tearing down my broken 327 chev to see what happened, yes, timing chain. Good timing... the day before Back To the 50's. Noticed that it may be a high nickel block. Any info on this would be appreciated. Have considered a crate 383. Would it be better to rebuild the 327? I heard that they charge extra for honing the 327 as the blocks are so hard. No, the 327 is not in a Ranchero. Thanks
Here is some info on how to identify a high nickel block: http://www.ehow.com/how_7636437_identify-high-nickel-block-chevy.html They contain more nickel and tin than other blocks, but I have never heard thay are more expensive to machine.
After the last few months, I would recommend building the 327. Besides being a cl***ic Chevy HiPo motor, what I've seen in crate motors leaves something to be desired. My brother in law bought a 86 Monte Carlo SS, that recently had a crate motor put i, you could see it had very little mileage on it...less than 1000 miles. Started making noise, got louder and louder. Had to pull it and rebuild it. (I didn't do it, so I am not sure of the problem) Also, have a 84 Camino in my shop I've been putting together for a guy in AL. Best of everything, including an $8000 Speed-O-Motive 383 stroker. Engine has been in the car, but not running, until about 6 months ago, and has only idled in and out of the shop. Siezed up one night. Slowly inspecting, and dis***embling, I finally got down to one of the rods coming loose. After pulling the motor, I found ALL of the rod nuts loose. Less than 10 ft/lb to break them loose.Of course since the engine was purchased a couple years ago, it was out of warantee, but after arguing the case, and sending pics that showed the enigine was still fresh, the manager "graciously" offered to cover rebuilding labor for free, but said he had to buy a new block, new crank, etc. What a deal! Sooooooo...have a good, trusted local rebuilder do your engine. The hell with crate motors!
Look inside the timing chain area of the block and there should a cast in number like 010 or 020.. That should give an idea of the nickel content... I never heard of a 327 being a "hard" block, but it could be possible... Might even be a truck block...
the 010 020 thing is just a block core mold casting number, it has nothing to do with nickel content.... also it's only on 69-up blocks, which is when they started using the 3970010 and 3970020 blocks. 327 blocks are probably made of better iron simply because they're older. things were better in the old days. I'd keep the 327, but I have no idea what your priorities are.
It matters where the 010 and 020 is. A friend of my dads used to work at the GM engine plant casting the blocks, and he told us if the 010 or 020 was under the timing cover, that was the factory's designation for higher nickle or tin. Nickle makes the iron harder and tin makes it flow better when molten. A set of these numbers anywhere else was a mold number. If there was only one set of numbers (010 or 010) that was the point percentage of extra nickle (.01 or .02% more) and if there were two sets of numbers, the second would be the point percentage of extra tin. When boring a high nickle block, you can hear its much harder. The cutter makes a much higher pitched sound.
I'm sure they use a torque plate when boring these hard blocks to prevent chatter marks in the bores... I know that high pitched sound your talking about.. I've had to deal with chatter on a cnc lathe.. Chatter can sometimes leave nasty grooves in bore diameters...
I'm guessing he didn't really know what was going on.... he didn't happen to have some printed do***entation to back it up?
I guess I'm pretty lucky, of the 4 3970010 blocks I have with the timing chain stripped off of, they all have 010 under the timing cover. And the 3970014 has a 014 in the same place. Larry T
We bought a 383 crate engine from one of the bigger vendors. Less than 200 miles the engine lost oil pressure and spun a bearing. 4 months later and returning it to the manufacture and a big run around. With no solution we ended up with a $4500.00 core. (legal proceeding pending). The first and last crate engine I will ever purchase. I would recommend building what you have. That way you know what is in it.
I worker in the Foundry that made those blocks. The 010 and 020 was a casting number. The end core, or front of the block had both numbers on it (010 and 020) as the end cores were the same for the 305 and 350 motors. The blocks never had cast metallurgical content cast into them, if the metallurgical content was displayed it was stamped, after it was poured. All 010 and 020 blocks were big journal blocks, some 327 blocks were small and some were large journal, depended on the year and none of them were 010 or 020 blocks. If you look closely the size of the casting number on the bellhousing flange where the casting number is is about the same size as those cast into the front and rear of the block. Hope that helps
Wow! My 010 block does too! Small world! We must be blessed. At least the advice on crate motors is good...
They charge extra for machining high nickel blocks? Never had to pay more for having a Mopar block machined and Chrysler didn't cheap out on the nickel like GM.
The 327 block would be fine to go 383 as long as it is a big journal. There is alot of talk on the nickle content but I think it is mostly speculation. I would not worry bout it unless you are planning on some big power output. The main concern in any block is core shift if u got high nickle and thin walls it defeats the purpose. Sonic checking will show the core shift. Hope this helps.
"Ya know kid, that ol 327 has so much nickel in it I gotta charge ya more to bore it. Now I do just happen to have this nice 350 from my sister's Vette I'll sell to ya. Maybe gimme your old motor and $100."
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