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Cadillac 500: It Begins.

22K views 115 replies 19 participants last post by  The-Dullahan 
#1 ·
Okay, so as anyone who hangs out in the lounge may have heard, I have gotten my new engine.

Without further adieu, let's get some photography going, because everyone complained about a lack of photos.



Freshly pulled from a 1970 Eldorado, sporting some minor modification.

Lacking an engine stand at the moment, I am using a tyre and an industrial dolly.









I have three sets of these. The originals, the chromed tin ones with the Caddy scripting and the aluminum ones, which I actually think I'd like if they had some black enamel on them.



A fancy ignition system.



Here's the fuel pump, the original distributor, and a few necessities. Also, some ridiculous headers.



And lastly, the accompanying transmission.



Not shown are plenty of bolts and a few simple pieces, a new valley pan gasket and an extra set of lifters, also new.

Now I'll need some motor mounts, a new rear axle, preferably with disc brakes, a new radiator (No faith in the 307's radiator, even if it new and a 3-row), accessory brackets and some accessories themselves, an exhaust (going for duals) a custom driveshaft (because the the transmission will be a different overall length), an air cleaner and I am not sure I can even fit that engine into a Brougham's engine bay with that intake. Any expert advice in any of these tasks would be GREATLY appreciated.
 
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#65 ·
the b-body (impala ss) crowd like running a dual electric fan setup found on the lincoln mark VIII (the round one from the 90's)
News to me, and I have been "the b body crowd" for more than twenty years. I have NEVER seen someone use Lincoln fans on a b body. Are you sure you are not thinking of the stock OEM dual electric fans that came on the Impala SS (and all non tow pack LT1 Caprices and Roadmasters, and the 93 Cadillac Fleetwood)?
 
#68 ·
^Yes, but the local junkyards would charge me just as much for any fan assembly and I can probably find one like Jay said, just as easily, probably even easier and a more assured notion that I can make it fit :)

Plus, then all the Lincoln bits will stay on my '71, whileas my '87 can remain entirely Cadillac and my driveway will be at peace.
 
#71 ·
Intake bolts have finally arrived. Okay, so question. I have my MTS intake gaskets with the sealant printed on them and from what I gather I am not supposed to add ANY sealer between the heads and the gaskets? What about between the gaskets and the valley pan, as in

Intake
--------
Valley Pan
---------
Gasket
---------
Heads

(That IS the proper order, right?)

Is there supposed to be any sealer between ANY of those levels, in any of your opinions or experience, or would it even make a difference? Likewise, at the front and rear of the engine, I have the little rubber strips that go between the intake and the engine block. Should I use a sealer there? From what I can tell, some people use sealer, some people use the strips and some people use both.

Also received my alternator bracket today and sanded it down and began enameling it. No photos of today's nonsense yet, because this website is behaving rather odd and not loading, so I will get those later.
 
#73 ·
Groovy.

Here's another conundrum. I had to stop all work on the project today, so I probably got less than an hour in (extenuating circumstances beyond my control) and I am only just getting back now. The thing is, I lined up the alt bracket I got, which is apparently from a 425. Now I have already gathered that the bracket is different than those I have seen, but are we SURE it will fit this engine? The top arm of it fits fine (Just one bolt, why wouldn't it) but the bottom bracket, which as I understand is supposed to bolt onto the other two bolts, down by the water pump, does not seem to line up with them whatsoever.

I am including a photo of the brackets I have now. Is anyone familiar with this lower/rear bracket (On the left in photo, of course)

 
#75 ·
Hah. Took only a few seconds, really, because I just held the pieces while sanding them with a drill bit, rather than clamping them to a workbench This is before I finished them, actually. Enameled them black thereafter. Since I have the entire engine NOT in a car anyhow, I have been replacing seals and cleaning everything as I went along anyhow. Not sure what I will do with the 307 when it comes out, but I can probably clean it up as well. As for the bracket I figured it must be some weirdsass smog pump or whatnot and I do not mind sawing bits I don't need off, but the thing is that it still doesn't line up with the mounting holes. Weird.

I think this is going to be sold on Ebay now. At least I can say they were rust free before painting.

I'll pay you for yours, if you can cut me a better deal than $4,000. If not, I think there are a few on Ebay already.
 
#76 ·
Got to the bottom of it.

THIS is a 425 with a Smog Pump. Not sure exactly what was different about the water pump layout, but my water pump prevents me from using this particularly ridiculous setup. Also, if you were wondering what colours/textures my bracket was yesterday morning, they were about the same as that upper alternator arm or the pulley on the smog pump.

(Figured I would add it in case someone else stumbles across this thread someday)

While I believe that the top arm will work no matter what, I will have to acquire the bottom piece. I look forward to having an alternator that mounts in a sensible way, unlike the design on the 307...
 
#78 ·
Took a couple days from when I started it, but only because I was at work and could not continue forward, as I was waiting for parts, but here it is. The Quadrajet. While in there replacing gaskets, I replaced some bots and such and repaired some others. I also added a brass float and I converted the choke switch to an electric one, but that is not mounted here. I will have to find some means to mount that to the carb when I put it on the intake, as the Edelbrock intake does not have mounts for the choke switch, so I figure I can make a sheet metal bracket that extends from between the carb base and the rear mounting bolt, because it is accessible and open.



Didn't go crazy on the rusty pieces, though there are sources to get new ones, but they all work fine, so I didn't bother.
 
#81 ·
From what I am told, the Olds 455 Qjet is supposed to be a beast. Considering it was a bunch of hype and I got this thing taken apart and put back together with new parts in a snap (Thanks for the information, Cadforce. I am sure I will still need to tune it when I install it) I may just go ahead and grab a 455's carb someday and do it all over again.
 
#82 ·


Well, though it looks like I will have to drill out and retap one of the bell-housing mounts for the transmission, at least it is starting to look like an engine.

This engine stand is absolutely massive and very stable, but I am wondering if I should let it sit without the actual engine hoist connected to it. It is not the stand I do not trust but the bolts/spacers that are connected to the engine. If the photo does not load, my apologies. Photobucket is being very finicky about this particular snapshot for some reason.
 
#85 ·
It's such a big stand, because it's for 6BT Cummins Diesels. Got it through work connections. Guess if I ever have to pull my 16.4 Litre truck engine (Yes, my big work truck is nearly two 500's) I'd love to get the valve covers labeled, but not with stickers. I'd need to have them engraved. Too bad I got them this way, because I could have just ordered the same ones pre-cut with breather holes, baffles and Caddy script if I didn't already have a set.



The other cool thing about this stand is that all it needs are front supports and I can definitely run an engine on it. I probably could now, but would prefer not to risk it.

Speaking of supports, I can use the factory mounting brackets from any 500-472-425-powered RWD car or no? Also, does anyone know where to get some good Headers for this monster? I have an awesome set, but they will never work in a Brougham. They'd be great for airboat/ratrod application. Big, mean and definitely loud.
 
#88 ·
Like I said, it is less the stand I distrust, more the hardware from Lowe's. So far so good though.

Thanks, Csbuckn. I figured as much on the mounts. Was not sure if a RWD 500 platform would have the right mounts. Good to know though. Now if only I had some 368 cars at the junkyards...

Checked their inventory, because I will have to go for my fan unit soon anyhow. Lots of oddball 70's cars like MG's and Datsuns in there this month and two big early seventies Rivieras. Not relevant to my build, but interesting, since it usually just had eighties cars at the oldest and never anything too out-of-the-ordinary.
 
#89 ·
Alright then, thanks to my newest batch of supplies arriving today, it is intake time (Also, more Silly Hats)

Okay then, so what is the proper bolt-down pattern for this engine?

Also, and this is a bit more technical, I have seen varying degrees of how to best install this intake. I already know I should use sealer, because though many sources say no sealer is needed for the intake gaskets, most people who have actually done it, say YES, use the sealer. However, what about the Valley Pan? I have even heard people say they do not use it (I figure I should)

Do I put a layer of sealer between all surfaces? Therefore, engine, sealer, gasket, sealer, valley pan, sealer, then bolt down the intake?
 
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