I picked up this 327 for dirt cheap and wanted to know if its worth anything. Casting #3892657 Stamp code V060IME
It’s from a 67 Camaro. 327 2 barrel with Powerglide. You don’t say what kind of condition it’s in. Have you heard it run? Does it run? Is it rebuilt? Still have the 2 barrel intake and original heads (they’d likely be small valve). Unless you can find the Camaro it came from....... or the owner of said Camaro, I’d say core value. $300?
I have a buddy who has a hobby shop machine shop, and does all his own race engines for hobby-stock stock car racing. He collected good SBC engines for years so he'd always have good cores. He didn't usually need them because he'd blow up his engines, it was because his would get claimed. He has said the proliferation of aftermarket blocks and heads, and complete crate motors, has caused the market for original SBC's to plummet. He says they are basically worthless to anyone except restorers (and vintage hot rodders now. Even he went to a crate motor recently (his class actually prefers crate motors as they aren't claimable). If you can find a guy restoring a base model 67 Camaro who isn't going to fake an RS or SS, you might have a chance of getting that $300 out of it. Otherwise it's a $75 engine.
To put it in perspective, last winter I sold a completely rebuilt ‘68 327 275hp engine. Had all the receipts from the rebuild and was complete. Sold it for around $2000 which was much less than the receipts for the rebuild........ and it took over a year to sell. Thinking about, Alchemy is very likely more acccurate on the value.
Outside of 265's and 283's (I hoard those) I pass on just about all small block Chevy's anymore that are not free or dam close to it. you cant beat the value in a new Chevy 290 horse motor, you can barely get the machine work on the roatating assembly and the heads done for the price of a the cheap Chevy crate motor
Small journal, small valve, larger chamber heads. Unless you find a Camaro guy that needs it, around here that's probably a $150-$175 core. Ex. I just bought the same basic short block for $50.
I do think small journal 327s have good value to hot rodders and restorers because it has provisions for the PCV at the back of the block. This is important because this allows the use of valve-covers without holes for that period look. Easy to make a 383 look like a 283 or 327. They aren't making these blocks any more. Definitely more value if it is standard bore. Plus, ALL small journal 327 crankshafts are forged.
Let me start off by saying I hate crate motors and the term. They are cheap thin wall casting cheap made in Mexico motors that the easy way out people use. I know no one cares what I say so no problem. But there is a great deal of personal satisfaction putting together a SBC with Detroit parts, nice aftermarket cam, aluminum hi-rise and appropriate 4bbl. carb. Pat
I'm calling bullshit on the $75 post. If that is accurate in your area, you should buy up all you can find and ship them here, I'll sell them for $200 and we'll split the profit.
I don't know where M'town is, so I just looked up Craigslist in Omaha to start with, figured it had to be close enough for comparison. https://omaha.craigslist.org/pts/d/chevy-shortblock/6688035500.html https://lincoln.craigslist.org/pts/d/327-chevy-engine/6673079135.html https://stjoseph.craigslist.org/pts/d/chevy-motors/6717127766.html https://omaha.craigslist.org/pts/d/327-newly-built-3-deuces-and/6712996524.html
Value is a hit or miss proposition. First of all, its a small journal. That alone makes it valuable, at least to a 327 snob. Being a 67 Camaro engine, that particular engine is the precursor to the dreaded 307, and as such, the heads and intake are pretty much worthless for resale value. basically, depending on how good, or nasty the shortblock is, you have a 100 to 300 dollar engine. Camel Hump heads add to the desirability factor, but are really only worth about 75, to 150 dollars as cores. Yes, some Camel hump heads had 2.02/1.60 valves, but they are rare enough to really only factor in for the vette guys, for whome date codes are everything. The last 327 I had was a 65, 250 horsepower motor, with a new cam, but needing lifters, timing set and oil pump. I paid 400 for it, kept all the external bolt ons and gavethe longblock to my neighbor when I moved. I still have a virgin 66 chevell 275 horsepower block and heads, standard bore in storage. It is 400 dollars PERIOD. I have sat on it 15 years, and will build it for my 65 C10, unless someone gives me 400 bucks. The guy next door to where it is stored has a 66 Chevelle, original 327 car, and offered me 250 dollars. as stated, I still have it, so value is subjective. I also turned down a highly desireable 66 Nova block for 75 dollars, because it was missing the main caps. I did not know how valuable they were at the time, but I would never line bore a block again, so It was junk to me.
I bought this thing and every body pointed out that it had a 327 block like it was a plus. I`m not far from Omaha. It came with A tranny to.
Don't shoot the messenger. I knew I should have stayed out of this thread. I don't buy and build SBC's, I'm a flathead man. Take my uneducated info for what it's worth.
I know that for the most part HAMB members are not too concerned with this subject but just to be clear the Corvette 327 wasn't the only one to be offered with the big valve heads. Chevelles and Novas also used them on the 350 hp 327's and they are highly collectable. We are no longer in the "musclecar" craze of years past that created stupid $$$ for matching number parts, and by the way, it's more than just numbers it's casting dates that need to be truly "matching". For instance, a guy trying to sell a car for big bucks (to knowledgeable buyers) with heads or blocks dated later than the cars build date will have a tough sell. Now if the car has a more reasonable price; then service replacement parts with later dates may be ok with certain buyers.
I'm not shooting anyone, just disagreeing with your estimate of value. There's several examples from close to you that are going for about what I would expect. Keep an eye on them, see if they're still there in a couple of weeks. Around here they wouldn't be.
Blues4U, I think he is from Marshalltown which is a little north and east of Des Moines. You could check Craigslist for Des Moines, Ames and/or Waterloo and you will be in his neighborhood.
$250 to $300 seems to be the going price for anything not too special and complete. The last ones I have around were freebies from parting out junk cars, my big block is a leftover from the stock car days. In fact the 355 in my Ford is a stock car piece salvaged from a wrecked 1973 Impala. The Camaro piece the OP has come up with may be worth to the right buyer, which is few of us here. I would take any 307 that came around, those were the bomb for building claimer engines for the stock car class I ran in. Most of those are extinct by now.
The Jalopy Journal
