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Original Message
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| RE: 427 Marine engines (thanks Royce) |
| By P - 02/05/2002 6:41:26 PM; IP 66.89.75.42 |
Thanks for the come-back Royce, I have done a lot of research on the marine units, having interviewed guys who worked in the plants (the marine outfitting plant at Galiopolis, Ohio). Chris Craft (just one of the marine builders who bought the FE, Trojan, Century and Higgins being others) didn't know as much about engines as Ford did, and I'm sure they reached a consensus.
Chris Craft, however, knew more about running engines in a marine environment, having started with the old Liberty V-12 OX series of aircraft engines, going to the Hercules inline flathead series, using using Cadillac, SBC, Chrysler and MEL products prior to using the FE.
When I hear something that suggests the marine engines were "seconds" or didn't meet manufacturing standards, I feel just about the same as you do when you hear about a 2-bolt Cougar GTE, ha ha. Having been around marine engines all my life, including some superb Scripps V-12, Curtis Wright V-12, Liberty V-12, Packard aircraft and PT V-12's, Rolls Royce V-12's doctored to look like Packards, Hercules, SBC, you name it, I feel quite sure the marine engines simply had to be built to the highest standards or they would have resulted in recalls being placed back to the manufacturer. I have been advised that "the Ford 427 was as good for us as the MEL was, with regards to call-backs". The FE produced 25 more horsepower than the bigger MEL in marine trim.
Chris Craft and Ford probably came to a consensus VERY quickly regarding the compression ratio and cam profile. The 300-HP marine unit follow the classic pattern, it's detuned a bit for longevity because it has to work very hard. Although Chris Craft bought a bunch of em, I don't think it was enough of a run to interrupt their massive manufacturing (casting) process for special attention to the marine run. I think they pulled the blocks they needed at the time, ran em through the machine process, and shipped em to Galiopolis where the marine equipment was bolted on. During the shuffle to meet orders, some side oilers did, indeed, get shipped to Chris Craft, as there are people who have posted on the FE forums in the past who have them (from marine applications) and I have personally verified them on two boats I am familiar with.
Because the heads were not going to see more than 4,000 RPM, the stated max limit for warranty purposes, they were able to use a "generic" FE (390??) head which produced great torque and "average" power.
They utilized an Eaton distributor, primarily because they wanted a unit with a cable-driven tach. The tach's work great, but the distributors leave a lot to be desired.
I am intrigued with the fact that Ford offered the FE 427 to Chris Craft at the same time they were dominating NASCAR and winning LeMans. Must have made the new boat owners feel pretty good, eh? Even at 300-HP, these engines run VERY STRONG, because at that stage of tune they develope 438 footpounds of torque at 2900 RPM.
Mine are swinging 24" props, and at 4,000 RPM looking down into that engine hatch can make you feel weak in the knees!
Regards, P |
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This thread, so far...
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