The traditional 327 -VS– crate?

My '65 300 HP vette motor is ready for a redo - nothing bad or knocking but it's time. So how much difference does the Corvette name and a 22 cubic inches it really make to most of us?

Some background: It's in my '55 wagon I've tried to keep an early to mid 60's parking lot brawler. That is factory colors, Cragers or solids, cheater slicks, 4-speed 3:70 geared with the right era interior and details. Lowered but sometimes I raise it up. I love it.

But…
When pricing new heads (the correct heads were swapped a long time ago) or updating a correct set of double humps, adding a retrofit roller cam kit to take care of zinc worries gets pricey quick and that’s still hoping the crank isn't turned to far. Then there is finding the right mix of a local shop that has the past skill and knowledge to do the proper work without worn out machinery or getting sloppy. On the plus side there making some great power with the roller conversion and can really build to suit.

Or I could buy a new crate motor for what I'll spend in parts. Friends and family think it's a no brainier and go for new but I'm a detail guy fighting common sense and a budget. Sure everything would look like an old motor, but for those of us in the know how much difference would you stake on a road draft tube, or the head markings or factory intake. Would it make a difference in the resale (not that I will for a while).

What would you or did you do?

 

Go crate and give me the 327. I'll take on the challange.

 

'55, 327, why mess with perfection?

 

Go crate and don't open the hood, I sure wouldn't fault you.

 

I'd go with the crate motor, & save the 327 for the next buyer. The crate gives you a warranty too.

But you like doing motor work AND can get the machining done for cheap, that would be different. Me I like fewer hassles/worries & more driving time.


Tom

 

327 with out a dought, they are hard to find and have a sound of there own. now thats my .02

 

YOU will know what's under the hood.... as you drive it down the road.

 

Dress the crate motor with your 327 stuff and no one will ever know the difference, unless you tell them.
Larry T

BTW, 327's were the newest and hottest trend to put 55's at one time.

 

Several companys make oil fortified with zinc, they call it "Muscle Car"oil . Speedway Motors sells Zinc additive for regular oil. Getting the correct heads with hardened seats could be pricey. I'm a nut for my old engines though,especially the high nickle content blocks!
Hog Snot Muscle Car Oil, http://www.hogsnot.com/musclecar.php

 

I have a 327 with the double bump heads and all that other stuff, it was built with 11.5 compression back in the 70s. It has a 365 HP cam and runs pretty good, but naturally unleaded fuel without hardened seats in the heads will tear it up.

I have the build sheet from when it was built back in 1973 and since then the car has been a major garage queen logging less than 5000 miles.

It has a tunnel ram and a single holley on it.

I am going to pull it from my 36 and I went and bought a brand new GM 350 -290 hp crate motor that will run nice on unleaded fuel and make the 36 the driver it should be.

The 327 is just too radical for the car with the high compression etc.

I paid $1800 for the new 350

I'll sell the 327 to someone who wants to do the heads and so on.

 

They sound just like any other SBC. Unlike the flatheads or Y Blocks which really do have a sound of their own.

 

Buy $700 ALUMINUM heads from Speedway Motors, timing chain, & regular cam, & go another 100,000+++ on that 327 shortblock. I bet you can!!!!

 

Cris,
You know I am a total ass so take my advice with a grain of salt.

It is a no brainer rebuild the 327. Even if you had a 350 I would give you the same advice. Crate motors are OK especially if it is Friday night and you need to be on the road in your late model parts hauler in the morning. You call the 'beaner and then we cruise up to cable dahmer, back to the garage and swap it out.

I think that crate motors are cheaper but in the long run what do you have? When folks hollar belly button I think crate motor. Thousands built all exactly alike. I don't even think they have a place in a "Street Rod".

But like I said I am an ass so take my advice with a grain of salt.

 

Yep......... Rebuild that 327 and I have the Double Hump Heads for you............. Fresh, Ready to bolt on!

Look at these!

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=619999&highlight=61cad

 

I'd rebuild the 327, but then, I've always enjoyed building engines.

 

I'd build a period equipped 427 for it

 

If cris had a 427 I would already be trying to pry it from his hands.

 

it doesn't matter both are sbc's if you rebuild the 327 watch the compression ratio, flat tops, 64cc heads and 0 deck and you'll need racing gas.

 

This brings up a question I have. In a junkyard about two miles from me is a about a 1967 Chevy 4wd truck with a 327, factory 4bbl , and a manual transmission. The engine is complete and the truck has always had the hood and air cleaner on it. It turns over by hand but doesn't have much compression ( maybe just dry cylinder walls). I can probably buy it for $150 with the clutch and bell housing. I have a 350 crate in my coupe and another 350 in my shed. Question is ....do I really need another sbc ? Should I buy the 327 before someone else grabs it ?

 

Yes you do.

 

the words "Three Twenty Seven" just sound better than "Three Fifty"

 

I was digging through my cores the other day and came up with block that looks like it has less core shift than any of the others. So I put it on the engine stand, checked it out and started deburring it.

It's a 69 327 block that I'm gonna put a 350 crank, 6" rods, etc. for my old Anglia. So, is it a 327 stroker motor or a belly button 350?
Larry T

 

Those small blocks all look the same, I put the vette valve covers on my 350 and everyone thinks it's a "CORVETTE" engine. I would do the roller conversion, cheaper oil and more power, if you do the 327 which you have some history with.
If you go crate then dress it old to look the same and enjoy the benefits of the extra cubes and ease of oil changes, but don't buy some whimpy crate either....lol

 

I like the good old 327,,I have one in my pickup and I recently bought another one for my coupe when I rebuild it.

Can the engine be rebuilt as cheap as the sbc crate engine?,,probably not but 327 just sounds better that 350 to me! HRP

 

Well the neighbor has a 427 truck motor in his barn next door.... Hmmmm Beaner we may have to go visiting.

Blue One makes a good point: I love old engines but my early Olds motor but was way to much race, constant tuning and additives and was breaking things. And I'm getting old, oil leaks are starting to bother me.

Another mix to throw in, I have a daily commute that adds 70 miles a day, all highway so I turn around 3+ grand most the way in rush hour. I do drive the wagon about twice a week. I wondered if a roller cam and new heads would make it any easier on the engine.

Thanks so much for the advise.

 

if your the type of guy who likes to take they easy way out in life, then a crate is the one. something tells me u ain't

 

For 150.00 it's a no brainer, buy it and one of these "gotta have a small journal block or nothing guys will fork real money for it one of these days

As for the OP's original question, my preference runs towards rebuilding a known good block that you already have been running be it a 327 or 350, small or big journal. Crate motors are great but knowing exactly what you have and getting on the road with an engine that you know is solid and has been put together right has to say for it's self. But if you are one of those who has to haul his complete engine to the rebuilder and have everything done and get it back ready to drop in a crate motor is probably just as good and you can save the 327 for another project or sell it to someone who thinks's the holy grail of engines and is willing to pay a premium for a tired engine.

 

I had the same dilema last spring...I ended up finding a fresh 327 with paperwork to prove it's quality, and I got it for the price of a crate engine...problem solved. If I had the time and money, I would certainly redo my 327 (and I still will, someday) rather than go with a crate motor. The machine shop schedule was the problem for me. I wanted it done in a month, but couldn't find a shop within a 100 miles of me that would touch it for 3 months. I understand the desire to have a 327 over a crate motor, even if you are giving up a little.

 

Crate 383 around $4000, 450 HP, Roller cam, aluminum heads. Paint it orange including the heads. Dress it out as your 327 is done. Real parking lot BRAWLER!
With a warranty and the dyno sheet for that engine. If you don't tell anyone neither will I!

 

How about a GM crate 327 "fitted block" from '63? Comes with std. bore block, new std. pistons, pin's & rings, you use your own crank, cam & heads. One left $900 + shipping from 98847.