platinummaker

I would respectfully disagree. A 500 cu Caddy weighs less than a BBC and if you throw a set of early stock heads on that block, performance cam and Edelbrock intake, you will have over 550 hp and over 600 ft pounds of torque. Modify BBC headers to Caddy flanges and you got the exhaust handled. Your car, your way. I had a 540 Caddy that dynoed at over 700 hp normally aspirated. Most people are ignorant to the easy power to be had with these engines. Look up the specs on a stock 1970 500 ci Caddy and compare it to a BBC 454. I’m a Chevy guy at heart, but I don’t let brand loyalty keep me from going fast on a budget.

lars

You are aware of the fact that the OP is in England, with no access to parts (like, "throw a set of early heads on the block"), and without the technical resources and ability to even remove the engine out of the chassis... and he's going to "modify a set of BBC headers", that he's going to find at a swap meet at Trafalgar Square, to Caddy flanges... I deal with a lot of American car enthusiasts in Europe, and this one ain't happening... bad idea to encourage the OP to continue on this endeavour - he's going to lose his ****.

...just my dumb opinion from doing this for 50 years, of course.

platinummaker

Not trying to stir anything up, was just giving the op EDUCATED and PERSONAL EXPERIENCE from working on these engines, contrary to most who have offered their opinion. The OP is located in the UK , not Somalia, and the parts previously mentioned are as easily available via the internet and FedEx as BBC parts.
Whereas I wouldn’t question your understanding of most things automotive, particularly as it applies to carburetors and distributors, and your willingness to share for our benefit, it appears you have little or no experience in working with these engines in a performance or modified level. The OP was asking for opinions, and I, you, and others have offered just that.
Thanks for your feedback. Oh, and by the way, you might not be the only one on this forum who has been wrenching on cars for 50 years.

leadfoot4

Well, I, too, have been "wrenching" for 50 years, and with all due respect to the OP, when I see a post that begins with the phrase, "what's the easiest way to remove a big block......from a Caddy Eldorado", I pretty much sense that the person asking the question is ALREADY in way over their head. They don't know the basics of engine removal, and don't realize that a Cadillac engine is not what we commonly refer to as a "big block", at least not on a Chevy Corvette based discussion site.

platinummaker

Agreed

Kacyc3

Options
1. sell the car let someone else deal with the issues listed here and still claim you used to own an 8.2l
2. donate it get a tax break and still claim you used to own an 8.2l
3. pull it, try to swap it in something, find out how difficult it is, get discouraged and sell it and still claim you used to own an 8.2l
4. pull it, try to swap it in something, find out how difficult it is, complete it possibly not license it, get discouraged and sell it and still claim you used to own an 8.2l
5. Pull it, put on cart, wheel under a table in the garage and claim you have an 8.2L.

jackson

Dump a quart of sodium silicate in eldo's oil fill; run it 'til it siezes (e.g. "cash for clunkers"). Read last rites / sayonara / declare caddy dead.

And dead is probably what this web clunker should be, because subject was never anything but folly and, anyway, OP's 2-day deadline's passed.

Dazaa Rafae Aman

You're right i'm new to all this but i'm only 24 and have to start somewhere. I love big old v8's and they aren't exactly plentiful here in the UK. I'll be building a shop big enough to work on my 71 Vette later this year and it seemed silly to throw away a good core when i'd like to build up the knowledge to do my own engine build at some point in the future, especially since I have space to store it. The only way to learn is by trying right?

Dazaa Rafae Aman

In the end I managed to secure a few more weeks to decide what to do, hoping all the valuable trim parts will fund a set of Dakota digital c3 gauges

leadfoot4

THAT'S the spirit!!


And on a serious note, if you REALLY want to keep that Caddy engine around, keep in mind the picture that "Lars" posted, showing the configuration of the transmission. Because it's a FWD tranny, it's BIG, and I'm 99% sure that you'll have to drop the tranny off the engine, from the bottom, first, before you can pull the engine out from under the hood.

Syl1953

Dazza, Pull it out and build yourself an airboat ! They make great airboat engines with the massive amount of torque at lower RPMs. Here in Florida it would be very sellable. Go to the forum "Southern Airboat" and look around about them. Talk about something not many of your friends have. Mark

ignatz

Cadillac "torque monster" - 649 foot pounds. 2008 article in Hot Rod

https://www.hotrod.com/articles/hrdp...k-cadillac-v8/

Kacyc3

"Dick Miller’s 541ci Caddy stroker uses newly developed heads plus a custom Comp Cams bumpstick and valvetrain to produce tons of tire-twisting torque at a realistic engine speed."

I'm sure that was cheap.

ignatz

I don't know what it is out of the box. And I didn't editorialize, but with that in mind consider it "marketable" on that basis alone!

leadfoot4

I'd venture a guess that it was a $15-16K engine......

derekderek

No matter what engine, if you put aftermarket heads and a cam on it it has the capability to be a seriously powerful engine. That doesn't mean it is worth the trouble-expense to do it. Chevys are popular cuz they are so popular. An argument can be made that the the 429-460 Ford is an improvement on the 427-454. But there are far less of them and even farther less applications they fit in.

Dazaa Rafae Aman

Like this?
That is the coolest thing i've ever seen.

jackson

https://gineersnow.com/industries/en...g-over-13-feet

Dazaa Rafae Aman

Only in America...

Syl1953

Dazaa, There you go, now there is a use for the torque monster! Mark