20mercury

Looking at a 68 project and the seller said it would be good to rebuild the 327 350hp matching #engine even though it was running 20 years ago and stored indoors since. He has not checked the compression.

So, assuming a rebuild, few questions please:

1. Assuming the block is good, and assuming I do as much of the labor as possible, how much for parts? and what parts would it be smart to replace at a minimum (again best case)?

2. And what is best to be done by a qualified machine shop and how much ballpark wise?

So is 2K in the ballpark? Or more like 3 to 4K, not interested in upgrades, just a reasonably reliable OEM quality engine. I would like to keep the original block and not go the crate engine route unless I have to.

Thanks again

SpiritOf76

Just to help you out with a ballpark, my uncle just "restored" (rebuilt as close to original as possible) his 327 for his '69. He did all the work himself, bought as much OEM parts as he could get his hands on, and it came out mint. Took him a few weeks and ran him about $3,200.
Only the block and the intake/exhaust manifolds are still original.

GOSFAST

Have it set for the retro-hydraulic roller platform and get yourself about a 30 HP increase over any flat-tappet build.

Been doing these 100% stock-appearing builds for a local high-end resto shop for a long time now.

Thanks, Gary in N.Y.

P.S. Not knowing all the components or "real" budget you're planning but 400 HP, give or take a few, would be realistic with under 10:1 comp using the retro-roller platform. Just delivered a '65 327" small-valve setup with 341 HP on a 9.75:1 C.R., 100% stock-appearing, fully rollered! This one was without "chasing" any HP numbers!

cottoneg

You may want to consider putting in a crate motor and keep the original motor for the future. Cost is pretty darn close.

Snoopysvet

When I was young I rebuilt a Pontiac 455 that had about 100k on the motor. I went really cheap, because it was running all I did was check for clearance, plastigague, rod bolts,oil pump, gaskets, rings, bearings, camshaft, lifters, push rods, timing gear and chain, motor mounts, I had the valve guides gnurled, I lapped the valves and put in new valve springs. Now in 1980 it was only a couple hundred bucks. Yes it was a gamble but the motor ran great. for about fives years before I sold it.

cv67

x2, 2k give or take should do a stocker with no problem
Maybe your machinist has a brand of cams he trusts, the cheap stuff out there is cheap for a reason

20mercury

Cool! Now this sounds hard to resist.

20mercury

Ok and good to know! at least my guess was in the ball park, thanks!

Jebbysan

2k to 2.5k.....is very realistic......

Jebby

20mercury

Surprised my WAG was in the ballpark learned a lot from you guys on this forum.

One more question. I have rebuild a lot of 2 stroke outboard motor powerheads including a lot of vintage ones from the 70's and being a thrifty person, I reuse pistons/rods if in good shape, check for round, straight, ect. These power heads can regularly be run WOT at 4500 to 5500rpm for long periods. We "Cajuns" only know 2 throttle settings; WOT or shutdown plus no brakes on a boat . Also most all of the bearings are needle bearing or ball. Also, I always install all new bearings and seals no matter how good they look.

So, if I check the 327 rods for straightness and bearing surface and if the pistons look good, can I reuse them? And is it smart to replace the cam/pushrods/valves no matter how it looks? So what should be new no matter what and what might you get away with reusing if in good condition? And what is a good how to book for sbc rebuilds?

Much thanks for the help!

Jebbysan

Generally you can reuse anything that measures correct......
The problem with Pistons lies with the bore and taper....
The block gets wore to a point where the pistons are unusable.
A new set of Pistons for a 327 are dirt cheap.....and a quality bore
and hone will assure correct piston to walk and long life as well as
smooth running and Max power.....
I always recommend assembling any engine with dial bore gauges and mics.....measure and have piece of mind

Jebby

20mercury

Info much appreciated! So, should pay the machine shop to deck (save that pad stamp!!!) and align bore/hone the block and use new pistons for sure.

Thanks again and this is what I needed to know.

Jebbysan

Witness marks on the main bearings....and journal measurement go a long way in determining if line hone is necessary.....
As far as deck goes....getting your Pistons and measuring deck height is something I like to do.....zero deck with .040 head gasket is an accepted norm and the tight quench area allows for detonation resistance.
Rods should be checked for out of round.....in fact in most cases I just have them resized with ARP bolts....so there is no question.
Also....spend a little for a plasma moly ring set as they break in quickly....
On the cam side....choose an older profile like one from Comps Magnum series or Elgins performance line.....
These older profiles break in easy and provide long life and good power.
I will not get into heads here but it is a place where much can be done for reletively little money to make for a strong running unit.
There is a lot of modern tech that can be put in these engines but if you shop smart and assemble well....a 327 can be built for much less than a crate engine and you can say you did it yourself.....
My 331 in my 66' Vette had a hell of a punch.....with no real exotic parts except for a ton of head work.

Good luck,
Jebby

20mercury

Way Cool and thanks, printing this out and saving with the rest of the suggestions!

lurch59

I just rebuilt my 1969 corvette 350. It ran about $2k. My daughter and I assembled it. It was fun and there IS something rewarding about doing it yourself....

63mako

I would leave the deck alone.

Tampa Jerry

Generally, it is a good idea to deck the block. This process assures that the block is true. As mentioned above make sure that the engine number pad is not touched. Get this in writing. Jerry

20mercury

Thanks for all of the responses!

cv67

x2 on jebby.
Line hone always and using a torque plate will assure you got good ring seal. Noone wants to pay the little extra for it then wonder why their dipstick blows out on their new "budget" build

Firm believer in decking my brand new GM block was out almost 10 thou on one side dont even want to say how much on the other lol
So document/video or photo the #s so down the road someone cant **** and moan about #s....its either the original or its not right?

Put the stock cam and lifters aside in an oiled bag why risk it? Plenty of decent cams out there even old school stuff thats easy on parts still makes Ok power. Love the ol crane isky schneider crower stuff. Yeah I know I know....

Could you spend $500 at Northern and do a driveway/drill hone rebuild sure we all have. Doesnt mean its right;those motors usually got sold off quick.

Youll have to break it down measure and evaluate.

63mako

I always deck the block too but numbers matching has a lot of value, might make 10-15 k difference. Virtually every thread you see about decking a numbers matching block is an upset customer with no numbers left. Very few machine shops have the capability of decking the block and saving the stamp pad. A stock appearing rebuild on that 350 HP 327 today should drop the compression down to about 9.75 to 1 with 5cc flat top pistons, go with a roller cam and clean up the heads. Make it so you can run pump gas, still make your 350 HP and still have a matching numbers, stock appearing and sounding engine.