These days, many automotive dreams originate from hours of scrolling through online marketplaces and seeing cool things we want to buy. However, before marketplaces were common or trusted, dreams originated from research or conversations with others. That’s how I became hooked on the small-block 327, legendarily known as the “Mighty Mouse” engine.

Mocking up the 327 for what’s to come next.

Just like the majority of us in the automotive community, my dad is the reason I got into cars. It started with a 1977 Chevy Nova, found on Craigslist for $2,500, with a completely stock, 250 ci inline-six-cylinder engine under the hood. The second owner painted it matte red, bolted on 15-inch American Racing wheels with some Cooper Cobras mounted with the white letters proudly facing outwards. My dad hated the car due to the inline-six and the notorious hate for the fourth-generation Novas (fifth depending on who you ask). The issue was that he couldn’t say no to a relentless 15-year-old.

Proudly taken on an iPhone 4s right after the signing of the title

After a last-minute, four-hour round-trip drive, I was the third owner of this 1977 Chevy Nova. Other than the paint and wheel/tire setup, the only aftermarket part was the cheap $30 head unit the second owner had installed for some reason. I mention this radio because looking back now, I wish I could go back to it. It had a USB port for a thumb drive, but no matter what I did, it would only play the same 8-10 songs and nothing else. Looking back, those were simpler days, when I didn’t hit the skip button every 30 seconds to find a better song. I jammed out to those same songs for over five years before I finally replaced the head unit.

Accepting My Small-Block V8 Fate

After years of doing a few mods here or there to the straight-six (a two-barrel carburetor swap, different air cleaner setups, dual exhaust, etc.) and years of denying a V8 swap, I finally accepted reality. An inline-six would never make the power I wanted and performance parts are hard to find. I promised myself though, that I wouldn’t put anything under the hood that had to do with using a small-block 350 block.

I started to do my research on other options. A 283 was momentarily an option. It’s a reliable and solid engine, but isn’t known for big power numbers. The small-block 400 is hard to find around me and doesn’t have the adaptability of the other small-blocks. After crossing these out, I dug deeper into the small-block 327. I discovered it was available in both small- and large-journal blocks. The small-journal version can’t handle crazy numbers because it is a two-bolt main setup, but it can make 500-600 horsepower and handle high RPM. The important part is that it can make peak power in the 6,000-plus rpm range. A 350 ci is known for peak power in the 4,500-5,000 rpm range.

After all of this research, a dream was born. I set my mind on building a Mighty Mouse engine. The name is so cool that it was a deciding factor. After a few months of searching, I found a ’62 small-journal, small-block 327 rated at 250hp that started life in an Impala. I tore it down, had it bored 0.040 over, had some decent cylinder heads put on, and had a decent cam installed.

There were some headaches (mainly the chasing of a cam that sounded like Van Halen’s “Hot For Teacher” song). We are now on the fourth iteration of this 327. The biggest issue was that I was in college and used college-budgeted parts.

Now that I am no longer on such a tight budget, there are a lot of upgrades in the works for not only the Mighty Mouse 327, but the Nova as well. Teasers would be stuff like a full UMI tubular suspension, tubular core support, 4.10 rear gears, AFR heads, ARP bolts for the whole interior/exterior of the engine, and a hydraulic roller camshaft from Comp Cams with .598/.598 lift.

In the coming weeks, I’ll bring you along to assemble the engine. I’ll also be wrapping up the suspension overhaul, rewiring the engine bay, and so much more. If you love old-school, stop-light-to-stop-light action, this is a build you won’t want to miss.