The legendary 427 Cammer Ford engine was originally developed to be a direct competitor to the 426 Hemi engines campaigned by the Dodge/Plymouth racers in NASCAR. Over fifty years after its introduction in 1964, this legendary powerplant still holds an incredible amount of mystique for horsepower lovers the world over.

Although it was approved for NASCAR competition in April of 1966–sort of–the engine never made it into a single NASCAR competitor’s car, mainly due to the absurd weight penalty the engine faced, and the fact that it was only permitted in the full-size Galaxie.

In one of the greatest exhibitions of Ford’s engineering capabilities of the day, the engine design–based on the 427FE side-oiler engine block–went from concept to running engine in just 90 days. Each of the hemispherical-chamber cylinder heads had a single camshaft on top that were optimized for performance, and the timing chain was a whopping seven feet long, perhaps the engine’s one handicap.

Ford continued to develop the beast and trickled them into some of the factory-backed NHRA Factory Experimental Mustangs of the day, especially under the hood of one Dyno Don Nicholson’s Comet.

The engine was a monster then, and still is today, although locating one is a challenge – not to mention incredibly expensive. So when we came across this bullet on eBay constructed of new old stock parts, we just had to share it.

According to the seller, the engine appears to have never been run and was assembled using a short-block that they obtained. Everything was pulled apart to check the condition and then reassembled. Currently the engine wears a pair of Holley four-barrel carburetors, and the seller also states that there’s a Hilborn fuel injection setup available separately.

In factory form, the engine produced 616 horsepower with a single four-barrel, and was capable of over 650 horses when equipped with dual quads as seen here. The engine was never put into production vehicles, making it a rarity and highly sought-after, although Ford did make them available to the drag racers of the day. The few engines that are left are popular in nostalgia race classes today.

Moral of the story? If you’re sitting on 45 large, you too can have your very own Cammer. Listen to this bad boy crackle and pop!

Video of the engine running on the stand: