500 Cadillac swap

[android211]

I'm at work I'll get you some pictures in a couple days. I'm using the cast iron manifolds. You can run 2 1/2" headpipes off them no problem.
I don't know what I was thinking buy my machinist said he could shim the spring in the stock oil pump for better oil pressure but it was only 35 on the highway and much lower, hot at idle. Yes the engine would rev to 5000 but power seemed to be dropping off around 4800. The trans doesn't shift automatically till 5400 which was not a good thing. It'll be readjusted back down. The rear was a (destroyed) peg leg 3.42 when I got it and I had a Auburn Gear posi and 3.08s installed. Later I tried 2.73s and I will go back to the 3.08s. Tires are Olds SS IIIs 15x7s with 215/65s all around.
I've had a lot of misadventures with it. I ran the air pump for awhile because I had too and one day it seized and the belt broke. The engine somewhat overheated. i bought the air pump delete pulley set. its great. I tried a Eldo brass radiator for awhile then went to a aluminum one. I had to do some trimming to get them to fit.
A plastic GM fan shroud worked OK but eventually I had a sheetmetal shop make me a custom fan shroud. I then cut out the hole so it fit very tight around the blades. With a six blade stainless steel blade flex fan cooling was OK everywhere except stopped in traffic. I then tried a seven blade clutch fan with a Hayden HD clutch and thats been better. I still have complete AC system and it works when its charged but it always leaks.
In back I have boxed factory control arms and an aftermarket 1" rear bar. With the stiffer springs and GN front bar handling isn't bad.

 

[500/600]

Don’t give up quite yet. I’ll send you a part number for a better oil pump spring. Worst case you’re spending a few hundred dollars to fix the bottom end and oil mods but you’ll still be money ahead of any kind of other engine swap.

 

[500/600]

Canton 22-190 spring for about $10. Five minutes to change. With no shim it gives me well over 30psi at 200 degrees and 900rpm idle. Over 60psi every time you snap the throttle. Start there and see if your noise improves.

 

[olds307 and 403]

This is a 500 Caddy swap thread.................Dodge Magnum series? Seriously? You went way off topic

No, it is dare to be different, a Cad 500 is a great example. Don't the Cad 500 have weak, cast rods? Not like Olds mushy forged rods are much better. I also gave him a tech tip, any drop in oil pressure is a dam good sign things are going bad. Exhaust leaks, cracked flex plate could also sound like a knock. GM snobs, sorry I mentioned anything else, won't do that again. Factory the Magnum like the Vortec were good till cracked a head, which happens a lot on both. I could have been an ******* and flamed him for pulling the Olds V8, it is my personal favorite, I did not. Forget I mentioned, my apologies.

 

[TURNA]

YEAH!!

TAKE THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[500/600]

No, it is dare to be different, a Cad 500 is a great example. Don't the Cad 500 have weak, cast rods? Not like Olds mushy forged rods are much better. I also gave him a tech tip, any drop in oil pressure is a dam good sign things are going bad. Exhaust leaks, cracked flex plate could also sound like a knock. GM snobs, sorry I mentioned anything else, won't do that again. Factory the Magnum like the Vortec were good till cracked a head, which happens a lot on both. I could have been an ******* and flamed him for pulling the Olds V8, it is my personal favorite, I did not. Forget I mentioned, my apologies.

Stay calm. I am a Dodge and a Magnum fan. Here’s the proof getting an oil change out in the driveway.

 

[olds307 and 403]

Stay calm. I am a Dodge and a Magnum fan. Here’s the proof getting an oil change out in the driveway.

View attachment 126897

It is weird, they were everywhere, now none. There is a nice red one in town. Nice a Hemi, very hard to find up here. Most were 3.5 which after owning one in a 2010 Challenger is a POS. Used oil and a bad tick which were both common issues. To stay on topic, do Cadillac V8's have the front cover wear issues the Buick V8 has?

 

[500/600]

It is weird, they were everywhere, now none. There is a nice red one in town. Nice a Hemi, very hard to find up here. Most were 3.5 which after owning one in a 2010 Challenger is a POS. Used oil and a bad tick which were both common issues. To stay on topic, do Cadillac V8's have the front cover wear issues the Buick V8 has?

That one is a 6.1L, 461rwhp, 111,000 mile, 20+mpg, 7.65 in the 1/8th, daily driven (and I mean daily) SRT car. Filthy inside and used like a truck. Only 3800 ever made. I probably should treat it better.

Back on topic, the wear surface is on the block and is machinable on a 500 Caddy. The oil pump itself is cast iron. Mine has 0.0025" end clearance on the gears. Factory is about 0.008"-0.012" and kills oil pressure going to the block. Once the OP buys the $10 spring and gives feedback on the results, we'll move on to the next steps, all of which are dirt cheap if not free, and very effective.

 

[olds307 and 403]

Cool, yeah I haven't heard about oiling issues like the Buick V8's. Are the blocks as hard as they say? There are a ton of myths about the Olds V8, most are BS, curious about the Cadillac V8.

 

[android211]

This is actually my second 500. The first was a 10:1 motor and it pinged and knocked so much I parked it for a long time. One day my contact at my favorite junkyard called to tell me there was a fresh 500 Sedan de Ville. Turns out it was a '75 and had factory EFI. I still have the intake. My machinist, who had done hundreds of air boat motors for the Seminoles and always used Cadillacs, was shocked to see it. He'd never seen one before. I built a low compression motor and was much happier.
Anyway the high compression engine I used the MTS high pressure pump and always had 50+ psi. Its important to use a very thin oil pump gasket to maintain that tight clearance.
Yes the blocks are supposed to be very hard. I've seen testimonials from fans that they tore down well cared for 472s and 500s with high miles and they still had crosshatch on the bores. Many guys rering them, slide in a cam and springs and race or tow with them.
The machine shop owner said Cadillacs seem to have very good rod bolts as he had seen broken rods but the big end was still intact on the crank journal.
The rods seem to be good enough for the rpm limit of the heads. Aluminum heads, big roller, that would be different. You can substitute Olds aftermarket rods.
They are the same length and rod journal size. There are weird parts combinations. 472 engine, 425 Olds rods, Olds 403 pistons. I was told about using Ford 429 pistons and Chevy 454 too.