So i have a decent 327 in my car, but for some reason i have a hankerin for a 396 right now. Anybody wanna help me with my urge? Whos runnin one? And how much of a pain in the *** is a big block swap in a car set up for a small block? I have a saginaw 3 speed in it right now Probably not gonna happen anytime soon, but ya never know right?
I wish you were a little closer, I could sell you one for a good price! The BBC is wider and heavier than a small block.The side mounts are close but not exact if thats what kind you're using. Which car is it going in? The bellhousing and clutch would bolt up but I don't know how well that Saginaw will hold up to the torque. What are your plans for exhaust? Aluminum heads, intake and water pump will shave about 100 pounds off it. Also remember a 454 weighs the same for a lot more cubic inches.
I switch back and forth between big and small blocks, so I don't even think about it, I just do it. All you need is the motor mounts that fit that particular ch***is. The big block puts the extra weight up front, not so bad on the street, but ****py in stock cars. Bob
I agree on the 454.the 396 was a cool motor but lacked cubic inch.I would run a 454 myself and use the 396 heads on it. If it is in stock mount is might bolt right in depending on what mounts you have.Oh if you buzz your 327 to Hi RPM you don`t buzz a 396. BBC do it with tork while a SBC does it with horsepower. Depend on what 396 you have your 327 might be making close on the same hp as the 396
I have one I built for my old disco Vette, but it's not the only one I've ever had. The way the exhaust ports angle down actually makes them easier to fit in some ch***is than a small block, or so I've been told. The attractive thing about a 396 to me is; with the old round port heads they have the power potential that a small block 400 with after market heads would have trouble producing, and the big block has a stronger bottom end. Another thing to consider since you are just throwing ideas around, a 454 block with a 396 crank (which were all forged) creates a 427, big cubes and still like to spin.
I think the rpm limiting factor on both motors is the cam selection; hydraulic or solid. The only difference being the 396 with a solid cam would have to have forged pistons, which mine has. The 396 in 350 horse form compared to 327 in 350 horse form, now that's a good comparo! 327 had to use a hotter cam, 11:1 compression instead of 10.25:1 for the big block, that right there is the difference between pump gas and octane booster in every tank.
"I got a '69 Chevy with a 396, fuelie heads and a Hurst on the floor. and shes waiting tonight in the parking lot at the 7/11 store" The intro to Springsteen's Racing in the Streets a great song if you are into that sort of ****.
I do 427's. More cubes and yet i can spin them all day long to 7500 RPM. It just takes a balance job and the right cam.
I don't recommend this, but I had a junk 396. Stock cast crank and pistons. It had been sitting in a vacant lot, frozen. Pounded the pistons out, honed the cylinders, micro polished the crank, then slapped it back together. I ran a Sig Hi-Flo II cam and springs with the oval port heads. Ran a rectangular port intake manifold with an 800 Holley. For some strange reason, that motor ran real good. Shifted in the 7500 range and she wouldn't blow. It was like building a 125K mile motor, real loose.
The swap is actually quite easy. Exhaust and mounts are the main changes. If it is what you want, then do it.
go for it, but id do a 454 like allready said from others. great diff in the wow factor and huge diff if you uncap the headers. you can make the ground shake! lol.
Make sure you use big block ch***is mounts if you are going to put it in the stock location,they move the motor slightly to the p***enger side, otherwise you will have a problem with headers on the steering box
I had a 65 Impala 327 car that I swapped out for a 396. The big block slid right in to place perfectly. I wanted it to look like an original big block car, so I found a big block radiator support and radiator and of course the rest of the big block stuff needed for the install. It was a great motor, but the powerglide really held it back. It wouldnt spin the tires If its life depended on it, lol! Anyway, I just picked up a 454 this past weekend that came out of a truck. I pulled one of the peanut port heads off and was pleased to find a set of forged small dome .030 pistons. Hopefully, I'll be able to hone the cylinders, new rings, bearings, cam & liters and have a good motor for my 57.
I had a 65 Impala 327 car that I swapped out for a 396. The big block slid right in to place perfectly. I wanted it to look like an original big block car, so I found a big block radiator support and radiator and of course the rest of the big block stuff needed for the install. It was a great motor, but the powerglide really held it back. It wouldnt spin the tires If its life depended on it, lol! Anyway, I just picked up a 454 this past weekend that came out of a truck. I pulled one of the peanut port heads off and was pleased to find a set of forged small dome .030 pistons. Hopefully, I'll be able to hone the cylinders, new rings, bearings, cam & liters and have a good motor for my 57.
Have you ever heard a real 375 horse L-89 396 run. In my opinion, one of the nastiest sounding, *** ripping production engines ever made.
I really dont understand 396's, when you can build that kind of cubes outa a 327 instead, or make up the difference in air by going small cubes and lots of R's But i guess i'm a SBC guy if i want something big i'd just go hemi
Since they didn't come out until '65, I'd have to agree; more of a musclecar thing. Unclee has a nice one with dual quads, painted to match his 'Vette; he knows his big-block ****.
X2..I had one that would take a 425hp 427 actually several of them. I don't know what it was about them but a few of the first ones were really awesome. They are exactly like a 425 hp 427 except for the bore so it stands to reason the 427 would be a tad better. One explanation might be the cylinder wall thickess. The first 427's had the water jacket cores of the 396's so had thinner cylinder walls from the factory. With thicker walls it's possible the 396 retained more heat in the bore than the 427 and thus more heat to expand and push the piston. Whatever the reason it took a couple of years before the 427 was stronger. Frank
Yes there were L-89 396's with the square port aluminum heads. Some came in 396 SS Novas, Chevelles and the early Camaros. Not sure on the '70 402/375 Camaros... It's possible though. Also the 427 Vettes had an L-89 aluminum head option.
Never owned a 375HP but I got to drive a few back when. A lot of people ask, "Why waste your time with a 396?" Drive one, it is not a waste of time, not in my book. I remember granny shifting a '69 Chevelle through the gears, nailed it at about 45MPH in 4th as I hit the city limits and immediately went sideways. That's some fun stuff! In a light car with a little gear even the "lowly" 325HP could be a handful. To a teenager in the late 60's/early 70's the numbers "396" were magic. There were bigger engines and faster cars but a 396 Super Sport Chevelle was "the ****". It just didn't get any better than that.
Why stop at a 454? Why not go to a 502, or hell why not one of those huge *** "monster" BBCs, or wait, why not a top fuel engine? I used to have a 402 (a 396 with a slight factory overbore) in my 39. it was a good engine that made enough power for what I wanted it for. Sometimes big enough is enough. Still, I think that every 396 ever made has better heads than any factory SBC with factory heads. I have always liked the "little" BBCs, don't know why, except when I was a kid my dad had a 71 Chevy "Camper Special" with a rectangular port 402 that was a fast mother... That stuff kind of sticks with you.
If you want to be turned off on 396's look at the 1/4 mile times for early camaros, the z-28 beats the 325 hp by something like .3 seconds but the 375hp beats the DZ motor by a little bit.
Hell dont let tradition stop you. I had a 396 in a 57 Nomad in the early 70's that would rattle and crack bondo when it launched. The SBC 383 stroker is not very traditional either but it's a damn good power plant with plenty of torque and relatively inexpensive to build. 396 parts are being hoarded today.
I bought a L89 Camaro in '68.........the sticker on the air cleaner said 375 HP but I can tell ya it had much more than that.!!!
I completely support your idea of a big block. Dont be the guy wiht a big block and the WRONG combonation though. They dont need a .780 lift cam, rectangle heads, and 14.5 cr. Early 396 can be cam eaters unless you get an oil groove milled into the cam, research what you have and do go too extreme. 1,000 ft/lbs will wad your hot rod up and make you look like a *****. Stay away from gold annodized valve covers and t-bars and you will fit in just fine. Big Blocks are heavy, but you can m***age some decent power out of a relativly stock, RELAIBLE motor or you can go the SBC route and have a full tilt drag motor with the same re****s. Big Blocks also just make your car cooler, it is a fact.
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