Chevy 327 small block

hello everybody, in my garage there sits 2 engines, both Chevys, one a 327 and one a 402, the only problem is they are in pieces all around the garage, taken apart 25 years ago and never put back together, I think all the parts are still there, they are just a little rusted, I was thinking about putting them back together, and I wanna do as much as I can by myself without having to take them into a shop, to cut down on costs, I consider myself and my friends fairly competent on engines, so we should be able to do at least part of the work... does anybody know of any websites that could help us out in this, or have any advice, or things to check, or stuff I definitely should replace even if it looks in good shape... any help will be appreciated, right now I am kinda low on funds so any steps I should take to start gettting the ball rolling, keeping in mind I am pretty broke... thanks so much

I'd say pull up the engines on the internet under an information search for their assembly/repair. Do what you can with your buddys if you guys know what you're doing.

Get as far as you can, then take it to a local high school with a mechanic's lab. They won't charge for labour as the students need the experince. They'll only charge for parts, and the work is just as good as any other shop because they have specialist mechanics working there.

That's the best i can give you. Good Luck!


:alien2:

how much it is gonna cost, and how much work you are gonna need to do is going to vary depending on a bunch of different things. first off, i would definetely find some muscle car chatrooms and websites.... try team chevelle, or maybe noneckschevelle.com and try and email noneck (the owner of the site) since the parts are rusted (i'm not sure ho badly, but i'll assume it's something that won't be taken off with steel wool, and needs machining) you'll probably only be able to save the block, head castings, and intake.

to give you a brief rundown.....

the block, when rebuilt, can be decked and bored out, and the outside can be media blasted to take care of the rust. heads will need to be stripped , milled and blasted, and the intake can be blasted, and then extrude honed. you will want to hot tank and magnaflux each of these parts to ensure that there aren't any small cracks or other structural problems in the pieces. the pistons will be no good, rings, connecting rods, crank, mains caps (the caps actually may be ok, depending) bearings, valves, lifters, cam, etc... will all need to be replaced due to the amount of material that would need to be removed to get rid of the rust. if the block still has the pistons, crank, and connecting rods still installed, they probably have seized up, and will require extra work to remove and salvage the block. by all means, DO NOT bring your motor to a High School shop. the work will not be up to the standard of a high performance, high tolerance V8, no matter what anyone says. save up your money until you can have a professional high performance engine shop do the machining and parts refurbishing. then, once you have your parts, you can reassemble your motor yourself to save costs. when building a high performance motor, it is not worth it in any way, shape, or form to skimp on ANY aspect of the motor that could compromise the very high tolerances that co-exist inside the motor. i can't emphasize this fact enough.

so your saying these other parts are not even salvagable, like there is no chance of them being used so its not worth it to gather them all together... and I believe the crank is still inside the 327, and one last thing... the pistons for the 327 look like they are in pretty good shape, minimal rust, the 402 are probably ruined, the 402 cam and crank are totally rusted... this Saturday I was gonna make an all day project out of searching the garage and attic and basement for the parts, but if you think that its not even worth it, I might decide to bypass that and just not waste my time...

well, i can't see the parts that you are talking about, so take my word on what is salvageable or not in a loose sense. if is going to require more than a simple polishing to refurbish some of them, and the rust you are speaking of is of the rough, pitted, or scaly variety then chances are that they are more than likely useless. but don't rely on me completely.... get the pieces together and take then to a performance engine builing shop and they will be able to tell you right away what is good and what isn't worth your trouble. if it ends up that the pistons or crank are able to be used, then that is a fat wad of cash that you don't need to spend.

alright man, thanks a whole bunch you been a great help... I shall keep you posted on this situation, but I think its gonna be postponed a bit more now that I smacked a curb fishtailing in my car and broke the rear axle and messed the rim up so I need to get that fixed...

oh yeah, one other thing, I am looking for a temporary car to throw these engines in until I finally save up enough to get my finally goals, to actually put the engines in the original cars my dad had them, a 67 Impala SS and a 72 Chevelle SS, so any suggestions, I was thinking maybe a Camaro I could find for cheap, or even an old S10 pickup, it really doesn't matter what kind of car, as long as it is GM and just as long as I can find one for cheap...

i'd say your best bet for a GM car for cheap would be a '68-'72 Nova. Camaros are generally a little bit more, and Chevelles are a bit more than the Camaro. it varies slightly with the part of country you are in, though. in the rust belt where i am, its probably the most $$, but down south, muscle cars are relatively cheap. good luck.