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Early, on very cold and very windy Tuesday, December 30th, 2025, Ron McDermott and his experienced engine mechanic friend Stanley made their way from Burlington County, South Jersey to scenic Warren County to visit withTom Merring in his Full-Service Heated Garage.
Recently, Ron purchased a Chevrolet 1967 327 engine block and took it to his local engine machinist shop for steam cleaning, boring .030 over, crank balancing/polishing as well as installation of the small journal crank shaft. This was Ron’s second visit to Tom’s garage because he mistakenly purchased piston rings that were not the correct Compression rings for the Sealed Power Hypereutectic pistons delaying the installation of the pistons for several weeks. Stanley with the soft hammer in hand started the installation of the rods and pistons with the aid of the ring/piston crimping installation tool.
Next, Ron had purchased brand new rod bearings for the 327 engine but the rod bearings were specific for a large journal 327 crank shaft which was introduced in the 1968/1969 period. Now, the installation team was in a fix and needed a solution fast! NAPA was most likely not going to have 327 small journal bearings in stock but Stanley suggested that possibly a short trip to the Estate of the dearly departed Jim Krous may save the day. What do you know? Hallelujah! A boxed set of Cleavite small journal bearings were found sitting on the shelf! The installation team determined the rod bearing oil clearance was .0015 thousand deemed acceptable. Stanley restarted the piston installation. Stanley showed another piston ready for installation with the flexible blue sock on the threaded bolt preventing damage to other parts during the installation. Warren Jablonski, JLG Treasurer and photographer/author was the torque tool specialist- torquing the rod bolts to the 35 ft. lbs. spec.
The picture below shows the engine block on the rolling engine stand with the Elgin Industries mild cam already installed along with the Cloyes double roller timing chain and gearsThe picture above shows the rods installed to the bottom end of the small journal crank shaft, Brass freeze out plugs and the small block coolant drain out plug. Tom Merring supervised all phases of the installation with Ron and Stanley hoisting and removing the block from the rolling.
The installation team made sure the timing dots on the gears were closely opposite one another with No.1 and No. 6 pistons at the top of the block. The team noted that pistons 1,3, 5 and 7 are on the driver’s side and pistons 2, 4, 6 and 8 are on the passenger side.
Ron’s 327 is now 331 cubic inches. The cubic inch calculation formula is as follows:
(Bore x Bore x Stroke x 0.7854 x 8 cylinders)
(4.03 x 4.03 x 3.25 x 0.7854 x 8) = 331 cuin