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Old Man with a Hat
Happy 427 day. While it’s not a Mopar, it’s very neat engine and story:
April 27th (4/27) is 427ci Day
The Ford Cammer, a legendary overhead-cam 427 V8, was shrouded in myth and controversy. Despite NASCAR's Bill France rejecting the engine in the Spring of 1964, Ford developed it anyway, showcasing a Cammer-powered Galaxie at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in May 1964. The engine's unique features, including a nearly seven-foot-long timing chain, that boggled gearheads. Drag racers burned midnight oil tackling the Cammer’s issues, including the mile-long timing chain. Working with Harvey Crane of Crane Cams and P&S Machine, the always creative Pete Robinson produced a gear drive system, eliminating the long chain.
For years, NASCAR throw down hurdle after hurdle blocking Ford's efforts to legitimize the SOHC. Finally in April of 1966, after an appeal to the Auto Competition Committee of the U.S (ACCUS), the SOHC was declared legal for installation in Galaxies. NASCAR then allowed the Cammer, in the big Galaxie but only with a crippling weight penalty of one pound per cubic inch. That meant SOHC Galaxies would have to weigh 4,424 pounds compared to 4,000 for the Hemi cars. ( Ford 427 is actually 424.98 cubic inches and not 427ci ) This penalty made the Galaxie 424 pounds heavier than a Hemi powered Chrysler product (Dodge/Plymouth). This was the last straw, and on April 15th, Henry Ford II announced his company was withdrawing from NASCAR competition and prompted to focus on drag racing.
Back at NASCAR, sly Bill France pulled a fast one and allowed a wheelbase rule change which allowed 426 Hemi's to race in smaller intermediates body cars. This made a 427 SOHC Galaxie even more uncompetitive!
Come Hell or high water, Bill wasn't going to let Ford race the overhead cam 427. A few months later in July 1966, talks resumed with NASCAR as they asked Ford to reconsider a return. As a result the weight penalty was dropped and the SOHC was allowed to race in the Galaxie. Ford then announced it would be back on a limited scale. But while the big guns of Ford were away (between April - July), a major change, took place. Bud Moore, now an independent, built a 1966 Mercury Comet (based on the new wheelbase rules), which was a twin to the Ford Fairlane and got the thing working proving the intermediate Fords could now handle the tough stock car racing chore. Other teams started to build Fairlanes and when Ford returned to racing in July, one by one the teams switched to Fairlanes.
Moore's Comet won the Sept 5th Southern 500 race while Fred Lorenzo won the American 500 in a Fairlane. While individuals continued to build Galaxie's for racing for many years to come. They no longer were in the factory plans for racing involvement. Just as Ford drivers in 1956 and 1957 prided themselves in knocking off the bigger cars, now Galaxie drivers were suffering the same fate at the hands of smaller machinery pilots. Bill France's plan was successful in blocking the powerful Ford SOHC from competing by changing the rules to make the longer and wider Galaxie uncompetitive against smaller rivals.
The Cammer thrived in the drag world, powering iconic cars like Tom McEwen's AA/Fuel Dragster and Mickey Thompson's dominant Mustang team. Despite its issues, the Cammer's potential was unleashed by innovative racers and engine builders, cementing its place in drag racing history.
April 27th (4/27) is 427ci Day
The Ford Cammer, a legendary overhead-cam 427 V8, was shrouded in myth and controversy. Despite NASCAR's Bill France rejecting the engine in the Spring of 1964, Ford developed it anyway, showcasing a Cammer-powered Galaxie at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in May 1964. The engine's unique features, including a nearly seven-foot-long timing chain, that boggled gearheads. Drag racers burned midnight oil tackling the Cammer’s issues, including the mile-long timing chain. Working with Harvey Crane of Crane Cams and P&S Machine, the always creative Pete Robinson produced a gear drive system, eliminating the long chain.
For years, NASCAR throw down hurdle after hurdle blocking Ford's efforts to legitimize the SOHC. Finally in April of 1966, after an appeal to the Auto Competition Committee of the U.S (ACCUS), the SOHC was declared legal for installation in Galaxies. NASCAR then allowed the Cammer, in the big Galaxie but only with a crippling weight penalty of one pound per cubic inch. That meant SOHC Galaxies would have to weigh 4,424 pounds compared to 4,000 for the Hemi cars. ( Ford 427 is actually 424.98 cubic inches and not 427ci ) This penalty made the Galaxie 424 pounds heavier than a Hemi powered Chrysler product (Dodge/Plymouth). This was the last straw, and on April 15th, Henry Ford II announced his company was withdrawing from NASCAR competition and prompted to focus on drag racing.
Back at NASCAR, sly Bill France pulled a fast one and allowed a wheelbase rule change which allowed 426 Hemi's to race in smaller intermediates body cars. This made a 427 SOHC Galaxie even more uncompetitive!
Come Hell or high water, Bill wasn't going to let Ford race the overhead cam 427. A few months later in July 1966, talks resumed with NASCAR as they asked Ford to reconsider a return. As a result the weight penalty was dropped and the SOHC was allowed to race in the Galaxie. Ford then announced it would be back on a limited scale. But while the big guns of Ford were away (between April - July), a major change, took place. Bud Moore, now an independent, built a 1966 Mercury Comet (based on the new wheelbase rules), which was a twin to the Ford Fairlane and got the thing working proving the intermediate Fords could now handle the tough stock car racing chore. Other teams started to build Fairlanes and when Ford returned to racing in July, one by one the teams switched to Fairlanes.
Moore's Comet won the Sept 5th Southern 500 race while Fred Lorenzo won the American 500 in a Fairlane. While individuals continued to build Galaxie's for racing for many years to come. They no longer were in the factory plans for racing involvement. Just as Ford drivers in 1956 and 1957 prided themselves in knocking off the bigger cars, now Galaxie drivers were suffering the same fate at the hands of smaller machinery pilots. Bill France's plan was successful in blocking the powerful Ford SOHC from competing by changing the rules to make the longer and wider Galaxie uncompetitive against smaller rivals.
The Cammer thrived in the drag world, powering iconic cars like Tom McEwen's AA/Fuel Dragster and Mickey Thompson's dominant Mustang team. Despite its issues, the Cammer's potential was unleashed by innovative racers and engine builders, cementing its place in drag racing history.
