Okay a friend of mine just picked up a 53 caddy, the 331 motor that is in it now is shot so he has a 327 short block and home that is rebuilt, Know he is not sure what cam to get or what to do about heads, he has the orignal 327 heads and also a pair of 350 heads, which should he put on? they both need a rebuild, he has a performer intake to put on and is not sure what carb to use, The car is 4,000 pounds. He wants the motor to have enough power to make this car move, but nothing crazy,the motor came out of a 68 wagon. Thanks

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86Z28, GM 350, Jet perf Q-jet & chip Dual snorkel air cleaner, Edelbrock performer intake, Edelbrock headers, Edelbrock cat-back, Off road pipe, MSD 6AL, Accel Super Coil, Taylor Spiro-pro wires, Rapid fire plugs, Jet fan switch, World class t-5, Hurst Short Throw Shifter, Ram Flywheel, Center force dual friction clutch,Aluminum drive shaft, BW disc rear 3.45's & a posi, PBR calipers, Earls braided brake lines, Polygrapite bushings all the way around, poly tranny mount & torque arm mount, Hotchkis lower control arms & panhard rod, Rancho limiter straps, KYB struts & shocks, Gm Wonderbar, Edelbrock strut tower brace, SSM sub frame connectors, Jamex lowering springs, Carbon metallic brake pads, Crossed drilled rotors, Mobil 1 Tranny fluid & motor oil, GM syntheic rear end oil, K&N, Grant stering wheel, 1,200 watt system, Jet Black Paint, 91 Z28 rims, 92 wing, Tinted windows.

 

There were a lot of different versions of 327's out there, from truck engines with small heads, dished pistons, small cam, to solid lifter, big valve, barely streetable hide burners. If these original 327 heads were '68's, then they're probably 2bbl, low performance, low flow heads. But, that may be okay on this tank engine.

The 350 heads are probably 76cc chamber, so right there you're down on power due to lowered compression. If the short block has flat tops, though, you might get by with these heads. Of course, the 350 heads could have also come off a truck, and good torque is what you'll want out of this engine.

The Performer intake should be fine, a q-jet or 600 CFM square Holley or Edelbrock would work well. An RV cam would be a good choice, and 1-1/2" primary headers would be nice as well, if you could find something to fit the chassis.

What's he going to do for a tranny?

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82 Berlinetta, orig V-6 car. Rescued w/86 LG4/TH700R with all harnesses, sensors, ECM, etc. 2.73 open. Cat-back from '91 GTA, Accel HEI SuperCoil. AMSOIL syn lubes bumper-to-bumper. Daily driver, work-in-progress (LB9 w/ZZ3 cam, exhaust, paint, etc.).
57 Bel Air, my 1st car. Currently 396 .030 over, Weiand Action+, Edelbrock 1901 Q-Jet, Jacobs Omnipack, 1-3/4" headers, TH400 w/TCI Sat Night Special conv & shift kit, 3.08 10-bolt, AMSOIL syn lubes bumper-to-bumper. Best 15.1 @ 5800' Bandimere. Daily driver while Camaro was being put together.

 

A TH 350.

 

BZ,

Two of my cars are well over 4,200 lbs. They both use 350's and will probably spank 99% of the lighter cars on the road. Mr. GhoSSt has a 4,200 lb. car that will easily spank both of mine together, and he is using a 383 SBC. Twenty fewer CIs for 200 lb. less weight shouldn't make it that much of a "dog".

Either the 327 or 350 heads may be appropriate, depending upon the casting numbers.

I'm also with 57 on the carb. You don't want to over-flow the engine when trying to make torque.

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Later,
Vader
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"Make Me Bad"
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