I know the popular choice these days is to build a 383 by installing a crankshaft with a longer stroke. But does anybody have any experience with destroked 350? I'm considering installing a 3.25 stroke crank and building a 331 for my 69 Camaro. What cam/intake would you guys suggest with a set of TFS 64cc Twisted Wedge heads (CR 9.7:1)?

Been around for years, 302 and 327 are essentially destroked 350's. Its easier to say that a 350 is a stroked 327. A 331 is just a bored 327, stock factory parts available for this.

Sorry Dave. I understand that the 302, 327, and 350 share the same bore, although I don't have any experience with the 302/327 (not quite old enough).

But I'm starting with a 350 and am looking at the options for how to modify it. The popular choice is to stroke it to build a 383. Is anyone going the other direction or is there no place on the street for a short stroke motor these days?

What's got me thinking this way is that a friend of mine had a custom motor built for his drag car that has a 4.125 bore and a 3.29 stroke. This little motor is quite different from what the majority of the guys he runs against use - stroked SBC or more often BBC. And he's been doing very well with it.

The only place for it is in a traction limited, power adder car. Your car better be very light also,I say there is no place for it. If you just have to destroke something build a 377 but i would still build a 406 anyday.

Man,,I love the way short stroke engines rev & sound but the truth is, on the street torque rules ;)
Not an original quote but "there is no substitute for cubic inches,,,,kinda like HP, If a little is good, more is better & too much is just enough" :D
I feel the only reason to build to a cubic inch limit is for a class that has weight to cu in restriction & of course, your pocket book smile.gif

We run a 331" small block in our 64 Nova road racer because we are limited to stock displacement engines. It's 10:1 compression, 228° cam, 200cc Dart heads, Holley 2-bbl carb on a Vic2V manifold. It puts 330hp to the rear wheels at just 5900 rpm, and we seldom take it over 6400. It's a fun motor, not as brutally powerful as my 406, but it qualified in the #1 slot in our class at the recent La Carrera Panamericana.

I have a 350 block with a large journal 327 crank. It's just as d1_bradley says, it is a 327. What works for the 350 usually is good for the 327. Before the TPI I had great success with the performer RPM and a 600 cfm edelbrock, the cam is 230 deg. .480 lift. Never officially raced it, but kicked a lot of mustangs and forth gen z28's. If your racing go as big as you can afford, if your goal is street then a 327 will work as good as a 350. It's all in what you want.

As mentioned, the 302-327-350 are all FACTORY (or were) Chev 4in bore engines. The 302 was the ORIGINAL Z/28 (67-69) engine. In 70, the Z/28 engine was increased to 350. The 302 was ONLY in the Z/28 Camaro and it was the ONLY engine (there was no such thing as an "optional engine for the Z/28). ALLLLLLLLLLLLLL 302 Z/28 engines ONLY came one way, they had a Holley and a 30-30 solid lifter cam (the 2x4 pkg was a field installation). The 70-72 Z/28 350 engine had a different solid cam from the 302. The 327 was a 62-69 engine and the 64-65 Corvettes offered a 365 and 375hp version with the 30-30 solid cam. the 302 was an easy 8000rpm engine and the 365-375hp/327s were easy 7000rpm engines.
I must absolutely agree with earlier comments, if you want screaming rpm, go with a 302 (but only a light car), and if you want REALISTIC street performance go with a SB400. If you can't come up with a 400 block (they're beginning to get a little scarce), then by all means build a healthy 383. TRUST ME, you CANNOT have too many cubic inches. The best combo is lots of inches and a high geared rearend (such as a 2.73 or 3.08). This gives you the needed grunt for street performance and keeps rpm down on the interstate.

I still own the 331 that came with the El Camino some 16 years ago, can't come to part with it. It's done duty in several cars, a van, and my old '71 C/10 stepside work truck. I love it too much to part with it. It turned 7 grand in the water box in the C/10, boiled the tires, scared one kid in a Honda enough that he let me take a bye run, he just sat there until I tripped the lights. :D It did click off 3 back to back 15.18's @ 90 one night, should've raced the brackets. :cool:

I do have a bare 400 block to build now, dropped #'s 7&8 rods, broke the cam in 3 pieces, dented the crank too bad to save, but the block survived. Still don't know if I'd sell the 331 to build it. For a daily driver, I'd probably run it over the torque motor, especially with a stick. Too much fun.