L76-LEGENDARY 365-HP 327 SBC UPGRADES- ADD 100 HP!! 

As a kid in the 1960's my dad owned an L79 327 in our Nova. Even back in those days all the engine enthusiasts knew how special the 327 really was. I'm 65 now and have a L79 on a stand with a 283/292 on another stand with both all new parts. I'm currently modifying my Gen 4 BBC in my 454SS 1990 truck with air gap manifold, new stage 3 cam, HEI, 850 Brawler, and a few other parts. In 2001 I built a 502 CID crate (Scoggin-Dickey) Boss Hoss bike at my house in Plano, Texas and rode it for 5 years until the NESCO transmission planetary disintegrated. I guess I am a gear head. It is not my profession as I was trained as an EE engineer and worked 37 years on telecom systems around the globe. I recently rebuilt an old 1966 Ford FE 428 that was rusted and full of mud bugs. It was from my father-in-law of whom died in 2020. I was really intrigued by the Ford 428. The heads and manifold merged in a unique design unlike GM products of that era. It is fun stuff working on this type of machinery. One day soon after most of us are dead it will be today's kids working on electrical powered vehicles. I see Tesla vehicles on the roads in Dallas and Fort Worth daily but they don't appear as mean as a 1970 LS6 or a Hemi Cuda. I'm thankful I was given the chance to grow up in the muscle car years. Hot 327 powered Camaros, hot girls, 8-tracks under dash, and plenty of fun times. Long live the internal combustion engine.

Why would you build a 327 when you could build a 350, or a 350 when you could build a 383, or a 383 when you could build a 400SB, or a 400SB when you could build a 427...? You get the picture. Most build what they have

440hp from only 327 (or 331 at .030 over) ci, NA, is outstanding! And no low end tradeoff of torque! Tremendous gains! That in a 63 Nova would be wild! Looks streetable too.

First off anyone comparing this to a big cubic inch or an LS, obviously missing the point. I had drag race a l 76 set up for years. Small Journal 327, .060 overbore, Same .120 dome pistons.. very same duntov 3030 cam. And using camel hump cylinder heads with some mild Port smoothing. It always ran super strong considering it was small cubic inch. At some point I installed Herbert roller cam CC6k 244 - 252 at .050 .600lift. With old-school 292 turbo heads. Never had it dynoed, but clearly the roller cam and 292 heads made significant power difference. Almost full half-second faster in the 8th mile than the duntov CAM setup. I always wondered what the actual Dyno power was from the original setup. That's what makes this video so interesting to me. Thank you for putting some focus on it

327 was the best small block made.

My favorite small block Chevy is the one I’m working on. I don’t care if it’s a 283, 305, 307, 327, 350, 383, 400 or otherwise. I enjoy all of them and I actually like to experiment on 305s and 307s because people give them away. I’ve made a lot more power from them than people think they can make. I mean it’s not a big bore, but cheap 350 horsepower is good.

Gen 1 400 that’s my favorite small block Chevy

Sbc 400!!! All day and twice on Sunday!!!

Had a 68 DZ302, just loved the sound, and would rev till the cows came home. :-)

You just renewed my faith in the 327 and I remember how impressed we were when that engine came out and we started dumping them in our tri-5 Chevys and our Chevy II's and Novas. At that point the double -hump heads were as good as we could get.

Sbc 400.. i grab them now when ever I find them..

Mine is the 400. I’ve owned 305’s, 307’s, 350’s, and 400’s and generally build my stuff for the street (and pickup trucks), the torque from the 400’s is my favorite. One of my favorite combos was with Vortec heads, a cheap summit cam (Sum1103), and rebuilt 400 bottom end. It just made a mountain of torque and pulled hard to 5500-6000... more than enough power for stop light to stop light driving.

327 was always my favorite sbc

1970 400 sb 4 barrel comp 268 performer intake and 1-5/8” headers 1st build at 14 years old

I had some mean 327's back in the 70's. With a four speed trans and a 4.56 rear... Wow, fun, fun, fun!!!!!!

This is great! I have a 327, did all the same upgrades edelbrock performer rpm heads, performer rpm intake, crane fireball 290h cam, 1.6 ratio rocker arms, sniper efi with the hyperspark system but not long tube headers. Not enough room...

327 for sure I remember them back in the day when they were stuffed into chevy two bad ass!!!!

400 small block hands down no replacement for displacement!

For me, the 327 and 427 are my favorite Chevy engines , from back in the day !

400 with good cam and rpm air-gap = fun for years!

Back in the mid 70's I had a 67 Chevelle with a 300HP 327 and Muncie 4 speed from a 65 Impala, by far my favorite hot rod car, it inspired me to power my stock car with a 327 too, never ran it on a dyno but it won several times against bigger engines, a bit of a mish mash of parts it was really reliable and just seemed to make a good amount of the right kind of power for short track racing. To this day I still daydream about how much I like 327's, by far one of the best engine combinations (bore to stroke to rod ratio) ever conceived, you had to be pretty inept to not be able to make one run damned good.

tons of forged 283 and 327 cranks out there for cheap waiting to be subjected to BOOST AND RPMS

I have a soft spot for the 305 and you can usually get them free to cheap because nobody wants them but I showed plenty of cars both other V8s and Turbo 4 cylinders my taillights pretty often with mine. Always wanted a 400 but they're so hard to find

4.155" bore (400sbc .30 over), 3.25" stroke (307/327 lg journal), 6.129" rods (300 I6 ford) 601' heads w/unshrouded 2.02"/1.64" valve set and a set of recessed wrist pin pistons (JE). Your choice of bump stick. Torque and power through the entire rpm range.

Isn't it kinda funny how this gen I 5.3 with good heads and a cam, makes similar power as a LS 5.3 with good heads and a cam? So much for needing a LS to make power.

When ever someone says to me, "they don't make em like they used to" . My answer now is always the same. I say, "I know, they are making them way better" . Ha. I remember when the fuelie heads were the shit. Now, HP is easier than ever to make. Just think how good it would have been if you had the modern 4 valve heads and dual over head cams with VVT on 427 ci with EFI, back in the day. Well, maybe not. The tires and brakes sucked pretty bad back then, too. Thanks again Richard!

Thank you Richard, this was right in my wheelhouse. In the early 70's, I bracket raced a four speed 68 Nova and .060 over 327's were my go-to. For me, they were the fastest for the least money spent at the time. Those AFR heads that you used are Stout! I would have loved to have seen the Trick Flow DHC 175's get a test as well, just to see how close they could come while keeping "the look". They have really good flow numbers for the size of them.

Bigger is always better, 400 all the way!

The DZ 302 is legendary and I believe if you dnyo it would match that 375 hp with the crossram system but drivability is lacking. 327 was always my favorite engine since it was very responsive to revving and had drivability. Was always a little more reliable than a 350 even though the 350 eventually became the go to crate engine.

As much as I love the Z28 DZ302 packaged Camaro, the 327 fuelie is king of the small blocks.

I love the 327! Id like to see how a 350 responds to these mods, I have 2 of them.

400 sbc. Here's a quick question. How would a set of cast iron sportsman ll heads compare to a set of aluminum heads with the same specs? Talking power, not weight reduction.

I have a soft spot for 327’s . My first muscle car, a 1972 Chevelle had a 1965 small journal 327 installed in it. It wasn’t this strong but it revved fast. Had a nice sound to it too. Would’ve been fun to keep that motor and do something like this.

I built a 327 back in the 70's and into the 80's in my Vega. Like most guys I was running the double hump heads until I went all out and bought a set of the new Bowtie Aluminum heads with 2.05 intake valves. The difference was amazing..I was already running a decent Crane Cam and Victor Jr single plane intake and those heads woke the beast.

Grumpy Jenkins and his 327 powered Nova, legendary.

Back in 1965, my brother bought a 327 crate engine from Les Vogel Chevrolet in San Francisco. It was 375 hp. They said that it was one of 7 of these special crate engines to go to the the West Coast. We put that engine, along with a Muncie 4-speed with a .220 first gear in a 62 black Chevy Impala that my brother bought from my parents. He took it to the drags, and when he raced it, he was always twisting axles into barber poles and ripping them in two. Solved the problem by putting a 12-bolt Pontiac rear axle in the car. I have never heard another 327 that sounded like that one. It had a unique lopey rumble Idle. I have no idea what the real horse power of that engine was, but it would buzz 8500 RPM like it was nothing.

lmao @ 5:40 this guy actually stated that GM more than likely “overrated” the 365 horsepower because he was only able to get 355 horsepower, no perhaps it was your inability to build a proper engine. You don’t discuss piston to deck height, you don’t discuss which final head gasket thickness, and you don’t discuss final static compression numbers, you only indicated that you build it as “close” as you could to GM. Yeah well that 10 missing horsepower is found in a flaw in the build, not an overrated number by GM. Wow the ego on this guy, seriously…. 🤣

No question in my mind that this motor could make over 500 horsepower with a camshaft that better fits the cylinder heads and manifold combination, instead of one that works better with old heads and manifold.

400, can’t beat the torque. 👍🏻

Years ago I had a 65 vette with a L-79 327/350hp engine. An awesome combo

installing AFR heads on SBC is like feeding Popeye spinach... Probably ought to put a set on my 416, but they are so expensive.

Have original 65 327/365 with factory Duntov 30/30. Looking at possibly switching to Hydraulic Roller setup. Looking at Comp Cams and Howard. Any suggestions for like specs of 30 30 cam with better low end torque. Corvette is 4 speed, 3:70 gears convertible. All stock L76

The best factory SBC was hands down the LT1.....But if we're talking building a modern SBC with modern components "there is no replacement for displacement" is always true. The 400 based small blocks today are head and shoulders above the old 327-350 ci engines.

Hi Richard. An you build a 10:1 327 with Flotek 505 heads and dyno test it. This is the direction I am thinking about for my 67 camaro. Port matching and mild bowl message. Thanks for All your great videos. Your knowledge is valuable to most of us👍🤙🏻✌️👌😁

I was 15 in 1995.. I got a 1978 LT Camaro for $800 from an old lady and pulled the 305.. dropped in a 327.. 750 double pumper.. performer intake.. a cam that was way too big.. 2800 rpm stall.. not to sure but 273 or 256 gear with one wheel peel.. all the wrong parts.. Yep I loved that 327.. once I got over 3500 RPM it was great.. 1st gear 77mph at 6800 2nd gear 112mph at 6800 3rd gear well the speedometer only went to 145 so who knows what i was doing.. I'm glad I'm still here to write about it..

as i recall the L76 engine was a Vette only option. Great engine back in the day. So interesting how these engines really wake up with modern day components

mid 60's 327, 0.060, 11.1, comp cam, gasket matched camel humps, double bee hive springs, chromolly push rods, 2.02 1.60 valves, M 22 4 speed 69 Z car, alum hi rise 750 double pumper, Mallory dual point, Mallory Hi out put coil, hi volume oil pump, hi volume mech fuel pump, Hayes Super clutch, and all in 70 C10 LB camper special. W/O camper of course And worse than anything, was the bias tires of the day, add in no A/C in Texas, between the sweat running in your eyes, and no traction during the daylight hours, the Bastards took Ethel away from us back then too... Not too mention, raised the price of gas for not having to add lead to the mix, and made long lines at the self serve gas stations. Killed your heads slowly with the lack of lead, if you couldn't afford, are find lead additive to dose unleaded gas with, because it took harden valve train to endure the nasty stuff for too long if you hammered on em too hard daily. Only good things were, cops couldn't keep up with a Pinto, with two bad cylinders, and typically, they just threaten you to not run off again, when they caught you not paying attention later on.

30 30 cam, not Duntov witch had a way smaller duration and lift. Also the argument can be made that the 65 L79 was the best all around 327 ever built 😊because it was the only year it came with the 2.5 exhaust manifolds and exhaust.

Rich you need to grab a 307 from the wrecking yard and bolt on all the pieces Chevrolet would have used back in 69 if they offered a performance version!

The 400 small block is my fav.

There's no question that the 327 of the early days was an awesome engine comparable to the 302 Ford but to try to use comparisons to the new LS is really kind of ridiculous I do not even know why anybody wants to build the old engines with the new LS because they have completely perfected the small block Chevrolet but that design LS engines 327 with the same modifications 500 plus horsepower

The 327 was Grumpy Jenkins favorite small block. I'll defer to him. From the factory, the 400 never got a high performance version, but every NASCAR small block eventually was built from a destroked 400.

I am in the process of building the 327 large journal but my favorite small block Chevy is the small block 400

400 is my favourite, I regret pulling it for a built up 350.

a 4 bolt 350 or stroker 383 with this heads , dual plane , headers and a sniper injection system

First gen Lt1,4speed,3:73grears,oh I can still feel it

You forgot small journal 327 revs faster than all others that's the secret benefit light rotating assembly 👍👆🏁🏁🏁🚩

1978, I took a 327 bored .030, 11.5 Super Stock pistons, 461 heads with mild porting, Crane Blazer camshaft .465 lift 300 duration only with 1.6 rockers yeilding .496 lift, Holley Strip Dominator and 2" open plenum spacer, 850 Double pumper, Thorley big tube headers with short length collectors. Chassis dyno conversions what they were in those days, the numbers were close indeed. 438 hp but, I don't recall the torque. That thing would just scream. 7200 RPM was a good place to move the lever on the M20.

What octane gas were you running, should have been around 102. 327's got better milage while producing plenty of power. 350 represented the end of efficiency. Never came close in mpg. 283's could be punched to 301 and still deliver 20 mpg. with normal street gearing and put out around 350 hp. .

Me and my dad still run the 327 it's are favorite literally just like the first one he showed before he put the aluminum heads on it we still run double hump heads with 202 and 196 valves it's weird he was only getting 7500 RPM out of his we have our rev limiter set for 12, 000 and usually shift at 11.5 which my dad was getting this type of RPM even before I was born I'm 30 now I think my dad won't run aluminum heads because they are too soft and the valve springs he runs in his head's might hurts them

And yet despite this and other engine builds highlighting the great aftermarket heads - almost every time a SBC build comes up someone will ask “what about fuelie heads?” I guess the fuelie head legend will never die, like a 3/4 race cam for a flathead.

L-76 in a 57 Chevy sleeper. Seemed to run best with a 4GC from a 348.

I wish I was around to see those beautiful long timeless impalas in there prime back in the late 60's...

Any 327. I'll make it run. And I've seen some pretty badass 283's too.

Search youtube for the 12,000 rpms Nova. It's a 283, I believe.

What crankshaft were you using?

Iirc Arizona Speed and Marine in the late 80’s sold crate 400 SBC advertised at 500hp. All they were was a flat top 400 with the GM 140 1st off road mechanical cam w/1.60 rockers. I just don’t remember what heads they were using...

I have a upcoming project which will require some thought on how to plan the specs on rebuilding an all original 327/365 in a 1967 Corvette. Rule 1, the owner wants to keep the appearance of the rebuild as "original" (keeping the car value intact) but, to the extent possibble, freshen it up and enhance it without violating the first rule. I've done many SBC builds without Rule #1, so this is a new constraint to me. I could do a straight rebuild and keep everything to factory specs, however, it's running 11:1, an outdated cam, and heads that have never had hardened seats installed on the exhaust side, while continuing to run on unleaded pump gase for the better part of the last 40 years. What are your thoughts on port/valve/cam modifications retaining the original heads and dual plane intake, while combining this with a fresh set of .030 over forged flat top pistons to drop the compression to a more manageble level (10:1) for premium pump unleaded. This all, while trying to retain or even increase power throughout the RPM range?

400 small block I have a 1972 bored to 406

My brother had a 1973 Nova we put a 350/350 in, stock. That car would run circles around just about everything else in town. This was in the mid 70s, and we had to doctor up the gas to run it, but it was a great running car. Eventually, we got a better intake, carb, and HEI ignition for it, and that woke it up a lot. Being a Ford man myself, I have always been impressed by that car.

destroked 400s are my fav. 352, 377 with good cam/head/carb/intake setup.

400 small block was pretty anemic truck motor. Be very informative to do a video on that with the steam holes explained.

Excellent info!! It's crazy how much HP you got out of this 327! Technology is amazing! So going back to the 70s, my engine was a 275 horse rated 10:1 compression spec in a 67 Chevelle. I installed a Z28 dual plane intake, shaved the 1.94/1.50 heads 35 thousands, installed a L79 cam, ran long tube headers with a measly Holly 600 vacuum secondaries carb. Ignition was pretty much stock other than different springs. I never dynoed it but the best I could run in the 1/4 mile was a 13.91/96 mph. I know I needed a bigger carb ... I'm guessing I could have been in the mid to lower 13s pretty easy. Cool video as I thought the 327 was a great engine overall!

Mouse got fed some real cheese right there, flexed it's muscles.

Yea , but if your not getting up to 500 hp , your just kidding yourself .

400 sb 6in rod

I know this is 3 years old but: My Favorite SBC is "The One I Got".... 1966, 327 w/ the GM '151 L79 Cam.

I owned one that I pulled out of a 42000 mile matching number Vette. 650 Holley, 194 valves and hydraulic cam. The compression ratio was 10 to 1. Get it right.

I love my 365hp 327 I have put in several different cars over the years it's on the stand for a rebuild and up grade rite now thanks for the information I will follow some of your build my 71 ventura will love it thanks Joe clay

If I had to choose I'd say the LT1 but... im a mopar guy so ill say 340 six pack takes my vote.

Personally I blame squirrels

Show us a combo that makes 500ft lbs.... a gd truck engine

Unless I missed it somewhere, can you throw up a parts sheet of exactly what you installed? Part numbers would be be great. Thank you.

My first car (1975) was a hand me down 68 impala...250 hp...q-jet...power-glide...308 gear. That car was a blast to drive on highway...and would light the 14" wheels with ease. I still have the car to today. I still have the original motor and trans...with tons of other stuff as well. I want to build a 11 or 12 to 1 e-85 327 with vortec heads...and put it in my 75 or 79 Monza 2+2....why a 327?....because I want to!

In 1973 Ole Sam and I built a 327 from the bottom up good pistons Edelbrock Tarantula intake Crane Fireball hydraulic cam Hooker headers glass bead factory cast iron small valve heads with Manley Stainless tulip swirl finished valves & a Holley Dual inlet double pumper 600 cfm carb.into my 1964 Chevy II SS Nova 2DR hardtop with a Turbo 350 trans. & 4.56 gears ! Man what a ride ! Glory Days for sure !

Long story short. The previous owner of my 69 Z/228 that I purchased in 1970 w/ 6,000 miles for $3,300.00 owned a custom Pick up truck that he showed with a corvette motor. He thought it would be better with the Z motor. After loosing fan belts and an oil leak, my Chevy guru (Paul Joseph) at the parts store told me that the oil seal was from a corvette. The dealer came clean and offered me a brand new crate 302. After a short consideration, I refused cause I was cleaning up on the street ! All I knew was it was a 327/375, 202 valves w/427 springs (3), 4-speed stone crusher w/4:88 rear, hooker headers, Mallory dual point, and 750 Holley. My friend at the local Ford dealer( Dunne Ford) in Providence R.I., put it on the dyno and produced 550 @ 6500 rpm. I shifted it at 8,00 but he wouldn't let me go any higher. It turned a 12.9 once but was otherwise (lol) consistant at anywhere in the low 13's.. Boy do I wish I still had that car! It was Hugger Orange w/Black stripes.

This is the reason I can't watch your videos. You are lying 100% You can not make 440 hp with a .500 lift cam. I think you are just selling heads.

so what does all this tell you? answer: build a 400. LOL

Love the 327's Im building one now but just for cruzin . Im building to 300 horse specs.

My 283 pushing 411 HP an 309 trq

Now was the power increase worth the price tag of added components?

I love these ol 327 I have one in my 70 c/10 4:11 rear end an Holley carb

Good job .we all know with today's technology you can make the 327 more powerful, and thats great. I have a 1965 300hp 327 and just bought a offenhauser 3 two barrel manifold and 3 new rochester 2gc carbs and I am going to be very happy with it in my tr6 triumph going to lunch on Fridays

I have a 327, Fitech fuel injection, 470 lift hyd cam, 205 intake aluminum heads, 10.75 compression, high rise, long tube headers, it's might mouse motor in 70 nova.

Do you mind me asking what part number the afr heads are?

Kinda funny that with all the help of long-tube headers, a good tune and an electric water pump that it didn't make the rated power. Flip side of the coin from the truly underrated stuff from the factory. Guess the insurance industry hadn't stepped in, for one thing.

What i loved about it because I have one is they love the higher rpm

Strange thing I have a small journal 327 with 461,462,186 & vortec heads backed with a corvette steel crank🤔 just sitting it's 4.040 bore

I love a 400 sb

I've never felt any thing pull as hard than a health 400 sbc