[Bad Karma]

Very nice speedshop. Have you driven isn this? How did it compare to driving a poncho powered mill?

[Safariman]

Had a friend here that had a 500 in a '78 Skylark. Had to notch the A/C housing, and custom build mounts and pan, but dam it looked wild with fender to fender motor. He eventually got one of the aftermarket intakes that raised the carb above the intake ports. Made a huge difference in performance.

[Pontiacmuscle]

Now I really wanna put that 500 into my '79 GP!

[Bad Karma]

I am on a very very tight budget that includes me having to pay for all the labor due to a back injury 5 years ago I cant do work that much on cars. For a big un like the GP I think a caddy engine would be excellent. I know through my research that stock you wont get much over 4400 rpm on the stock valve springs. That means atleast a cam change ( and springs) would be in order to make it perform more like a performance engine. I know one thing they are not known for tossing stock rods at the slightest touch over 5500. A huge plus for me anyway. I got my 72 lemans cheap because it came with a SBC. Sure I would love to convert it back to a pontiac BUT after blowing 5 pontiac engines all rod issues, I can not buy a used engine and just throw it in. I would need to rebuild the pontiac motor with atleast aftermarket rods. I do one day plan to install a pontiac engine back in BUT I wont put anything but a fresh rebuild and modified one after blowing so many up over the years.

So that leads me to the caddy swap. I could live with swapping a cam and getting and after market intake, mild port work on the heads and have a 500 plus HP and 600 plus ft lbs of torque engine to live with while I build my dream engine. They are out there but not as easy to find as they say. Not one junkyard in CT had one when I called. I know they even make stroker cranks to go up to 572 CI. Thats BIG cubes for a poor man budget. Atleast its in the BOP family instead of chebby. Keep me posted on the project!

[impish]

rear wheel drive 500's are mid sump pans, eldorado has the rear sump pan. motor mounts are further forward than pontiacs are ans will need to be relocated if retining original transmission/driveline location/setup.. hood clearance may be a issue with the aluminum intake in venturas/ later lemans, not sure on older lemans & big cars

[Pontiacmuscle]

The 500 that I have came from that '72 Eldo so its all setup with the right pan....I just missed a set of GBody 500 hearders on Evilbay.

[Bad Karma]

I really think the caddy engine is a decent swap, when set up correctly. If you have highway gears and an overdrive a stock one is fine. I just don't like the 4,400 rpm valve float issue. Easily solved with a cam swap and some new springs. Anyone know what RPM the bottom end can handle in stock form?
IIRC, They said the bottom end is very good. The blocks are Hi nickel content ( this is a caddy were talking) which makes them a good strong block. I believe they have forged rods but am not sure. All the parts for the bottom end can be purchased forged if you want anyway. I just wanted to try this and see if it still leaves me wanting another poncho motor. the SBC I have in my lemans doesnt cut it, even though its modified and has all the goodies. It's got power, I have blown 3 rear ends so far but I want more power. 500 CI caddy engines already have high torque production. Some of the late sixty's engines had 525 lb ft of TQ stock and 360 or so hp. Now add some mods and you have a serious engine that has more TQ production than most any poncho stock. Actually, some have more TQ than any production pontiac engine and thats at BELOW 4,400 rpm!, in stock trim. Now add some doodads and you have a serious street/strip motor.

What I would like to do is Find a decent running 500. Grab a stroker crank and max it up to 572 CI. Either get the heads heavily ported ( proobobly cheapest) or buy some aluminum heads. Throw in a semi aggressive roller cam. I may even keep that as my engine if I liked how it performed.

It sucks because I have owned some nice pontiac powered cars in the past with 400's 455's. I got this car cheap with the SBC. Now I am in a dilema. I would love a poncho engine but I also want something with HUGE CUBES without an aftermarket block. With the stroker crank in a stock block even if the crank is 2000 grand I still save 1g on buying a IAII or MR! block. That leaves me with a G to pay for my short block to be assembled with some forged pistons and rods. You can get more cubes out of a 500 caddy than any other block.

It would be nice to say I have a 572 in my car wouldn't it?

[Pontiacmuscle]

Check with mts.com and potter automotive....there are quite a few great Caddy message boards out there and the info is plentiful. I always wanted one in my one ton and a street car. I have a 454 FI in the truck and the GP needs a serious cubic inch infusion so I believethats the way to go.
The nice thing about Caddys is that they do make all the torque below 500 RPM which means they live longer; are more fun to drive and use less gas than a different engine trying to make the same numbers but having to do it at a higher RPM. lots of advantages......check out:
http://forums.500cid.com/
http://cowboyseven.us/forum/index.php

[Bad Karma]

Thanks for the Links!