Hello fellas, as we all know it's summer time now and im looking to start a little project to keep me busy for a couple of upcomming months.

I have a 327 Chevy SB sitting down in my shed just collecting dust. It was pulled out of a 70' Nova a couple years ago. I have the pistons, heads, crankshaft & the block. My plan this summer is to get this engine assembled and in proper working order. So for that I turn to you knowledgeable people. I realy have no experience in assembling engines or even finding the right parts that work together. I was hoping some of you could mabe point me in the right direction here, any websites or books I should be reading? Any help in general would be appreciated.

If I can get this engine in working order I need to find something to stick it in, i've been looking at Nova's and a couple of El Caminos. Ideas are still up in the air though.

Btw, I was told the eninge has been bored .30 over. How do I go about telling if that is true?

Thanks. Nathan

 

Hey, Nathan............... Chevy small blocks....... I've had a few to say the least. My favorite was a 327 I pulled from a 'vette and rebuilt with flat tops and a 3/4 race Engle cam. Man did that motor rip. Anyways for info and parts check out www.summitracing.com I used to love Smoky's speed shop in Oceanside for one on one service, but nowadays you just can't go wrong with the "big guys" like Summit. All of the "little guys" speed shops have fallen away or converted to riceburner speed stuff.

 

You can go to summit or amazon or jegs and get a book on building small block Chevys. They'll go step by step in the build process. You'll find it's a real piece of cake. As far as bore if it's a 350 it'll be 4.000 stock if it's .030 over it'll be 4.030. You'll a bore gauge for that. Measure at the bottom and top of the bores too. Make sure it doesn't need to be rebored.

 

I'd take it to a trustworthy machine shop and have the crank journals linehoned and either hone or bore the cylinders with a torque plate whichever it needs depending on wear. Both of those machining jobs will ensure you don't have a block with core shift. They will tell you what the bore size is when they do that. You should also let them install new cam bearings. Take a look in a Jegs catalog for cam choices, For a street/strip combo Edlebrock has a Performer RPM airgap intake that would work great in a 327. It's rpm band is from 1500 to 6500 rpm. Pick a cam that works well in those ranges also. I'm a big fan of total seal rings and for pistons in a street/strip rig that won't be seeing nitrous the Hypereutetic pistons seem to hold up well and don't have the piston slap you get with a full forged race style piston. A set of Vortec cylinder heads off of a late model vortec chevy engine will make more power than any of the older heads out there and you can buy the intake from Edlebrock to bolt right to them. Edlebrock even has a cam for it to make the cam choice easier.

 

Thanks for all the info so far, I appreciate it guys. I'll be looking around on Amazon, Jegs and Summit for books, parts, ect. I know a 327 isn't a very large engine but when I build this up I want to do it right the first time. On average what can these engines put out for power? I'm not looking to spend no more then $2500. I'd like for it to be at least in the 300hp range, if possible.

When I got the engine(for free) the guy who gave them to me said the heads were "Double Hump Heads", sound familiar? Mabe I can get them re-worked and spruce them up if they are salvageable.

I will be looking around my area for a good machine shop to inspect the block for me. Should I have it pressure checked for cracks or anything like that while it's there?

 

I would get the block dipped (acid bathed).
Then get it all honed, and cam bearings pressed in.

Make sure that you have marked the caps and soforth and put everything back where it came from.

Summitracing.com/Jegs.com
Both great sites and both have good assemblies on there!

I currently have a 350SBC 4bolt main that I'm building a 383 out of.

 

Most deffinetly, I will get it acid dipped. This probley isn't the best thing but it has been sitting in the garage uncovered so it's nasty. Does a machine shop have to press the Cam Bearings in? Is that a tough chore?

The engine is totaly disassembled right now, I don't know what came off of where. I will go to my shed in a little, pull everything out and put the block on the engine stand. I'll snap some pics and post them up later this evening hopefully.

 

Cam bearings can be done by anyone if they have the right tool. The only thing you have to worry about is possibly nicking them. It's probably easier/cheaper to have a shop install them instead of buying the tool. If you can find someone that'll let you borrow it go that route.

 

The only real thing to worry about is the crank main caps. They should always be kept in the correct order. Not the end of the world though. It is best to let the machine shop put the cam bearings in because there is a special tool needed and not too many people have one. It is easier to let them do it than buy the tool in my opinion.

I would say 300HP for $2500 would be very easy to get. The "Double Hump" heads are probably the good ones. (There are 2 styles) Do they have the bolt holes for the front engine mounted accessories? Just make sure the valve openings are opened up to 2.02/1.94's and you port (gasket match) and polish the heads. I could go on for hours but will stop there for now.

 

Pick yourself up a copy of "How to Hotrod Small Block Chevys". It's chock full of tips and tricks and part #'s. http://www.amazon.com/How-Hotrod-Sma...8833361&sr=8-2
The Camelback heads that rockcrawler mentioned came on the 275HP 327's. They have a very definate double hump cast into the front of the head. The same basic head was on the 300HP 350's. The casting #'s on the later heads end in 041 or 882. They are the heads to go with. 202 heads from 302's and LT1 350's are pricey.

 

I just went out to my garage and pulled everything out. The block, the crankshaft seem to have a little rust/oxidation on them. It's not bad or thick so I hope a acid bath can take care of that. I didn't even get the heads pulled out of the cabinet so i'm not sure what you described is what I have.

What exactly do you mean by that? Sorry for my ignorance.

Berner- Thanks for the link, that seems like a fair price i'll go ahead and pick a copy of that. Before I moved I swore up and down I had a book about SBC, I can't find it to save my life now. If I recall the book was written by John Lingenfelter(sp) the Corvette guru.

 

I wouldn't worry about it being "small". Yeah it's smaller than it's big brother the 350, but the 327 was a rev'er. The 327's stroke and bore allowed it to rev up much quicker then a 350. It had very simular characteristics to the 427. A 427 rev'ed quicker than a 454 did. I know thats the 'vette I want, 1972 427 four speed rodester 'vette.

I think what you need to do is decide what you want to put this motor into and for what you intend to do with it; before you begin to build. If you build a high HP, high revving motor, it'll be useless in a jeep built for crawling. But then a Jeep built for the dunes would be another story, or a 70's muscle car or a rod.

 

You probably aren't going to like me for this, but why bother with the 327?

You can pick up a core 350 for next to nothing, parts are cheaper, you aren't playing around with a small journal engine, and it will make more power.

Also, don't even bother reworking the old heads, unless you want the experience...... The best 461X double hump heads are toast compared to the Vortec heads stock. There are even better, more powerful heads for cheap from companies like Pro-Action that you can get for less than it would cost to properly rebuild those boat anchors.

Like I said, its nice to wax nostalgic about the little 327 that could, right up to the point where that budget 425 Hp. 350 walks you.

Other than that, you have gotten some solid advice.

 

I'm not mad at ya, I respect your opinion. I was going to work w/ this 327 I have for several reasons. One being it is sitting down in my shop and it was free. Another reason is I just want to learn on something, and mabe your right a 350 may be a better platform for me to work with. But im on a budget and I don't think buying a new block and everything to go with it will keep me in my range.

But like I mentioned earlier things are still up in the air. I may wind up buying a car/truck that I want that already has a 350 or something else already in it. If that's the case then that is fine. But until then I would still like to work on this engine, I just have this desire to get in and get dirty with it.

 

It's not going in a Jeep or anything like that. I'm in he neighborhood for a muscle car. Something in the 60's-70's era. Mabe even a older Chevy truck. I used to own a 1960 Chevy Shortbed Fleetside truck, had the wrap around winshield, double headlights. Beautiful truck, I wish we never would of got rid of that. Payed $500 for it and gave it away free before we moved.