The Misfit 327
To be completely honest, I was a bit skeptical when I volunteered myself to put together a 327 for our three-way build, as in my eyes, the 327 has always seemed like an outcast, shunned by the other small-blocks as a weakling and cast aside for more important jobs. Sadly, it's never really gotten its due. I knew it was going to be tough to try to play in the street with the other bad boys of the hood, but I knew it could be done with the right parts and with less money. Predictions and trash-talk were running rampant in the office as to how much power we could get out of this little guy, but the 327 made it through without so much as a hiccup.

After we contacted Mark Plotner from Powerhouse Engine Components in Bakersfield, California, he set us up with an original 327 block, bored and machined 0.030 over. He also offered up his complete, balanced 327 rotating assembly with cast flat-top pistons. While this foundation is nearly stock, we were trying to keep costs at bay so we could spend our loot on a more efficient top end. In this case, we went with Dart's SBC top end kit, which came with everything we needed to complete the build. At only 1,500 bucks for the stuff, it was perfect.

Initially, on the dyno, the motor wasn't happy. Upon some investigation, we realized the timing pointer on the timing cover had been installed upside down, in turn giving us the wrong reading. As a matter of fact, we were 10 degrees off, and once we got the timing correct at 35 degrees, we recorded a baseline of 346 hp. We weren't pleased just yet and we knew there was still some hidden power to be found. The fuel curve was pretty fat so we got after it and took out some fuel in the primaries and secondaries-even bumping up the timing to 39 degrees. We then hit 371 hp on the next run. The fuel curve was perfect but we still weren't that impressed. We opted for a 1-inch open style Wilson Manifold spacer and gained 10 hp. At that point, the 327 was still making power so we took it a step further and added a 2-inch tapered Wilson spacer and gained another 10 hp. Our final number netted us 391 hp and 381 lb-ft with no drop in power down low! It was rather impressive, to say the least, and the cost to produce it was even better. -SH

  • Small Block Chevy Buildups Rod Caps
    With the rods and pistons in place, we checked and shimmed the rod caps. Sometimes this step is skipped, but it's important to ensure that these caps have enough clearance between them. With the shims (0.010-0.012 inch) in, we torqued each rod to 50 ft-lb.
    With the rods and pistons in place, we checked and shimmed the rod caps. Sometimes this st
  • Small Block Chevy Buildups Powerhouse Cam
    Our cam, which was provided by Powerhouse, came in at 0.480/0.480-inch intake/exhaust with 230/230 degrees on the intake/exhaust at 0.050 duration. Being that we used a flat tappet cam, we lubed up the lobes and the cam journals with oil prior to placing it in the engine.
    Our cam, which was provided by Powerhouse, came in at 0.480/0.480-inch intake/exhaust with
  • Small Block Chevy Buildups Dart Head
    Up top, we went with Dart's complete top end kit, and it literally had everything we needed to put it together. These heads feature 2.02/1.60-inch intake/exhaust valves, dual 1.437-inch springs, and 64cc combustion chambers.
    Up top, we went with Dart's complete top end kit, and it literally had everything we neede
  • Small Block Chevy Buildups Scorpion Rockers
    We were so pleased with our previous experience with Scorpion on our budget big-block (Feb. '08) that we weren't scared to bolt on our set of 1.7:1 roller rockers from them again. We wanted to achieve maximum lift and be able to utilize the entire camshaft.
    We were so pleased with our previous experience with Scorpion on our budget big-block (Feb
  • Small Block Chevy Buildups Dart Dual Plane Intake Manifold
    We finally got the Dart dual-plane manifold on, along with our trick two-piece timing cover from Comp. This cover makes it easier to swap cams and gears without ever disrupting your original oil pan seal. Up next, we installed the Melling high-volume oil pump along with a Canton pick-up and the baffled Canton oil pan with scraper.
    We finally got the Dart dual-plane manifold on, along with our trick two-piece timing cove
  • Small Block Chevy Buildups Holley Street Carb
    Our final pull was made with a 2-inch tapered spacer on top of our Holley 650-cfm Street HP carburetor. With 39 degrees of timing and 67/73 fuel jets in the primaries and secondaries, the 327 was just 9 shy of 400 hp, producing 391 hp.
    Our final pull was made with a 2-inch tapered spacer on top of our Holley 650-cfm Street H