The mid 60s were the heyday for muscle cars and racing. Designed and built for high performance, the 427 was rated at 425 hp. with dual Holley four barrel carbs and solid lifter cam. The single four barrel was rated at 410 hp. A number of different configurations were available. A 427 hydraulic lifter, single four barrel Holley rated at 390 hp. was available in the '67 Mustang, the 427 Cobra with single or dual four barrels and aluminum heads are a couple that come to mind. The original versions were top oilers which sent oil to the cam first, then the mains. Not a good system for all out racing. Later, the side oiler was introduced which sent oil to the crank first, then the cam. It also featured cross bolted mains. For those of you wondering why Ford called this V-8 engine series, 332-428, the 'Fe' block, 'Fe' is the symbol for Iron in the Periodic Table of Elements.
The 427 brought Ford most of its wins during this decade. Ford's most serious and successful racing period. With 427s under the hood, Galaxies dominated NASCAR, the '64 FAIRLANE Thunderbolts, '66 FAIRLANE 500s and '67 Mustangs gained NHRA fame at the drag strip. Don't forget the infamous Carrol Shelby Cobras and Ford GT-40s winning a number of International races and Championships powered by 427s. The 427 would also serve as the base for the legendary 427 SOHC.
Revell released these engine kits a few years back and they are really neat.. They consisted of the Ford 427, 427 SOHC, 427 SOHC Dragster, Chrysler 426 Hemi, 426 Hemi Dragster and the Chevy small block and 427. I don't know how many are still available. No painting is necessary and minimal gluing is required. The major pieces screw together and a small screwdriver is supplied in the kit. The detailing is amazing. Building it strait out of the box, you can have one done in a few hours. Now if they'd come out with 1/6 scale cars to put them in we'd really have something.
I built it out of the box. I did some painting of small details like carb linkage, nuts and bolt heads and I made the 427 flags decals that are on the valve covers. A couple of things I didn't like. The block, heads and water pump are black. The very early ones were black but the majority of later ones were Ford engine blue. The intake is silver. The real intake is aluminum and the silver doesn't portray it properly. I did another one of these as a later model Cobra 427 with the proper colors and aluminum heads. Overall, they're cool kits. I might even do a Chrysler or a Chevy. Imagine that!