So what are your thoughts of taking a TPI system and putting it on a 327?

 

Not too bad of an idea... but why a 327? If you expect to rev it, TPI is a bad idea. The TPI will only mask the lack of cubes. Build a 350.

 

ya lack of cubes is a hinder, just wanted to see what people thought of the idea. I can pick up a 4-bolt 1 piece rear main seal 350 for 100 bucks at the local yard here and its would just be dumb not to get it especially since he guarantees the block to be good or my $ back.

 

Then why would you build it as a 327? Built it as a 350 or 383 if you have to replace the crank....

 

I have thougth about doing this too. mainly because its not the normal. You would make more power for the same money doing a 350 or 383. If max power isnt your goal and you just want a nice quick street car thats not as hard on the trany or rear end and you want to be a little different I think a TPI 327 is a great idea.

 

ya thought about that aspect myself being that it would have less stress on the trans especially a t-5 the point of this thread is just to see what everyone else thinks about the idea

 

To quote five7kid from the other 327 thread going on right now:

Go read that thread on all the reasons a 327 is a bad idea.

 

Doesn't make any sense to me. The 327 pundits always harp on its ability to rev being its major appeal. As stated early in this thread the TPI system totally defeats that since it is maxed out by 4500rpm.
Whether or not the 327 is a good or bad idea is a different debate. But a TPI 327 makes little sense. You would be better off with TBI.

 

it would be fun to try, but only for the first few minuts... after that, it will only be slower than any other 350 and 383.
you will be the only one that knows its a 327 cause you cant tell by looking.
if you were clever, you'd build a 383 and put 327 badges on it... that would be more fun.

if you want a small cube screamer, and still want to use TPI, get a 4" bore block and put a 3" crank in it.
that will give you 302 ci, but the short stroke will allow the TPI to go much higher than the typical 5500 limit at which it loses all power. i would imagine 6000 wouldnt be out of reach, and 6500 if you ported the heck out of it.
AFR 195 heads would be a good choice, and you would want to run at least 10:1 static compression.
dont go crazy with the cam either

either way, you will still be down on cubes, and therefore torque.
you can build more power by revving it, but you will never make up for the lack of bottom end torque, no matter what you do.
this is why most people build the largest stroke engine they can.
stroke = torque
torque = fun

a long stroke requires a large airflow to support it... if you get enough air into the engine, you can rev it to whatever you want.

of course if you turbo it, then that completely makes up for your torque defficiency

 

interesting 302 theory, could be a great budget build but once again totally right on the cube stroker, I plan on building up a 383 myself only issue I have is meeting emissions requirements while I am stationed here at ft bliss which totally sucks

 

its NOT a budget build
a 3" crank costs more than a 3.48 or 3.75" crank due to the fact that fewer are made
also, if you want an engine to rev, dont use a stock cast crank, use a high quality forged one

 

I'm not sure how old you are, but no matter how fast you are there's always someone faster.So if you like the sound of saying I have a 327 and you aren't interested in being number one I don't see anything wrong with it. the 350 or 383 are definetly going to make more power and going to be just as streetable, but a T-5 and 7.5 rear would like the 327 better. Its not like a 327 would be that much slower.

 

wow does no one read an entire thread before posting. I have already stated that the reason I started this thread was just for opinions I have no plans on actually building a tpi 327. As I have stated before in this thread I can get a good 1prms block for 100 bucks

 

My opinion is that there is nothing wrong with a TPI 327. I like the idea.

 

A 327 than can wind up has to breathe. Breathing through the stock TPI set up is going to be pretty tough.

We built one a couple years ago for my son's 91 RS (TBI) and due to the cam, compression ratio, etc. it really wouldn't run right. With an Edelbroc electric choke 4 barrel and a vacuum advance distributor (along with a fuel pressure regulator) it was a really good running car.

I was worried about that T5, too, so I figured the 327 wouldn't have the torque to hurt the T5 with "the kid" behind the wheel. The first thing that went was the yoke on the rear end which also destroyed the aluminum drive shaft (and put some nice dents in the floor when it came apart). After another yoke and driveshaft were installed the next thing that went was the rear end itself. Its been in the back yard now for over a year.

Again, the neat thing about that 327, when built - and fed correctly - is how fast and far it'll wind up. Built right and you get really good horsepower out of it but its got to wind up to do that.

If you go that way with it, good luck.

 

You learn there is always someone faster on day 1. I personally don't like wasting money so I can tell people I have a *insert engine here*. Heck, I'll build a 383 and tell people I have a 327. They will never know the difference. And nobody will be impressed that you have a 327. Simply rebuilding a 327 from Summit with new parts will cost nearly twice as much as a 350. If you like wasting money that nobody will ever care about, be my guest, however me and the majority of other people on Thirdgen will do their best to talk people out of building a 327 because their 4th cousin twice removed thinks it's a kick *** engine and will out perform a 350.

 

You don't get it. This thread wasn't about a 327 being better than a 350 or a 383. Its not. With a cam designed to work with the TPI it would be a nice street motor that would have a power level in between a 305 and a 350.While I have know doubt you "could" spend twice as much on a 327 I know that it is "possible" to build one for about the same as a 350. You don't have to worry about talking the author of this thread out of building a 327. He has all ready said he doesn't plan to. Just because a TPI 327 is nothing special does not mean its a bad idea. I am done with this thread.

 

The author of the thread isn't the worry. It's the next guy to come along... and the next, and the next... all with the delusion that the 327 is some magical engine combination when it's really not. If it is somewhere between and 305 and a 350 with power output, yet costs the same, it makes it a poor choice, simple as that.

There is a reason we have a sticky on this forum about dispelling the 327 myth, and this thread is a big part of that reason...

 

The bore/stroke ratio of both the 305 and 350 lend themselves towards being lower rpm torque motors. Sure a 327 would work, it just doesn't make any sense.
And the 302 is an even worse idea. Why would anyone build a 302 to rev less then 7500rpm? Thats pointless.

 

It just doesn't make sense to you.I am not saying everyone should build 327's instead of 350's. The point is ,is that if a person has a preference for a 327 or even a 302 and want to put a TPI on it that it will work just fine. Just don't expect it to make any more power or think its going to scream in the upper RPM's just because they have less cubes. As long as people understand torque and HP are going to be relative to displacement, a small block chevy is a small block chevy.There definetly is a reason why chevy kept on making it bigger.I don't see anything wrong with someone building a TPI 327. It would have the same or more bottom end torque than a carbed 350 with the fuel economy of an injected 327. Third gens come with weak factory tranny's and rear ends ,there is limited room for a full exhaust and it can be very expensive to up grade. I think there is a place for small displacement v8's where you don't have to spend alot on up grades, and they don't have to be limited to a 305.

 

My thoughts:

IF you have a 305 now and IF you have an operational 327 laying around, it can almost be justified to use the 327 to slightly upgrade over the 305.

First, scrap the 327 heads if they are factory 327 heads. They won't have hardened exhaust valves or seats, nor will they have the accessory bolt holes on the ends of the heads, nor will they have the proper center bolt angles to match your TPI base. So, what heads should you put on? Your current 305 heads.

Next, 327 cams were not designed with EFI in mind. You'll be downgrading from roller lifters to flat tappets, but you can find an EFI friendly flat tappet cam to install. Do it.

Finally, don't listen to the "327's spin to the moon!" sirens - it ain't gonna happen with TPI. Maybe if you went to a Stealth Ram, but not with factory-type base/runners/plenum.

Assuming you keep parts matched and have decent exhaust (do you have single or dual cat?), you should end up with more power than you had with the 305. But it won't be a barn-burner.

 

​

 

This is an interesting, theory but not because of the budget build comment. In my humble opinion, building a 302 is a worse idea than building a 327. The fact is the stock long runner TPI will NEVER support revving beyond 4400. The only way to increase this system rev limit would be to increase to larger SLP siamese type runners, and upgrade the injectors, camshaft, heads (port, polish, and matched), and significantly upgrade the exhaust. You would also need to either swap in a manual transmission, upgrade the automatic with at least a 2500 stall converter, and change out the debilitating 2.73 rear gears. And after spending about 10k-12k to do all this, you'd probably improve to 5500-6000 RPM's, which is significantly less than the 7000-8000 RPM range that the 302 thrived in. In the end, this 302 would probably get you 275 gross HP. This is why GM gave up on the TPI engine after a 8 year run in 92, and switched over to the LT1.