10 replies to this topic

[Bartster]

l only recently heard of this engine. lt apparently 1st appeared in lndy in a '64 Galaxie. Most people caught a glimpse in '65 in Hot Rod magazine. From the pics l've seen, it looks almost exactly like a Boss 429. l'm not real familiar with Ford engines, so l was wondering how best to replicate this. l have a nice 427 from the thunderbolt kit. would it be best to use Boss 429 heads on this block? Or is there enough difference between the 2 blocks to matter in 1:25? lf the block difference is minimal, then where could l source a nicely detailed 1:25 Boss 429 from? l have the 429 from Revells 41 Willys pickup but it is sorely lacking any detail & l'm not comfortable using these heads & valve covers on such a nice 427. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, Bart.

[Fat Brian]

The 427 SOHC motor was kitted quite a few times. The most accurate versions are in the AMT 66 Galaxie kit and the 33 Willys van and coupe kits. It was also in the AMT 68 GT 500 Shelby Mustang but the valve covers are not 100% correct in that kit.

Here is some Ford history to better make sense of engine sizes. In the mid fifties Ford introduced the FE engine family, this is a 90 degree v8 where the intake manifold also forms the back of the heads and is trapped under the valve covers. By the mid sixties you could have the FE as a 390 in a T-bird or Galaxie, later the 390 was put in GT Fairlanes and Comets and Mustangs. It was also stroked to make the 428CJ and SCJ engines. The 427 was based on the FE design but has it's own block, external parts are interchanable but the engines internals are 427 only due to its bigger bore and shorter stroke. The SOHC motor was designed to use existing 427 blocks, a blank cam is still run in its normal position to turn the distributor, oil pump, and fuel pump, but valve operation is done in the new heads by a single cam on each side which is driven by a chain under the huge new front timing cover. The 429 belongs to a different engine family, the 385 series, and shares no parts with the 390/428 or 427 engines.


Here is a look at how the timing chains run


Here is a pic that shows the correct valve covers

Edited by Fat Brian, 26 August 2012 - 08:20 PM.

[Bartster]

Thanks for the input, Brian. l can see l should change heads on the '64 427 if l am to go this route. The valve covers l have are pretty close & would probably hide the incorrect heads. The intake in your pic seems to have the carbs set back farther than the 2 l have to choose from. l'm not necessarily going for histporically accurate, but l'd like to be close. l think l can pull it off with this equipment. Thanks again! Bart.

[Fat Brian]

The reason the carbs seem far back is that the SOHC motor used standard 427 intakes but was about six inches longer in the front due to the timing cover. The upper radiator hose in the picture hits the same place on the regular 427 and SOHC but on the cammer it's buried behind the front cover.

[blueoval92]

the 427 also had different oil passages running different ways than the other big blocks limiting the heads to be usable only on a 427. as for the crank it can interchange and is sometimes used in stroker kits for the 460. as for the hemi version i have heard rumor of this engine but have not personally found that its real. now for a modern day ford big block hemi i would look to Jon Kaase Racing. they currently make hemi heads for fords and look really good. for it to be a hemi the spark plugs have to be at the top of the combustion chamber and centered to be able to have clearance for the valves. they are also much beefier to handle the added pressure due to the increased compression ration that results from the design. here is a link to the Jon Kaase site. now the motor in the link is a stroked 460 but the physical appearance of a 460 and a 427 are so close its hard to tell unless you pull a valve cover off and look at where the oil galleys are.

http://www.jonkaaser...-ford-hemi.html

Edited by blueoval92, 01 September 2012 - 08:00 AM.

[Ace-Garageguy]

This is some good stuff, guys. This is an engine I know next to nothing about. Glad to see these knowledgeable and verifiable responses.

[blueoval92]

glad to help. im a huge fan of ford engines, own 3 personally, a 302, 460, and a 330 thats in my truck. plan to one day build custom engines and would like to have fords as my specialty.

[Ace-Garageguy]

glad to help. im a huge fan of ford engines, own 3 personally, a 302, 460, and a 330 thats in my truck. plan to one day build custom engines and would like to have fords as my specialty.

That explains your avatar then. I've got a 289 hi-po and a 351C waiting to find homes. The 351 may go in a hot-rod 450SL Mercedes. I've been sorta looking for the 4-48IDA Weber carb setup for he 289, but there's no way I could afford it in anything like the forseeable future.

[blueoval92]

yeah that weber setup is BA, im a firm believer in the saying that "there is no replacement for displacement." Im working on selling my 302 and trying to find something to put my 460 in. close to getting it started just need a new distributor, trying to stop buying models 1st so i can get money fot it lol. this hobby is too addicting sometimes.

[G Holding]

One easy and fun way to SEE the difference is to BUILD both!
Both the SOHC and the FE are 1/6 kits...lot of fun to be had, and you can learn.
Revell also makes a Blown SOHC....

[blueoval92]

those are pretty lol. would be amazing if they could run. think i would probably build a go cart powered by one of those lol