So yeah... as many of you know I'm actually originally from a little town called Hammond, WI. Well this past weekend was the town celebration and my dad had informed me a few weeks back the Tractor/Truck Pull still need some volunteer workers.

I figured what the hell. Get to see some BA pulling rigs and maybe have a few beers whiling doing it.

Saturday night was the Tractor pull and I ended up getting the Tractors back to the pits off the main road. Couldn't see the track from where I was at... and people were still showing up 3 hours after Registration was over... so yeah, didn't get to see much of the Tractor Pull. Weather was also kind of crappy, but the rain held off long enough to get most of the Pull done. Anyway, I'm digressing from the main point here...

Sunday was the truck pull. Turns out they had enough people so I just went down to watch. Guy rolls up in a full-blown Semi with a Featherlite Trailer with built in living quarters and this truck rolls out. Needless to say, this guy must have some bank.



Very cool. Anyway, while I was looking at the guy happens out of the truck so I figured I'd quick ask him a few questions. Conversation, word for word:

Me: Hey, really nice truck you have here. What is the body based off? I was thinking Dodge Powerwagon, but not sure anymore.
Him: '35 Ford.
Me: Nice. Just a Ford Big Block for your Block right?
Him: Ford Hemi.

At this point, he promptly looked away and headed off. Not sure if he was mad at something else, or just doesn't liked getting bothered, but at the time I figured he just didn't want to deal with some "Long-Haired Hippy" kid asking questions, especially with the Ford Hemi answer. Ford never made a Hemi... or so I thought. I went back and started talking to my Dad and he was pretty much in agreement with me. We both thought it would be possible with some custom heads and cylinders, but couldn't think of anything that ever came with a Ford Hemi straight off the assembly line.

Turns out, I was right and wrong. For those of that don't know Ford did, in fact, make a Hemi, more commonly known as the Ford SOHC 427 Cammer. It was Ford's answer to the Hemi (as most of us know it), as the Dodge Hemi was destroying them at the track. It was never released in anything because Chrysler and the boys had a big hissy fit that Ford's Hemi was going to smoke their Hemi at the track so they got it banned from NASCAR before it was even in a single race (therefore Ford never implemented it in any car). While it was never released straight from the assembly line, Ford did sells them as Crate Engines to Drag Racers, etc. Thing generated 616 HP @7000RPM out of the crate. I can only imagine what this guy had it up to in his pulling truck.

Couple links for more info:
Ford FE engine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ford 427 Cammer Build - 800 HP SOHC Big-Block Race Engine Assembly - Hot Rod Magazine

Anyway, I thought it was really cool that I was that up close and personal with a Ford Cammer. I'm really curious to know if it's an original block at this point, as there were only around 1500 made. From some google searching, it appears you can buy a complete one from scratch now with the help of aftermarket now, but that wasn't the case 5 years ago. It appears that it's expensive as hell to make one of these engines as well. An original will cost you $25,000+, with an aftermarket one being around $15,000+.

Anyway, thought I'd share. Sorry I didn't get any pictures or videos of him pulling. I had to leave before his class was up. I'm hoping my dad got some, but I'll let you know.

EDIT: While all the above information is fine and dandy... as is pointed out below by karbass4life, this engine is in fact the Boss 429 which is also a Ford Hemi based engine. Who knew?

 

Wow, thats awesome. Guy probably hates getting asked about it. lol

 

Yeah. I suppose so. But why build something like that if you don't like people asking questions. I wasn't upset that he wasn't talkative. He was probably just trying to make sure he was ready for his pull.

 

HAHA, sorry I dont mean to sound rude. Dodge/Chrysler/ Plymouth where the first to use the Hemi and most people like you only thought that there was only one... but as you found out those hemispherical heads allowed for a lot more air and fuel to flow in and helped make a lot ore horsepower and torque. its kinda a no brainer that other automakers would pick up on this and use the same design against the original makers. Just because one automaker makes all these lame commercials about the Hemi doesnt mean that there is just one. I cant help but laugh at dodge boys and their "Hemi" trucks... thinking its the holy grail of all engines and that no one else was smart enough to come up with such a briliant idea. But sounds really awesome and glad to hear you learned some good ol history.

 

No I totally agree. The part that irritates me is that Ford had to abandon what should have been the standard for true racing power for year's to come, simply because Dodge threatened to walk out on Nascar because they thought of it first. Oh well... I can dream of some day owning one of those engines... maybe even try to cram it into a Ranger.

 

IIRC Ford was actually the first to have a "Hemi" engine....

EDIT:

Hemispherical cylinder heads have been used since at least 1903; they were used by the Belgian car maker Pipe in 1905[4], the Peugeot Grand prix Car of 1912, the Alfa Romeo GP car of 1914, Daimler, and Riley. Stutz built four valve engines, conceptually anticipating modern car engines. The BMW double push rod design, taken over by Bristol Cars, the Peugeot 403 and the Toyota T engine are other well known hemi engines. Harry Arminius Miller racing engines were also a notable example.[5]

Ardun heads for the Ford Flathead were perhaps the first use of a hemispherical head on a readily available American V8

right from wikipedia...first AMERICAN engine....

 

wow thanks for clearing that up

 

Sweet, time to get one in the ranger lol...

so who won the pulls?

 

No idea really. Haha... bunch of guys I've never heard of.

I talked to my dad this morning and he said the truck above went down pulled only once and then loaded up and left immediately after.

I'm guessing he wasn't happy about being in little Podunk WI so he just wanted to get points in the NTPA and be off (it was actually a sanctioned event).

 

i got this same reaction when i walked up to this guy and asked him about his truck

i said hey man sweet truck he just kind of blankly stared at me so i asked what suspension and tire set up he was using
he just said 10inches on 46 inch tires and walk away i was like WTF haha
it was a sick truck though

 

That engine really doesnt look like an original "cammer"

my uncle had a 64 galaxie Q code (i believe thats the lightweight vin code) with an original "cammer" in it. the front of the head and the valve cover look wrong to me...idk though

 

you beat me to it, ford put that motor into interceptors back in the day.
so yes, that motor did make it out of the factory.

look further into the FE motors. they were like the ecoboosts back then.

 

Wait isn't the Boss 429 a Hemi as well?

Edit: Looks like it was. Got this from Hemmings.

 

Well I'll be damned. Seems like there is a lot of rare Ford Hemi's out there. Haha...

I can't find any mention of this anywhere. Every resource I have found states they only sold them over the counter. I mean I suppose some people could have special ordered it from Ford. But I can't even find an "Interceptor" model that existed in 64-66. Can you provide a bit more background here? (Not saying your wrong, just trying to get things explained).

 

Yeah thats the only two I know of. Both were made for NASCAR. The Boss 429 found it's home in the Boss 429 Mustang.

The Engine in that truck looks to me like a 429, actually I know it is look at the location of the spark plugs.


^Boss 429


^427 SOHC "Cammer"

 

^^ Nice pics! Good call too...

 

Nice. Way to catch my error. Thanks for all the info guy. I love this kind of crap.

 

i got nothing but old man info. sorry.