4/27 - Happy Thunderbolt Day!

Welcome back to Big Block Week.  Today is my favorite day of the week because the 427 SOHC V8 came in one of my favorite cars in all of history, the Ford Galaxie (preferably '63-'64).  The 427 also used hemispherical combustion chambers, but was unique in utilizing an overhead cam on each bank of cylinders to run the valvetrain.  Overhead cams are usually used to provide better power through a higher rev range.  Most newer economy cars offer a dual overhead cam setup for even better power and revs because they use four valves per piston instead of two.  (The 4.6L V8 in my Vic had a SOHC setup and hemispherical combustion chambers too, but much lower displacement.)  The 427 also used side oiling for better lubrication during high rpm instances.

So pretty...

The Hemi may have had a a short, catchy name, but the 427 Thunderbolt has a far more commanding sound to it.  Similarly, the wing cars with the Hemi were banned due to being so far superior, but back in '65, the 427 motor was banned for being to good first.  The Thunderbolt did have a better life in NHRA drag racing though.  As part of the muscle car wars, Ford put their 427 in lightweight Galaxies in '63-'64, and in '64 decided to shoe-horn it into a lightweight '64 Fairlane 2-door post, first adopting the Thunderbolt name badge.

Because the post cars were cheaper

In the mid-'60s, the 427 was also in the Ford GT40 and Shelby's AC Cobra where they won several road races including 24 hours of Le Mans where it took the first three places and beat Ferraris at their own game.

Note: This is a '60s GT40, not a newer retro Ford GT

Can you even imagine what it would be like to drive this?!

This motor wasn't offered as long in production cars, so I'm going to cut to the chase.  Check out these sweet picture!

This is a Thunderbolt wagon "clone" because they didn't make a Thunderbolt wagon, but look at how cool that is!

Videos!