Well, my mind is set... I have to take the jump.
My TPI 88 Iroc is a nightmare to maintain, the engine is so unreliable I spend fortunes and nights to fix it ... just to have it down again a few miles down the road. Most of my troubles are sensors/ECM/fuel supply related and despite the efforts and time involved, it still runs like crap. MAF took a dive last week and that's almost the price of a used sbc.

Engine itself is fine but a carbed stock 305 wouldn't get me anywhere. The car only has 70k miles, but it was beaten to hell before me and that took its toll. I live overseas so TPI specific parts are not easy to get and expensive. I don't want the Tpi hassle anymore, I am on my way back to primitive reliable solutions!
After much thinking, decision was made to swap in a carbed 327, I just happen to love that engine. I am on a budget so expensive options are not on the list. If possible, I'd like to keep the serpentine belt system.
Power goals are a conservative 300hp at the crank.
A few questions before rushing through:

1. What year and castings 327s should I look at first?

2. Will I be able to mate the stock T5-WC to an older block? If yes, what will be involved?

3. Heads: I am not familiar with the different heads on those motors, can someone enlighten me about the different versions I can use? Rollers will be on.

4.Oil pan: Given the F-body layout, I figured I'll have to use the stock 305/350 oil pan, would that bolt on an older block as well?

Thanks for the insight!

 

Don't know about 327 castings numbers - I don't think they are as easy to find anymore as they used to be - you might end up with a 350. I do know alot of the casting numbers were the same for 302 327 350, like mine - you have to look at the bolt caps and crank to know exactly what you have.

T5 will bolt up - you'll have to use YOUR flywheel (153 tooth) - the larger one won't fit in the bellhousing. You'll need your 153 starter as well.

Most original 327 heads will not have the accessory bolt holes, so that means your brackets won't work. But you should be able to use your 305 heads on it - have the shop clean them up & install new valve stem seals & do a valve job, about $300 or so.

And yes, just use your 305 oil pan.

As with any carb swap, you'll need to either drop the tank and install a carb pickup, or use a return-style fuel pressure regulator like the Mallory 4309. And you'll need a vac advance distributor. I think you'll need a carb or TBI throttle cable, not sure - I think the TPI cable is long or something?

And you'll need a fan controller - go adjustable here. The TPI cars the fan is controlled by the ECM. You can rig it to run with a stock style fan switch in the pass head, but those things suck - just get a seperate fan controller that probes the radiator.

Only other thing is rigging the fuel pump to run - you can take the wires from the OPSU and rig them to the fuel pump relay with a hot-in-run wire and a ground - that will make the pump run as long as the key is on.

 

An original 327 block won't have the bolt hole drilled for the 153 tooth starter.

You can't put it on an older block, the dipstick is on the wrong side. Whatever pan the engine comes with will probably fit, though.


Is there any reason besides nostalgia to build a 327?

 

If you had a running 327 that was ready to stab, that would be one thing. But to go out and actually look for a 327 to build is

 

Sorry - that was a bad assumption on my part. The blocks that could be 327 or 350 (I guess they are a large journal 327) have either starter hole, guess that's what I was thinking

 

Not until around 1979 or so did the other bolt hole start appearing, so unless it's been put there by a PO, nearly anything from the passenger side dipstick era won't have it, including all factory 327s.

 

Thanks for the replies.

Well, it's more a matter of feeling than nostalgia here, I always found 327s a bit more responsive than 350s in the cars I drove.
Also, a friend of mine has a spare rebuilt 327 shortblock off an Iso Rivolta laying around, I was thinking about getting it off his hands. My car is manual so I can compensate the small torque difference easily. It has a 3.08 posi for now, but it would probably need shorter gearing as well.

I might end up with a 350 just the same though. I am relatively fresh with the world of sbc's so I still have a lot to figure out.

305 heads on a 327? Would the valve size not be restrictive?

If I make short what you guys are saying here: I'd better start off with a post '79 350 with the dipstick on the driver side and the accessory holes in the heads. Maybe a $2000 gm performance crate base 350 would be even easier and cheaper in the long run, then.

 

'79-earlier had the dipstick on the driver side. '80-later have the dipstick on the passenger side.

If the 327 cars you drove were more "responsive" than the 350 cars, it had more to do with what was in, on, and behind the engine than what size it was.

 

any news on this project? i just got a 327 as well, and mine is givin me a headache as well.

 

i had a 327 in my '84 TA at one time. the swap was a lot easier because my car was a TBI and i had a 700R4 tranny. the original fuelie heads did not have accessory bolt holes, but i just drilled and tapped a hole on the passenger side head for the alternator bolt. wasn't too hard.



the original corvette valve covers did not have breather holes so i had to fabricate a custom PCV and breather setup. here's a couple pictures of what i came up with. worked fine. only problem is i had to take a valve cover off to add oil during an oil change. this was only a summer car so it wasn't too bad because i just did one oil change each spring.