What would you do to a 327ci....?

[Vince M]

I got this 327 in the 68 I bought. My original plans were to replace it with either a 400SB or a big block but now I'm thinking of keeping it and spiffing it up a bit. It is completely stock and for the short time I drove it, it didn't burn any oil. What would you do to it if it was you..

I'm thinking some small aluminum heads... Edelbrock Performer AirGap, or FI. I'm thinking of leaving the bottom end alone but will probably take a look at everything while it is out.

[Dean23]

Throw a L79 cam in it and an aluminum intake new carb and see how it runs.

[MellowYellow70]

Well I'm in the same boat. Except I'm also builing up a "budget" 377 for nitrous use. Right now I'll probably do a "wild as possible comp cam" for Vortec heads with a modified 750 Holley and other little goodies. Should be good for upper rpm range (3400 stall) use and still provide a good limpy idle though.

[jku72]

You'll think I'm a geek, but I would keep that one stock if it runs well. It is a little cheaper to modify a 350, and while 327's are not truely "rare", they are getting harder to find for average schlubs like me, who like stock trucks.
If I were to hop it up, and had access to a 400 sbc, Id use the 400 block with the 327 crank, get some 300 cid Fo*d rods, get some custon pistons made, and recreate the "350 Chevy that Chevrolet should have built as featured in an article from the late 90's, which I had, then lost. It seems they took the engine I described, and made an 11:1 compression ratio engine that used 87 octane, and did not detonate. It involves long rods and a lot of other trickery, but they got EXCELLENT fuel mileage and around 400 hp. I have dreamed of doing that myself, but I think I will use my 402 block and crank combined with 454 rods and custom made pistons. I course it is just in my head, but the theory is proven. Perhaps Hot Rod magazine has the article in archives, it used to, and that is where I got my copy, but I cant find mine since we moved. If I ever find it, I will post a thread here and will share. But I have to find it.

[Stroker]

I think you're on the right track. A set of Edelbrock Performer RPM heads would be right at home on a 327. I like the EFI idea also. I always thought that a TPI would be a good canidate for a 327. The extra midrange torque they produce would really make a 327 a nice fit for one of these truck. The aluminum heads and EFI would allow you to run 10-10.5 to 1 compresion with no problem unless you're doing heavy towing. Add the proper headers, cam, and a overdrive tranny and you sould get a good mix of performance, economy, and reliabiliy. BTW you might find a large journal forged 327 crank lurking in there. I've had two 68s with 327/400 combos that had the forged cranks. But they were both 3/4 ton trucks. Good Luck......Stroker

[Stroker]

jku72, I think this is the article you're thinking of. I've been keeping my eye out for a 400 block to put one of those 327 cranks in myself. I noticed that KB now has a piston for this 4.125 X 3.25 stroker using a 6 inch rod. Anyway it's a very interesting article.

http://www.airflowresearch.com/artic...le03/A3-P1.htm

[mooneyes]

2 words "solid cam"...327 are real quick engines even quicker with a nice solid cam..i would probably go with the 375 horse 327 made by Crane..which is also the same cam they put in the 302

[ChevLoRay]

You know, that with this bunch of folks someone is going to come up with a "one-off" variant that some will think is totally wacko, while others will dream up some that are reasonable and doable.

You are right to think aluminum heads, whether Edelbrock or Chevrolet.....just go with the Vortec type. An aftermarket fuel injection system, i.e. throttle body-type, is an improvement, for sure. The L79 cam, from the old 350 horsepower 327's of '66 and 67, is a sweet cam. Cam Dynamics reproduces that grind in their series of grinds intended to remind us of the '60's. I'd go through the bottom end, for sure, freshening up everything. By the time you put a set of heads and F.I. on it, you would be foolish not to do so.

On the one-off side, I remember a Porsche that had a 365-horse 327, destroked with a 3-inch crank (4-inch bore), that was good for nearly 9000 RPM's. Now, I don't know what I'd do with a truck that could turn that many R's, but you'd have to know that torque was way below what would be needed to do truck things....short of hitting the highway. Just think, swiss-cheese the frame, gut the interior, use aluminum panels where possible, build a 700R4, go to a 4-wheel disc brake system, lower the truck to get the lowest streetable ground clearance (not bagged), replace all the glass (where possible) with lexan, add a roll-cage, some JAZ seats and go street racing with a vengeance. Like I said, someone will go off the deep end, one of these days.

I have a soft spot for 327's, going all the way back to a '62 Impala SS (new). I can still remember one night back in '66, seeing the headlights on a '66 Nova L-79, pop up with every gear change...as it was coming down the street toward me (in the other lane).

[mikep]

I dont think I'd go with the L79 or any other 40 year old cam design. I mean Nostalgia is nice and everything but those old sticks had way too much duration and not enough lift because the valve springs in those days sucked. Theres a lot of modern design solid lifter cams that will run circles around any of the old factory l79 and off road designs. I picked up one the other day and it will be sitting in my 350 in a few weeks. I got the compcams XS 274 S . Its a tight lash cam that is indicative of the quality design work coming from compcams these days. Save the old bumpsticks for 63 vette restorations and get yourself a good cam. On the heads I'd go with the vortecs or with some Pro action heads which are really just improved Vortecs. Their flow numbers and their price blow edelbrock away. Dont forget some good rods too.

[Low67C10]

Id install 6" or 6.2" rods and spin the piss out of it.

[jmanz69]

I have a 68 327 that I'm rebuilding for my truck. I am going with either Vortec heads or Fastburn aluminum heads. Just got the crank turned, and the block bored 30 over. Now just need to start putting it back together when it finally arms up in the frozen north. Thinking of going with the 350 HP 327 cam, or something similar. I had it in the truck for 5 years and drove it all the time with a stock bore, Edelbrock Performer intake, Holley 600 carb, HEI, and crappy 305 heads. It was very fast then, and I can't wait to get it ready to go now. I blew away more than my share of mustangs and camaros in high school with it. I love my 327 and would never give it up, maybe for a big block, maybe.

[still w.i.p '68]

If you build the top you need to build bottom, TRUST ME!!!

[mikep]

Thats the good thing about 68 327's . You can use a 350 4 bolt block and you can find good rods easily.

Ive heard of steel 68 327 cranks. I know theres one for sale in the local paper. Never have seen one though and I have heard they dont exist. Anyone know for sure?

[mcompound]

I took the rods out of my small journal 327 that I had in a 67 camaro conv that I rolled and blew up the motor with (bad story), anyway I used the rods in a 350 and turned the crank to accept the 327 rods and have a 364 stroker. The thing runs awesome. Just another idea.

[crazy longhorn]

I have seen a couple LJ steel 327 cranks....they arent very common tho.....

[neonlarry]

I agree with Mikep on the cam and heads. You might not want to go with the 274 in a 327, but there are several other XE series solid cams in different sizes. I am probably going to be building a 350 for mine, and I am thinking about the XS-268S-10 cam, and the Pro Action heads.

[breeh]

327's are the best small blocks made IMHO. It was my understanding that all original 327 cranks were steel but a I am not sure. One thing that I do know though is that they won't just drop into a 350 block. The journal sizes are different. The 307 crank shares the same stroke as the 327 so maybe these are the ones that will fit a 350 block and maybe these are also the cast varieties. Anybody know for sure?

[mikep]

most 327 cranks are cast. Especially the passenger car cranks.

'68 327 cranks have the same sized journals as 350's and will drop in 350 blocks. Its a one year only thing and those cranks bring a premium.

[breeh]

Thanks Mike!

[sgtjed]

hehehehe i got a 68 forged steel crank that i have in my 327.

the 327 i have in my truck right now came out of my very first truck,a 1968 gmc. it is a true forged steel crank i had turned 10/20 due to a spun rod bearing.
i pulled the motor when i was 15 in 1984 cause i had a rebuilt 283 in the garage that i put in it. so a few years later i tore down the 327 and found that it had a forged steel crank in it,much to my amazment.
yeah i know its rarer than hens teeth but what the hey gotta use what ya have. i am building a 402 out of a 72 burb for my 70 c10,so that i wont be using the 327 alot and put too much wear on the motor.

[67 SS]

The last two years the 327 was produced are the ones that will drop in a 350 block.

[crazy longhorn]

327, from 62-67 were small journal.......most of these were forged cranks, whether they were car or truck. the 283 was pretty much the same deal....there were some exceptions, but as a rule most all were steel. the large journal came out in 68, & most of these were cast cranks......LJ steel 327 crank is very rare........I have not ever "accidently" found 1 while tearing an old eng down........crazyL

[breeh]

Crazy L, that's what I was trying to remember. All that you said sounds right to me as well. And if I remember correctly, you take a 283 crank, have some machine work done on it, put it into a 327 block (need the small journals), and voila, you have a 302.

[crazy longhorn]

Yep, a 283 crank would drop right in a 327 block(sj), & it just needed a different piston for the proper pin height to build what we called a 301(same as the factory 302). some guys also bored the 283s .125 over to do the same thing. Yrs back, while sourcing cranks, we went for the 62-66 327s for a steel crank. 67 was an odd ball yr, right before the change to LJ......& I beleive those sj cranks were cast & I had heard that there were a few problems with breakage. I havent seen paperwork on that last info,as it was something I had heard back in the late 60s (could be a wives tale!)..........crazyL

[lukecp]

Yup, 283 crank (3" stroke) + 327 block (4" bore)= 302 Chevy
Which is the same bore and stroke that the Ford 302 has.....

Isn't a steel crank the same thing as a forged crank?