Thread: 350, 327 Crank??

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Well my engine had an overheating problem (something with the heater core my dad fixed it but I don't rememeber exactly what). Anyways it overheated, the oil thinned out, and 2 rod bearings spun and scored the crank pretty badly.
I was wondering what would happen if I put a 327 crank in my 350 engine.
I'm only replacing the crank and the rod/main bearings. None of the rods themselfs got scored just the bearings and crank.

327crank or 350 crank?

Btw its in my '85 Trans Am, Electric Quadrajet (P.O.S.) 700r4 tranny.

Why would you want to go down in cubic inches?

I was told it creates more horsepower, and since I'm using the same block just a shorter stroke I will keep about the same torque...

Well.......... Look at it this way, if you want to get maximum efficiency out of that 4 inch bore. It makes sense to use as muck of the bore as possible. A 350 stroke is 3.48 inches and a 327 stroke is 3.25 inches. So you will be replacing crank and pistons. If you really want to get power And since you are replacing the crank, have a look at the 383 stroker Kit. They are quite resonably priced.

if can you get your hands on a 400 crank and flexplate or flywheel thats what i would try. but im thinking that a 350 and 327 crank are the same big journel 327 that is.

But by using a bigger crank wouldn't i have to resize the rods?
if i used the smaller crank i would just need bigger bearings right?
I don't know much about the crankshaft and piston assembly tahts why im asking.

"I was told it creates more horsepower"

You may indeed create more horsepower with a 327 over a 350 if you buzz it to the moon. It's all a matter of moving air through the motor. The more air through the motor, the more power you make.

But horsepower is not what you need. You need torque at low rpm's to move a street machine like an El Camino. I know I've shown this link until everybody on the board wants to puke, but it's the best that I've found for formulating a plan based on requirements. All these builds are dyno-proven. Pay particular attention to the builds which produce maximum torque under 4,000 rpm's.http://www.ryanscarpage.50megs.com/combos1.html

bearings are bearings unless you have to machine the crank.. if the crank has a shorter stroke and you dont change pistons you will lose compression and im sure you dont want that. so if you not changing pistons then you might just want to stick with the 350 crank

I'll just stick with the 350 crank then.
Thanks for the help

Go to a machine shop and see if you can have the crank cut, and then buy oversized bearings to match how much the crank had to be cut. I think this would be the cheapest way to fix your problem. I personally would buy a 383 stroker kit, but the above mentioned way should work just fine. Also go to your local parts store and buy a Haynes engine overhaul manual for your motor, it will be the best $19.99 you have ever spent on your motor.

Basically it works like this, the longer your stroke is the more torque you have, the downside to this is that you cannot rev as high as a motor with a shorter stroke or a lighter rotating mass. Torque is essential in drag racing. Horsepower is not a force it is a measurement, Torque however is a force applied to an object. In a car like yours you want as much torque as you can get so the longer stroke you have the more torque you have. And besides building a high reving motor is expensive.
Tyler