Caddy 500 in a Squarebody
 

I Recently bought a C30 Crew cab with no Engine or trans

I have a mid 70s 500 Caddy engine sitting for a another project
As Smallblock chevys and Big blocks are getting really expensive over here in Europe and want to use this caddy engine

I have made a rear sump oil pan and pickup tube

From research i found out that the stock Chevy engine mounting bracket can be used with caddy mounts if i flip them from side to side.

But i read that it might have some firewall clearence to do

Anyone have any pictures of this swap in progres?

Re: Caddy 500 in a Squarebody
 

It has been done many times before and I have a parts truck with a 472/500 Caddy motor in it. No reason to clearance the firewall.

Re: Caddy 500 in a Squarebody
 

Here are a couple pics.

Re: Caddy 500 in a Squarebody
 

If your using the TH400 then the only difference is the tailshaft. Easy enough to swap out in most cases. Worst case you shorten a driveshaft.



If your planning on keeping the sm465 that is where things get a bit tricky. Cadco has a flywheel and the thing is a Heavy sob. It is also quite thick.
https://cad500parts.com/product-category/driveline/
Call them to make sure your getting the right stuff for the application

I had a Lakewood bell(opened up to the sm465's larger bore), 1/8" block protectior, adapter plate, the thick flywheel and from there it was a basic BBC 454 clutch. But I only had like 1/16" between the block protectior and the flywheel. A mini starter was needed also because the Cad starter nose would not fit inside the lakewood.

Plan on dropping $500-600 in cad co parts plus another $200 for a BBC clutch.Watch the tooth count on the ring gear or your going to need to play with the starter also.


I have had 3 500's and 2 472's in squares. I had my last 472(68High C) sitting in the shop and finally got rid of it this summer. Those Cad engines blocks love to drink and in a square plan on 6 and if your lucky 8mpg. They are fun in a mudtruck where you want that torque. But they do have issues with oiling, valves and everything is more expensive then a BBC. An LS is a much easier option especially if you want to keep the sm465. Bolt in deal with the parts to bolt the engine up to that sm465 about 1/2 the price of the cad stuff.

Re: Caddy 500 in a Squarebody
 

Thanks

I have a chevy TH400 with an adapter thats allready fitted to the engine

Re: Caddy 500 in a Squarebody
 

There may be more room on a square body but on my 71 I had left head to firewall clearance issues. My 77 one ton seems to have more room though and it has a 454 in it. I wish it had the 500 and automatic in it.

This is from when I was fitting the motor mounts up and the oil filter clearance is tight and the fuel pump is on the drivers side requiring a longer hose but that isn't an issue except remembering to pick up the hose on a parts run. Exhaust clearace is tight on the right side, My son and I heated and bent a section of the frame rail down by the exhaust manifold for clearance when we were fitting the engine, heat, and a bit of massaging with a 2-1/2 lb hammer and it clears and the frame isn't comprimised. You can see it in this photo but the photo wasn't of that.

https://hosting.photobucket.com/albu...720&fit=bounds

Good luck, that has the makings of a nice truck to wheel down the road with.

Re: Caddy 500 in a Squarebody
 

What formed Radiator hoses do you use that will fit or has to be modified to fit
stock Caddy hoses or the truck hoses?