ChrisBlair

Maybe I did, but I think Nelag has a '64

ptjsk

Hey Jim, I do have a bit of concern with my 327/340 motor (in the '63). I probably should have changed the rods when I did the engine. It sounds great with the cam and those solid lifters!

Not like I'll be stressing the motor too much. I don't think I will.....Well maybe a little bit....Ah hell....if it breaks then I'll go ahead and change them! LOL!

Pat

jim lockwood

So unless he's made a change, that engine has the weak, early rods.

I hear ya, Pat. My '63 roadster has the weak rods also. It concerns me but since I don't push that car hard, I live with it.

Nelag

Wow. Good thoughts. I do not currently own a C2. As I look for a car I see some with the 300 hp. I want to have AC and PS and I know they rob power. If I were to purchase a 300 and add AC and PS I did not want to end up with a car that has the power of a Pinto. If so, next is how easy and if the HP on a 300 hp can be raised is my question.

I hate to buy and change a number match car, if possible.

For my use i would like the following. lol. 1967 White/ red, AC, PW, 327/350, R&P electric PS, Posi-traction, tilt wheel, good frame and birdcage, instruments that work.

Who has an extra one near Nebrask/Kansas. ?

DRC

No disrespect to the original poster but first I would clarify H P vs. the driving sensation you want.

I'm an old drag racer from the late 60's. A stock 327 250 H P with a M20, 3:73 rear, and a recurve distributor in a street stop light race will destroy a stock 327 350 H P with M21, 3:36 rear and stock distributor curve.

A 327 300 H P has 2 1/2" manifolds, combine that with a M20, 3:73 rear, recurved distributor, and dialed in AFB is one of the best real world all around performers IMHO. Instant throttle response and sling shot low end torque.

DRC

Nowhere Man

stop looking at original motor cars and just buy a mutt and build what you want. Your save your self in the long run. And drive one for about a year before you go modifying one. You might be surprised how well these cars are with out all those do dads you say you need. Keep a open mind

Nelag

Thanks for your suggestion. I was always told to buy a car as close to your desired spec as possible because it is cheaper than building one.

With that in mind I have also been encouraged to buy the most expensive car I can afford regarding the options I want.

So I do not have my heart sent on any specific year. More condition, options, ect. are my stipulations.

I believe I could install the AC, PS, ect. Just no major OH to engine or trans.

I even found a 1963 with a 3 speed manual, low hp motor for $50,000. Thought about putting a 383, Trec 5 speed, ect. It would come out about $80-90,000 when done. As long as the frame was good and the price of paint job would not kill me that would be a fun idea.

Nowhere Man

I would look for a car with the colors you want in an acceptable condition. That will narrow your result but keep in mind paint and body work is very expensive. The rest can be added later after you drive it with an open mind. If you think you need all that stuff before you buy and drive you will never be happy with any car.

CorvetteMikeB

I take my Corvette to the local bump shop for paint repair for paint chips or paint scratches. A local bump shop can just " Spot Paint" meaning only painting 1/4 or 1/3 or 1/2 of ' One Body Panel " to repair the problem.

Let me give you an example: I had one paint chip on my lower door. The bump and paint shop just painted the lower door only for $325 dollars. It was a perfect paint match and the paint chip was history and you would never know it.

I first took it to a full car restoration shop. Where they charge from $25,000 to $30,000 to paint a whole fiberglass corvette body. The owner said you needed to paint the whole door, whole front panel and whole rear panel and upper rear panel or the paint won't match. All for only $9,200 dollars what he said he charges the insurance companies.


My experience.

I was driving by a small bump & paint shop, that's all they do. There were 3 C3 corvettes in the parking lot among other cars less than ten years old. One C3 was just painted with paper still on the unpainted panels. Drove into the lot and looked at the fresh paint job and talked to the body shop owner. The following month my door was painted. That was last summer.

MikeFloyd

In the process of converting my 327/300 to a Blueprint 383/436. If you're going to do more HP it makes sense to get away from the flat tappet cam.

Nelag

Is doing this more economical than just selling the old 327 and buying a 383 BP ?

Nowhere Man

.

if it's a born with engine car then your removing value from the car. a 327 is not really worth a whole lot and if the little bit of money you get from it will help off the set the cost of a new motor, then this hobby is not for you.

toddalin

You want to know what it takes?

This will get you just around 300 RWHP and close to 300 ft-lb as verified on the dyno:

331 CI, pump-friendly 9.5:1 CR
K&N 14"x4" air filter, Corvette drop base and lid
Holley 600 dp, choke horn milled and blended, Primary - 69, Secondary – 74, Squirters - 21
1/2" Aluminum open spacer port matched to manifold, exterior polished
Edelbrock Performer RPM intake manifold, port matched, exterior polished with all extraneous castings and lettering removed
Homemade lifter valley splash shield to keep hot oil off manifold bottom
Manifold heat riser crossover blocked
Camel hump 1.94/1.50 heads hogged out to 2.02/1.60, pocket ported, port matched, pump-friendly hardened seats, 3-angle valve job
All porting and port matching performed by Juan Mendoza of Flow Technology
Cylinder bores clearanced to unshroud the valves
Comp Cams 1.52:1 roller-tip rockers
Crane Cam Vintage Muscle 327/350 hp cam, 222 degrees @ 0.05, 0.447" lift (with 1.50 rockers)
Doug Thorley headers, dechromed and ceramic-coated
2.5" mandral-bent exhaust (including tips), 2" cross-over just before rear axle
DynoMax stainless Ultra Flow mufflers
Millerspeed 1-1/2” Gilmer under drive belt drive system
Mallory Hyfire IV CD ignition box triggered off Accel points
Mallory high voltage chrome coil
Mallory spiral-wound coil wire
Mallory solid copper plug wires, ends soldered to wires
Champion plugs
37 degrees total ignition advance
Carter high volume fuel pump
Melling high volume oil pump
Open breathers
Polished aluminum high flow water pump
160-degree thermostat
Flex fan with polished aluminum spacer
Polished aluminum one-wire 100 amp alternator
Header Power Bracket
Keisler TKO600 5-Speed
Hurst shifter
3.70:1 positraction with Big Block yokes
225/60/15 Firestone Firehawk SZ50s on 7”-wide Western 30-spoke Turbine Wheels

Spowell637

I have owned three 300 hp, one 365 and one 350 hp. I could tell real difference with the 365. Hardly any with the 350

Nowhere Man

was your 350 wore out and tired. of dads three SB one base 300,L79 and the 65 L76. all three have their own identity on the go-fast pedal. then again, his 300 has grandmas caddy mufflers that is quite as a mouse, the L79 has GM side pipes, and the L76 with N11 mufflers. so the last two sound the part of how a Corvette should, but if I had to pick one to drive everyday it would be the L79 but the side exhaust would have to go and get the N11 under car exhaust on the car.

Spowell637

My 350 probably was a little tired. Don’t get me wrong the L79 was a fabulous engine and I loved the car. Love the L75 we have now too.

davisce

How much $$$$ do you want to spend ?? If that's not a problem I would say; "Heads, CAM, Intake, Headers, Carbs/Fuel Injection, Electronic Ignition, and the list goes
on and on. . . . . If you don't want to spend the time installing all the add-ons just buy a "LS Crate Engine". . . Wa-La !!

Skip Fix

Lots of good suggestions. As others said ideally looking at one that has either what you want or a roller so you can build it. That said I could not find one and happened into a numbers matching 64 300 HP 4 speed couple last month. I would have spent way more getting one in the shape this one is in! Original 300 hp 327 motor was freshened a few years ago 0.060 over "RV cam"(unknown specs) and more recently a FAST EFI on a plain Perfomer intake put on it that needed some tweaking on fuel mixture.

I will pull the numbers matching motor and set it and bellhousing trans off to the side and build a 383 for it. Using a hydraulic roller cam is almost a must now a days with the issues of a flat tappet having a lobe go flat and pumping metal throughout the oiling system. The only argument I have with Toddalin's suggestions.

More cubic inches gets you more torque which is what gets the car moving-more rear gears basically multiply the existing torque. Why GM dropped all motors below 350 CI after several years. Why a 350 , 383 or even a 406 get you that easier. Heck going wild with $$ there are even aftermarket 430+ci small blocks and aluminum blocks!

Head flow is going to get you more HP and TQ and is needed unless you are going to choke it down with a small exhaust. They even make a better flowing aluminum head with the camel hump cast onto it!

Also heard of hood clearance issues with different intakes even the old Z28/LT1 and Edelbrock RPM. Using a standard 1.5" drop base and a 3" filter mine maybe as another 1/2" clearance. The lower drop higher HP air cleaner base and a 4" filter may work but hits some of the EFI stuff. Also it does not get you that much more room above the carb vent tubes if using a Holley.

FWIW my 97 Silverado tired old 350 350K miles on it just got a Blueprint 383 in it! Easier and less down time than building one. Who knows that block might be the base for a 383 in the 64 Vette!

toddalin

A hydraulic roller cam will also require that one change the pressed in studs of the stock heads to screw in studs. My spring tensions are right on the edge for pressed in studs. Just something else to consider.

69L88

And a second mortgage on the house….