429 Cadillac motor....should I?

[oldspowered67C10]

As others have said, the 472/500 is a nice engine, very torquey. The 390/429 isnt really that great of a engine. I had a 67 Coupe DeVille with a 429 and it wasnt anything to write home about, drove a 68 Coupe DeVille with a 472(same car differnet engine) and that thing would smoke the tire(s) as long as you kept your foot into it, night and day difference.

[sublime1996525]

I think swapping a Caddy 500 or 472 would be Sweet.

[MARKDTN]

Originally Posted by Fatherof3

The Caddy will solve two of the things I hate about SBC's: the plugs being below the exhaust ports and the distributor being at the back.

Tune ups will be a breeze!...

Distributor at the front is not always a good thing. If the radiator leaks, guess where the fan blows coolant? It's even worse with points than if you have HEI. Also you have to be more careful that your plug wires dont get into the fan.

[Fatherof3]

Originally Posted by MARKDTN

Distributor at the front is not always a good thing. If the radiator leaks, guess where the fan blows coolant? It's even worse with points than if you have HEI. Also you have to be more careful that your plug wires dont get into the fan.

"Also you have to be more careful that your plug wires don't get into the fan."

I meant having distributor in the front of the motor, not in front of the radiator

[Dean'smeanmachine]

go for it! not to highjack the thread but I CANT FIGURE OUT HOW TO START A BUILD THREAD!! i looked everywhere for the "new thread" button but i cant find it. any help?

[73737373]

It's on my bucket list to put a 472 in one of these trucks.

[low&slow]

I'll post some pics in a bit of the 500 caddy in my truck. I don't have any problems with plug wires or anything and I have a leaky radiator.

[sublime1996525]

Originally Posted by low&slow

I'll post some pics in a bit of the 500 caddy in my truck. I don't have any problems with plug wires or anything and I have a leaky radiator.

I am stoked to see this!

[Bishops Trucks]

I say go for it. I've always liked the "Dare to be different" types of rides. Anything can be built to work when you have a vision, a bunch of cool tools and a few cases of beer to bribe some friends to help you. Looking forward to watch this come together.

[low&slow]

Here's a few pics of the 500 in my truck. Enjoy.

[Ft.ValloniaStreaker]

Plenty of room, where were the motor mounts on the 500?

[mud.man.rj]

I would pull the heads first thing and see what the cylinders are really like and if half decent then pul the pan and have a look at the rest of it, only bad thing I see is outside storage is really bad on cylinder rust and seizing an engine, but still in if it turns out good. Get to it and keep us posted, dare to be different is very cool in my book.

[low&slow]

Originally Posted by Ft.ValloniaStreaker

Plenty of room, where were the motor mounts on the 500?

They are on the front portion of the block. Under the front cylinder.

Not to hijack the thread. Just showing that you don't need any mods to make it fit. As for a 429, see if it's good and go for it. May not be as beafy as the 500, but it's still different.

But you better make darn sure you want a caddy motor. Parts for these are WAY expensive if you want performance.

[In The Ten Ring]

I have no knowledge but I am in full support of you "going for it." :-)

[YBNORML]

I just went through the pros and cons of a swap like this. The only difference is I was considering putting it in a 29' chev.

I don't think I need to go into the pro's since most of them are quite obvious. The two cons that made me change my mind are, these engines are very expensive to rebuild and the nail in the coffin for me was parts availability. I plan on driving my car, not just to local cruises either. What happens if it breaks down in the middle of nowhere, parts for small/big block chevy's are still relatively easy to find in most any parts place. Big block Cadillacs not so much.

[Ft.ValloniaStreaker]

Performance is not an issue and I'll never be more than 50 miles from home. I drive 80 miles a day round trip to work, so I don't plan on it being a daily driver. A bit loud and comfortable around 60 mph is all I'm after. That doesn't mean I don't expect to jump in turn the key and go, I do all my own work so we'll all know who to blame.
I'm a hot rods come from junk yards kinda guy, so this is what I want the import tuner kids to see, the kinda stuff I grew up with. When I finally revel the $ amount on this truck most will laugh. (my Boss 308's with tires $70 for the set @ auction!!!) Stay tuned.

[Fitz]

Originally Posted by Ft.ValloniaStreaker

Performance is not an issue .

You're talking of stuffing a caddy big block into a pickup and "Performance isn't an issue"?

Yeah. Right.

[Lifetime Project 72]

I have a 1970 Cadillac with a 472.This engine has never been apart,never any issues other than regular parts that wear out,such as the water pump.It has almost 200,000 on it and still idles and performs smoothly.If you have to get the 429 rebuilt,you will have a very reliable engine.If it were me,I would definately go for it,even if the parts cost more.
When I rebuilt my truck,I entertained the thought of putting a 455 Olds in my 72 GMC.I realized that the extra weight would require different springs up front.
Don`t know how heavy the 429 is,but you may have to swap the front springs out.
Chris

[1972RedNeck]

Originally Posted by Fitz

You're talking of stuffing a caddy big block into a pickup and "Performance isn't an issue"?

Yeah. Right.

Get a 1970 500 and throw a cam in it and performance is no longer an issue.

[Palf70Step]

The swap has been done by a couple older, members. One of the things I remember is the need the Eldorado oil pan, as well as 72 style big block mounts/trees. Longhornman had a tread showing how he did it, but as yet I haven't found it on the board.

UPdate

Here are some OLD threads about caddy's in our trucks. First two are the main ones.
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...ad.php?t=20020
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...ad.php?t=20763
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=194481
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...ad.php?t=36377
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=163389
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=132306
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=144311
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=253716

[low&slow]

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

The swap has been done by a couple older, members. One of the things I remember is the need the Eldorado oil pan, as well as 72 style big block mounts/trees. Longhornman had a tread showing how he did it, but as yet I haven't found it on the board.

UPdate

Here are some OLD threads about caddy's in our trucks. First two are the main ones.
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...ad.php?t=20020
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...ad.php?t=20763
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=194481
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...ad.php?t=36377
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=163389
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=132306
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=144311
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=253716

You are correct about the pan and towers.

As for parts available at local part stores, good luck. They are expensive motors, but you don't need a lot to get more power. As for a cam, that's what a lot of people do for easy power, but it's not that much. My motor is all stock except an aluminum intake and an 850 double pump holley and I'm getting enough power to get my longbed stock truck down the track in low 12's. As for drive-ability for street use, I'd recommend sticking with a 650. Small carb yes, won't get all the power out, but better on gas and still have plenty of get up and go when you want it. 429's are the same way minus a ton of power in both hp and torque, but with a bigger carb and a cam, you can get a lot more power.

As for putting a caddy motor in a way older vehicle than a 69 c10, it's very doable. My grandpa was a fan of putting caddy motors in everything including 20' - 90's cars and trucks whether it be ford, chevy, or dodge.

[mrolds88]

If it is a 429, it has to be a 64 (if I'm right) and has a "round" bolt pattern for the trans. 65 and up used a TH400 with a regular BOP bolt pattern. Its a shame, I have a complete 66 429 that turns over (last time we messed with it) and would be a good candidate for something like this. (I'm NOT trying to sell it here, just making a statement). As always the optimum deal is to pull an engine like this from the donor yourself, taking all that is needed.

[low&slow]

Originally Posted by mrolds88

If it is a 429, it has to be a 64 (if I'm right) and has a "round" bolt pattern for the trans. 65 and up used a TH400 with a regular BOP bolt pattern. Its a shame, I have a complete 66 429 that turns over (last time we messed with it) and would be a good candidate for something like this. (I'm NOT trying to sell it here, just making a statement). As always the optimum deal is to pull an engine like this from the donor yourself, taking all that is needed.

You're correct about the year. Although 1964 was the oldest cadillac that came with a 429. The last year that had a 429 was 1967. Although smaller than the 500, it still made 340 hp and 480 torque stock. As for the bolt patter, I believe you are correct about them being round.

[Ft.ValloniaStreaker]

Well its been a looooong cold winter, I've cut and burnt A LOT of firewood, pushed a lot of snow. Put a clutch and pressure plate in my 92 Chevy, and done a head gasket job on my Subaru, all this while my hot rod sat covered with snow. So this weekend the Caddy came to life! I dipped the Carter in January (junk) and picked up a Edelbrock 600cfm at the Kyana swap meet in Louisville,bought a new set of points and that's it. I can't believe how big of battery I'm going to need to crank this thing! You can only imagine how cool it was to to see, smell and hear a roaring, fire breathing relic come to life. I have to say this thing is smooth,and sounds great even though I don't even have exhaust manifolds on it. I've been starting it once a day just cause I can....lol I didn't want to go any further on the truck till I had a runner, so now it's full steam ahead.

[low&slow]

Great to hear you got her running. As for a battery, you don't need a big one. Just a good charged one. I had a tiny car battery in a car that I raced. The battery wouldn't even start the car so I tossed it in my truck for the caddy motor to charge it and this little battery started it.