Writing for Hot Rod magazine in 1965, Eric Dahlquist dubbed it "Ford's 90-day wonder," with the accompanying claim, "From drawing board to dyno in just three months with the magic of space-age computers." The wonder that Mr. Dahlquist wrote of was perhaps the most legendary Ford racing engine of all time, the SOHC 427, affectionately known as The Cammer.
While the three months from drawing board to dyno claim would be a bit of a stretch even with today's technology, the SOHC 427 was not an entirely new engine design to start with. Rather, it was a conversion of the already successful 427ci FE series. First introduced in 1958, the FE series engines had grown from 332 to 427 cubic inches by 1963, with dedicated high-performance versions of the series having carried over since 1960. In 1963, Ford engineers, taking from hard-earned lessons on America's circle tracks and dragstrips, developed the now legendary 427, which delivered Ford dominance in the NASCAR stock car racing series.
After pretty much having their own way for an entire year, the folks at Ford received a nasty surprise at the NASCAR series-opening race for 1964, the Daytona 500. It seems that Detroit rival Chrysler Corporation had somehow convinced NASCAR that it had every intention to make available to the average man on the street its midsize Plymouth Belvedere and Dodge Polara vehicles stuffed full of the new 426ci race Hemi engine. The results at Daytona were predictable, as the Hemi-powered cars routed the Ford entries. The folks at Ford needed to respond to this threat, and fast. Even those in management at FoMoCo who didn't support the racing program had come to recognize by 1964 that racetrack victories resulted in showroom sales of their products.

This engine utilizes an aftermarket...

This engine utilizes an aftermarket geardrive in place of the conventional timing chain to run the stub cam, while the long chain operates the overhead camshafts.

The late Pete Robinson, NHRA...

The late Pete Robinson, NHRA Top Fuel Dragster champion, used the SOHC 427 to power his vehicles for a time, and while doing so, he developed this unique geardrive system to replace the engine's timing chains.

Along with the 6-foot timing...

Along with the 6-foot timing chain, another part unique to the SOHC 427 is this cast aluminum front cover. Blue covers allow access to service the timing chain tension and idler gear.
Taking a page from its recent foray into Indy car racing--a small-block V-8 engine sporting specially cast cylinder heads with four camshafts (DOHC) and 32 valves that screamed like a Banshee while making tons of horsepower--Ford engineers set out to modify the 427 along the same lines. From the drawing board came a newly cast 427 block with modifications to it's oiling system that included a gallery cast and machined into the lower left side to feed the engine's main bearings directly instead of via the camshaft journals. This configuration was to become known as the 427 Side Oiler.
The increase in horsepower needed to put the Ford's back out in front came in the form of newly designed cylinder heads, which featured not only hemispherical combustion chambers and improved port design, but it also converted the conventional single-camshaft FE engine into a single overhead camshaft monster by mounting a camshaft in each cylinder head. This, in turn, eliminated the need for the standard friction-creating, horsepower-robbing, pushrod-operated valvetrain. Further modifications to accommodate the new design consisted of two bosses cast and machined into the deck surface at the back of the block to facilitate oil draining back from the cylinder heads.
And since the camshafts would now be located on top of the cylinder heads, the oil passages feeding the back three camshaft journals were plugged. Since the engine's oil pump and distributor ran off a gear at the front end of the conventional camshaft, a stub cam, utilizing the standard timing chain and gears, was designed to fulfill this function. The cylinder-head-mounted camshafts would be actuated by 6 feet of double roller chain running off the crankshaft with an idler and tension arm mounted to the front of the heads, all of which was encased behind a one-of-a-kind cast-aluminum cover. Along with the new cylinder heads came the need for new intake manifolds and two cast-aluminum versions, mounting either one or a pair of Holley four-barrel carburetors. A redesigned water pump was also fitted to the new engine.

This bottom view of an SOHC...

This bottom view of an SOHC 427 cylinder head shows the hemispherical combustion chambers and D-shaped exhaust ports. This head is the early cast-iron version, which is extremely heavy.

The cast-aluminum SOHC 427...

The cast-aluminum SOHC 427 cylinder head removed many unwanted pounds from the already heavy FE Ford engine. A view of the opposite head shows the efficient round intake ports.

Later SOHC rocker arm assemblies...

Later SOHC rocker arm assemblies featured conventional adjusters, making the task of tuning the engines much simpler. The engine in the photo mounts a custom-built tunnel ram intake manifold.
Weighing in at a hefty 680 pounds, the new engine served notice that the competition had something to fear when dynamometer numbers revealed that the single four-barrel version produced 616 hp at 7,000 rpm and 515 lb-ft of torque at 3,800 rpm. And as if it couldn't get any better, the addition of the dual four-barrel carburetors stepped the horsepower up to 657 at 7,500, and torque numbers jumped to a stump-pulling 575 lb-ft at 4,200 rpm. All that was left was to homologate this beast with NASCAR and unleash it upon the unsuspecting Hemi Chrysler drivers. But the politics of the sanctioning body (yes, it even happened back in the '60s) became involved and for the first time in history, NASCAR banned an engine from competition. The circle track boys' loss turned into a windfall for drag racers as the company made the new powerplant available for quarter-mile competition in 1965 and it quickly took Ford products to the top in that arena. Don't feel too bad for the Ford NASCAR teams, however, as they ended the 1964 season with 30 wins (not counting those by Mercury teams) to 14 by Dodge and 12 for Plymouth.
Even with a very limited number of the new engines available early in 1965, Ford's factory drag racing teams started rolling up the victories and for the first time in years, Ford-powered Top Fuel Dragsters found their way back into the winner's circle with Connie Kalitta's SOHC 427 Bounty Hunter. For the remainder of the decade, SOHC 427-powered vehicles, from dragsters to funny cars and later Pro/Stock, continued to set records and win races on dragstrips from coast to coast, even after factory support of racing was discontinued. The final major NHRA National Event win for an SOHC 427-powered Ford product came with Don Nicholson's win in the Pro/Stock class at the 1971 Summer Nationals.
Fast forwarding to 2011, the mighty SOHC 427 is more than four decades old, yet it remains as popular as ever with Ford fans. And the recent resurgence in interest in this impressive engine, as power for everything from kit Cobra's to street rods, has led to a select group of individuals becoming involved in manufacturing new pieces for the old engine. Riding the crest of this wave of Cammer popularity is Randy Ritchey, son of legendary Ford factory drag team member Les Ritchey. Randy has continued the business founded by his late father in 1958, known as Performance Associates, in San Dimas, California. Here in his state-of-the-art facility, Ritchey has embarked on a program to develop a series of entirely new and improved SOHC 427 engines. This will give new life to the legendary powerplant in various configurations that will provide massive amounts of horsepower and modern day reliability for the discerning customer's needs.

The SOHC 427 engine uses distinct...

The SOHC 427 engine uses distinct dome-shaped pistons due to the cylinder head's hemispherical combustion chambers.

This SOHC 427 engine shows...

This SOHC 427 engine shows other variations sometimes found. A unique intake manifold mounts four Weber two-barrel carburetors, and the distributor is run off the left side camshaft idler gear. The late Les Ritchey, drag racing pioneer and member of the Ford Drag Team, experimented with Weber carburetors on his A/FX Mustang in 1965.

This early cast-iron SOHC...

This early cast-iron SOHC cylinder head mounts rocker arm assemblies that don't feature external adjusters. When using this setup, valve lash was set by using lash caps of varying thicknesses between the rocker arm and tip of the valve.
Was the SOHC 427 ever made available in a production car?
The immediate answer to this question would be no. However, it's well documented that at least a few Ford Galaxies stuffed with Cammers were observed in and around the Detroit area during 1964 and 1965. These were most likely manufacturers' test vehicles and should not be counted as actually being available to the public. That doesn't account for the fact that Ford shop manuals for 1965 and 1966 listed an engine code designation for the SOHC 427 apart from the standard 427 Wedge. This could also be discounted as Ford's attempt to create the illusion that the Cammer was a production engine for the purpose of homologation.
That brings us to a photo and accompanying article that appeared in a 1966 issue of the racing publication, Drag News. The photo depicts astronaut Gordon Cooper with Ford Special Vehicles manager Jacque Passino examining an SOHC 427 engine under the hood of a '66 Galaxie with the explanation that Cooper was "The first person to purchase one of the new SOHC 427 engines that Ford is now offering as an option in it's Galaxie line." The Drag News text that follows contains a quote from the Ford Vice President indicating that the engine option was being made available to the general public in order to qualify it for competition on the stock car circuits. So, until other proofs are forthcoming, it appears that the answer to the question will have to remain no.

The "Cammer" engine in Len...

The "Cammer" engine in Len Richter's '65 A/FX Mustang sported the standard cast-aluminum intake manifold with two Holley four-barrel carburetors. In this configuration, Ford rated the engine's horsepower at a modest 657. Huge hoses fed outside air to the engine.

The cam cover, the sight of...

The cam cover, the sight of which could strike fear into the heart's of competitors using lesser engines, was the trademark of one of the most successful Ford racing engines ever developed. For shear awesome factor, few engines can compare with the SOHC 427.

A number of racers, the late...

A number of racers, the late Jack Chrisman among them, ran the SOHC 427 with superchargers and exotic fuels. While some experienced longevity problems with this combination, both Chrisman and later Tommy Grove proved that when properly set up, the Cammer would make tremendous power and stand up under the increased strain.

What might have happened had...

What might have happened had NASCAR not outlawed the use of the SOHC Ford engine. The single-four-barrel-carburetor-equipped "Cammer" in John Vermeersch's Starliner has a cowl induction air cleaner of the type used by conventional 427 Wedge engines in stock cars of the '60s. This setup has both great visual appeal and functionality.

The engine in this photo gets...

The engine in this photo gets it's ignition spark via a Vertex magneto, while an aftermarket fuel pump runs off the left bank camshaft idler gear.

By 1966, Hilborn fuel injection...

By 1966, Hilborn fuel injection had become the induction setup of choice amongst match racers running the SOHC 427, as the engine in Hayden Proffitt's altered-wheel-base '65 Comet Cyclone shows.

The last SOHC 427-powered...

The last SOHC 427-powered vehicle to win an NHRA National event was Don Nicholson’s Maverick.

The SOHC 427 wasn't the first...

The SOHC 427 wasn't the first Ford engine to wear Hemi heads. Way back in 1963, former world land speed record holder and speed parts manufacturer, Mickey Thompson, cast a limited number of cylinder heads with hemispherical combustion chambers for the FE engine series. While Thompson did have some success with these heads on his dragster, the trend never caught on and few sets remain today.

Ford followed the SOHC 427...

Ford followed the SOHC 427 with the Boss 429 engine in 1969. While visually impressive, the Boss never had the opportunity to gain the racing fame attained by the "Cammer" as Ford pulled out of racing in 1971.

Oh for a time machine! A trip...

Oh for a time machine! A trip to your friendly local Ford dealer in 1968 and a "Cammer" could be yours for less than $3,400.

Performance Associates, a...

Performance Associates, a logo associated with race-winning Ford’s since 1958, was founded by the late Les Ritchey. Although this legendary racer has left us, his son, Randy, carries on the family legacy in San Dimas, California. As this P.A. brochure reveals, Randy has undertaken the development of SOHC 427 engines utilizing all new parts and technology.