Technical Marine 427 SOHC Engines

Hi, I am new to the forum and need to know if the 427 sohc marine engine is easily converted to be used in a hot rod?

 

To my knowledge Ford never built a 'marine' Cammer (and I'm not sure you could build a reverse-rotation version because of the cam chain). Those were built for NASCAR and after NASCAR more-or-less banned them, the motors went to racers or were used in factory sponsored F/X cars. If someone is trying to sell you one, I'd be pretty suspicious...

 

I have seen paired SOHCs in a race boat setup, but they were inline, not a regular ChrisCraft or V-drive setup. Do you perhaps mean just plain marine 427s, like the 300hp versions? If not, not "easily" converted, many different parts, and some are reverse rotation

 

To answer your question: yes.

Of course, you will need to have a fat-stack of cash.

 

Remember that the grind (and resulting torque and HP curves) on a Marine cam is probably not going to be what you want for the street.

Charlie Stephens

 

I could be mistaken but I thought the Navy used 427 cammers in the swift boats in Nam. Maybe a Navy vet will be able to say for sure (as long as it's not John Kerry)

 

Actually most standard marine engines never see the high side of 5000 rpm, they are built for torque, so I would think that using something like that for a hot rod real easy, nice street piece! You don't see many SOHC motors around, get it if you can...

 

This is turning into a normal HAMBarama lol- and a new myth created, SOHC marine engines. Swift boats had a pair of 12V71N Screamers in them. The Light Seal Support Craft had a pair of 427 Fords driving jet drives- and they only made a few of them. There were lots of marine/ industrial 427s made, many sold thru Holman Moody and Vic Hubbard and found their way into hot boats and such- and quite a few ended up chugging away on irrigation pumps. I just picked up another 427 block, still std bore, cast a a side oiler and machined as a center oiler as many marine/ industrials were, and it has the classic cut across the side oil gallery that many boat blocks had to clear marine engine mounts, but it was built as a medium riser, had the small dome pistons, capscrew rods, and steel $ crank- kind of a weird duck

 

Miss Coventry for the 1970s in NZ and check the link below now the SOHC motor is in avery successful dragster for many many years in NZ..originally I posted in error a recent picture of miss Coventry with a hemi , unfortunately I have yet to find a clear picture of it in it's 1970 fit out with the cammer.

View attachment 3238086

 

That's a Chrysler Hemi in the boat....

 

I think I have the pic saved in my other puter of the twin inline SOHCs in the race boat- looks evil with all blue headers etc. There were certainly some installed in boats, but I don't believe there was ever a standard marine package SOHC setup

 

I've seen marine 427s in Chriscraft but Not cammers

 

That's the one, memory was foggy on the blue part lol. Back in the day, HotRod magazine was very different, and had a column on boat racing, and followed the old SK flatbottoms where the 427 Ford was, as in NASCAR, always in the hunt. And if you want to hear just how loud and nasty a 427 Ford can be, listen to one with a lotta stick and a lotta squeeze through a set of big open Bassett boat headers- makes the Chebbie boys go whaaddaafuggwaazzat???

 

Just to clarify a few things that are being talked around here, but not being explicitly stated:

- Ford never made a marine-spec 427 SOHC
- Ford did make marine-spec 427 FEs
- There is a big difference between a SOHC 427 and a low/mid/hi rise FE 427
- All 427 SOHC engines were sold over-the-counter by Ford, and never factory installed in any car (or boat)
- If you've found an SOHC in a boat, it should be a trivial matter to get it back in a car

Hope this helps!

 

Pics would help.

 

No, I think you were right Gene, there was a twin cammer boat in Hot Rod in the mid-sixties with blue headers, I remember it too.

 

I found this footage of engine repair on a Swift Boat. It would take a keen eye but for clarity they used GM 12v71N motors, not 427 Fords, cammer or otherwise. My cousin was a Corpsman a "River Rat" I was not but thanks for bringing it up.

 

DD, talk about a Boing!!

 

How about some more SOHC goodness? From the August 1965 HRM, Connie Kalitta's dragster in a wind tunnel.



Same scene, slightly less Cammer coverage.

 

Ed Pink had the DOHC concession from Ford, in an interview that I read a few years back he said that it took lots of engineering to make them into Top Fuel motors, I guess the lower ends didn't like the strain. But he did by golly make them hold together eventually.

 

you might need one of these

 

That particular engine ended up in a Shelby GT500 as a dirt saloon car [stock car]
The car was a genuine 67 GT500 that was involved in a fatal accident on Chapel Road Auckland.
The remains were resurrected as a race car, but it wasn't too successful so it was parted out and the engine I believe is now in a nostalgia dragster

 

try this

 

Well, sure, except for the price.

 

That was a cool video.....

 

I remember seeing a SOHC in a boat here in Oz, it was an entrant of some sort at a late 60's NSW State Hot Rod Show, either at the Roselands Shopping Centre Car Park or at the Burwood Westfields Shopping Centre Car Park.......it was the 1st SOHC I'd ever seen here in Oz and I have no idea what happened to it, nor can I remember for certain what induction it had, tho' memory says a blower but it was a long time ago.....lol........andyd.

 

Here’s a photo of AJ with a marine SOHC that some say was never built by Ford or Holman-Moody. H-M also produced the water cooled 6-71 cases for marine use.
Both photos show two starters, but I don’t know why; is there a reason for the redundancy? BTW, the twin Cammer installation is using Delco starter motors.