As Tech indicated, building a Cadillac 500 is gonna cost some money even if you go stock. Just for purposes of comparison, I bought a master engine rebuild kit from Northern Auto Parts. It cost me just under $860. The cost of a similar kit for a 350? Around $190 and the Chevy came with an oil pump which the Cad didn't.

jayp suggested Doc Frohmader's book "Big Inch Cadillac" and I definitely agree with him. It's good stuff.

There's some good reading at:

http//www.sigetyracing.com/sigetyracing_007.htm

I hope that link works.

The engines are out there and they can be had very reasonably. In fact, I was given a '76 Sedan De Ville free. The people wanted the piece of ah ... wreckage off of their property. You may get the idea that it wasn't exactly a cream puff but I got the engine and a TH400 transmission just for hauling it off, then the recycle place gave me $90 for what was left.

That said, that was the ONLY thing about the project that wasn't expensive.

I have it in my head that big block Chev headers can be modified for use on the Cadillac heads by using new flanges and reshaping the Chevy tubes to match the Cadillac ports. Maybe that came from Frohmader's book. I'm not sure.

Good luck


Jim