Cadillac 500 Build for my 1984 Regal (LOTS OF PIX)
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So once i got the burnout out of the way, it was time to break in the engine with some street miles, considering it had about 2miles on it since the build. But after sitting for so long, many other things needed attention. So i made a short list, but was too busy to get the stuff done. I picked september as a race date, as the weather was a bit cooler, but the track was virtually booked every weekend, solid with race events till closing. So we picked a random weekday and i had about 3 days to get the car in shape.
I tackled a bunch of boring things that you probably dont care about like installed a fan, cleaned up some wiring, flushed the brake fluid, topped up the trans, etc... But i still didnt have the car tuned perfectly, theres still a bit of a vacuum leak somewhere, and the trans is not going into second. I have to short shift from 1st to 3rd. Then i borrowed a pair of slicks and got a friend to tow me to the track.
I tackled a bunch of boring things that you probably dont care about like installed a fan, cleaned up some wiring, flushed the brake fluid, topped up the trans, etc... But i still didnt have the car tuned perfectly, theres still a bit of a vacuum leak somewhere, and the trans is not going into second. I have to short shift from 1st to 3rd. Then i borrowed a pair of slicks and got a friend to tow me to the track.
Cutting straight to the point;
Best run of the day was 12.45 @ 108mph. Best 60ft of 1.66. Oh yea and it turns out i actually have 3.73's not 3.41 so thats good i guess.
Much slower than what i was hoping for, but theres still lots left in it if i can tune out some of the issues. The goal was 111mph, so im not too far off. Looking back, i can see where i should have gone a bit differently, based on a bunch of things. Partly bad advice, partly learning curve, but mid 12's is not too bad at all.
The car was completely useless without the slicks. But with them on, boy it hooks up good. The car has zero suspension stiffness or chassis stiffness. No sway bars, stock springs etc... So lots of room for improvement.
1 week after the race track i gave the car a bath and took it to storage. Its sitting outside till it gets a bit colder out, and then it will be put away for the winter. Not sure if i'll get the chance to take it out next year, but no real plans for it at this point other than to get the issues fixed.
Best run of the day was 12.45 @ 108mph. Best 60ft of 1.66. Oh yea and it turns out i actually have 3.73's not 3.41 so thats good i guess.
Much slower than what i was hoping for, but theres still lots left in it if i can tune out some of the issues. The goal was 111mph, so im not too far off. Looking back, i can see where i should have gone a bit differently, based on a bunch of things. Partly bad advice, partly learning curve, but mid 12's is not too bad at all.
The car was completely useless without the slicks. But with them on, boy it hooks up good. The car has zero suspension stiffness or chassis stiffness. No sway bars, stock springs etc... So lots of room for improvement.
1 week after the race track i gave the car a bath and took it to storage. Its sitting outside till it gets a bit colder out, and then it will be put away for the winter. Not sure if i'll get the chance to take it out next year, but no real plans for it at this point other than to get the issues fixed.
And I think thats a pretty good spot to put a big "THE END" on a build thread. Wasnt expecting it to take 5 years but there you have it lol. Best advice i can give someone for when "life gets in the way" is to tuck the car away somewhere safe and forget about. Dont sell it cuz of life, you will never get enough money for it and you'll always regret it.
Heres a quick video for the car being driven to storage. Some fun parts if you can make it through the entire boring 3 minutes of it. As well as a pic of the car at the starting line at idle so you can see how much it squats when you mash the pedal.
Heres a quick video for the car being driven to storage. Some fun parts if you can make it through the entire boring 3 minutes of it. As well as a pic of the car at the starting line at idle so you can see how much it squats when you mash the pedal.
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That last picture of the front of the car is desktop wall paper/magazine centerfold material! I love your car. And stock springs? I love the way your car sits. What did it have in it originally drivetrain wise?
Thanks! I do try my best to make the pix look good. I call that pic the autocross lean. Lol. The car is making like a 10° gentle right turn and it's leaning pretty good for such a gentle turn.
Im not 100% sure since it's always had a caddy since I've known about it. But most likely a 305 with 3spd auto. Yes stock springs, but i do have competition shocks in the front. The car just sits like an original, very very high.
It needs to be like 3" lower, it's way too tall for me.
Im not 100% sure since it's always had a caddy since I've known about it. But most likely a 305 with 3spd auto. Yes stock springs, but i do have competition shocks in the front. The car just sits like an original, very very high.
It needs to be like 3" lower, it's way too tall for me.
I love this build, great you stuck it out. I think my awful suspension, very similar to your car is one of the reasons my Cutlass was/is slow. I say 12.45 is good without second gear. What stall are you running?
Yea the car has many other things as well, but after so long it was enough and it was time to go racing. In the burn out at the strip you can hear it misfire in the low revs also which is a hint to bigger problems. She runs real good up high in the revs though.
Stall is a TCI 3500. Nothing special, its a big converter.
Stall is a TCI 3500. Nothing special, its a big converter.
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