline of engine mount bolts for the Buick) for my swap.
It was also a stouter build due to the boxlike structure required for a Ford mount.

I only had to narrow the engine mount pad slightly to accommodate the Buick. ONce this fit is satisfactory all you have to do is do the final weld up of the ends of the tube.
The only interference I had ( same for the Caddy I believe) is that I had to remotely mount the oil filter to clear the forward frame crossmember. I could have cut into it, but I now have the oil filter on the inner fender where it is so easy to change!

FYI I used the stock Buick exhaust manifolds. I like column shifters, so used a 33" tilt column from CPP and moved it outboard & down slightly (2" or so) for optimum
positioning of shifter and alignment to the new power steering box location.
Using stock but recored radiator with a 14 inch pusher out in front. Runs at 190-200 in 95 degree heat!

Again, this is all for a Buick, but should be very similar for the 500 Caddy.
You'll love the front distributor mounting as well! Let's it all tuck back nice and tight. I used the MSD Billet distributor with their 6A ignition system. No vacuum can to mess with; simply select the right set of springs in the kit to match your driving style. With the Edelbrock manifold the setup only weighs about 30 lbs more than a SBC. (the stock Buick manifold weighs 83 lbs with a carb on it!!)

The Caddy engine has two sets of holes in their motor mount bosses that make it easy to fab a simple mount up or you can get one of those "universal" Caddy swap kits form the Caddy specialty place like Potters, The Cad Store, MTS, etc.

Hope this helps .... There is no substitute for big torque and bigger Cubic inches!

Good info, thanks! I'm replacing a SBC 307 engine (originally 283) in a 59 Burb, and it's getting a late-1970's 3/4 ton Chevy IFS at the same time. The steering gear should mount on the left front frame horn and eliminate any steering column/exhaust interference. I've got a 1970 Caddy Fleetwood tilt-telescope steering column and 6-way power seats to complete the conversion. The seat is a 60/40 split setup that I hope will fit between the Burb front doors. Gotta do a little measuring to confirm that!
Jerry

Sounds like a nice set up you have planned, Jerry!

The 500 Caddy from an Eldo has the more desirable rear sump pick up
and rear sump oil pan that would clear the conventional front crossmember in your Burb.

If you use a rear drive Caddy 500 you may need to change the oil pan and pick up to one from an Eldo to make it fit. FYI, the dip sticks need to be bent differently (and carefully!) due to two different crankcase holes cast into the 472-500 blocks for Eldos vs. Rear drives.

The pans from the rear drive cars were kind of an odd shape with the sump skewed to the middle. I'm guessing you'll get the seat to fit; albeit tightly!

mike

My immediate thoughts regarding this engine swap would be to put short stubby little wings behind the cab and it should fly .

maybe dont need extra leafs as old six (216/261) weighs MORE than small block chevy (194-292 series are LIGHTER than small block chevy)

thought the 500 was a front drive eldo motor only - 472 in everything else?

The 500 was also used in some years of the big rear drive Fleetwood. The oil pans are different, along with a few other minor details between the FWD and RWD engines. I've got a RWD 500 engine stored away for a future project.
Jerry

I Have a 500 cad in my AD truck, I was going to use the stock frame, but found it simpler to use a doner from my 86 dually 2wd truck. I am using the big fenders(mine was a 2 ton) and I like the proportions better. You will run into a width issue and will need to fabricate new inner fenders. Mine is out of a 74 Eldorado and I am running a Turbo 400 trans. I will be running a pair of u joints under the dash with a shorty column, and my other option was a steer clear (chain drive) as the head of the caddy is directly in front of the stock steering column hole. You may also run into a length issue as the caddy is longer than a small block . I have the extra couple of inches with my big bolt fenders, but I still decided to run a cross flow radiator(it takes up the full width of the grill) and push it a couple of inches forward of the stock location to ensure that I had enough room. I will run a couple of electric fans as the engines waterpump location is no longer center of the rad.I also needed to recess the firewall 1 inch the width of the engine to make everything fit. The bonus of this swap, besides the huge torque is that the distributor is in the front, the top of the engine is not 2 feet from the hood (like the small block swaps )and it looks very cool. Go for it. Paul

The 500 was used in all Cadillacs in 1975-76 except for the Seville.