Im pretty deep in my project now. Ive ran into only one snag so far. I havent been able to not break those damned clips that hold the dirt flaps, and also those black plastic wire-holder clips. Does anyone know where i can get replacements of both??????

Also i need to find a place that sells Q-Jet rebuild kits... help? Enjoy the pictures, more to come...

Almost forgot to ask... i need to know the stock colors of...

Control Arms
Heater Valve (which i think is what im holding in the one pic???)
Frame (black?)
Power booster, hood brackets (cadium plated?)

Thanks! oh since i took these pics i have removed the heater core, good thing im replacing that while the engine is out!!!

Where are you planning on getting the heater core from? I am missing the whole thing, blower and all. It's just one huge hole from the engine compartment to the passenger side. I am in need of one, bad. I won't let my girlfriend ride in it until it gets covered. I was thinking of just placing some fiberglass or sheet metal over the hole, and puting in a mojave(?) heater....I just really don't feel like going out and getting one out of a car. I'd rather order one.

Well the core is different from the housing.... the core you can just go and buy down at the store. The housing you may have to get out of a junkyard, not quite following ya...

I'm missing the core and the housing.

I'm missing the core and the housing.
The housing's probably going to have to be a junkyard item.

that's kind of what i figured. oh well

Well i got the day off so im rollin her outside and do a little powerwashing. I got the stuff off that im sendin out to get cadium plated.

Now i cleaned up my tranny a bit and noticed some spots of caddy blue paint. Im pretty sure tranny's dont get painted that often, did GM paint these things tho? Im really not sure.

One more thing. I buying alot of my paint stuff from eastwood i was wondering if anyone has ever bought their Cadillac Dark Blue. How close is it to the original? I want it to be perfect, thanks guys! :thumbsup:

You can get the core on Ebay pretty cheap. The housing is no where to be found on the net as far as I'm concerned.

JTraik-
Looking good man, it looks just like my '76 eldo project. Yes, GM did paint the trannys blue. Mine has a bit left on it as well. I also found traces of blue on the intake manifold, valve covers, and, of course, the block. I'm sure that 500 looked really pretty when it rolled off the showroom floor. :)

Ok... i just went out and checked out my block at the machine shop today. Hes doing a bunch of stuff to my heads to update them for unleaded gas. As far as my block goes im going to have to get it bored out. Unlucky for me my 472 has the "squashed peanut" pistons which are close to impossible to come by, or at least thats what i think of them so far. I dont want to lose compression from 10.5:1 to 8.5:1

Does anyone have any information to help me? I want at least 10:1 and i dont think i should surpass 11:1 What kind of compression will some of the later 472 pistons give me if i interchange? Thanks guys!

Ha maybe i spoke too soon, looks like these guys are having a special. What should i know about these to know if they are quality or not? They seem fairly cheap which raised a flag...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Cadillac-472-1968-69-hi-comp-pistons-new-10-5-1-si_W0QQitemZ7995235100QQcategoryZ33623QQrdZ1QQcmdZ ViewItem

You better not surpass 11:1 without some race gas. 10:1 is good, you can get some KB pistons from Potter (http://www.cadillacperformanceparts.com/component/page,shop.product_details/flypage,shop.flypage/product_id,25/category_id,68c45976dfff985212ed89ba7d78c678/option,com_phpshop/Itemid,1/) (or other Caddy parts vendors) that should be 10:1 on your motor. KBs are good pistons and the stock rods are strong, but if you ever intend to run forced induction or nitrous then IMO pay the extra for forged pistons and rods.

I hate to tell you but your heads didn't need to be 'updated to run on unleaded gas,' that pretty much just means he's installing hardened valve seats, and the OEM ones were plenty hard enough.

Edit: Hmm, Maddog racing has some cast 472 pistons eh... The cast ones they're selling are a good deal essentially a stock replacement piston, if you want more performance oriented ones go with KBs for a naturally aspirated or forged for forced induction. I haven't heard much about Maddog racing, but their feedback looks really good.

I hate to tell you but your heads didn't need to be 'updated to run on unleaded gas,' that pretty much just means he's installing hardened valve seats, and the OEM ones were plenty hard enough.


Well i thought it was bs until he showed me every little thing. He showed me examples of how they chrome plate valve stems because the chrome plating is extremely hard and doesnt need the lead to lubricate like its non-chrome plated counterpart. He showed me side by side my valve and a chrome plated one and you could see where mine was all worn down and the other was not. Then i was showed that there was play with my valves in the guide. So new guide inserts...

Now the exhaust valve seats... apparently unleaded gas upon detonation is 1000 degrees farhenheit hotter than leaded gas. So using the orignal cast seating with unleaded gas will eventually cause it to pit and degrade because of the heat.

And i will also be getting the latest valve seals which will never break up like my old umbrellas.


I would still like some more feedback on those Maddog pistons. I want to buy them right away. I should be set with cast pistons. What the hell would i need forged for?

The original valve seats, as long as they're in decent conditon, would've served you well for many years. I seriously doubt any claim of a 1000* difference between leaded and unleaded, I mean gas only combusts at (damn it I lost my link to where I could find the temp, but I know it's not very high into the thousand range anyway.) Maybe it's that hot upon detonation, but if you have detonation you have worse problems than valve seats failing...

I also don't know how much valve stem wear is enough to worry about so I can't really comment there. Replacing bad valve seals doesn't have much to do with leaded gas.

I don't know about YOUR project so I figured I'd cover all the bases and mention forged and KB hypers just in case you get an itch to go faster with the push of a button... I don't know of anyone on here or the cb7 board who has pistons from maddog, but there have to be some out there, hopefully they'll come forward.

\I also don't know how much valve stem wear is enough to worry about so I can't really comment there. Replacing bad valve seals doesn't have much to do with leaded gas.

I don't know about YOUR project so I figured I'd cover all the bases and mention forged and KB hypers just in case you get an itch to go faster with the push of a button... I don't know of anyone on here or the cb7 board who has pistons from maddog, but there have to be some out there, hopefully they'll come forward.

Well the original seals harden and break up causing all the oil to seep past the stems, these new ones will not. The valve stems from the 60's without the chrome plate will wear down on the sides because of absence of lead to lubricate.

Im interested in these KB pistons, what is so special about them, why should i buy them? Thanks... :)

I bought KB's for my project. I've heard really good things about them, and the guy that is helping me recommended them.

KB hypereutectic cast pistons are good pistons for a naturally aspirated performance build; as such I wouldn't bother on a stock engine, and I'd go with forged if forced induction is involved.

Well the original seals harden and break up causing all the oil to seep past the stems, these new ones will not. The valve stems from the 60's without the chrome plate will wear down on the sides because of absence of lead to lubricate.

Valve seals go bad due to age, not unleaded gas.

The valve stems will wear down after time no matter what. How many miles were on your engine?

Valve seals go bad due to age, not unleaded gas.

The valve stems will wear down after time no matter what. How many miles were on your engine?

I never said the seals go bad because of the gas, i said the stems do because they designed the bare steel stems to be lubricated by the lead. So they now use the chrome plating to greatly increase their lifetime.

I had 110k on it.

Well i just spent $1100 at Advance for all my suspension parts, you should have seen the look on all their faces! :wacky:

Anyways im shopping for my carb rebuild kit, im keepin the good ole qjet tell me what you think of think of the kit on this site.... i recognize the part number from other kits but it is cheap at this site. (You will have to enter make and year)

http://www.autopartsgiant.com/welcomeGOO.cfm?alf=GoToDi&source=Adwords&kwd=+CARBURETOR

Ok well i just dropped the crank in... i plastigauged it and came out with .0029ish across all main journals @ proper torque. I figure thats a decent clearance? Objections?
Crank has been turned and installed with proper bearings.

That sounds pretty loose on the bearing tolerances for a fresh rebuild, even for a Chevy smallblock, never mind a Caddy.
My sources put main journal clearance at 0.0026-0.003, and rod journal clearance at 0.0005-0.0028. I'd shoot for the very bottom edge of the spec and have a nice tight motor. Well, maybe not the super-tight end on the rods, that is REALLY tight.
Has the crank been turned by your machinist? If so, I'd start finding a new one. Those are tolarances like you might see on a dirt track motor, and some machinists aren't that good at keeping street and race motors straight, or knowing what to do differently between the two.

To answer some of your initial questions:
Any auto parts store will have rebuild kits. They're all pretty much the same. If you haven't already, buy the book: Rochester Carburetors by Doug Roe. It's a must-have.

The plastic clips might be harder. I'd try a CSK (checker/schucks/kragen) in their "Help!" section. Lots of little hard-to-find parts. Bring a broken example of your old clips to help you match. Often you will find a part that will accomplish the same thing, but looks a little different, so might not be 100% coucourse correct.

Oh, and if you are looking for parts online, also try www.rockauto.com Really good most of the time.

That sounds pretty loose on the bearing tolerances for a fresh rebuild, even for a Chevy smallblock, never mind a Caddy.
My sources put main journal clearance at 0.0026-0.003, and rod journal clearance at 0.0005-0.0028. I'd shoot for the very bottom edge of the spec and have a nice tight motor. Well, maybe not the super-tight end on the rods, that is REALLY tight.
Has the crank been turned by your machinist? If so, I'd start finding a new one. Those are tolarances like you might see on a dirt track motor, and some machinists aren't that good at keeping street and race motors straight, or knowing what to do differently between the two.
To answer some of your initial questions:
Any auto parts store will have rebuild kits. They're all pretty much the same. If you haven't already, buy the book: Rochester Carburetors by Doug Roe. It's a must-have.
The plastic clips might be harder. I'd try a CSK (checker/schucks/kragen) in their "Help!" section. Lots of little hard-to-find parts. Bring a broken example of your old clips to help you match. Often you will find a part that will accomplish the same thing, but looks a little different, so might not be 100% coucourse correct.
Oh, and if you are looking for parts online, also try www.rockauto.com Really good most of the time.


yeah im past most of that. I was using the shop manual as well and thats why i brought this up. The manual gives such a broad clearance range though... I let the machinist purchase all of the proper undersizings. I will call and ask him about it.

Although to some research i have been doing it is my understanding that anything less than .002 is pretty borderline to spinning bearings... .0025 is good but everything has to be perfect and .003 is about right. The tightest was my thrust bearing. Also a couple of rebuilders told me that was a perfectly acceptable allowance... perhaps a difference of opinion? I will call the machinist regardless.

The factory does set a rather broad tolerance because even Cadillacs were assembled on an assembley line and you just can't stop production to get one rod journal just a tiny bit tighter... For an aftermarket rebuild like this, I'd try to get just a bit better.

When you say rebuilders, I've heard of rebuilding outfits boring just those cylinders that NEED it, and just hone the rest. Most outfits make their money on quantity, not quality. If it is in spec, they aren't going to question it.
Obviously I don't know who you are dealing with though, but I might start calling a few machine shops. Find some local car clubs and see who they use.
I don't see why any machine shop would think it risky at all to set up a motor right near the tight side of factory spec. Heck, in Smokey Yunicks book, he reccomends 0.0027-0.0028 clearance, and that's on circle-track motors that will be turning twice as fast as your Caddy!

When you say rebuilders, I've heard of rebuilding outfits boring just those cylinders that NEED it, and just hone the rest. Most outfits make their money on quantity, not quality. If it is in spec, they aren't going to question it.
Obviously I don't know who you are dealing with though, but I might start calling a few machine shops. Find some local car clubs and see who they use.
I don't see why any machine shop would think it risky at all to set up a motor right near the tight side of factory spec. Heck, in Smokey Yunicks book, he reccomends 0.0027-0.0028 clearance, and that's on circle-track motors that will be turning twice as fast as your Caddy!

Well by rebuilders i meant people i know personally that have rebuilt motors and are much older and wiser than myself. The block was bored and oversized KB pistons were purchased and I gave them to the machinist so he could size everything up OK.

Also like i said before the journals are identical all the way down with a slight variation on the thrust. A precise job, but maybe not too accurate. Im going to figure this out before i start slapping everything else on.

BTW im using Clevite 77's.

I just talked to the machinist. He pulled out the his Clevite bearing reference guide which showed a .000xx - .0033 clearance range for my 472. He said for such large main journals @ 3-1/4" That the .0029ish clearance is right on.

I stressed the point of the shop manual saying otherwise, but the Clevites supposedly are more suited for a slightly larger clearance. Im happy... the crank is on with assembly lube and it freely moves but is very tight and moves slowly with no binding whatsoever.

Anyone have any RTV tricks for the rearmain seal? I havent applied any yet but i was thinking maybe a little at the two tips of each halve?