Hey Fellas, I Know a friend selling a 68' Chevy Corvette HO 300HP motor. Pretty good condition from what he says. At most it's .30 over, only rebuilt once. Has 30k on the rebuilt. Numbers all matching. From what I would figure, it's probably a Large Journal motor..Right?? I heard somewhere on here that the 68' block wasn't a very good year...not sure why, and was wondering if someone can help me shed some light on that subject?? He's selling the motor complete, and a good runner for 800 bux. Sounds like a good deal, but don't want to pull the trigger on it until I find out some of these details. Please help me out fellas! Thanks!
There's a paragraph here on the 327, looks like '67 and earlier were small journal. Had one and they are quick when done up right. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_small-block_engine
The 327 that came in a 68 vette was a L79 350 HP motor. That's a bad *** motor. The 300 HP came in a lot of the other car like Chevelles Impala's etc...
I know that L79 was an option on the 68'-69' vette, but this one was the 300HP model. I believe they gave you two different options on the 327 in 68'-69'. Either way, im thinking that it still looks like a pretty good deal. Friends would always tell me to get the small journal, but idk why it's so much better..?
Two 327's were offered in 1968 in the corvette....one was the base 300HP version and the other was the L79 like mine with 350HP. Both had large journal cranks. In 1969....350 cubic inch motors were standard....not 327's....I think the vette 327's were made into 69 302 Z-28 motors....a de-stroked 327. I have heard that the 68 vettes were not good cars....but it was an electrial/body complaint....mine after 40 years of ownership is still very tight and no rattles like what has been reported.
I'm feeling the same way..i was worried about the whole small journal and large journal thing, and forged vs. cast iron crank..but I think the vette's came with a forged crank. But anyways I think I should snag it up. It's going in a cruiser 54 Chevy 210. Of course i would want to occasionally step on her to have some fun, but I think it will be plenty of motor for it.
The 68' corvettes had the large journal steel cranks in them. But i think they also had the 882 heads which are known to be crack prone.
The biggest benifit in a large journal 327 is the crank. Not that it is any better than the small journal BUT you can always use the crank, rods and pistons in a 4 bolt 350 block and have a 4 bolt 327 which they did not make. I use LJ 327 cranks in my 4 bolt 350 blocks all the time for racing. If its a running motor go with 800 in your pocket offer him 500 and see what he says. Its wortha try but buy it anyway Pat
Don't buy it with the intent to flip it as a Vette engine untill you verify casting and deck numbers. Lots of BS Vette engines floating around. It is a good price however if it is a sound LJ 327 that was correctly built with 30K on it.
It will be good to hear the more informed performance SBC contributors here. The one advantage I can forsee would be the lower rotating m*** of the small journal motor. Much like having a lighter flywheel. Bearing failures were rare, forged crank failures as well, so not easy to guess why they went to the larger journal design.
My 327 in my '54 is a '68 and it's a HELL of a motor. If you trust the builder/owner, I'd buy it. Got mine as a crate motor from AutoZone so you know it wasn't that cheap, even with the core charge.
Sorry my post wasnt more clear. I meant that the Corvete 327 HO motor was the L79 maybe its one of those if it is infact a 69 corvette HO 327. The 300 HP as I said came in many other cars too. Either way Its worth checking into, I love 327's
It's good to know your happy with your 327 bro! I was gonna go crate 350, but for a good running motor, and a 327?...I'm should pull the trigger. Another thing is, as long as I can put A/C on the thing and it not overheat..I'm cool.
I have a '68 327 in the garage apart waiting for a project, a large journal crank. This is either a 300 or 325 HP out of an Impala. If you can get a good running "plug and play" 327 for that price, I call it a good deal. Bob
Yea, it has a edelbrock intake, edelbrock carb, and it's got some headwork done. But all numbers are there. Has a new HEI as well..only thing missing is a water pump pulley...if anybody has got one that will allow A/C to be installed, Let me know.
My 68 corvette has 291 heads.....the 2.02 kind...I have never heard of 882 heads on a 68 corvette from the factory...they were 400 sb heads I am pretty sure and yes I did hear they had cracking problems. My corvette spe******t mechanic said he thought the small journal 327's would wind a little further than the one in my vette....he has built and heard of many of them that turn 10 grand...two tachs proving it to the shotgun p***enger in some of the rebuilds when they were doubting Thomas's. On the front p*** side of the engine right below the head, there is a number....vin and type of engine it is....it can be decoded. 68 vettes came with short water pumps on the 327... Mine has been bored 60 over, 11:15 to 1 pistons, Banjo Matthews balanced, and one step up cam (L-82 cam)....it is a honky tonk and lots of fun to drive...1st gear gets me about 60 mph with the close ratio 4 speed. Mine has 186......then the last 6 numbers of the vin on the front of the engine...I would say the 186 means corvette....above that number is VO3... HP ( I think the HP means high performance with air and manual steering)...I know mine came with a 427 radiator and it came down the ***embly line with all 427's in front of it and 427's behind it according to the corvette registary.
The 882 heads came out in the 70's, do heads on the motor your looking at have acc holes for ac and alt?
They should have acc holes..the later years of the 327 have them..I'm gonna check when I get there tomorrow though.
My 1968, the last of the 327's.....has NO acc holes in the heads. In 1969, 350's replaced the 327's and chevy started the acc holes for the first time in the small blocks.
HP is a Suffix Code for 1965 Corvette 327/300horse with a Powerglide, 1966-1968 Corvette 327/350horse with a 4 speed, 1969 Camaro/Chevelle/Nova 350/300horse with a 4 speed...HP doesn't stand for High Performance. The "V" in the Suffix Code is the Flint plant where the engine was born. The 4 numbers following the V is the day and month it was born....The date code cast into the back of the block below the distributor will tell you the year of the motor.
The veiw From a 327 "snob" I have been buying 327's for years, at every opportunity I have had. The at***ude I have had, and others i have known, is that The early small journals were the way to go, with the steel cranks, and less drag from the smaller journals, and the whole real 327 vibe. The large journal 327 shares its block dimensions with the "doggy"350, and crank with the "pos"307. That was the opinion at the time. Reality is, there is more strength in the larger journal size, hence Chevrolet making the change. The 68-69 Vettes long lived in the shadows of the 63-68 Vettes, and performance and at***udes differ greatly between cars. A friend has a 66 427 vette motor, and a 68 427 motor. Side by side in his shop. The excitement level when describing the 66 engine was high, and i got a great description. The 68 engine was just "thats out of a 68 Vette" It is a great engine, go for it. The last 68 'Vette I had in my yard had the double hump heads on it, didn't check the numbers, and the last 69 engine I had, had the "186" heads, with the double humps, and accessory Bolt holes. I have been told the 186's only came on Z-28s, but I have pulled them off of 300 horse 350 camaros, and even an abandoned station wagon in the woods.
Can't get much for $800 anymore. Other than it's lack of torque, that's a solid motor for the money. BUY it.
I bought the motor! It's definitely a 1968 corvette motor with the "V" on it , meaning it came from Flint high performance division..so I'm told. It has the "HO" (300HP) stamped on the front p***. side of the block, and he comfirmed the vette had a turbo 400 w/ PS & A/C. The bummer is..it doesn't have the original heads. One of them had the camel humps..and the other doesn't. The accessory holes were a dead giveaway of them not being the originals. The guy told me that both heads were done not too long ago, and even though they are not the originals..they do run very well, and the rebuild was done professionally. Guess we will have to see about that. :/
There are at least a 100 times as many corvette engines as there were covette produced. There is no difference between a corvette and any other equivelant power plant except for a few sets of experimental aluminum heads back in the 50's. Stronger blocks, cranks, etc are old wives tales.
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