Ford 427 SOHC engines

Does anyone have any knowledge about how many of these engines Ford actually produced? I've been to Carlisle events for yrs., but this past Summer I went to the All Ford event there for the first time with a buddy who is a die-hard Ford guy. I was amazed at the number of 427 SOHC engines that were there. I lost count, but there had to have been 25-30 in attendance. I know they are pretty rare pieces and I always assumed that all of them that were made went to established race teams. Just curious as to how many were ever made and if you have pics or stories, feel free to post them. Thanks, Don...............Moderators: If this is OT feel free to close.

 

If they ran at daytona they were made available to the public if that helps. Before they changed the rules for a car to run at daytona they had to be in the showroom.

 

They were available to the public as an over-the-counter piece. How many? Would not know where to start.
They are being reproduced. Every part can be bought or even a turn key engine.... BIG $$$$$$

 

Thanks beaner. I'm aware of the homologation rules of that period. I know the Boss 429 Mustangs were done to homologate the engine for NASCAR before both Chrysler's HEMI and Ford's Boss were outlawed, but did the 427 SOHC's ever make it into production cars? I would assume there are more SOHCs in existence than Boss 429s. Just curious if anyone knows (even estimates) of total production (of either).

 

It NEVER raced in NASCAR,was outlawed !!They were never installed on the production line! They built quite a few[I don't know the #] plus parts.There are aftermarket parts also being made!There is a thread on here about Holman and Moody with pictures of SOHC engines stacked on shelves in their warehouse!! ROY.

 

You won't believe this but there was one in a galaxie from Ford and given to a well known astronaut. A friend of mine who use to drive a F/C with one in it, rode in the galaxie mentioned. So they were not just an over the counter deal. Maybe to us peons they were. Lippy

 

.....Wow, very kool! Guess it was kind of Ford's version of a COPO deal. Wonder if it was factory installed or done at a dealer. Sure would love to see that car today.

 

They were available to the public. A good friend of mine bought one and we pulled the engine and dynoed it.

 

No SOHC's were ever in factory production cars. Over the counter only. The original story was that Bill France banned the engine from NASCAR, however, recntly I have heard the real deal was that they could run it, but with a severe weight penalty. So they chose not too. Seems plausable as NASCAR rules were constantly changing with what ever the politcal climate was at the time. As an example, around that time'65-'66 some of the manufacturers wanted to switch from full size to intermediate body styles. They did but had to run smaller cubic inches. Down to 396 from the 427 limit at the time. Holman Moody prepped some 396 inch FE's for the fairlane intermediates, and Chrysler had a sleeved down Hemi as well. As Edsel58a said they are being reproduced by more than one vendor. And I can tell you even at that gettng parts is difficult at best, as at least one vender has stiffed a bunch of guys. All this leading up to acourt battle and various judgements. If you really want to stir up a hornets nest, bring up the subject over at fordfe.com. They are a great group of guys and knowledgable. Someone over there might know how many were originally built. For time they were a force to be dealt with in top fuel drag racing. But like they always do Ford pulled the plug on it.

 

I love that picture.Can you imagine going to the shelf like you were at the supermarket just putting groceries in your cart? Oh yeah,I think I'll just get me one of those 427SOHC and put it my cart...

 

Gee, I guess I dreamed it all....

 

Used to work for this guy. Cammer Fairlane. It was so bad ass.

 

I know Holman-Moody advertised 'em in '70 ish magazines for CHEAP! Like 6 or 700 bucks? I'll see if I can scan the ad.

 

One of my friends has been piecing one of these things together for a long time. As I recall, a lot of the pieces (collected stuff from numerous sources) are numbered to an original engine by the people who hand assembled them at Ford. The numbers are handwritten on the parts with one of those electric engravers like mechanics use to mark their tools.
Engines were I think fully detailed and furnished, not just long blocks...there were many unique fittings similar to those used on actual production engines like special brackets for the 427 style fuel filters, fully worked out lines and linkages, etc. It seemed to me that Ford had worked out all this stuff to the point that the engines were ready to be dropped into cars.
Anothe fragment, memory only from a long lost magazine article: One of the smaller late-model magazines, probably "Cars", once printed a part number for a Ford kit of installation parts to make the transition from crate motor to in-the-car. This was surely never actually released to the world, but they got that far...
That Holman-Moody garage sale ad has been scanned onto the HAMb.

 

This is one a friend of mine raced, it was de-stroked to 395" using a 330 Ford truck crank, I believe. He designed and built a 2" gilmer belt drive for the cams,sawed the center out of the injector manifold,so removing a head at the races was a snap. He would leave the line at 10,000 rpms.

 

No idea how many built but damn I wish I had one!!

 

Jim Green has quite a few - he ran one (with spares) in his dragster, he has one in a 34 Tudor with flip-up body, and there was always one of the floor of his speed shop in Lynnwood (WA) for sale. The Ford dealerships had them "on sale" for at least a year for $2500 as crate engines. All of this was way back in the era of 32 inch waists and plenty of brown hair.

 

My customer Jim Barillaro Jr. @ Barillaro Speed Emporium in Knoxville TN, has specialized in building Cammer engines and famous for racing them in the day.
Here is a link to his sons' website: http://www.barillarospeed.net/about-us.html

 

Tunnel Ports are more rare. I wonder about Hi Riser #'s in comparison also.
Ford had great building blocks for racing of all kinds. Damn shame they refused to produce in numbers that would make them competitive.
Tom S. in Tn.

 

Here's my cousin's SOHC motor that he never used. Brand new from Holman Moody. Sold it sometime in the early 70's. It was going into a 65' Corvette.

 

One kicking around my buddies shop. All aluminum with some sweet custom bits.

 

Oh, and this one with a little extra something-something.

 

eGADS! I can't imagine a car leaving at 10K! It must have been both awe-inspiring and anxiety provoking to wintess.

I remember the Bach and Gould nostaliga top fueler running a cammer in the early 2000's. They towed out to the March Meet for a couple of year, and it was cool to see and hear a cammer on nitro.

 

Roy
That is a first for me I never heard of an engine being outlawed before anyone lost to it.

I'll just about bet that there is a club of some sort that has production numbers.

 

He ran 6.00 gears, and shifted at 9500, the roadster ran just short of 150!

 

I had one in the early 70's. I think I paid $800/1000. Was goin to use it in a 70 Mustang but someone wanted it really bad and I sold it for $3k. Damm was that thing HEAVY. Needed 2 guys to spin it over on an engine stand. Made a copy of the manual that came with it somewhere in my old junk pile

 

I found this video a while back and thought it would fit here.
A strobe lit Cammer at 8000 rpm floating the valves. You can see the springs oscillate allowing the valves to bounce off the seat as they close.

 

Ford made enough to meet Homologation for NASCAR that was 1000 units in 1964

 

2000-2500...

 

Questions about how many 427 SOHC engines were built seem to have no definite answer. This was Norm Faustyn’s (Chief engineer on the Ford 427 SOHC project) answer:

“I remember that we had to build 500, so there were at least 500 built. They were all cast-iron heads. We built them all alike, then car builders did what they wanted to them.”