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500 Caddy

3K views 23 replies 9 participants last post by  Chevrolet4x4s 
#1 ·
A buddy of mine recently traded his jeep for an '86 chevy short bed 4x4 with a 500 caddy motor....the truck has been restored but its just 2 muchs of a gas hog....he wants to pull the motor out and put in a 350...so i have the possiblilty of buyin the motor....my only concern is that ive never much in the way of performance parts for a caddy motor...i want to build it for my pulling truck but i wanna know whats out there for it....like intakes, heads or stroker kits and what not.....i was told that BB chevy parts would fit on a 500 but i dunno.....what is your guys opinion? i wanted a 454 but i cant find one....so what do you think is the better choice 454 or 500 caddy?? ...whats the adavantages/disadvantages of each...
 
#2 ·
BB chevy parts don`t work on a caddy. There are companies that sell parts for these monsters, but they aren`t cheap, as these engines are not very common hot rod engines. To make one wake up, it needs good heads from the late 60`s early 70`s 500, a small cam, springs that match the cam, a ported factory intake, double roller timing chain, and some attention paid to the oiling system. If you wanted to do more, you`ll have to upgrade the valve train, as the stocker valve train is on the weak side.
 
#3 ·
There are a couple of companies that make performance parts for the big 472/500 lux barge motors. As DV said, the valvetrain is probably the weakest point on them if higher revs are part of your plan, but for a street motor with something like a 2.50 to 2.80 gear, they'll pull like a freight train. Lots of Chevy guys have been embarrased with a mostly stock Cad according to what I've read. See if you can contact the guy who did the engine swap into the pickup and find out if he made any internal mods to the motor.

http://www.cad500parts.com/
http://www.mtscadparts.com/Engines.htm

After looking over these sites, spend a dime on a phone call to them and pick their brain.
 
#9 ·
it dont think it has to be a super screamin engine but i used to have a 350 bored .30 over and i hit 6500 rpms with a few times in the same truck....i keep gettin people who say keep it simple and go with a 355 and then u get the 383 stroker guys and then the guy whos live and die by the BB so i dunno...i just need sumthin that i can go out and have fun with and still be competitive with a chance to win.... what the biggest stroker kits for a 427 and a 454...
 
#10 ·
You can find a common 427 Tall Deck engine that came in heavy duty work trucks, the decks are higher so the use of intake spacers or a tall deck intake comes into play, they will also require special headers since they sit higher so you may run into clearence issues. Stuff a stroker crank in them and long rods, and have a monster in cubic inches, and a monster power maker. I do believe several on this board has built one of these with very impressive results. Of course a aggressive cam and good high flow heads will be needed. We used to mud race and alot of factors come into play. when the mud is thick and has some depth to it in spots, we learned quickly run the narrowest tire you can, as there lighter weight helps and they lower the resistance alot by not pushing as much mud as wide tires do, wide tires also tend to "ski" out of the ruts. We also learned don`t gear it too low, as with the transfer cases 2:1 reduction and with low gears in the diffs, the wheel speed will be too low to win unless you shift to second and then you almost have to have a big block to keep the engine from lugging. We ran a 79 GMC high Sierra, with a slightly warmed 400 small block, 3.08 gears, 38 inch buckshot mudders in the narrowest tread we could get them in, 3000 stall converter (note: I`ve never seen a stick shift win in mud racing after 6 years of being involved in it) and a must have 4 wheel posi traction, any tire not pulling is dead weight which is the same as dragging it along. We have many 1st place trophy`s for our efforts, and several 2nd placers as well. The launch, wheel speed, narrow tires, all play a big role at winning in mud racing, Torque is also a very big factor. Good Luck.
 
#11 ·
:pimp: Pick up a copy of Doc Fhromanders book on the Caddy engines, he list several build ups, parts interchange and has a lot of swap and mount info. If memory serves right you can use a Ford 460 intake with just a little massaging.
 
#13 ·
I have to agree with Chevrolet 4x4 The 500' for the most part don't rev high enough to be happy with the 5.13 gears.

Most of the trucks I have seen with 500s installed were used for towing with highway gears where they work great.
I am looking at putting one in my 71 GMC 2wd 3/4 but plan to go with 3.54 gears and possibly an overdrive.
For what you want I think you would be better off staying with the traditional big blocks.
As for finding an engine watch craigslist and the little nickel adds for a mid 70's pickup, suburban or possibly a sedan or wagon with a 454 in it. It's probably cheaper to buy a whole vehicle than to buy the engine by it's self. Just don't act too excited when you go to look at it or tell them what you intend to do.
It might take a few dozen wild goose chases but you should be able to come up with one and then just get rid of the left overs.
 
#15 ·
Chopt 48 said:
I have to agree with Chevrolet 4x4 The 500' for the most part don't rev high enough to be happy with the 5.13 gears.

Most of the trucks I have seen with 500s installed were used for towing with highway gears where they work great.
I am looking at putting one in my 71 GMC 2wd 3/4 but plan to go with 3.54 gears and possibly an overdrive.
For what you want I think you would be better off staying with the traditional big blocks.
As for finding an engine watch craigslist and the little nickel adds for a mid 70's pickup, suburban or possibly a sedan or wagon with a 454 in it. It's probably cheaper to buy a whole vehicle than to buy the engine by it's self. Just don't act too excited when you go to look at it or tell them what you intend to do.
It might take a few dozen wild goose chases but you should be able to come up with one and then just get rid of the left overs.
ya thats what i was thinkin....cause by themselves they are $1000 but maybe ill get lucky and find an old beat up chevy with one for less than that...i found one in a old farm truck for $500 takes all but i was about an hr to late to buy it...
 
#23 ·
Chevrolet4x4s said:
How high does it rev now you may be ok with the caddy in the puller. what transfer case do you have?
Shane
when my buddy drives down the road with the truck the motors in its not screaming...but it has 4.11 in it i think.....my transfter case is a np205 i think or like 203....im not totally sure....
 
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