Ford 427 SOHC engines

I was told back in the late 60's Ford found some of Grand Pa Henry's NOS 23 T bodies and sold a few Cammer powered T-Buckets out the back door. Was suppose to be the worlds quickest and fastest production car ever built

 

As for Carlisle, you picked a GREAT year to attend. All the SOHC cars were part of the "Cammer Conglomeration" invitational which produced an amazing collection of Cammer powered cars, with attendance by SOHC gurus such as Earl Wade, Butch Engelbrecht, John Vermeersch, Rick Kirk and others. Thought to be the largest single gathering of Cammer cars EVER. I'm so glad I was able to attend with my '62 - truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Pic below. Randy Millard (Henrysnephew)

 

Ik this is to much info but i would give both nuts for a SOHC....

 

If any of them had been dumped into what we affectionally called "Crane Lake", I would have been there that evening with SCUBA gear. Have to call urban legend on that one. Crane did end up with a few sets of heads, both iron and aluminum, along with some cast Eonic cam cores, but that was about it. Regards, Chase

 

.......I would have to agree. Even if they weren't worth what they are today, they were certainly worth too much to dump into the lake even if the folks at Crane didn't see a future for them in NASCAR.

 

I dont know shit about them, but they look cool in '32 fords. Smittythejunkman here on the hamb owns this blue one.

 

.......Truth be told, they look pretty impressive whatever they're in.

 

The legend wasn't that Crane did it, but that Ford did it. Again, urban legend no doubt, but I heard it from more than one source in the early '80s and no idea how many a 'truckload' was either. I pondered SCUBA gear myself just to see if it was true, but never did...because it seemed so far fetched even then...

 

A guy told me, a guy he knew, heard from another guy........well you know how it goes.

 

A friend of mine that I have known for 40 years is reproducing the heads... He won the 1969 Winternationals with a 57 Bird running a 427 Cammer... Before that he worked at DST and he also worked heavily on Ford's Thunderbolt Program.

Here's Billy in 1969 with the car all his buddies affectionately called
"The Dirty Bird"

 

New Zealand...............

 

Thanks, Kev, just goes to show they even look good in boats.

 

Crane certainly saw a future for them in drag racing, boat racing, and other venues. Had a lot of effort into that powerplant, and didn't want to see it wasted. Still make cams to this day for them. Chase

 

A little off-topic car but i tuned the carbs on this one during the summer.

 

Not a true blue Ford guy, but always had a soft spot for them. Here is one in a T-Bucket, I bet it's a blast to drive.

 

Not too long after Crane moved to Daytona, that lake got filled in. Haven't been by there in years (don't live down there anymore), but I still always wondered...usually over a cold beer at the Button South.

 

To answer the OP's question, here are the production numbers.


Source: http://www.gessford.com/images/sohc_info.htm

Aside from knowing how many crate engines were made by Ford, it is impossible to know how may SOHC motors exist today. There are at least 4, maybe 5 guys that produce Cammer cylinder heads. Then there are a few of those guys that also produce intake manifolds. There are several old timer collectors with original engines and parts collecting dust, and rust. Ford also made a lot of SOHC parts back in the day, so even if the crate engines ran out you could still put together a Cammer with NOS parts back then. The blown SOHC was prone to self destruction in top fuel racing and those engines needed a steady supply of replacement parts. This is expected though when you consider 60's metallurgy with high compression engines playing around with Nitrometh. That fuel will eat even the best of engines made today.

 

Many thanks for that great info...................Don.

 

I also remember Connie Kalitta had a 427 Fairlane given to him for " tests "

 

File this under "poetic justice"

Pat

 

I was just informed of an all new build '61 Starliner with a SOHC will be attending the FE Race & Reunion on 4-27-13. I've seen some build photos of this car and it is awesome. Check it out at the event...
http://www.fairlanet.com/FE/

 

Yep the Cammers were ultra kool.

But even when the 426 Hemi was unleashed on the drag strip and in Nascar, Mopar already had this DOHC Hemi prototype on the Dyno. Nasty !!

Talk about upping the ante, even when you're in already in front !

Ahh those were the days !!

 

......WOW, very cool, never knew anything about this piece being developed.

 

Here is some more candy for you guys. These are scans from the magazine that I have a copy of. I also created a PDF version of the engine manual in case anyone is interested.

 

HAHA! I suppose it was sacrilege either way you looked at it, but it sure would have raised some eyebrows.

Art

 

Holman Moody put a Ford 427 wedge in a '63 Corvette in 1963. There was magazine coverage of the swap.

 

Here's the Cammer in Gas Rhonda's restored Mustang.

 

Now, THAT'S an introduction! Welcome to the HAMB.

 

A friend tells when they were running the cammer at indy they were told to qualify at all costs. they kept 'tipping the can' in thier injected motor and Ford had 10 engines in crates ready for them. They went thru most of them.
I asked if he had any of that stuff layin around, he laughed and said that they were just kids haveing the time of thier lives tearing shit up and partying! Revelle made a model of thier car and he has a couple of them, thats it.