Thread: Which one's better,327 or 350?

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350, no ifs ands or buts.........its that simple

What is the can-am style of engine building? I've heard this term used to reference F-1 type of cars and the race series but what makes it can-am style?

Richard at this point could I raise the term "residence" in relation to the longer stroke of the 350. With the crankpin of the 350 crankshaft rotating at a larger diameter than the 327 the piston would stop longer at the top and bottom of its stroke as the crankpin swings through its arc. What I want to know is-- that on the ignition phase of the power stroke with the piston being stationary, the combustion pressure has more time to build to a higher peak before shoving the piston down the bore creating more torque as well. Granted we are talking times in 1/1000 of a secound in a high winding 350 engine,is it relevant.

It is if you put the 327 rotating assy. into that 350 block, with a 40 over bore, which was my point.

I've got all of Smokey's books, it's good reading. Now which accelerates faster, a two stroke or a four stroke? If you pick up a half of an inch of stroke per revolution then you get an extra stroke every 6- right? Hello....and as for the crankpin position, which creates more momentum- the one that fires straight down on the crank, or the one that fires just past 90? This is why 383 strokers break cranks. You use the larger cubes from the 350, a faster turning crank (Smokey also talks about this in the short track section of Smokey Yunicks Power Secrets) with a shorter stroke, and baby hold on. How many times have you seen a quicker car beat a stronger car at the drags? Happens every week.

Those double hump heads go back to the days of leaded 100 octain pump gas. It is hard to make a 10+/1 compression ratio all iron engine run right on 92 or 93 octain gas. These heads do not have hardened seats and the valves, particularly the exhausts eat their way into the the iron seats over time.

You can get away with the early heads in a car that does not see much of the road. But if you drive a lot you are going to have valve seat problems.

You ask a difficult question; everybody has different experiences, and opinions. But then, I do suppose that is what you asked for. May I offer my own?

First, a phrase I think sums it all up pretty well: There is no substitute for cubic horsepower.

Now, which is better??? Let's see: 327's were used in the hottest Corvettes, and in the hardest working medium duty trucks. The differences were in the design for the use; head design, camshaft specs, induction and exhaust design. In the Corvettes, they were designed to rev high, up to 7200RPM, and produce as much as 375HP; torque (high three hundreds) came in from about 2200 thru 6000RPM. In the truck design, the torque came on just off idle, at about 900-1000, and they were out of breath by 5000. 350's were the same basic form; there were the hottys, and the workhorses.

But, what do you have? With the broad interchangeability in small block Chevys, unless you have numbers and measurements to prove your engine, you could have almost any combination. "Camel Hump" heads were made in at least two types, I believe; large valve and small valve. Small blocks from 1958 thru sometime in the 1990s all look very similar from a distance.

So, I guess it could be anybodys call, huh?

Why not both ? Ask an engine builder about a fly cut engine. Put a 327 13.5 to 1 piston on a 350 rod in a 350. Have it milled to a flat top. It puts the ring very close to the top of the deck. It worked great in our stockcar in a class that called for a stock motor.. Heheheh The piston came out the top of the deck a few thow. We even had the relief notches milled in. The best of both worlds.

I'll take the 327, because thats what I had as a kid. Big cam and 2 fours.
1.94 or 2.02 intake valve on the dbl hump heads.

NO SUB FOR CI , short and simple

Hmmm.... Take the rotating assembly out of a 327 and put it into a 350 block...??? And you'll have a 327! They both have a 4.00" bore and they use the same 5.7" rods.

Honestly, it's a matter of whichever you like. The 327 is a great engine for the street. It has enough power to make it fun and will scream when you need it to. However, if you really want to know which one is the better overall performer, go to any stock car track. You won't find many 327s on the track...

Hey, nice running post you have going here. I'll offer my two cents worth if I may...

I agree with many of the other responses that the 327 is a great nostaligic engine with a lot of history and energy. I run a supercharged 327 in a vette (4-speed and dual stage nitrous). My main reason for selecting this engine was due to is high revving capability and ability to produce incredible HP at high R's. All 327's small journals came with forged cranks. There were some large journals produced in 68-69 that were also forged and would slip into a regular 350 block, whereas the small journal would not interchange. But that's not real important unless you want to talk about physics, strength, and bearing wear.

Here's the scoop as I've learned it. How you plan to run the car is what you should consider, unless you are planning to do a complete restore where you want the exact matched parts for the year. But, it doesn't sound like that's the case here. If you do a lot of street racing, torque is the name of the game...thus you have two options: small block with large stroke (i.e.: 383) or a lot more cubic inches (big block). I don't like dealing with the 383 due to internal clearance issues, but nonetheless, it does provide more torque. So, your original question, 350 or 327? Well, 350 since it provides more torque and there are gazillions of parts for these available on the aftermarket not to mention interchangability (327 cranks/rods are different on the Small Journal & internal webbing is tighter).

If you want to rev high, or run at constantly high RPM's for extended periods (i.e.: road racing, circle track, etc...), the smaller stroke will give you consistency and "somewhat" more safety in the longevity of your engine. But, you do sacrifice low end power. My experience has shown that the 327 engine doesn't start pulling really strong until it hits 3000+ RPM's even with the blower...but then again, that's my combination of parts (cam, heads, etc...which is the reason I added the nitrous). Although I'm pulling 600+ HP on it and it's holding together pretty well even at 7000+ R's!

So, my recommendation for anyone considering this choice is go with the 350. It's easy, there are lots of parts, interchangibility is easier, and the cost of parts is generally cheaper because the 350 is considered the "de facto small block" of choice, and there is so much literature on the 350. To give you an example, when I was building my 327, I did a complete rebuild. Pistons, rods, etc. 327's did not come with 4 bolt mains (to my knowledge), so $$$$ for Small Journal Caps and milling. Pistons were about 25% higher cost than 350, rods capable of 600+ HP for a small journal = $800 (ouch!). The benefit? An engine capable of high R's (never seen on the street) and a soggy bottem, but less worries of blowing it up...and the fact that I can say, yip, it's a 327. It was a cool project, but if I had the choice between a 350 or 327 again, I'd go 350 (or big block).

You ever consider a 307 crank??? I just like the way the 327 twist's up.
Oh, and J.Robinson....you need to check that again on the bore.

That dual Webered blown beast looks SICK I'd love to do something like that to my 318 when I build it...

Whoa easy boy get ahold of yourself one thing at a time. Got to take this one step at a time. First chassis then motor...

Ahhhh well it is sweet lookin for a Chuffy

Sorry to steal the post for a little bit but I got a question on this debate, I have always been told that the 283, 302, 327 and 350 are all the same block pistons and rods, only difference is the crank and heads. Is this true? basically what I am asking is can you take a 350 block and make it into a 283? or a 283 into a 350? I am thinking you can go up but not down do to the bigger having a bigger diameter crank journals (I think thats what the are called, too early in the morning to think) or can you correct this with bigger bearings and create a smaller cubic inch motor out of the 350?