Steve's Nova Site is an automotive enthusiast website dedicated to the 1962 - 1979 Chevrolet Nova, Chevy II and Acadian automobiles. We work together to preserve, restore, drive, show, race and provide fellowship for these classic cars. This is one of the best places to find information about parts, rebuilding, restoration and racing. This website is not affiliated with GM, General Motors or Chevrolet in any capacity.
Ok my stepdad just brought home a old 327 chevy small block. Its kinda dirty and it may be seized. Right now i got a 307 in my 73. Is it even worth the cleaning and unseizing to drop it in my nova or go for a 350?
well that depends on a few things...since your car didnt originally have a 327 in it and your not after originality (since your thinking of changing out the 307) I would go straight to the 350. You have to rebuild the 327 anyway so why not get a 350 and rebuild it? It will not cost you any more (and possiblly will cost less to rebuld the 350 VS the 327) and you will have 23 extra cubes with the 350. just my 2 cents.
Your going to be putting a lot of money into that 327. If you are looking for the ability to say yea it's a 327 which in its day was a very impressive engine then I would go for it. If you are just looking for more power then the 350 way will be much cheaper. Depending on the year of 327 you could possibly sell it to a #'s guy for enough to buy a running 350 2-bolt complete engine. I've got two 350 engines that need rebuild sitting in my garage as we speak with no intention of using them. Other variables come into your your decision on a starting point also. You need to decide what kind of power levels you are looking for. While 4 bolt blocks are expensive and stronger than a 2 bolt block, a 2 bolt block converted to a 4 bolt with spayed caps is stronger than a stock 4 bolt with its straight bolts. Daily driver with a little street hot rodding a 2 bolt generally works, Hot street with occasional drag strip use a stock four bolt should get it done, all out drag car a 2 bolt converted to 4 bolt with spayed caps is the way to go. Remember the price goes up as you go through these stages! Another factor is how much do you want to do to the engine before you put it in. My 350's both need to see a machine shop and machine shops can get expensive, you may be able to get a good running one from a salvage yard for about 400 to 500 dollars, but it will not be built for performance.
__________________ "One Nation Under God."
72 Nova SS from ground build
Team: Iwishmynovawasroadworthy
The year and car it came from is unknown. All my stepdad knows is that its a chevy small block. Ill have to look for casting numbers sometime to find out where it came from. I just remember seeing something on TV about how 327s were good motors for Novas but all my friends have these loud ground pounding 350s and im sick of feeling left out . But i never am able to just come across 350s because i have a sh*tty job and i dont really know that many junkyard owners.
Just start looking around and I sure you will be able to find one and you can usually find a 350 that needs to be rebuilt for very cheap. 350's are a dime a dozen and very versatile. You can do so much with this engine. Think of it this way you should only want to build your engine once and if you save your money to build it right you could have a great motor. And the best part about 350's is that they are so well known that the parts are very accessible and you can get them anywhere. I would go with the 350
If money is the issue and you already have a good running 307 you could stage the process of switching to a 350 or make that 307 more impressive. Alot of the top end intake and exhaust parts you will want to use on a 350 will bolt right up to that 307. New intake, carb, heads, and cam will make your little 307 pull some decent numbers. Then when you find that 350 block and rebuild it all that top end stuff can go on it minus the cam. Also don't just look for the engine look for a running car with an engine. Alot of times you can pick up something like a 75 to 80 Oldsmobile Delta 88 (tank of a car) real cheap and alot of them came with a chevy 350. This is just one cheap example of a car that you could scavenge parts from.
__________________ "One Nation Under God."
72 Nova SS from ground build
Team: Iwishmynovawasroadworthy
Ive got a edelbrock 4b carb and alluminum edelbrock intake but my stepdad told me that if i put it on my 307 it will....how do i put this......overwork the engine so to speek, thus blowing the motor. Im not sure i havnt done much engine work besides what my 4dr tank had porblems with.
Personally I would not spend any money trying to make power with a 307. They just never were what a 327 or 350 is for power. Just my 2 cents though.
Carl
My understanding is that one of the problems with the 307 is the small bore (less then 4" something like 3.875" I think)...anyway the problem is the bore is too small to support valves of any decent size and you get terrible valve shrouding because of it....I'm not sure you could buy a decent set of performance heads that would work well on a 350 and use them on a 307 until you had a 350...I wouldnt spend any money on that 307 unless you were trying to restore it...Just my 2 cents too.
A 327 is a good engine. In it's day, it was the top dog of small blocks. They are also very durable and usually have a long life expectancy.
When Chevrolet released the 350, it took the top dog spot. The extra cubes make more torque and horsepower for the same money. One of the early write-ups stated that the 350 did everything better than the 327. (Clearly that was an opinion based on driving impressions from the Camaros and Corvettes of the time.)
The oldest rule of hot rodding is build the biggest engine you can afford and drop it in the lightest car you can find. It still holds true today.
I would keep the 307 stock and keep up the routine maintenance. Buy a 350, stash it away and start saving. If it takes you five years to get the money to build it, fine. You can ride a long time on a 307. If you buy the gaskets twice, it takes money out of the new engine fund. You can buy a ready to run GM crate engine for $1500.00.
__________________
"My car ain't no hot rod. It ain't even got a 4 barrel on it."
"Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new." Einstein
"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." Edison
"The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources." Einstein
If you want to keep up with the "ground pounding 350's" you're not going to do it with a 307 without spending a LOT of $. You could probably do it with the 327 but again would cost more $ than if you built a 350/383. If you want better performance now without wasting $, you could always invest in headers, 4bbl carb (Qjet or Holley spreadbore) & dual plane intake and recurve your distributor. All of those would easily transfer to your next engine. Beyond that, don't put any additional money into the 307. Do what has been sugested by others and build a 350/383. You'll be happier in the long run. You might want to find out what shape the 327 is actually in and sell it to start the funding for your 350 build. Just another $.02 (up to $0.06 now).
i chose to build a 327 instead of a 350 so i can be different they are pretty hard to come by around here and i like its reputation but each to there own its mainly what you like and are wanting to do with it.
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78 2 door tearin up the pavement
"One Nation Under God."
. But i never am able to just come across 350s because i have a sh*tty job and i dont really know that many junkyard owners.
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