I happen to have a 327 on an engine stand in my father's garage. It's been there for 10+ years, and it came out of his 67 camaro when he built a motor for it. The engine is ORIGINALLY out of a 69 Impala. It's the 235 hp version, 2bbl carb but sometime in the past someone has put a set of 993 heads on it. I ran great when it came out of the car but not fast enough apparently because my father built a different motor and kept this one as a back up or whatever.

My engine is an 85 LG4 all stock except headers and some carb tuning. Would it be worth it to swap in this engine using my heads, intake and carb? I know someone is going to tell me to get a 350 instead but this engine is just sitting there taunting me everytime i walk past it. Would i see any gains?

 

A motor with a "235 HP" "rating" would probably have about a 155-160 HP "rating" using the method that came into effect in about 1972. Meaning, that 327 started out its life at about the same power output as your LG4.

A low-perf 327 like that one, that has been even further downgraded with 993 76cc smogger heads, probably has about 7½:1 compression, and therefore makes even less power than it did with the original 68cc ones. Quite a bit less in fact. I'd guess it would be "rated" at around 135-140 HP using the modern system.

Your LG4 will probably outrun it.

Not hard to see why it's on a stand instead of in a car.

I'd leave it where it is and move on.

 

327's sell like hot cakes on craigslist

 

Yup... there's a fool born every minute, and 2 more to take his money

All your dad has to do is troll for the next one

 

get a set of vortec heads and throw them on. head problem solved

 

Yeah, except it's still a dish piston 327 2-bbl short block with no compression and no CID.

Garbage. Waste no time effort thought or money on it.

Yes I have paid people to come haul off piles of crap like that from my property because the value of cast iron wasn't enough to make it worth my while to take the time to load it up and drive it to the scales myself.

 

Ok so everyone agrees there would be no gains over the 305, atleast not enough to justify doing the swap. So i guess i should start shopping for a 350. My 305 is fine but i'd like more power. What should i look for to keep it simple and retain my stock distributor, mech fuel pump and or carb and intake?

 

Actually I disagree. The 327 is a very buildable engine . A 69 has the bigger journals, 4 inch bore and higher compression. With your 305 heads and a decent cam it could make 300 hp or more. You could also put 350 vortecs on there or aftermarket aluminum without any issues. But the cam has got to go.

 

That wasn't his question, though.

Sofa's advice is very good.

 

Yes the 327 is "a very buildable engine", in a general way. All the bolts turn CCW and then back CW, same as any other engine. Quite "buildable" indeed. In fact you could EVEN put a 3.48" crank in it and get the eeeeeeezie 23 more CID, but still of course in a block with all the crappy sloppy lousy late 60s and 70s quality control (or lack thereof). Meanwhile though, it's still the low-perf 2-bbl motor of its day; started out as the absolute bottom-of-the-line V8 in a Grandma sedan; and has been significantly downgraded since then. A turd.

Problem is, NO MATTER what you do with it, you'll get your a$$ whupped by somebody that made a better decision about what core to start out with. Part for part, $$$$ for $$$$, it will get spanked, EVERY time, no other option possible, 100% ironclad guarantee, take it to the bank or even the casino.

I found that out the hard way in about 1977 or so. Took TWICE before I got the message. I was young dumb and full of ... something ... back then, much more hard-headed even than I am now if you can imagine that, so I didn't "get it" the first time.

Haven't ever seen any reason to go back to getting more a$$ whuppings that particular way. Don't see any reason not to advise younger people, who haven't had the pleasant joy of receiving that particular a$$ whupping just yet, to take advantage of my experience without feeling the pain and avoid old turds like that one altogether.

 

But how do you REALLY feel?

No really. I understand that i could swap my heads over and maybe with a cam get a bit more out of it. But if it sets on the engine stand for another 10, 20, or 30 years it will still be there, and i'm not losing anything using it or not using besides time and effort. If the majority says no then i'll leave it for now. But my second question was about a 350, What should i look for to get the most "bang for my buck"? I want something to give improvements without alot of hunting for parts. I would like to use my current stock carb and intake, and retain the mech fp without swaping in a turd as you call it. What car/truck do i need to find a 350 out of to do this?

 

That 327 is probably of some value to somebody restoring a 60's chevy...get what you can for it then go engine shopping...lots of good swap engines out there...LT-1's are getting cheap...that 's what's in my 87 and it's good fun to drive.

 

Yeah, that engine is a total piece of garbage, but most people dont know that. Sell it and buy a roller cam Vortec truck engine. Hell, use that money and a 5.3 or 6.0 LS engine from an even newer truck and shoehorn it into your car.


1. a 327 is just a 350 with the wrong rotating assembly. If youre going to tear down anything to rebuild it, you may as well start with the 327, unless you're smart enough to look for an 87+ roller block.

2. Cam and heads on that 327 will still yield REALLY low compression numbers, you're VERY limited on how big of a cam you can use, and with a small displacement engine the only way you can make power is through high RPMs and a big cam. If you cant put a big cam in it, it's worthless as a high performance shortblock even.

Or if you just want to be cheap, you can do an LT1 + LT4 Hotcam + coil pack conversion for $1500 or so at the point you drop it in the car, and it will outrun any 327. You're spending basically $1500 on a top of the line* fuel injection system, and getting an included camshaft and engine attached to it. To put a similar EFI intake on that 327 will cost you about that much.

The key is, go for at least 350 cubic inches or a Gen III/IV motor (they do a LOT more with less cubes, so dont be afraid to get a 5.3) and dont waste your time with anything that doesnt have a roller cam from the factory. Yes you can convert an old block to use a roller cam, but that costs more money than a used 350 roller cam long block to do.

Or you can spend $2500-$3500 doing a budget 350 or 327 rebuild to get 250hp. The bang for the buck is in cammed LT1's and Gen III engines or roller block 383's.


*LT1 EFI systems aren't perfect, but they are OEM and have a lot of R&D behind them. The aftermarket Gen I stuff always leaves a little to be desired here or there. They arent as polished as OE systems. Even the miniram, a direct copy of the LT1 intake for our older cars has issues because the LT1 computer works better with that style of intake than our computers do.

 

Except for the intake part, '96-'99 light truck 350. It will have Vortec heads (which will require a Vortec spreadbore intake manifold), roller lifters, 1-piece rear main seal. Only part that may be an issue is the mechanical fuel pump - most likely the block won't be machined for it.

But, besides those two things, I'd say the results would well be worth an intake swap and electric fuel pump install.

 

A 327 Chevy Small Block is an increcible engine for a build, its like any other engine though, you get people that swear by them, and other people that say they're pure crap, you can easily take a 327 small block, and enhance the power significantly by simply installing flat top pistons, 194 heads, a performance cam with a smiple idle-5500 RPM range with a performance intake and 650 CFM carburetor and you have a very reliable, great power small block Chevy. It should run approximately 380 Horse with that setup, i have a friend that built one and it got about 440 with a simple change of high rise heads, and an 800 CFM carb difference. And yes, still gets V8 mileage, but isnt complete murder on your wallet compared to a 350 or 383, and gets that output without forced induction or needing racing parts/fuel. I personally love 327 Small Blocks, but not everybody does. I recommend using it, but I'd be more than willing to take it off your hands. Lol

 

another thing to keep in mind when doing a build is to remember that an engines horsepower, and capabilities are also restricted or enhanced by the transmission it runs through. you can build an engine as strong as you like, but if you dont run the right transmission, youre gonna get beat by a tiny little thing with much less horsepower. i had a friend who built a very nice 350 for his truck, but he was using a very poor transmission and got shown up beyond humiliatingly by a stock 4 cylinder firebird because the trans just couldnt keep up with the 350

 

I'd make sure where the engine came from. some of those older 327's are worth a lot. does it have camel back heads??

 

From the initial post:

Garbage

 

You dug up a 3 year old post to post that? You are basically saying a cammed 327 will make significantly more power than a LS1?

 

Ive never heard of anyone saying a 350 is better than a 383 because it has a shorter stroke. So it never fails to surprise me how people get so hung up on numbers. Not like you're going to be able to tell a difference once it's built. That "fast" 305 is identical to a 400 sbc on the outside. It;s just going to be slower anyway. Same with a 327.