Bifference Between A Chevy 366 and 396?

[Anonymous-0]

I have access to a 366 big block truck engine. What is the difference between that and a 396?

I understand the deck is taller on the 366. Can that simply be milled down?

What other differences are there?

I have a '68 Camaro with the factory 327 in it, but a big block would be pretty cool!


Thank you,
Glenn F.

 

[Anonymous-0]

I bet you're wondering what the word "Bifference" means....So am I!

 

[Nedd]

Bore size, heads, and water jacket. The 366 is the odd ball big block from GM. bearings, seals, oil pump, water pump and other items are the same. Regular bbc head gaskets don't work because of the water holes between the head and block are different. If you're looking for a bbc for a hot rod DO NOT use a 366. It would probably decrease the value before it would help it. Old pickups or trucks I would say go for it but not a car. my 2 cents

 

[Anonymous-0]

I you are not going to keep it stock, you could use a 400 sb ,427 or 454.

 

[glennster]

you may be better off going thru the 327. switching to a big block, you will need to change the front coils, different motor mount perches, and a lot bigger radiator. core support may be different too to handle the bigger radiator. if you are going to make serious hp with the big block, you will need to add frame connectors to tie the front stub frame with the rear stub frame. moroso sells em, otherwise you will get body twist from the engine torque. what hp 327 you got? if its the big one with the fuelie heads, its worth a little coin. check the front of the head where it meets the block, look for a stamp that has 2 humps on it. if its there, thats the 202 fuelie heads. also look at the harmonic balancer, if its the big one, more than likely its a 4 bolt main block, bigger hp. car would be worth more with a numbers match motor too!!! only real weak point on the 283/327 motors were the camshaft, the originals had a habit of breaking.

 

[buickanddeere]

How deep are your pockets?
The truck 366/427 and 454 truck blocks used the tall deck blocks. Great if using a stroker crank and keeping decent connecting rod angles to reduce side thrust. Intake manifolds are wider too.
The car blocks are all short deck heights. Going to a tall deck block in a car just makes headers,steering and power brakes tougher to fit in.
It is possible to drive a 12 second car on pump gas and get mileage in the high teens or better.
You can not beat the price, power, warrenty and reliability if you purchase a GM factory built Goodwrench performance engine.http://www.gmperformanceparts.com/Parts/showcase_detail.jsp?engine=3
Add the closed loop fuel injection and a built TH700R4 lockup trans with a http://www.converter.com/vigilante.htmhttp://www.gmperformanceparts.com/Parts/showcase_detail.jsp?engine=3

 

[Anonymous-0]

Oh man, don't even consider it. That will be so heavy out there in that little camaro you won't like it at all. I know a friend that converted a 1985 Z-28 to a 427 and it has been a timeless gutless money pit. He has never got a successful quarter mile run out of the car to date. He hasn't even got a 13 second time slip out of it. Tuning hassles, header fit, tranny problems, he is trying to adapt fuel injection. It is just a mess. I told him the stock 305 with tuned port, maybe a good set of forged pistons, free flow exhaust, and a 9psi centrifical supercharger like a powerdyne or a paxton or vortec would have made the car a 21 mph 11 second daily driven street machine. I would never have pulled that smalll block out. If I were you I would pull the 327 and freshen it up with some aluminum heads and a roller cam. Will be 400 hp and feather light. 366 will weigh 800 lbs. 327 with aluminum heads and intake will scale about 450 lbs. Then you could put a centrifical supercharger kit on it if you want to and have about 550 hp reliable driver. 366 would be a heavy sluggish nightmare. Good luck.

 

[dhermesc]

"You can not beat the price, power, warrenty and reliability if you purchase a GM factory built Goodwrench performance engine.http://www.gmperformanceparts.com/Parts/showcase_detail.jsp?engine=3
Add the closed loop fuel injection and a built TH700R4 lockup trans with a http://www.converter.com/vigilante.htmhttp://www.gmperformanceparts.com/Parts/showcase_detail.jsp?engine=3"

Agreed. Buddy of mine put a Goodwrench 350 into his 69 Nova and he loves it.

 

[guido]

HEY GLENN
The main difference between the two engines is that the 366 was used as a truck engine and the 396 was a car engine, I think both with hydraulic cams.
The 366 may have been used in a car application , I really don't know.I can tell you that the
366 does not have a timing chain. Crank and cam gear is how it is timed. A timing mechanism that you cannot easly upgraded.
Guido.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Heres a web addy with all the basic data on the Rat motors.

http://www.roadsters.com/bbc/#bore

 

[trucker40]

You would be better off to find an old 396,427or 454 out of a car,pickup,ton truck,ambulance or something.A 366 truck motor is about good for only that,a big truck,single drive axle at that.
Your best motor to get in my opinion is a 454.There is nothing wrong with a 427 or 396 either(I think 396 might also be called a 402 in some cars).
It wouldnt take a lot to soup a 350 small block up to more power than you could get out of a 366.A 427 truck engine may be worth the effort though.They have quite a bit more power than a 366 to start with.
I may be wrong though,you could try talking to a good parts man.I think if you could get a cam to make the old 366 wind up good say to 5500 rpm,good crank if it doesnt cost a lot to stroke it to maybe 400 ci,then good pistons,and you could bore it some you might have a 410 or something.Probly still wouldnt put out as much power as a 427.
If you go to the junkyard and look around,look for a 396 with chrome valve covers from the factory,those were the best ones.Ought to be cheaper than a 427,and easier on the wallet to get power out of than a 366.

 

[ohio]

Keep the 327. Between it, the 302, and the 283, they were the best engines G.M. ever made. A bbc will be trouble, drink gas, and make your car handle like a harvey davidson. (as well as destroy it's originality)

As for the 366, It's a tall deck like the truck 427's. Good engines for their intended purpose, a short deck 454 wouldn't last half as long under heavy use. (but none of the above will match a properly tuned 534 Ford, or a 549 IH) You can buy intake spacers to use h.p. manifolds on the tall blocks.

 

[ohio]

"Crank and cam gear is how it is timed. A timing mechanism that you cannot easly upgraded."

Save you alot of money on an expensive pete jackson geardrive! Cams can be had, or any reputable grinder can make one up, but I agree, not worth it for a 366. Now, as for the 427's............

 

[Daniel Bear Kelley]

OK... This will make me out to be a heretic, but here goes. Find a wrecked Firebird/Trans Am of about the same year as your Camaro. Look for one with a 455 in it. Then just swap over everything. No adapting anything. Nothing has to be cobbled together. No Rat motor issues. And those BOP 455's last forever.

 

[JDemaris]

I used to have a a SS 396 Camaro. I blew the engine and got a good buy on a brand new, truck-version 427 - which is basically just a bigger version of the 366. I got it bolted in OK with a few mods, but it was a dog. Very low compression, and a very mild camshaft. Ran like a 2 barrel 348 powerwise but used fuel like a HP 396. It was a learning experience. I tried to buy a hot cam for it - and found out the truck-version engine uses a gear-driven cam that turns reverse-rotation from a car-version 396 or 427. I finally got rid of it and got a 389 powered 1965 GTO instead, which I quickly blew to pieces.
At the time, just about everybody (Chevy lovers, that is) wanted a big-block Chevy. After jerking around with many 265-283-327 SBs, and 348-409s, the "new mystery" engine sounded interesting.
Back in 1963 Chevy built a handfull of special Nascar 427s and won at Daytona. It was a different 427 than the later version (how different, I'm not sure). It's the rarest Chevy V8 ever made, as far as I know. According to GM, it was the prototype to the later 396. It shared design traits of the standard 427 and also the 409.

My friend owned a Z28 Camaro with a 302 - I picked it up with him new when he got back from Viet Nam. I think it was only offered for 1 or 2 years. I had the SS 396 Camaro with the factory installed big-block. His 302 Z28 didn't have the low end torque mine did, but overall, was a much better driver. The low end torque in the Camaro was kind of useless since it could sit there and burn rubber until the back tires came off.
The 302, as I recall was a rare bird since it was one of few production engines that conformed with Trans Am racing rules and the cubic inch limitations. Ford did it too with the Boss 302.
The Chevy 302 was basically a 327 block with a 283 crankshaft, cast in high nickel, with special heads, solid lifters, high-plane intake, etc.
In regard to BBs versus SBs? 396s were great engines in bigger cars - but not great in Camaros.
I'd still take a 283 or 327 over any of them. My 65 Chevelle still has it's original 327 and it's a great runner - although a fuel hog by today's standards.

 

[buickanddeere]

On the GM performance site. There is a 290HP 350 you can't beat for $$$/HP for any price. Then there are bargain aluminum head 350 and 383 that would work fine in the Camaro.
Even with a properly tuned vacuum secondary 600cfm Holley instead of fuel injection. Combine that with the TH700R4 low 1st gear, high stall lockup torque converter and overdrive. That will be a car you can afford to have fun driving.

 

[buickanddeere]

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