Top 5 performance mods that won't blow my motor.

[Smokintire70]

I am getting a 327. It's probably tired and I want to get it to about 400 to 425 horse and about 450 lb foot of torque.

1: is this unreasonable?

2: how much will I be spending. Including rebuild.

3: what are the 5 top performance mods you would add first.

Thanks!
-G

[praisegeetarman]

1 HP/cubic inch is fairly doable with your 5 mods request.

1 - Headers
2 - Cam
3 - Intake
4 - Carb
5 - Decent ignition

For the numbers you want you might consider a off the shelf motor. By the time your do all the machine work and parts to rebuild yours you might be money ahead to buy a ready to go engine.

[Smokintire70]

Okay. That does make sense. That was sorta along the lines I was thinking of. Thanks cat.

[Boyd67]

Good cylinder heads are important. praisegeetarman 1 HP per cubic inch would only be 327 HP. I do agree a crate engine would probably his best option

[EVRLET]

I will tell you first hand you'll be dumping some serious cash. I just built a 331 (327 bored .030 over) for my 65 Nova gasser. I started with a tired block, did machining, went with full rollers (cam, rockers, lifter), tunnel ram with dual quads, edelbrock performer rpm heads, plus all the accessories and I'm pushing about 500 hp. But I will tell you that my cost for parts and machining (as I did the assembly myself) was close to $5,000. Yes my Nova will run low 10's in the 1/4 mile and redline at 7,500 rpm...but going fast costs money period.

[Mike C]

I changed his up a little but right idea.

Originally Posted by praisegeetarman

1 HP/cubic inch is fairly doable with your 5 mods request.

2 - Free flowing exhaust
5 - Cam
3 - Intake
4 - Carb
1 - Decent ignition

And yes, your numbers are unreasonable for bolt ons. My Jimmy has a built 327 in it (large journal 4 bolt block, '69 large journal crank, bored .030) and it was in my camaro originally with all the mods. 10:1, double hump heads. It probably made 375 hp. 300 at the wheels. And it was NOT worn out. Needed more cam (see above Nova) and better heads.

For the numbers you want you might consider a off the shelf motor. By the time your do all the machine work and parts to rebuild yours you might be money ahead to buy a ready to go engine.

[Bigdav160]

I am getting a 327. It's probably tired and I want to get it to about 400 to 425 horse and about 450 lb foot of torque.

1: is this unreasonable?

Will it be driven on the street? Unreasonable (unless you plan for supercharging). Start with a larger engine or settle for 300hp

[JustToxic]

Getting a small block over 400 hp is more of a challenge then a lot expect. I'd recommend doing a lot of research before you start buying stuff. Make sure your heads flow good, make sure your Intake is set up to be good in the same rpm range as your cam.

I built a 383 stroker, pushing 600 hp. Part matching, balanced and blueprinted is a must when wanting to turn high rpm's or producing high hp's. A 327 pushing 450 hp is very do able, just take your time and do research and make sure your parts work well together.

[Smokintire70]

Okay. I'll hold off. Thanks guys for the info!

[davepl]

Aim for 300hp or move to the LS platform. It'll take some serious cylinder heads to get near 400 usable horsepower on a 327, I think.

Maybe a better option is not shoot for any number but just take the upgrades on in a reasonable order and keep them working with each other, so:

Carb and intake
Headers and Exhaust
Cam
Heads
(etc)