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Ford’s 427 SOHC—better known as the Cammer—was a specialized FE-based racing engine built to challenge Chrysler’s 426 Hemi. It paired one overhead camshaft per cylinder head with Ford’s 427 side-oiler block and was intended for high-rpm NASCAR competition. Its reported horsepower varied by carburetor setup, and its intended NASCAR role should not be mistaken for a record of NASCAR starts: Ford later documented that rules prevented its use.
What the Ford 427 SOHC was
“SOHC” means single overhead camshaft: one camshaft sits above the valves in each cylinder head. That differs from the more familiar pushrod 427 FE arrangement. Shelby American describes the Cammer as a conversion based on Ford’s 427 side-oiler FE block, developed as Ford’s high-rpm answer to Chrysler’s 426 Hemi in NASCAR. Shelby American’s 2022 account attributes the engine’s purpose and construction details to its retrospective and to Vince LaViolette, the company’s vice president of operations.
The broad design description includes revised oiling, cross-bolted main bearing caps, and predominantly cast-iron heads; aluminum heads became available later. Shelby American also identifies a roller-chain cam drive. Those features describe the engine family at a high level, not a guarantee that every surviving engine has the same parts or configuration.
How the Cammer’s overhead-cam drive worked
Moving the camshafts to the heads required a long drive system rather than the conventional FE pushrod valvetrain. A 2010 Ford Muscle technical feature describes a chain-and-idler arrangement driving the overhead camshafts, with a separate accessory shaft for the distributor and oil pump. It reports a six-foot main drive chain and needle-bearing followers; treat those fine details as that article’s secondary-source account, not as a verified specification for every engine. Ford Muscle’s technical feature provides further description.
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For a restoration or performance build, the chain system and head configuration are key areas to identify before sourcing parts. The available sources establish the general arrangement but do not establish modern component interchangeability or fitment across Cammer variants. Confirm compatibility against the actual engine and components before buying a timing-chain kit or other replacement parts.
How much horsepower did the 427 SOHC make?
There is no single figure that describes every Cammer configuration in the sources. Shelby American reports 616 hp with a single four-barrel carburetor and 657 hp with dual four-barrel carburetors. These are attributed period-style output figures for the stated setups, not a universal rating for every engine.
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| Configuration | Reported output | Source and qualification |
|---|---|---|
| Single four-barrel carburetor | 616 hp | Shelby American, June 3, 2022 retrospective; attributed figure for this setup. |
| Dual four-barrel carburetors | 657 hp | Shelby American, June 3, 2022 retrospective; attributed figure for this setup. |
| Specific combination described in a technical feature | 657 hp at 7,000 rpm and 575 lb-ft | Ford Muscle, July 1, 2010; reported for the feature’s particular combination, not a general factory rating. |
The 616- and 657-hp figures distinguish carburetor setups, but the cited sources do not establish matched test conditions, correction factors, or a common rating standard for comparing the Cammer with Chrysler’s 426 Hemi. The numbers therefore should not be treated as a controlled head-to-head performance comparison.
Why the Cammer did not become a NASCAR race engine
Ford developed the Cammer for NASCAR, but intent and competition record are different things. An indexed excerpt from Ford’s July 12, 1967 North American racing-program document says a subsequent rules announcement prevented use of the SOHC engine. The document also records a reduced inventory valuation for retail liquidation. The Ford program document is evidence that rules blocked the engine’s use, but the precise NASCAR rule text and full chronology are not established here. It would be too strong to state a specific ban date or assert that Chrysler’s complaint caused the exclusion without additional primary evidence.
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Ford Muscle reports that the engine later saw drag-racing use and remained competitive into the early 1970s. That is a secondary historical account; the sources here do not establish a specific race win, championship, or official results record.
Did a Cammer power a Shelby Daytona Coupe at Le Mans?
No. Shelby American says Carroll Shelby planned to install an aluminum SOHC engine in Daytona Coupe CSX2286 for the 1964 Le Mans effort, but the engine could not be secured in time. The car used a conventional NASCAR 427 instead and never ran a lap with the Cammer. The Daytona Coupe program still achieved class success at Le Mans in 1964 without the SOHC installation, according to Shelby American’s account.
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What period documentation survives
A period engineering paper, N. Faustyn and J. Eastman’s “The Ford 427 Cubic Inch Single Overhead Cam Engine,” is cataloged as SAE paper 650497 and was presented in Chicago on May 17, 1965. The catalog confirms the paper’s existence and metadata, but its full technical contents are not established by the catalog record. SAE International’s catalog entry is the reference for the paper.
The sources cited here do not establish a reliable production total for Cammer engines. They also do not support treating any one horsepower figure as the rating of every engine, or describing a proposed Daytona Coupe installation as an actual race configuration.
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- Now equipped with Ford Performance "Z2" Cylinder Heads-this head promotes improved power throughout the rpm range while retaining OEM exhaust and accessory mounting locations
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- 535 horsepower at 5600 rpm 545 left torque at 4500 rpm
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