401 or 500?

[mudslider]

i have the chance to get a caddy 500ci. i know i can use the power but how hard are the aftermarket parts to get for it to boost up the hp? with a 401 i can inject it and the aftermarket parts are abundant. so what is the pro's and con's of both? do they even make injections for 500's? i know there are a few here that have done the 500 swap.

401's down here arent the easiest to find here so im looking at options now. i know ill have to make it fit but im just wondering about the parts.

[ April 05, 2006, 06:59 PM: Message edited by: mudslider ]

[Hankrod]

I would stick with the 401 but I know the temptation of a 500 cid. If you want to inject a 500, look up Rance EFI. he setup my Indy intake for MPFI and he does Caddys'. He is a older fella and has alot of knowledge and experience with EFI, turbocharging, and systems design / and setup.Hankrod

[Crazy_Jeepman]

Find a 76 Caddy with EFI..........You would then have a Fuel Injected 500, or go aftermarket Holley.

[Tad]

PJ, gees, you are running a 304, and have the choice between a 401 and a Caddy 500?
You do not need the HP boost parts to make that decision.
I'll shutup now, but lb for lb, that's a no brainer for me (ya got any idea how long I have been looking for a running C500?)

[J10Mike]

out of curiosity, what are the best years of caddy 500? not that i'm lookin'.

[Stuka]

If you have no interest in running a manual trans, go caddy for sure.

[Crazy_Jeepman]

Originally posted by J10Mike:
out of curiosity, what are the best years of caddy 500? not that i'm lookin'.

Considering that the last one was made in 76 a rebuild would be a good idea. With that in mind it really does not matter what year is used, stuff what you want in it. Early 500's were rated higher HP and torque # over the later 500's but there are dyno # that say different. My 500 is a 76, my heads are also non smog 76 heads, crank is out of a 73 I think Rods not sure, all the same anyhow

[J10-401]

'76 Caddys were dogs. just a big wind sucking smog-motor. I've driven them. Why would it run better in another chassis without building the crap out of it? Why not just build the 401 with much less brain damage. If you want a Caddy why not buy an Escalade? - [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Crazy_Jeepman]

Manual Trans can be done easily and the price of the custom flywheel has come down quite a bit. I don't think wanting to run a standard should be a deciding factor on not using a 500.

[mudslider]

Originally posted by tadsal:
PJ, gees, you are running a 304, and have the choice between a 401 and a Caddy 500?
You do not need the HP boost parts to make that decision.

i dont have the choice of 401 or 500 i just cant find a 401 and am checking on my options considering i have a 500 in front of me, but i am patient so waiting for a 401 isnt a big deal if its the better choice.

[shadowjeep]

what kind of condition is the 500 in? if its in good condition i would go ahead and get it.

[bearfacedkiller]

no replacement for displacement

that thing is 25% bigger

i would like to put a 500 in my 82 k10 or maybe a real nice 87 cutlass supreme that my buddy wants to give me beacause it has a blown headgasket

[Elliott]

Originally posted by bearfacedkiller:
no replacement for displacement

That was a real common colloquialism before Buick brought out the Grand National.

[TBone89GW]

That was a real common colloquialism before Buick brought out the Grand National.

Moderator can you plase flag Elliot for the use of "colloquialism" in a post!

[J10-401]

I thought the slogan was first used in Maidenform brazier ads.

[Stuka]

Originally posted by Elliott:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by bearfacedkiller:
no replacement for displacement

That was a real common colloquialism before Buick brought out the Grand National. </font>[/quote]The grand national did not disprove the displacement theory. Put twin turbos on a caddy 500, and watch the tripple digit HP numbers come after the dyno breaks.

[rockjeep44]

Don't most motors with the exception of Toyotas have triple digit HP numbers? [img]tongue.gif[/img]

[ April 06, 2006, 09:07 AM: Message edited by: rockjeep44 ]

[J10-401]

Barney Navarro put twin tubos on an AMC 199 6-cyl Indy motor in the early 70s and made 900 HP. I have seen and touched that motor in his shop. So I'm still not impressed with the pimp-mobile-500 motor.

[ April 06, 2006, 09:12 AM: Message edited by: J10-401 ]

[Elliott]

This isn't really a turbo thread I was just using the example of the Grand National to demonstrate there are other ways to performance than cubic inches. Stroke to rod ratio, valve train design and head flow are certainly other equalizers over pure cubic inches. I don't think the Cad would really benefit from a twin turbo as many smaller motors would, partially due to poor head flow characteristics. There was a gal with a fiesty turbo Subaru that gave my Jag V12 a good run for the money... in short, cubic inches is just not the answer to everything in spite of what the saying suggests. Most of all this is pretty irrelevant to what P.J. was looking for though and the Cad is a good motor with plenty of torque which is what most of us want for our purposes (with a few exceptions). If you don't have to build it much past it's stock configuration and can get it cheap it makes a good transplant. I drive stick and use a lot of rpm so it wouldn't be my choice for factors that make sense to me, I'd rather have the forged crank/rods of the 401. I haven't ever had to look that far to get a 401 free/cheap (that may be different now that I'm in TX) so a balanced, moderately built 401 suits my needs (I consider 500hp/500ft.lbs moderate). It's going to boil down to preference what you want to spend the money on and if you have a Cad 500 in your neck of the woods or a 401 you have to pay to ship across the country for about the same costs to build then the Cad may be a simpler choice, especially if you stay with the auto tranny that will help you limit rpm.

[ April 06, 2006, 07:57 PM: Message edited by: Elliott ]

[The PIG Smith]

How Horsepower would adding a 401 Emblem on the fender add?