Re: almost ready to run

by Limey SE Mon Mar 05, 2012 12:47 am

LOL

by pila Thu Mar 08, 2012 5:22 pm

Yesterday I found this pic of the short block, it's +030 over on the bore, decked, etc. Keith Black hyper pistons etc. I built the oil pan to fit the Elco chassis.
almost ready to run - Page 2 Shortblock

And here's one of the heads. Ported/polished, and big valves etc.
almost ready to run - Page 2 Headscan

by Famstyle Thu Mar 08, 2012 8:33 pm

NICE!!!

by Jedediah Thu Mar 08, 2012 11:23 pm

Lookn good. Lots of detailed work here on your build. You must be patiently building this one up. Cant wait to find out how she moves with that motor.

by pila Sun Mar 11, 2012 2:37 am

I ran the engine a bit on Saturday afternoon. A bit of gas poured in the carb was enough to get the new fuel pump primed & the engine running. 2000 RPM for half an hour will break the cam in, but I ran it for only 5 or 6 minutes. I shut it down to check for leaks & add ATF. Fan was clipping the shroud in one place, so I adjusted the shroud mount. Oil pressure was about 63 PSI cold, and dropped to around 40+ at 170* coolant temp. The book sez 35 is normal. There are no high volume/high pressure pumps for the Cadillac, like there are for Chevys etc, but the pumps seem to do the job OK. I backed the timing up a bit, since it wanted to buck the starter a bit on the first start. I'll likely get the break-in finished on Sunday, and then I can set the initial timing at idle, and top off the ATF in the transmission etc
Exhaust fumes were heavy in the building, and I was running out of time, so I called it a day.

by Limey SE Sun Mar 11, 2012 2:57 am

this is such good news my friend !! wtg

by pila Tue Mar 13, 2012 8:27 pm

Today I finished the cam break-in run. Got the trans oil level topped off. Temp was at 185 during the run, with a 180 thermostat. Set the initial timing, and discovered an oil leak up front someplace. Didn't find the source of the leak yet. Also noticed a brake line leak on the rear end, where the brake hose T is located... No fuel leaks or coolant leaks noted.
The engine fuel pump is running at 4 PSI, and pressure is 7 PSI with the electric pump on.

by pila Wed Mar 14, 2012 11:04 pm

Today I found & fixed the brake line leaks. Have to bleed the brakes again, but they do hold it when I run through the selector on the shifter. The rear brakes ( 2 1/2 X 11 inch drums) need to be adjusted yet also, which will bring the pedal up a bit more.
I bumped the timing up more today too, and it seems to idle better. It's about 12* BTDC now. I have 30 PSI at idle, on the oil pressure, when the temp is 175*.
Found that I had not torqued the oil pan bolts very good, and since I went over those, maybe I wont have an oil leak. At least that's where appears to leak.

by pila Sat Mar 24, 2012 11:56 pm

I replaced the electric choke heater, and now have the carb/choke adjusted. I bought a limiter plate ( Crane) to limit the travel of the vacuum advance canister, to get a total advance of 35 degrees. My initial is now 14 degrees BTDC, and I still have to fool with the total advance. Probably do that when it gets on the road.
The rear brakes are adjusted now. It's a Currie rear, and it was simply assembled, and never adjusted. Pedal is still a bit lower than I like it. Likely I'll have to adjust the length of the push rod between the pedal & the booster, since the booster has a shim behind it, making the rod a bit too short.

by 77mali Fri Mar 30, 2012 7:06 pm

Anymore pics? I can't wait to see this build!!!

by pila Fri Mar 30, 2012 9:02 pm

I have one pic with the "winter" air cleaner, which is the stock Caddy part. In summer I'll use an open type, like maybe a K&N etc. It's not a clear pic. Must have moved the camera....

almost ready to run - Page 2 P1011023

by 77mali Fri Mar 30, 2012 9:13 pm

Awesome! I can't believe you stuffed that monster in an El Camino, have you driven it yet?

by pila Fri Mar 30, 2012 9:24 pm

No, there's no seat in it !! Very Happy

The seat is apart in my basement, for new upholstery. There are no mufflers on it yet either, just the pipes running back behind the cross-member, where the mufflers will be.
I'm working on the hood now, which has some surface rust, top & bottom. The only engine item I have to do yet is add a Tee for vacuum to the cruise control transducer.
The original type AC compressor (A-6) will be replaced with a Sanden, when I get into the AC stuff.

Oh yeah, the other thing I did was remove the brake booster, and cut & added 1/4 inch to the rod that goes to the brake pedal. Now the pedal is in the right place. I had added a tapered shim behind the booster, to off-set it slightly, for clearance to get the r/h valve cover off, so the pedal rod was a bit short......

by 77mali Fri Mar 30, 2012 10:06 pm

I found an 87 Elkie SS nearby me & I'm thinking about selling my van & buying it as my daily driver/work vehicle

by texan01 Fri Mar 30, 2012 10:56 pm

We took a 500 and stuffed it into my buddy's 78 Impala. You are in for a treat! The one we built was fairly mild, but even in a 3700 pound sedan it was a monster!

by pila Sat Mar 31, 2012 12:29 am

This engine came out of a '76 Coupe DeVille that I owned, and even in a 5300 pound car it had a lot of grunt. With the mods, like big valves, flat top pistons, cam etc, it should do the job in a 4000 pound Elco.

77mali, the Elco you are looking at should get better gas mileage than a van, I would think...

by pila Sun Apr 01, 2012 2:47 pm

Here is the fuel filter and fuel pressure gauge. The filter is a billet type from Summit. I have to back-off the pressure from the electric pup a bit, from 7 to about 6 1/2 PSI, which the manual calls out for this carb. It runs fine at 7 but that may be a problem later (?)
almost ready to run - Page 2 P1011030

I have the bottom of the hood done, sanded etc and primed. Waiting for my son to help turn it over to do the top side.

by pila Fri Apr 06, 2012 10:42 pm

The Caddy engine valve cover is only about 5/8" from the brake booster, but the cover comes off OK to adjust valves. The other side needed a mod to the AC/heater box, which I did by making an inverted "bump" from fiberglass. The big clearance problem is with the exhaust. No way that headers would fit, and I had to remove about 1/4 inch off the of the end of the right front control arm for exhaust manifold clearance. Anyway, it's in there ! Very Happy

by 77mali Sat Apr 07, 2012 8:43 am

by Psychlonic Sun Apr 08, 2012 12:46 pm

Very nice. I had a buddy with an 81 Caddy that had one of these. Always wished he would have kept the motor, rebuilt it, and dropped it into a lighter car.

by McCauley5983 Sun Apr 08, 2012 2:57 pm

Wats a 500 generally run price wise

by pila Sun Apr 08, 2012 10:18 pm

Guys have told me on some of the forums that $150 to 300 bucks buys on from a salvage yard. I suppose that only performance guys buy them, and with gas prices, likely the other folks don't know about parts for them. There are a few vendors that have performance parts for the 472 and 500 Caddys.

The 472 was in most Caddys except the El Dorados, until '75, and '76 was the last year for them. The first 500 was in the '70 El Dorado, and factory rated at 400 HP. which was a big GM lie, like most of their HP numbers back in the old days.

by pila Tue Apr 10, 2012 5:02 pm

I gave up on the hood I was working on, and now I'm working on one in better shape.....no surface rust to deal with. Sure will be nice to get the engine covered up !

by 77mali Tue Apr 10, 2012 5:19 pm

Sometimes your time is worth more than the expense of a new part!
Very Happy

by jerry46765 Wed Apr 11, 2012 1:35 am

Looking forward to some more pictures. The 500 will be a tire fryer.

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