427 cid Small Block Chevy Engine - Engine Builder Magazine

427 cid Small Block Chevy Engine

After purchasing this 1967 Nova on Craigslist for $3,000 over a decade ago, Corey Bohl has turned it into a formidable drag-and-drive gasser. That's in large part thanks to its 427 cubic inch small block Chevy engine under the hood. Check it out!

Engine of the Week is presented by

When we came across Corey Bohl and his 1967 Nova, he was sitting in first place in the Gasser B class of the 2022 Midwest Drags. We caught Corey and his dad Carl at the Morocco, IN-based US41 Motorplex. The two-man team were wrenching on the Nova and had the hood off the car exposing its 427 cubic inch small block Chevy powerplant. Naturally, we wanted to know more, and we couldn’t look away from the clear valve covers either.

It turned out that Corey had Ohio Crankshaft build the small block Chevy engine. They assembled the entire long block and selected the components for the build.

“The small block features a 4.000” stroke and 6.000” rods,” Bohl told us. “It’s just got a flat top piston with an 11:1 compression. Everything down to pushrods is from Ohio Crankshaft. Straub Technologies out of Tennessee designed me a hydraulic roller camshaft. The engine has Morel lifters. BES Racing Engines and Tony Bischoff CNC-ported the cylinder heads. I also threw a Victor Tunnel Ram on it to give it that cool factor, and it’s backed up with a GForce 4-speed and a Ram clutch. Up top, the engine also has COMP Cams Pro Magnum roller rockers and two 650 Holley carbs done by ATM Innovation out of Bowling Green, KY. I’ve also got a stud girdle, Doug’s 2” primary headers and clear valve covers, which are everybody’s favorite.”

Corey and his dad Carl tackled the Midwest Drags

Corey’s Nova looked extremely impressive, but he told us the build started as a $3,000 Craigslist find over a decade ago.

“I paid $3,000 for the car when I was like 19,” Bohl says. “I just happened to have three grand because I sold a vehicle the day before. The car was on Craigslist back when that was a thing. I got the car home and it was a six-cylinder Powerglide. It was red with black interior. It was in really good shape.

427 small block Chevy engine

“Well, fast forward through kids and meeting my wife Sarah, and we got the car on a rotisserie and I stripped it all down. We got it painted and then everything else pretty much happened at the house with me and my dad. I knew I wanted a gasser from day one. I didn’t expect it to be a mid-10-second streetcar, but it’s been a hell of a ride.”

Competing in the Gasser B class for the Midwest Drags, Corey had run a 10.69 and a 10.68 at that point in the competition.

“I was happy with that,” he says. “The small block gives us about 675 horsepower. With less humidity and leaving at a little bit higher rpm, I’d like to get back into the 10.50s. It’s been 10.40 before.”

The Midwest Drags raced at Edgewater Motorsports Park (twice), US 41 Motorplex and Dragway 42 during the drag-and-drive week. Corey ended up running ETs of [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] and [email protected] for an overall average of [email protected]. That was good enough for the class win.

“Ohio Crankshaft did a great job,” Bohl says about his engine. “They build a hell of a motor.”

Engine of the Week is sponsored by PennGrade Motor OilElring – Das Original and Engine & Performance Warehouse Inc./NPW Companies. If you have an engine you’d like to highlight in this series, please email Engine Builder Editor Greg Jones at [email protected].

You May Also Like

Supercharged 388 cid LS Engine

Hoping to reach new heights in the mile, this Cadillac customer brought his car and engine in for the School of Automotive Machinists & Technology to work their magic on. See what went into the supercharged LS engine platform.

Cadillac Supercharged LS engine

During our week in Houston last fall, we got the chance to visit several engine shops in the area, and we also wanted to spend some time seeing where many up-and-coming engine builders get their start and hone their skills, so we stopped by the School of Automotive Machinists & Technology, also known as SAM Tech.

Supercharged 521 cid Brad Anderson Hemi Engine

Amanda Hoover and Eddie Rogers have been campaigning their Chevelle from Hell for nearly a decade. Helping give the car its name is a screw-blown 521 cubic inch Hemi engine. Check out the details of this build done by Chris Duncan Race Cars!

408 cid Nitrous LS Engine

During a tour of SAM Tech, we also got a chance to speak to a few students. One in particular, Jaylon Victorian, was nearing completion of a 408 cid nitrous LS engine. He applied his new engine building knowledge and skill set to the build, and it shines through in our latest Engine of the Week.

408 cid nitrous LS engine
760 cid Billet Big Block Chevy Nitrous Engine

Despite what you may think about nitrous engines, and those that are stock big block Chevy bore spacing, these 4.840″ bore space big block Chevy engines have some significant R&D in them. Just check out this 760 cubic inch billet version done at TRE Racing Engines.

Naturally Aspirated 440 cid LT1 Engine

The folks at Late Model Engines in Houston, TX run a top-notch engine and machine shop. You don’t have to look much further than this naturally aspirated 440 cid LT1 engine build to see what we mean. It’s our Engine of the Week!

Other Posts

Chase Wells’ Turbocharged 6.8L Cummins Engine

Chase Wells and his team at 1 Way Diesel Performance are capable of all sorts of different diesel builds from show stoppers to all-out race vehicles. This week, we highlight one of Chase’s own trucks, which features a single-turbo 6.8L Cummins engine! Check it out.

The Winners of 25th Annual TX2K

After a week of racing, the 25th TX2K is in the books, and champions have been crowned in the 13 drag racing classes, as well as four roll racing classes. The event, which started in 2000, has become an annual proving ground to see where the mark stands in a multitude of classes, as well

Steve Morris Engines’ Twin-Supercharged 454 Big Block Chevy Engine

It had been 26 years since the last time Val Morris, Steve Morris’ wife, was behind the wheel of a drag car. The shop had been working on this project car named Sugar Momma, and got it done in time for Sick Week 2024. When it came time to figure out who’d drive it, Steve

Compound-Turbo 6.0L Powerstroke Engine

Tyler Lambert’s Ford F-250 started as a project with a simple goal – to extract as much power as possible. Equipped with a 6.0L Powerstroke engine, the truck underwent a series of transformations, including a compound-turbo upgrade, that elevated it to the powerhouse it is now.

6.0L Powerstroke engine