500 cu in V/8

[STEVE CLC #16187]

Just read where Cadillac made the 500 cu in engine in a 400 hp.version  in 1970,  This true or false. ?


Steve

[chrisntam]

'70 Eldo had a 500 rated at 400 hp & 525 ft lbs of torque.  The 472 was rated at 375 hp & 500 ft lbs of torque, to I guess I'd have to say "true".

Don't know what the real amounts were though.

[bcroe]

Just read where Cadillac made the 500 cu in engine in a 400 hp.version  in 1970,  This true or false. ?
Steve   

That was the Eldo rating that year, the first 500 and the most powerful.  You can find support
for building your own, or even more powerful versions.  They had to do that in 1970, because
Olds Toronado offered 400 hp.  I have a 70 Eldo engine in the garage, haven't decided what
to do with it.  Bruce Roe

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

I have turned my '72 Eldo engine into '70 version, with a piston change, and along with a few other mods, I have yet to put it on the dyno to see what figures it is at the front wheels.

You must remember that the '70 figures are the last year of the way figures were got.   In 1971, they became more realistic with the measurements being taken with all accessories attached.   Made the cars sound a lot weaker than they actually were, when comparing both side by side.

Bruce.

[fishnjim]

I wouldn't put any faith in any of the factory ratings in this era.  Things were rapidly changing both environmentally and industry wide during this time.   They manipulated the figures for insurance, environment, and marketing purposes routinely in all the car lines.   The same motor in two different models may have a different rating.  Best to dyno.

[TJ Hopland]

There were slight changes in the block when it became the 500 for 70.  Same block was used 70-76 for the 472 and the 500.  Difference between 472 and 500 was crank and pistons.   In 71 to drop the compression they just put huge dishes in the pistons.  74 they designed new large chamber heads and went back to a more typical piston dish to maintain the low compression standard of the era.   It is also said that cams changed slightly year to year as well as carbs and other 'tune' items.   Basically with the earlier heads and the right pistons you can build yourself a '70' out of any 472 or 500 if you want.   With the help of people and places like MTS you can get about as much power out of one of those as you can afford. 

[bcroe]

There were slight changes in the block when it became the 500 for 70.  Same block was used 70-76 for the 472 and the 500.  Difference between 472 and 500 was crank and pistons.   In 71 to drop the compression they just put huge dishes in the pistons.  74 they designed new large chamber heads and went back to a more typical piston dish to maintain the low compression standard of the era.   It is also said that cams changed slightly year to year as well as carbs and other 'tune' items.   Basically with the earlier heads and the right pistons you can build yourself a '70' out of any 472 or 500 if you want.   With the help of people and places like MTS you can get about as much power out of one of those as you can afford.   

The casting number changed with the 70 block, which was used for both 472 and longer stroke 500s. 
I believe the main difference was providing the clearance for the long stroke  Bruce Roe

[Scot Minesinger]

I was not going to write this, but hey lets give Cadillac more credit, the 1970 ratings for torque were 525 lb-ft for the 472, and 550 lb-ft for the 500, not 500/525.  The horsepower ratings were right at 375/400.