In the spirit of celebrating 3/27, we wanted to find great noises of Chevrolet’s junior-sized but no where near underrated small-block doing what it does best: twisting the needle on the tachometer around like nobody cares. And it’s kind of odd that between a couple of kind of bland Camaro burnouts that the good stuff would be Volvos with 327s hazing the tires off. Seriously…Volvos? We aren’t complaining about finding hot-rodded Volvos at all, and we are more than pleased to see them putting that newfound power to good use, but…Volvos?

The 327 Chevy is by no means the engine in the shadows. The predecessor to the ubiquitous 350, the 327 gained a reputation for packing a punch in a small package. In L-84 specification, it was the most powerful naturally-aspirated, single-cam production small-block V8 until the Gen III LS6 small-block in 2001. You could find meek versions in lower-end cars, but all can be woken up just like any other small-block Chevy. In a Corvette, Nova or light Camaro, this is a giant-killer of a small-block. In any GM product save maybe the mid-1970s full-sizes, it’s an entertaining selection. The Swedes know what’s up…combine high-revving American V8 with the safety of their home-country car, and you have a winner!