Ford 427 V8 Engine

In 1963 Ford decided to continue in its NASCAR ventures by introducing the all-new 427 engine. Due to the success of the 406 in racing as well as stiff competition from the Chevrolet 409, Ford wanted to put itself ahead of the game by producing the largest engine that was allowed under NASCAR rules. The 427 was actually not 427 cubic inches in size but 2 cubic inches less much like the Ford 406 was actually a 405.

Ford received a lot of success immediately with the introduction of this massive motor but ran into problems with its internal oil delivery system that would not give enough lubrication under racing conditions to the crankshaft because it was located at the top of the engine. This, of course, put a lot of frowns on the faces of people who used the 427. The answer to the problem was solved very simply by placing the oil delivery system on the side of the block which gave enough lubrication to both the crankshaft and camshaft.

In 1964 Ford released the famous SOHC 427 known as the “Cammer”. Some experts believe that this engine was produced to compete directly with the Chrysler 426 Hemi which was dominating NASCAR at the time. Ford hand built these engines and when completed put out an awesome 615 horsepower with a single four-barrel carb setup and 657 horsepower if you wanted dual four-barrel carbs. NASCAR didn’t like this engine at all because of the fact that it would destroy most of the competition so unfortunately the 427 Cammer was banned from the tracks.

The 427 saw its last year of production in 1969 as new US emission laws were making it harder for automotive manufacturers to meet stricter standards. The Ford 427 engine is still extremely popular among Ford enthusiast and is often the engine of choice for the Ford Cobra replica kit cars as well as many other hot rods and dragsters.

Engine Specifications