Hi everybody freash meat here.I currently drive a 93 yj and am obout to buy my first go fast car,V8 that is.I had a high 14.00,low 15.00et. 89 Beretta gt a few years ago,but im ready for my all time favorite 1992 z28.My issue is putting a 1975 cadillac deville 500cb in. motor into a z28.or a RS.Now is the RS frame as strong as a z28,will the 500 fit,and what tranny would work with this high torqe engine[i preffer a manual]. I can get the z28 for around $7.000 in good shape,or a RS for $5.000 also in good shape for what i want to do.I was looking for a body minus a motor witch are hard to find[i live in glendale AZ].This is a budget build and i know the t56 wont survive the 400hp,650fpt so im leaning twoards the RS if it can take it.The guy selling the deville wants $1.000 for the[running great] caddy.Im trying to smoke 5.0's,sti's,and all those pesky ricers for under $10.000 with little effort .Any input on my future project will be appreceated.Thanx. Chevy's Rule

 

I can put you in touch with a friend of mine who is big into building performance Cad motors if you want me to. His latest project produced 700+ hp on pump gas naturally aspirated, although that motor might be a little more than your budget. He would probably be able to answer your questions. I would think that you could find a '92 camaro for a lot less than what you stated above.

 

i appreciate the effort but a caddy 500 engine not worth the trouble dropping it into a 3rd gen.what do you hope to gain that you cant easily get for cheaper with a big block chevy.if its cubes your after a stroker can be had for cheap and get close to 600 cubes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!thats enough to twist the living crap outof a 3rd gen.......look at it objectively and openly before you attempt it.the parts alone for a 500,if you can find any,are 2 to 3 times more expensive cause noones makes them .my buddy made mistake with his 2nd gen bird,he wanted a big block,decided to stroke his pontiac 400 to 461,after he was done he spent 3 times what he could have done a equal 454 for......but to answer your question no,a stock frame wont handle it.you have to do all the reg mods like sub fram connectors,weld in not bolt ins at min.solid mounts,strut tower brace.the more the better..what ever you can afforsd,a 4-6 point rollcar min would really stiffin that sucker up..enjoy

 

You can pick up a 92 Z28 in near perfect condition for $5,000 or less with a 350 and you will already beat stock 5.0's and most ricers. If you want to use the caddy 500 to be original then by all means do it, but you may end up destroying your $10,000 budget. If your goal is to have a damn near unbeatable street machine then that goal is attainable with a 350 block. Any way you do it you will probably need to spend several thousand dollars in chassis and drivetrain modifications in order to handle the torque you desire. Take that into consideration. However if beating most ricers and little effort are your primary goals, then you can do so with just a short runner intake manifold, full exhaust, and nitrous for those rare occasions where you wouldn't win otherwise.

 

Caddy engines aren't bad but there's a few things that need to be upgraded to make them survive above 5000 rpm. The valve train doesn't like high rpms etc. Headers are expensive. You buy a set of BBC headers that will work for the car you're putting the engine in and a set of Caddy exhaust port flanges. You cut the BBC flanges off the headers and weld on the Caddy flanges. The ports are in the same location but the BBC and Caddy mounting is different. An new intake manifold is worth a lot of HP no matter which one you pick. The factory intake puts the carb below the intake ports. Downside is that this will move the carb a lot higher and a cowl hood will be needed for clearance.

You're going to need a new transmission. SBC and BBC use the same bellhousing pattern. Buick, Olds, Pontiac BOP and Caddy use another pattern. Some GM trannys will have both patterns on the bellhousing.

This is the company where you buy ALL your Caddy performance parts from
http://www.cad500parts.com/

 

see rock,kinda my point with what the last post said.too much cost and fabricating..if you truly want a big block theres tons of cheaper parts made for a 3rd gen bbc set up.....but the other post is right ,with 10k intyo a sbc will eat most of that stuff for lunch.beware hoss,stocker 5.0's easy to beat ,but ill give those 5 liter guys credit some of those guys are wicked fast and even the best sbc,even ls1's cant touch them.........remember the old saying"theres always someone faster than you".....

 

I've got a friend has a 1965 El' Camino with a 500 cid caddy, runs high 12s on stock bottem end engine, just a cam, intake, holley carb. still has points dizzy!

edelbrock makes a Performer intake for the caddy, and msd makes a dizzy for it. You can even use a ford 460 intake with adapters.

go for the caddy, be different, yeah bbc might be easier..

 

This is going to be harder then i thought,so im going to start with a clean 92z first.All youf info,links and additional research made my budget look weak for what i want.To further rant I really am not looking for a BB,I just thought a 500ci running tourqe monster for under a grand would be a good swap but with finding a tranny to mate with it,getting it to rev over 5000rpm's and all the frame stiffening plus rollcage work a shop would have to do [I dont have a my own garage and can't weld that good yet] puts me out of budget.My money bag friend just bought a 2006 Roush mustang $43.000 swapped 4.10s in the rear and is running around 13.50ET.He's getting a super charger for christmas and i would love to show him up in a budget chevy.Is this possible.The 500 caddy idea is still in just has to wait for the future.So with a mild cage is the lt1 capable of diping into the 12.00s??? hahaha low 13.00? for AROUND my budget without stroaking [how much for a kit,its just a crank rods and pistons right],I also read on this site that the TPI is a bottleneck when it comes to building real power, i just like the way it looks and i found some short expensive runners for it to improve flow are they worth it..I also found a 2002 ls1 with tranny in auto trader for sale,are LS1s easier to get power from?Thanx everybody

 

I've got a Turbo 400 transmission that will bolt right up to that Caddy engine if your interested, it would have to be rebuilt, but thats nothing a $200 rebuild kit wouldnt take care of and maybe a few new hard parts.

The guts are the same on all TH400's BOP or Chevy, just bellhousing change.

 

Being able to beat a supercharged '06 Roush will be tough on a 10k total budget. Much of your money will go into being able to handle the power required. You will still need some frame stiffening and suspension work plus an upgraded drivetrain (rearend and tranny). Also, you will need a better bottom end in your engine. Now for getting enough power. While you are breaking into your engine you might as well build a stroker. High RPM heads are a must (AFR aluminum heads probably 210-220 cc should work). I would recommend a new short runner intake such as the Stealth Ram, Super Ram, or Mini Ram. Headers and a good flowing exhaust are needed (long tube equal length headers, 1 3/4 - 1 7/8 primaries for your stroker). After that you could always supercharge and use nitrous.

Good luck doing all that for under 10k, but you could probably find a good combination of parts that would still achieve your goal withouth destroying your drivetrain in the process.

 

I agree with 91-Z28-L98, if you are going to put a big block, or anything that is going to make decent power you are going to want to upgrade the entire drivetrain to handle the power the engine will make.
I tried upgrading just the engine and my tranny went, new tranny in and i blow the rear end and twist some support beams under the rear end. Its a vicious cycle if you don't do it right the first time.

700-r4's can be built to handle a lot of power, but they are also pretty expensive to rebuild (compared to a th350 or th400), the stock t-5's won't handle a lot of torque before they grenade. I would say that either a th350 or t-56 would be your best bet for a tranny to handle decent power.

Caddy parts are expensive. I know because I have one and EVERYTHING is like twice the price of that of another car. I'm sure that the older you get the more expensive the parts will be. Go with a SBC and save yourself the money and headaches of searching for old parts. You will be able to take the $$ you would have put into fabrication and put it into more go-fast parts.

 

If you're really set on using a Cadillac powerplant, you would do better by finding an early 472. They had a 10.5:1 compression ratio, and are regarded in the Cadillac community as the best of the 472/500/425/368 family. It's a great engine, vitually bulletproof. I agree with the other comments about the cost versus a BB chevy, but it would be unique to have a Cad powered third gen.


Here's where I keep my first-year Cadillac 472...

 

A buddy of mine in town here had a stock 472 in an 84 2 door Caddy. With just full exhaust, TH 400, and 2.73's. That 5000 lb tank went 13.90's , and passed emissions BTW it was faster by 3 tenths with the 2.73's over 3.23's.


I think you will need at least a 12 bolt to hold up, but i have seen the BW rears hold up to a lot of power. Also try to get a hard top car, T-tops twist more. And get an RS, save the Z28's for the people who want to think their fast

 

Don't listen to him, RS stands for Really Slow...............

 

Trouble with a 472/500 is that other than a decal, there's no way to tell them apart externally. They're both the same except the 500 has a longer stroke.