327 crank in a 400 block

[LawDogRacer]

was wondering what rod length i should use what cam would be good? i race a modifed dirt track car. i'm stuck with theses last two decisions to make. the track is black dirt 4/10th mile high bank. i turn around 6600 rpms off the corner and around 7400 rpms getting in the corner. what rod is going to make this motor last longer and run harder? what cam would be good create alot of torque and HP? it has to be a flat tappet cam. any other input would be nice on building this motor, thanks.

[NJSPEEDER]

Biggest gans we are seeing in the flat tappet small blocks is running a 4-7 swap cam. Peak power isn't much different but they seem to be a bit more snappy going back to it and they generally build a smoother power curve that is easier to work with, especially if the track dries out and you have to feather it in.

What's your cubic inch limit? Do you have an RPM limit? If you can spin it as hard as you want a short stroke and long rod would be a great combo.

-Tim

[TT302Z28]

I believe this gives you a 377. I built a few of these over the years and they were incredible engines. Reminded me of larger versions of the Z/28 302.

The last one I built I used Crower 000321 solid flat tappet. That was a nasty street engine that liked 7000+ shifts. What ever Cam or Cam company you decided to use, make a call to the tech lines to run it by them. They really can give the best advice being that this is what they do.

As far as rod length, we have stuck to the 5.7 rods mostly due to availability and cost. The 6.0 rods are supposed to provide more torque and less wear due to rod angle and side load being better. The sprint guys always blow their stuff up sooner than the added expense was worth.

Have fun!

[Kenova]

I believe this gives you a 377.

Close, but not quite.
A 327 crank has a stroke of 3.25". Use that crank in a 400 block with a bore cleanup and you will be sitting right around 350 ci. Use a piston with a compression height of 1.125" and you can use a 6.25" rod.
Use quality components and you can rev the combo to the moon.

(..... to the moon Alice, to the moon! )

Ken

[TT302Z28]

Oops! Your right, the 350 crank makes the 377. If you haven't tried one they are awesome.

[Randy67]

Oops! Your right, the 350 crank makes the 377. If you haven't tried one they are awesome.

Yes they are, love the 377 when it was in the El Camino. We'll see how it performs in the Camaro now, can't wait to get it running again. Too bad it isn't street legal (autox CP car now), I will miss driving it on the street.

[Flash68]

Close, but not quite.
A 327 crank has a stroke of 3.25". Use that crank in a 400 block with a bore cleanup and you will be sitting right around 350 ci. Use a piston with a compression height of 1.125" and you can use a 6.25" rod.
Use quality components and you can rev the combo to the moon.

(..... to the moon Alice, to the moon! )

Ken

Ohh that 6.25" rod sounds tasty. I have a 377 with a 6" rod and love it. It was built by previous owner so I have been gradually raising the rev limiter above 7k for last few events, but it loves to rev to 7400 so far and takes it well. Have a very large solid roller in it, which is really what you need IMO with these high revver combos.

That long rod "350" sounds like a blast.

[justanova]

Close, but not quite.
A 327 crank has a stroke of 3.25". Use that crank in a 400 block with a bore cleanup and you will be sitting right around 350 ci. Use a piston with a compression height of 1.125" and you can use a 6.25" rod.
Use quality components and you can rev the combo to the moon.

(..... to the moon Alice, to the moon! )



Ken

this is correct, and the nice part is that is an off the shelf 6" rod 406 piston. so you dont even have to order custom parts, great combo, ran one like it in an imca modified, ran awesome. the combo we had used dart iron eagle 215 heads out of the box, and super victor intake, crower grind #0333 with the 1.7/1.6 rockers. set the rev limiter at 8200 and let her spin. only blew up after the car owner let it overheat and ran it til it seized.