This is a BluePrint Engines 427 V8 crate engine, it’s capable of 625 bhp and 565 lb ft of torque, and it’s a GM LS3 compatible replacement (or upgrade).
BluePrint Engines is one of the most highly-respected performance crate engine companies in the world, they’ve built and shipped hundreds of thousands of V8s, and they offer industry-leading warranties on them.
This is a BluePrint Engines 427 V8 crate engine, it’s capable of 625 bhp and 565 lb ft of torque, and it’s said to be a GM LS3 compatible replacement (or upgrade).
History Speedrun: BluePrint Engines
BluePrint Engines is an independently-owned crate engine manufacturer based out of Kearney in Nebraska. The company builds new, dyno-tested V8s compatible with Chevrolets, Fords, and Chryslers, and its engines are also supplied through major national retailers including the likes of AutoZone and NAPA.
BluePrint was started back in 1982 by Norris Marshall, whose father was a 1950s hot rodder and drag racer based in central Nebraska. Marshall himself was bracket racing by the age of 18. He left a local machine shop early in his career to open his own place, and his shop was originally called Marshall Engines.
The company’s early work largely involved supplying engines and machining services to local drag racers, circle track racers, and street rodders.
Over time the company’s focus shifted, Marshall Engines moved into remanufactured replacement engines, and at its peak it was turning out somewhere in the region of 100 finished engines per day.
When factory OEM replacement engines became more widespread and demand for remanufactured replacements dropped off, the company pivoted, this time into complete brand-new performance crate engines with their own proprietary castings and standardized, dyno-tested packages. The BluePrint name was adopted in 2003, marking the end of the transition.
Today the company operates out of a 210,000 square foot facility in Kearney with around 270 employees, they make 80 crate engines a day give or take, making them one of the largest crate engine company’s of their kind in the world.
Up top you’ll find BluePrint’s PS8015 aluminum cylinder heads, patterned after the LS3, with 70cc combustion chambers, 2.165 inch intake and 1.590 inch exhaust valves, and 259cc intake and 102cc exhaust runners.
Cast iron blocks for the small block Chevy line are supplied by a foundry in Germany that also casts for OEM manufacturers, but block machining, engine assembly, and dyno testing are all performed on-site.
BluePrint designs many of its own core parts, including blocks, cylinder heads, crankshafts, connecting rods, and oil pans, and they develop purpose-built production machinery internally. Higher-output builds also include specialist supplier parts like Brodix cylinder heads, Callies crankshafts, Mahle pistons, and Holley induction systems.
The company’s crate engine lineup is vast, it includes Chevy small blocks from 327 to 454 cubic inches, Chevy big blocks from 454 to 632 cubic inches, and GM LS-based engines in 376 and 427 cubic inch displacements.
Ford small block Windsor V8s are offered in 302, 347, 408, and 427 cubic inch forms, and the Mopar side is based around Gen III Hemi-type V8s. The flagship crate engine is the 632 cubic inch big block Chevy, which in its highest state of tune is rated at 1,015 bhp and 830 lb ft of torque.
Every engine ships with a dyno printout of its actual power and torque curve. Most complete street crate engines carry a 30 month, 50,000 mile transferable warranty, while racing and BluePrint Motorsports engines have different or no warranty coverage due to their use cases.
BluePrint has now built and shipped more than 400,000 engines since 1982. Norris Marshall continues to run the company as CEO, and he’s serving as Chair Elect of the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) board of directors for the 2026 to 2027 term.
The engine is built around a BluePrint high-strength cast iron LSX-style block with increased deck thickness, additional strength webbing, extended cylinder skirts, priority main oiling, and a revised water jacket design.
The BluePrint Engines 427 V8 Shown Here
This is a BluePrint Engines LS3-style crate engine built to serve as a direct replacement for Gen 4 LS applications. It produces a rated 625 bhp and 565 lb ft of torque, running an 11:1 compression ratio ands capable of taking 91 octane pump gas.
The engine is built around a BluePrint high-strength cast iron LSX-style block with increased deck thickness, additional strength webbing, extended cylinder skirts, priority main oiling, and a revised water jacket design.
It has six-bolt main caps, a one-piece rear main seal, a 4.0685 inch bore, and it keeps the OEM LS3 front and rear covers to simplify installation. The rotating assembly is fully forged, with a new forged crankshaft on a 4.125 inch stroke, 6.125 inch forged connecting rods, and forged pistons, internally balanced.
Up top you’ll find BluePrint’s PS8015 aluminum cylinder heads, patterned after the LS3, with 70cc combustion chambers, 2.165 inch intake and 1.590 inch exhaust valves, and 259cc intake and 102cc exhaust runners.
A hydraulic roller camshaft provides 0.624 inch lift on both intake and exhaust, with 239º of intake duration, 255º of exhaust duration, and a 114º lobe separation angle. An LS3 intake manifold and timing cover are included in the package.
This is a BluePrint Engines LS3-style crate engine built to serve as a direct replacement for Gen 4 LS applications. It produces a rated 625 bhp and 565 lb ft of torque, running an 11:1 compression ratio ands capable of taking 91 octane pump gas.
The engine is set up for Gen 4 electronics, using a 58x reluctor wheel and matching sensors, but the ECM is not supplied and will need to be reprogrammed by the buyer to run it. A non-weighted harmonic balancer and non-weighted flex plate or flywheel are required, and BluePrint recommends a stall converter of 2,200 rpm or higher.
This BluePrint 427 V8 is now being offered for sale on eBay out of Kearney, Nebraska with a Buy It Now price of $10,999 USD. If you’d like to read more or make them an offer you can visit the listing here.
Images courtesy of Performance Parts Online
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