Cadillac 500 in a Camaro

you should make sure it is a 500 and not a 472
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The guy I bought the motor from told me it was a 500 and had several of these motors and transmissions and was pretty knowledgable about them so I'm quite sure its is a 500 but I will take some pictures of the motor and stick them on here.

Where are you located Abe?
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I'm located in Southern IL.

Is it a front steer ? Is the steering box in front or behind the front cross member
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Yes the steering box is in front of the crossmember.
Do the A frames ,where they attach to the main frame rails, rise up as you look from back to front ? Or are they parallel to the main frame
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I don't recall how the A frames sit, but will have a look.

Search "Time to Fess up" ,a lot of the build on my car is explained there .
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Lots of good information there. I will probably go back to read over again when I come to fitting the motor in. None of the pictures would come up though. Said they didn't exist anymore.

Are you running headers or a stock exhaust manifold ?
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I will probably put headers on the motor.
 
The 500 pump worked on my car .I went to the small filter because I had to drop the sway bar to change it .Once it was on I had about a 1/2 inch of clearance .The small filter makes life easier .

The 425 pump is an option .
 
For Abe, what we are talking about with the oil pumps is the 68-76 oil pump (which is what the filter mounts to) sort of angles down and a little away / out from the engine. This often causes clearance issues in swaps. The 77-81 pump angles the filter more in so it just about touches the crank pulley. Somewhere around here we have a thread with part numbers and physical dimensions of the various filters that will thread on. THe earlier engines used the larger diameter filter. The later ones went to the smaller diameter but the thread and boss stayed the same so its all about what else is around it.
 
For those wondering this is the car that I'm putting the motor in. And some pictures of the motor. The reason its sitting in the grass is when I unloaded it from the truck and tried to move it to a shed across the yard the ground was so soft the tractor sank into the ground and got stuck, so I just threw a tarp over the engine for the night.
 

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I was referring to pistons being the other difference....making a joke...sorry if nobody got it ..no malice intended

And yes i have been drinking ,lil bit of Phillip union Cherry and coke....damn tasty thanks for asking
 
JW said:
I was referring to pistons being the other difference....making a joke...sorry if nobody got it ..no malice intended

And yes i have been drinking ,lil bit of Phillip union Cherry and coke....damn tasty thanks for asking
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John,

I got the joke but truth be told -- Champipple helped with the analysis. :yes:

d
 
The pics are not close enough to see any details other than its got a smog pump, hei, and a a cast front pulley. Those things still make 75-76 possible. Its also a good sign that the AC compressor is still there, means it likely did come fresh out of a Cadillac so it may not be abused.
 
"...Champipple helped with the analysis..."

i actually prefer "stripple." lol lol lol
ciao,
mario (fred)
 
i was planning on putting a 500 in a 70 camaro, i ended up wanting to do an aluminum ls1. anyways bigblock chevy headers work, you have to buy caddy flanges and weld them on a chevy header. you also need a rear sump oil pan, witch i have one from MTS for sale on here! i also have the motor mount adapter plates. i had problems with the heater box clearing, i removed mine. its a tight fit but can be done, also a stock hood wont clear cause the Distributor.
 
Seems like most GM cars have the heater box in the way of big blocks. I modified mine by putting an inverted dimple in it. Being fiberglass it wasn't difficult to modify it. The F bodies may be tighter in that area though.....
 
The cars heat has never worked so I may just do away with the heater box if its in the way.
 
I got a rear sump oil pan for the motor and was finally able to put it on yesterday. Today I got the motor in the car for the first time. It looks like I will have enough room around the brake booster and the heater box, but the oil filter will need to change and it looks like it will be an awful tight fit for an exhaust header on the passenger side.

How would you guys suggest I make the motor mounts? Would I do something like make a plate that bolts to the old Chevy mounts that will reach over to the Cadillac mounts and bolt it together, and have some gussets welded to the Chevy mounts and the plate? Or maybe take the Chevy mounts out entirely and make new mounts that bolt to the crossmember and will reach over to where I can bolt it to the Cadillac mounts? Or does someone here has a better way of doing it. I know MTS sells a universal motor mount kit, but I don't want to have to spend the money on that when I can make them for the cost of metal where I work. Thanks for any help.
 

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It looks like some "major" fabrication work will be needed to get the engine mounted to the (sub)-frame.
Do you have access to a welder that's strong enough to do the job? Also, it looks like you'll need to get some thick steel plate material to "fab up" the mounting "pads". But, besides all of that, it looks like the rest of the car will accomodate the Caddy engine without much "fuss".

Gene
 
I work in a welding shop so I have all the metal and welders I would need. I'm just not sure the best design for the motor mounts. The motor isn't centered in the engine bay in the pictures as it was still hanging from the tractor.
 
It might just be an optical illusion but from the picture of the pan and crossmember it looks like the engine should go back and down just a bit.

I don't know if it will help but here is the thread I did when I put a 500 in my El Camino....I know it's a different car and crossmember but it might give you some ideas (there is a decent picture of my final mounts towards the bottom of the first page).

http://gbodyforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=1 ... 7a920fab9e

having done a lot of swaps over the years, I would strongly suggest that you get the headers fabed and have them on hand before you do the final welding on the motor mounts. A 1/2" change in where the engine sits can make a big difference in how everything fits and that is usually especially true of a tight exhaust.
 
Thanks for posting that link, very helpful. The motor was still hanging from the tractor in the pictures so It probably could go back and down yet. I just set it in there today to get an idea how it would fit. I may just go with the stock exhaust manifolds since I will be leaving the motor stock for now.
 
My G-body mounts are 1/4 plate "P's" that bolt to the crossmember through the stock mounting holes. The tail of the P-shape faces Aft and has vertical slots to accept '77 eldo motor mounts, just drops in and falls level. Hasn't given me the least problem in over 50,000 miles(with the occasional burnout and stand on it launch). Still think I'd look for an old Trans Am for the tranny crossmember to start this shindig. But if you have one you could just bolt the bottom two bolts to a chevy trans to locate the engine fore and aft in the chassis, then build or modify a crossmember to suit. Have fun and keep in touch, there are some smart heads here that will help you through most any challange.
 
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