Although Ford jumped into performance with both feet starting in late 1960 with the 352 Special, they only met with moderate success. They broke few records and won few races in the next two years, but they made a pretty good impression on the public by introducing a 400 plus cubic inch motor in 1962. This was the beginning; better days were coming. 

Ford rebounded from its poor 1962 race track showing  and  won 23 Grand National  races in 1963, including the top five places at Daytona. This success was due to two factors introduced mid way through the 1963 model year. The first was a new sleek "Sports Roof "semi fastback  body for the two door Galaxie. This model was two inches lower than the regular hardtop and offered better aerodynamics. The second was a  new 427 cubic inch racing engine that replaced the 406. The 406 had served its purpose, getting plenty of publicity for Ford; now it was time for the real deal. Chuck Foster's 1963 drag car shown below.

The Ford 427 (Super Marauder in the Mercury) was a big bore version of the 406 and actually displaced 425 cubic inches, but Ford called it a 427 to play on NASCAR's maximum engine size restriction. The new engine had a light weight valve train with solid lifters, while bottom end strength was improved with cross bolted main bearing caps. With a single 780  Holley carburetor, the Ford 427 was rated at 410 bhp at 5,600 rpm and cost an extra $406. Outfitted with two 650  Holleys, it put out 425 bhp at 6,000 rpm and cost an extra $462. This is the engine commonly referred to as the R code motor.

Both 427s came with 11.5:1 compression, an aluminum intake manifold, and performance packages which included tougher driveshafts and universal joints.  These engines were installed as part of a performance package that included heavy duty brakes (3" front shoes vs the standard 2.5"), heavy duty suspension, dual point distributors, mandatory manual transmission, 15" x 5. 5" Kelsey Hayes wheels in place of the standard 14" x 5. 5" wheels,  3/8" fuel line instead of 5/16", and a 4 pinion differential instead of a 2 pinion. Air conditioning, power steering, and power brakes weren't available.  5389  427 Galaxies were built in 1963, and 83 427 Mercurys. 

There are two differences between the Ford 406/427 and the Mercury 406/427.
    All Mercury 406s used "Mercury" stamped valve covers rather than the Ford  "Thunderbird" stamped valve covers. The Mercury 406 valve covers did not use an identifying CID sticker like the Fords. The Mercury 427 used the same chrome valve covers as the Ford but with "Marauder 427" or "Super Marauder 427" stickers. The 1963 Mercury used an alternator instead of the Ford generator. Because of this alternator, the Mercury used a harmonic balancer with a different size pulley than the Ford.

406/427 cars contain an additional VIN stamped into the rear seat back support.
All 1962-1965 406/427 blocks used solid lifters and had no oil galleries in the lifter bores for hydraulic lifters. 406 engine blocks can be identified by an "HP" cast into the block on the right side behind the alternator and behind the flywheel.  (The 390 HP blocks also used this identifying mark) 427 engine blocks can be identified by the cross bolts for the main caps at the bottom of the block.  (A few late 406 blocks also used cross bolted main caps, but they are very rare.)


406 / 427 cars also came with a 3 month / 4,000 mile warranty instead of the standard 12 month / 12,000 mile warranty.

Despite the roaring new motor, the Galaxies were still heavy, weighing between 3,500 and 4,000 lbs. Although they did well on high speed tracks, they lagged behind on the drag strip and on the street. To counter this, Ford built 50 special light weight Sports Roof Galaxies for competition. Again, here we go with the idiotic corporate decision to promote performance by building a car nobody could get.  They had stripped interiors, lightweight bucket seats, aluminum transmission cases, and aluminum bell housings. Fiberglass was used for the bumpers, front fenders, and the "bubble" hood which was necessary to clear a special aluminum high rise manifold. Some cars even had fiberglass doors. With the 425 bhp 427 engine, these lightweights were able to turn the quarter mile in 12.07 seconds at 118 mph. The showroom stock Galaxie would easily crack low 14 second times, not bad for a big car. This led Ford to the usual question; what would the 427 do in a small car? Enter the 1964 Thunderbolt.

The 1964 Fairlane body was used to build the one year only Thunderbolt, which was  stuffed with the special 427 high riser V8 engine. Only 111 of these rare birds were produced and are legendary in the Ford racing history books. 

To produce the new race car, Ford teamed up with Andy Hotten of Dearborn Steel Tubing Co. Together, they built 57 Thunderbolts  with a weight of around 3,200 lbs.  to compete on professional drag strips. These cars had fiberglass fenders, teardrop shaped hood bulges to clear the competition 427's high rise manifold and air cleaner, Plexiglas windows, lightweight police package bucket seats, an air induction system with air intakes where the inner headlights used to be, 8,000 rpm Rotunda tachometers, modified front suspension, and many special competition equipment features. Sun visors, mirrors, sound deadening, armrests,  jack, and lug wrench were removed to save weight. 

When the NHRA changed the rules to require 500 models of a car to be manufactured for Super Stock competition, Ford, which had been losing $1500 to $2000 on each Thunderbolt sold at the sticker price of $3900, gave up.  About 50 similar Mercury Comet Cyclones were also produced by Ford in 1964, destined to be modified to represent Ford in A/FX competition, which they dominated as well.

The 425 bhp 427 big block was heavily modified and actually cranked out over 500 bhp. It was linked to a beefed up Lincoln automatic with 4.58:1 gearing or a Borg Warner T-10 transmission with Hurst shifter with 4.44:1 gearing. Massive traction bars, asymmetrical rear springs, and a trunk mounted 95 pound bus battery helped to get the horsepower to the ground. The 1964 Ford Fairlane Special Performance Drag vehicles soon adopted the Thunderbolt name from the 1963 A/FX Fairlane drag race car and were also known as "T-bolts." 

Demand was strong enough to lead to a second order of 54 all white cars. Driver Gas Ronda (not to be confused with his brother, Help Me) dominated NHRA's 1964 World Championship by running his T-bolt through the quarter mile in 11.6 seconds at 124 mph. Of the 111 total built, at least 99 of them had manual transmissions.  The first 11 were painted maroon, the rest were white.

This was a very successful race car, but Ford did what most auto makers did when they built a supercar; they failed to make a version of it available to the public. Faced with the GTO as competition, the 1964 Fairlane had only a 289 as its top option and got squashed on the street. Imagine what Ford could have done with a milder version of the 427 Fairlane! Ford didn't get the message until 1966, when they redesigned the Fairlane body and offered the 390 and 427 as options. Even then, the 427 Fairlane was unruly at best on the street, and had a voracious appetite for gasoline and spark plugs. 


The 427 SOHC "Cammer" was, in 1965, and probably remains  today, the most powerful production engine ever made. Developed with the intention of taking on Chrysler's Hemi, Ford gave the 427 block new heads with hemispherical combustion chambers and overhead camshafts, one per cylinder bank,  which gave the engine its nickname. With a single four barrel carburetor, the "cammer" put out 616 bhp @ an astounding 7500 rpm. With dual four barrels, it produced   657 bhp. With this kind of power, the "cammer" 427 was totally unsuitable for street use. This kept sales  down, and NASCAR refused to accept the engine as it was not a  regular production option. Nonetheless, Ford gained a lot of publicity in other events which greatly helped their image on the street. Again, why not tone it down a bit and offer it to the public to compete against Chrysler's doggy street hemi? At the same time, the regular 427 continued to be a Ford option, and also became available in Cobras and was seeing duty in Mustang AF/Xers.


In 1966 the Fairlane changed to a new body style, boasting many  new options and performance packages.  To boost its performance image, Ford installed a detuned version of its race ready 427 V8 in approximately 60 Fairlanes. These were the famous "side oiler" 427 wedge engines with  425 bhp.  Fairlanes equipped with the 427 also had a big air scoop at the front of the hood. Fitting the 427 required modified shock towers and larger front coil springs. Free breathing cast iron exhaust headers, low restriction dual exhaust, and Ford's top loader four speed manual completed the powertrain. The 427 was only available on the two door Fairlane 500s or 500XLs and  came with a lift off fiberglass hood with functional air scoop, small fender insignia, a special handling package, manual front disc brakes, heavy duty rear springs, larger bias belted blackwall tires, but no tachometer for some unknown reason. On the drag strip, these cars could do the quarter mile in under 13 seconds at almost 114 mph. With a little work, times in the mid 11's were possible. This engine was not available in the 1966 Mercury Cyclone GT, which only offered the 335 hp 390.


  Despite the publicity earned by the Cammer, only 237 big Fords with the regular 427 engine were sold in 1966. Realizing that the day of the full size muscle car was over, Ford replaced the  427  with a new 428 V8 with 345 bhp. Promoted as the new "7-litre" model,  the 428 powered Galaxie was tuned more for smoothness than power and would get the quarter mile in the mid 16 second range. 

The 1967 Fairlane had minor trim changes with a slightly redesigned grille. The small block 289 cid V8 became the standard engine for the GT/GTA, (yuck, why bother) with the 390 cid V8 with either two or four barrel carburetors  optional, rated at 275 bhp and 320 bhp, down from 335 in 1966.  All Fairlane GT / GTAs had standard power front disc brakes and vinyl interiors with bucket seats standard. Still available was the 427 side oiler, which was now available with either a single four barrel carburetor (W code) good for 410 bhp, or with two four barrel carburetors (R code) which was rated at 425 bhp. The 427 was also available with tunnel port heads, which improved air flow and added an additional 30 bhp. Less than 200 427 Fairlanes were built in 1967. 

In  1967 the 427 engine  was extended to the Comet line. Mercury made it available in  the  the bottom of the line Comet 202 pillared coupe. The last was an interesting subject. It was 6" shorter than the hardtops and 100 pounds lighter.  Mercury, the classier division, was trying to cash in on the muscle car craze as well. A step too late, they fared poorly.  As in the '67 Fairlane,  where it was called the Cobra 427, the 427 V8 was offered in two flavors. With a 780  Holley four barrel and 410 bhp, Mercury called it the Cyclone 427. With dual 650  Holley carburetors and 425 bhp, it was the Super Cyclone 427. Both had 11.1:1 compression, solid lifters, and came only with a four speed manual transmission. There is some confusion here, as records indicate the 390 was again the only engine available to the public for the Cyclone GT. Since Mercury called the 427 engine "Cyclone" or "Super Cyclone," some think the 427 was what they were referring to.

 

The dual quad 427 was a production option in Fairlanes and Comets for '67. Fewer than 300 were installed, and only five went into the entry level 202 model, which was shorter and lighter than regular Comets.

 With the Super Cyclone powertrain, plus  extras such as a tachometer ($47), wide oval whitewall nylon tires ($83), and power front disc brakes ($84), a Comet 202 would have retailed for around $3,200. Hottest big block, lightest body, no frills muscle car available. It just didn't have the image, though.  5 cars? There's the proof.

Ford never seemed to "get it" and be competitive in the mid sized muscle car market. The Fairlane GT and GTA, along with the Mercury Cyclone GT, suffered from "all or nothing" syndrome. The 390 couldn't hang with GTOs and SS396s, and the 427 was just too radical to be an every day street engine, although it would stomp just about anything it came up against. Dumb moves like making the 289 standard in the GT models and offering a 2 barrel 390 just cemented the Ford street image. 

Although the 1968 W code 427 engine was available in the 1968 Cougar 
GT-E, it was not the 427 engine that was well known and loved from 1963 to 1966. The engine was essentially choked with a hydraulic lifter camshaft, restrictive exhaust manifolds, and was only available with the C6 automatic transmission.

The Ford Fairlane was redesigned for 1968. Although it retained its 116 inch wheelbase, it grew in almost every other dimension, and became nearly a full size car. There was a new fastback "Sportsroof" model and a new sporty Torino series. The GTs were included in the Torino line and included a standard 302 cid V8, bucket seats, console, name badges, specific striping and trim, deluxe wheel covers, and a lighting package. Muscle car options included a 390 cid V8, and the 390 bhp 427 cid V8 for the first half of the year. It was replaced mid year by the new Cobra Jet 428, rated at 335 bhp. A Super Cobra Jet version was available starting in 1969 with the same (underrated) horsepower rating. The 427 was no longer available after 1968, as Ford phased in new performance versions of the 428 and the new 429.