Dec 16th 1966 I was allowed to use my college bonds to buy a car. Dad found it at the Old Dealer as I had wanted a 442. It was a 1964 Corvette, White convertible with a hard top, 4 speed and red / white interior the only outwardly option detectable besides the red white interior was the engine. When we got to the dealer about 30 miles from our farm in Central Illinois I was in awe. So beautiful under a large pole lamp at Dusk. We popped the hood to see this relatively small V8 with a lot of Chrome. Distributor Shield, Air Cleaner, Oil fill Cap oh it was nice. Aluminum Valve covers with a CORVETTE spelled out in casting. Below the Cast Corvette was a tiny little sticker Black with Gold letters and it simply read "365 Horsepower"! Now I had been following Corvettes for years, at the Le Mans and Sebring races in magazines. I knew the 327 was in the 64 but Unfamiliar about the levels of power. The really did not register until my cousin and I took out for spin. It started right up but had trouble idling in the Dec Cold Air. I had to keep blipping the throttle to keep it going. At first I noticed a sever vibration in the gas pedal. As it is was hard bolted to the engine which in a way it was. This was not like my Dads 65 Olds 88. The shifter was chrome with a large round knob and a T handle to lock out reverse. The Tach went from 0 RPMs to 7,000 RPMs. 6,000 to 6,500 was in Yellow while over 6,500 to 7.000 was in RED!. Our International Harvester Combine Red Lined at 3,500 RPMs. I really was not sure what I had. My 1st car was a 47 Chevy Coupe, It was 100% original and ran great, Dad was disappointed when I drove over to my buddy farm on the west side of out town because he had a Welder. Which we would use to complete the install of the 1957 Old 371 V8 I had bought at a Junk Yard. That project costs me $500 and ran really good for about 2 miles before it thru a rod out the oil pan. You see I thought the old Olds needed a cam so i put in a high lift cam. But did not use the early model Rocker arms as directed. Not realizing the ratio was lower and the 57 rockers and that cam would cause the valves to hit the piston. At 1.75 miles into the first drive i nailed the gas to get a real surprise. The front end of the old Chevy really lifted up the snow tires in back where throwing gravel and the engine was pulled real hard until it wasn't. One loud bang and a slighter softer bang then silence. I saw the oil trail on the road behind me. As I rolled to a stop the chase truck came up all the guys where cheering and laughing Wow Murf that was awesome. But it was not Awesome the engine was blown,. Dad was not surprised. He simply said it was time to stop wasting money on that old car. I was doomed to driving the 64 Chevy Pick Up again. But for my 17th Birthday Mom & Dad agreed i could some of my college fund for a newer safer car. Hence the search for the 442. But as We drove out of the dealership to test out the 64 Vette, I was really having an out of body experience. Oh My God the engine sounds so nasty, the gear shift is so smooth, at the first red light we sat there trying to figure out the heater controls when the Light when Green. I let the clutch out to fast and without enough throttle and the motor died. OH NO! I fired it back up brought the revs up and let up on the clutch burn rubber leaving the light. I was so afraid I let up and went to 2nd. What was all that! I had never been in a car with the power or lack of traction to do that! We were laughing and so excited, returned to the Dealer. Dad had already signed all the papers and wrote the check. He had taken my Bonds earlier so the deal was done. We left the dealer Dad & Mom in the Family Olds and me and my Cousin in this Rocket Corvette. After 30 minutes following Dad He pulls off to the right to visit a Farm Cousin and check on his crops. I keep straight heading toward out little farm town. As soon as Dads Tail lights were gone I jammed that baby into 2nd gear and nailed the gas pedal to the fiberglass floor board. OH MY GOD. The little mouse cleared it throat, then Opened is mouth wide open it was making noise. The sound went from a rubble, to a roar, to a SCREAM! At 6,500 rpm I crammed the fat chrome knob into 3rd and Mashed the gas pedal again. The front end had been up so high i could barely see the road, it settled a tad the lifted again with a loud Chirp and returned to the SCREAM. It never lost any pull. The torque was big at 4,000 RPM then Horsepower would kick in at 5,500 RPM and the car simply seemed to pull harder with every increase in RPM. I had never experienced and Engine with so much character or capability. As I grabbed 4th we were over 90 MPH with a very light front end and what torque was lost the lift was now energized by the air flow up under the front end. As cool as the Mid Year Corvette Looks the Aero on this bodt deadly poor over 100 MPH. We let the little Mouse roar along to almost 6,000 RPM but we were running out of road in a hurry. I lifted the throttle and the front end settled down. at 3,000 RPM we are cruising about 70MPH. Neither one of us said a word. We were like shell shocked. That was so awesome and I never forgot that blast. The next 4 years i drove the heck out of that Corvette, and simply loved that engine. I changed oil, cleaned the filter and flushed the brakes, And put new front wheel bearing on it. It was a great Car and a Wonderful engine. I just Needed to rebuild the Muncie and got a Hurst Shifter, Plugs, Points and tune the advance. I was Auto Tech school and the upper class guys took to dyno tune it. We had a vacuum leak they patched and the result was one of the highest HP engines they had seen. That was in the fall of 1967. I had put Headers on it and added a rear squirter Accelerator Pump Kit to the Holley with gear drive secondaries. That made all the torque it could and pull harder to 6,500 RPM. It was a Beautiful engine that I felt I had touched it soul over the years. One scary time my floor mat had gotten tangled up on the gad pedal. It was late afternoon, just starting to get dark. I was on a long straight 2 lane concrete highway. I came up on 3 semi-trucks and thought they had a gap in between I could pass one or two them slip in between them when necessary. So I let it in 4th and headed up from 3,000 to slide by. I got pass the frist truck pretty quick so was going to go for the second when I could see we were approaching a slight rise in the road where you could not see oncoming traffic so I lifted to slid in behind the 2nd Truck. But my gas pedal would not let up. It just stayed there at 4,000 RPM, I tried to reach down but could get to it, I pounded on the pedal but it would not release. I never thought to shut the engine off. I thought I would nail gas and get around both trucks before cresting the hill. I mashed the gas to the floor and squeezed the wooden steering wheel harder. The engine roared and took off. The Little Vette flew past the 2nd truck, no one coming so I held it down and kept flying. As i got to the cab of the truck we were starting to climb up the little hill. My eyes were glued to the horizon at the top of the hill. There was a grove of trees on both sides of the Highway and the sun was setting. Suddenly I saw headlight beams shining up in the trees on my left. I knew a car was coming. I was so close to passing the 3rd truck I was afraid to look I didn't want to take my eyes off the road. I decided to stay the course and when I actually saw the car I would pull right and hope I was clear of the truck, there was no where else to go. The L79 was screaming up hill pulling as hard as it could, I saw a flash of chrome and pulled right hard, then left to straighten out. I had made the right lane as the car flashed past me I came over the hill well over 120 MPH and lifted. I was shaking head to toe, I coasted to a s mall rest stop with a Picnic table and pulled over. I sat there as the three trucks rumbled past. I was thanking GOD! You bet I was. White and shaking it took a lot time to get back to normal. I thanked the Little Mouse but removed my floor map and put it in the garbage. As Pulled back out onto the Highway I vowed to never take chance like that ever again. How lucky I was and how to be more careful with conditions like a floor mat. Whew! What an Engine! D

Dude that sounds like that OLD SCHOOL FIREBALL CAM all the kids ran back in the 1960's , love that cam

That brings back memories, when I was in hi school in 1965 my friend went with his parents to buy a new car, he was the only one with a license, he checked off Biscayne, 327 L79, 4 speed, posi, it was a blast.

I BUILT ONE JUST LIKE THAT ONE YOU ARE SHOWING IN 1966 I HAD FUEL INJECTION HEADS ON MINE. LOVED THAT 30/30 CAM . THOSE WHERE THE DAYS MY FRIEND I'M 74, STILL DRIVING HIGH-PERFORMANCE CARS. SOMETHING YOU JUST CAN;T GIVE UP !

The sound never gets old. I can't wait to do a build like this one day.

Those engines came out when I was in hi-school. A friend had a 65 Biscayne with the 327 350 horse 4 speed posi. It was a blast.

Exact Engine I had in my 1963 Corvette convertible. Got it when I was 17, in high school, and the undisputed Road King. Nobody had anything that could touch the performance of my car....

The engines of today are so complex, yet here is all you need SBC forever !

Man, that is one angry mouse! Absolutely amazing!! Great work sir.

Looks and sounds great. Good job, sir. Good old small block Chevy. They NEVER die.

the 327 is my favorite sbc the engine my dad taught me to rebuild was recreating the L79 327 with a 6-71 weiand blower made 600hp and 550lbft on 93 octane and 9.5.1 compression on 10lbs of boost

Nice build Ronnie ! i just finished a similar build 327 , dome pistons, balanced assembly, used a milder cam, 461 rebuilt heads i had sitting from my 283 , 327 iron intake , 4 bl quadrajet , 2.5" vette ram horns. I put it in place of my 283 in my 66C10 and still have it badged as a 283 you cant tell the difference when looking under the hood. The thing rips good I luv the quick revving snap it has and doesnt stop revving! I have a t5 behind it and 3:73 gears Im super happy I went 327 instead of rebuilding my 283.. While gathering parts for that engine I came across a L79 short block .020" over for $500 and couldnt pass it up as I have the big valve 462 heads off the first 327 and big cam etc etc so ill build that one up for a 45 1/2 ton i have sitting. Fun engine Ive been doing LS engines last bunch of years and turbos etc and still luv these great old small blocks !

That's a good old memory of my dad's Corvette

I graduated H/S in 1969, other than the obvious that was a very good year for Chevy's this is the sound of that time frame... Lve the L79 My dream is a Malibu with this engine and this cam... Thanks ZA-D

Similar set up in my 65 Vette with 4.11 in the back made for one fun ride

i love the sound of this one.

Built an LT-1 350 for my '69 Camaro a few years ago, it was good. If I had it all to do over again I'd do an all out 327 with electronic Borlla stack injection, just because.😎

I could just have that motor running in the background while I am bbqing in the backyard

True L79 was hydraulic cam. Was it's only weak point.I have used the 30/30 cam in a 66Chevy II.. Wind8 grand easy!!Great sounding SB.

Nice, i am 65 and had an older friend in the early 70's who bought a 64 Chevelle and put in a 327/365, he swapped in a Manley solid cam that was even more aggressive, ran strong with some 411 gears, had the single plane Torker and a 780, that was a strong engine in its day

Sounds good! I love them 327 / 375 horsepower motors

Didn't realized the 30-30 cam sounded so good! What an iconic mill!

For those of us that love that kind of toys, here is for you to enjoy. Feast your eyes.

Wouldn’t need Coffee if he was my neighbor. Great sound

Everybody talks about adjusting the valves all the time mainly because it had pressed in studs for the rocker arms people used to try to pin them the 30-30 was amazing cam for that time I had a Z50 cam from isky cams screw in studs for the valve train

Man that engine sounds amazing.

Before I switched to 400 small blocks I ran a 327 with the 30-30 cam in my stock car. 11 to 1 compression a little porting on the heads with some good valve springs and an open plenum intake. In a race, it never fell below 3700 RPMs and it made power up to 8000 RPMs at the end of the chute. My friend who built the same engine for his drag car said he shifted his at 9000 RPMs.

Ive got the same bump stick in my 327 i love the sound

Awesome... having our 67 Malibu 327 rebuilt to same spec as yours. Very nice!

I had A '69 Z/28 with the stock 30-30. It was a screamer, but little low end torque. Not fun to drive in traffic, but a thrill to shift at 7000rpm.

this sounds badass! 327 were screaming, high rpm engines.

I could spend all day in your garage 👍

Thats a nice sounding 327. I bought a 327 motor to rebuild and it turned out junk. It was already punched out 30 over and two cylinders needed sleeved. The cost to rebuild was too much. I love the quick winding 327

Hell yeah I love those lil motors they’re high rpm shit u could red light them all day n won’t blow no rod.. 👍👍👍🤘🤘🤘

Sounds great. We are currently restoring a 66' Impala SS with the same 327 SBC you have there (block number is the same, same heads). Its sitting on an engine stand right now waiting to be done, but we're going to build it with the L79 specs as well. Looking forward to hearing it fire up for the first time as well.

Building this setup my self, can’t wait

Love the sound the 30/30 cam makes but i believe the L79 had hydraulic cam and the L76 was the 30/30 solid lift

Sounds so familiar. Back in the seventies I had this cam in a Z28. Backed it out of the shop about midnight with open headers and reved it a bit. When I shut it off the bank alarm was ringing. Small town where everyone knew everyone. I called the president of the bank at home and told him what happened and he laughed and said not to sweat it. I'll have to put another one of these together some day for just the sound.of the solids and that rougher than a cob idle syncopating anxiety into the air, The only thing missing at this point is youth. .

I need one of these in my 1967 Camaro. It may not have come with it, but hey, they should have!

Solid lifter cams rev out so awesome,just have to set the valves every so often.

Man, I give you props that sucker sure sounds good!!! 😎

Back in the mid 70's I had a 67 Camaro that I had a good sounding cammed 327 in it! Miss that sound!

If I built a 327 or 350 old school it would have this cam hands down, thanks Ronnie.

@ronnie Just picked this motor you built a few years back. The guy who originally bought it from you put it in his shop, covered and hasn’t ran it for three years. Planning on dropping it in a 30-31 channeled / unchopped Model A 5 window. Should make for a good tire burner!

Days gone by😭. Except for the overbore, my cousin swapped in the same 327. Course you could find 327s all day long with almost no miles on them back then.

I had a 67 Corvette coupe sunfire yellow with an L79 hydraulic cam 11 to 1 pistons side exhaust...love the sound of that motor at idle...

I had a 283 .30 over 11.5 piston and solid cam. That thing pulled like crazy from 3 to 7 grand

I had one of these in a 1969 Nova It ate some Mark 1's and some Road Runners up back in 1972. I wish I still had it. Bought the block at the Chevy place NEW $373, but then that was 1972 dollars. No, wait it was an LT1 350 I bought at the chevy place. The 327 I did as you 10.5.1 with a 30/30 cam and 30 over

Back in the seventy's a friend had one in a 1966 chevy two with a four speed and a 373 gear is was a fast car.

could listen to that all day

Ronnie, Classic early Chev oil filler neck, just love it..... All the best again from Australia, stay safe bro. :-))

Sounds good for small cubic in. Its not just the cam doing it the enigine is 11:25 :1 👍✌

Definitely didn't realize the 30-30 was that rowdy. Chopping like that at 1400 RPM....

Sounds nice should run the stock canister filter it filters as to spin-on if you have the room.

Love that Winters cast intake . Thing sounds good

I like it,I have the crane blue print version of it slightly used but looks to be in good shape if I just use new good lifters.got from a buddy who passed away and his family was just going to throw all his prized stuff in the trash but I’d still rather have the buddy back.lol

That bad baby sounds GREAT. Good job!

16 ls swap fan boys with their pumpkin spiced latte's down voted this.

the L79 327 had a hydraulic cam. the Vett and the Z28 DZ 302 used the 30/30 solid lifter cam

Got nothing but good to say, sounds excellent and you have the idle set nice. I will say, you make me nervous with that flex fan though....If you've ever seen a blade come loose you wouldnt want another one

Tried a set of comp cam hydronic. Whipped out on break in

How could you not love that sound idling kind of high tho

Damn I love the sound that little beauty makes!! Two thumbs up!

that 30/30 dontove cam sounds great.cat beat the way a small chevy sounds.

That lil motor sounds good

Song of my people

Love your engine running stand!!!! I like the extension for the trans.

Back in the mid 60's, I had a 1964 Nova SS with am Eskandarian sold lift cam. I ran a 780 Holley on top with a Muncie 4 speed. A nice car painted midnight blue. Don't know what happened to the 64 SS Nova's. Never see them at shows. Plenty of 63 and 65 but NO 64's. s

So SICK...gonna need Robitussin!

Those LS guys just don't know what a real motor is or sounds like

Music to my ears

i love how quickly an engine will rev up when it only has a flex plate

i love the Duntov 30 30 cam.

Nice I like how they rev with no transmission nice chevy

Yep I did that upgrade on my 67 corvette .30 with 30 30 sounds the same

Beautiful just like my 67 Chevelle used to wind up

First time I ever heard a Duntov cam was in a 59 Chevy police car, was a 283 and boy did it sound good. Nothing new sounds like the old SBC or BBC's.

Love to hear that cam hitting sounds awesome

A lot of people don't know that the old 30/30 Duntov cam from the early Corvettes and F.I engines is the same cam specs that were used for the Z28 Chevrolet Camaro engines.

Nice! Gotta love that High compression!👍👍

The duntov 30-30 was an amazing cam

That engine sounds real nice Ron.

One of my favorites!

Nice!

Nice old school !!

That sounds so good. Thank you for inspiring dreams lol

Sounds real good! Thanks for posting.

That sounds killer man. Nice job

Sounds SOOOO good

Love me some SBC goodness ( have a 358ci, aluminum rod, 12+to 1 comp., .600" lift solid roller, ported 492 heads) in a '64 MGB (see avatar)---BIG FUN

The only problem I see wrong with it that its not in my 89 chevy truck ....lol... Sure does sound sweet , really nice ....

Very,very nice! Congrats on keeping it old school! I'm going to sub because this is really great content. Thank you

When you were cranking it I noticed it clearly lifting on one cylinder. I would suspect a leak down would show you which cylinder is low on compression ....

I had th 30 30 cam in a 11 to 1 355 and it kicked some ass

Nice C3 in the background. ;)

back when life was good

I Love It!... I haven't heard one of those cams for a long time.

nice job that engine is a hunny

Thing of beauty

Sounds wonderful !