Vintage engine builders and enthusiasts have reason to celebrate with the revival by COMP Cams® of a hard-to-find Ford stub cam for the potent Ford 427 SOHC engine.
Developed over 90 days in the mid 60’s, banned from NASCAR, and ultimately finding success on the drag strip, the Ford 427 SOHC was one of the most powerful engines of its day. Recent aftermarket developments in blocks and heads have increased interest and availability of these engines that are common in modern period-correct builds. The Ford 427 SOHC utilizes a stub cam, which is used to drive the distributor and oil pump, mount the dual timing chain sprockets and provide oiling to the left head via an oiling groove in the bearing journal. COMP Cams® has recently made a stash of these parts available with an option for special engine builder group pricing. COMP® also currently offers custom cam grinds for Ford 427 SOHC engines, so this stub cam is a necessary companion piece to part no. 183-000-9L and 183-000-9R camshafts.
Need advice for camshafts going into my 427 (482) SOHC engine. Compression will be 9:1for running 93 pump gas and possibly a supercharger later on. Have stock type valves and beehive springs with 180 psi on seat… any help most appreciated…
There aren’t many ‘pre-ground’ options for SOHC cams. This makes sense, since there aren’t a lot of these engines around.
I am aware of a couple of options:
But none of them are really ideal for this particular combination.
Crane has some grinds available. I checked their site, and it says to call in and talk it over, which also makes sense:
Again- since these builds are so rare, it’s logical that each cam is ground specifically for the engine.
For an engine at 482 cubes, with an efficient head (the SOHC heads are pretty good), I’d suggest an intake lobe with 226 degrees at .050-inch of lift, and 290 degrees of advertised duration. Total gross intake lift should be .525-inch.
On the exhaust side, I’d like a little more- like 230 degrees at .050-inch of lift, and 295 degrees of advertised duration. The total valve lift on the exhaust side should be .530-inch.
The lobe separation angle should be 112 degrees.
These cam specs will give a nasty idle at around 850 rpm or so. Power will get serious between 2,500-6,500 rpm. It should pull like a freight train in the midrange, and the addition of the supercharger in the future will only help.
That should do it! I’d have no hesitation contacting Crane, but those RaceDyne cams look really nice, quality-wise. Not cheap at around $1,000 a set, though.
We hope this helps…
Wrench Safe, Mark
Toyota used something similar to this in the ’70s on some of their engines. It drove the distributor and fuel pump and acted as an extra guide pulley for the timing chain. We called them “short shafts” back then. We (the dealership mechanics) made good money replacing nearly all of them as they failed. Seems as though they were prone to breaking and stopping the engine dear right where it happened.