What is a Ford 427 Tunnel Port?

A brief history of how the Ford 427 Tunnel Port came to be.

[@justaguy6100]

Not just motor sports history, but automobile engineering as well. Very very cool!

[@justaguy6100]

For me, I'd like to know when suspension changes began to make circle racing safe enough to hit those 200+ speeds. And when did stock car racing change to "nothing at all like stock."

[@spambeanie2]

it's not the suspension it's keeping the air from under the car

[@BrandonLeeBrown]

I remember in 1974 I got the part number for a Ford intake manifold that was a tunnel port "type" intake for the medium riser heads. It was a single plane, dual 4 barrel intake. When I got the part number in 1974, it was supposed to be still available. I tried to order one in 1975 or 1976. I was told at the parts counter it wasn't available anymore. Its part number ended with "A" and I was told the same part number ending in "B" was available. I thought it might be an updated version, but they didn't know what the difference was. I ordered one for $250. When it arrived I saw it was a tunnel port type single plane intake manifold for medium riser heads, but it was for one 4 barrel. I thought that was even better than messing with the dual 4 barrel version. I ordered a replacement 427 cylinder block. It was a 1968 hydraulic lifter version, that included a plug and instructions as to which passage to block to use solid lifters. I also ordered a replacement 428 cylinder block. It was a heavy duty truck 391 cylinder block, that was bored out to the 428 bore and had an external oil line hole that was blocked with a threaded plug. The performance and racing "X" part numbers might not have been kept available for ten years, but made sure that service replacement parts for factory cars were available for at least 10 years after the last year the parts were used on cars, even though they were always the exact same part. The 427 factory car parts were available through 1978 and the 428 parts were available through 1980.

[@steveford6373]

The intake manifold was commonly referred to as the Tunnel Wedge and was a great manifold. I should know as i used one on my 427 powered 68 Mustang.

[@leetrotboswell6273]

I remember those days I had a similar experience with different parts . I had numbers for front suspension springs for mustang's they were Trans Am racing springs but in 1976 was told they were not available. I found those springs from Meyer racing who is still in business today with his sons running it .

[@JohnSmith-if4et]

Mike Maier is one awesome dude when it comes to building fast cars….He is also an exceptional driver….RIP to Bill Maier left us in 2023

[@bobbyc6028]

back then you could get t/ports from holman & moody.

[@GaryFlagg2-pc5lp]

My fellow Ford nut here in Buffalo,N.Y. had a 427 Tunnelport in his 1967 Fairlane. It was white so I used to call it "The Galloping Ghost". What a sleeper with stock F-70 polyglas tires. It shifted out at 7300-7500 R.P.M. all day long. It had two four barrel cards and stock exhaust manifolds, yeh you read it right, stock exhaust manifolds. You heard the story about putting a hundred dollar bill on the dash. It was yours if you could reach it when the car was floored . This was a fact, as I tried a couple of times as I was pinned the the front seat and couldn't reach it. We both had a chuckle after that. We blew off more than our share of big block Chevies and a few 426 Hemi's. I say we as I was always riding shotgun. We left my 1968 428 Cobra-Jet at home on these midnight rides. Sheridan Drive was one lively two lane(each way) almost every night (1967-1972). Those were the best street racing days of my life, real old school muscle cars.Hey GM and Mopar guys, I admired some of your cool old Chevelles and Chargers RT's. Gary Flagg Buffalo, N.Y.

[@stur.7502]

Doesn't mean a lot to me. I could pack a 383 B.B. dual quad into a tiny '63 Valiant and get better results pulling the front end. Big engines in a small body undoubtedly creates a consequence Which cake batter tastes better German Chocolate or Angel food. Never could stand the way Ford V-8's sounds, very hollow like something wants to break. However there may be some exceptions Just seem to be stroked wrong like one-two cylinders isn't quite timed accurately with duration. Reality, they all are just ideas from the drafting boards. Ate a lot of Fords, they all seemed to be victims of circumstance. The Honor Circle? Mercury Cougar - Ford GT350 - Well built Family cars and p/u trucks.

[@GaryFlagg2-pc5lp]

A 1967 Fairlane weighs in ~ 3700 lbs. , which with a driver and front seat passenger puts the weight over 4000 lbs.@@stur.7502 The car drove smooth and relatively quiet with its stock mufflers. I've never heard any Motörhead complain about the throaty roar of any American V8, your complaint is a "1st". I've never had any of my Ford engines break and that includes 260's,289's,302's, 352's, 390's, my 428CJ and an old flathead in my 1937 sedan. My 1968 1/2 428 CJ Mustang was street raced for 4 years. I floated a valve once and had to yank the head. I pulled a piece of the broken valve out the piston head, installed a new valve and was up in running that night. Hey, you like what you like, I'm just glad I lived through the best days of drag racing. Gary Flagg Buffalo, N.Y.

[@donjennings9034]

@@stur.7502 Another anti-Ford guy. I've heard some good ones through the years, but the sound, that's a new one. Something is about to break. lol. Ford won more big block races in NASCAR than anyone and that includes the 426. I think you've been eating something else.

[@stur.7502]

@@donjennings9034 This is the way a Ford guy thinks, way way out on the fringe with a one-off out of the box experimental instead of overall production street performance. Last I heard NASCAR didn't race on the street or strip in a production automobile. Is it the driver, the car or the particular engine circumstance at NASCAR? What is Ford's big track record at the strip? I knew someone once who put a 428 Cobra Jet engine in a Ford 4x4 truck, not sure exactly why? The Air cleaner maybe? It sounded more like an un-capped I-H or AMC car? Not that I have anything particular against International Harvester or American Motors. Not to worry though, Ford will take em' all. Too bad that Fairlane model isn't still in production.

[@donjennings9034]

@@stur.7502 They've had their share of wins, especially in pro stock. Somehow, they overcame "the sound" problem. 🤣

[@carlc5748]

Excellent historical presentation on your part, of these unique engines, I learned quite a bit, thanks!

[@trackstumper8333]

Wow...awesome vid to explain the 427 head variations. Thank you for posting 👍

[@vaughnkavon3993]

Near perfect description of these engines and all of the back and forth that occured at the time. American engineering at it's best. 🏁 🇺🇲

[@rockyshow5597]

A lot of people don't know how much R.an D.Ford and Mopar put in at that time. Thank God for the boss 429 and John Kazi. Keeping it real even today

[@henrys.6864]

Pontiac also had their version of the "Tunnel Port". It was called the "Ram Air V. It had the same valve arraignment as tha "FE" series wedge heads, though it needs to have a special camshaft ground for that valve arraignment. Thanks for that history on the Tunnel Port FE. 👍

[@johnjohnsn7633]

Ford also had a 1968 302 Tunnel Port it ran in SCCA ... B Production if memory serves me.

[@henrys.6864]

@@johnjohnsn7633 Yes! You're right! 👍

[@robertklein1316]

I remember going to Gasoline Alley in Paterson and there were about 4 or 5 tunnel port engines on pallets, ready to get blueprinted. I was picking up my Hemi that needed a sleeve and overbore, 12-1/2 pistons, etc, $1,100 dollars

[@chucks6879]

I raced late models on dirt in the I states, Iowa, Illinois and Indiana used lo riser and med riser which cost. $56 in 65. A friend let me use his tunnel port set up but lost some bottom end. The late Dick Trickle was a master at making 427 engines run

[@fasx56]

Really appreciated the clear and comprehensive explanation on the technical side of the 427 various heads for racing. Very few men in this generation would have such extensive knowledge of Ford Engines of the 1960s and 70s, that was a long time ago. Mechanics in the average Ford Dealership would not even begin to know how to work on the big blocks of that era or know how to tune a big Holly Carburetor.

[@Wheelhouse812]

Thank you for your comment. Part of my reason for making this video is to keep the information alive, and try to get it to the next generation.

[@spambeanie2]

except they used medium riser at LaMans

[@johnsalvaterra3116]

​@@spambeanie2 yes in 1965 and 1966, but a tunnel port head in 1967.

[@colehara]

Best explanation I have heard on this. 👍

[@wysetech2000]

I used to build FE engines for a local racer in Canada. I had a love/hate for those engines. I began late, after Ford stopped building them in 1968. Although there were some parts around, the good parts were very expensive compared to the Chevrolet stuff. I just wanted to be different. I scored a large pile of used 427 Le Mans parts, so called gently used. Some of those parts were abused and raced far longer than their intended life cycle. I was in my late teens in those days and being a teen, I knew everything, LoL. I quickly realized that I was the opposite of smart. In the Le mans series where money was NO object. They would run the 427 very hard and if one blew up, the teams would just shrug their shoulders, and install a fresh one, since Ford Motor Company was supplying them with as many engines they needed. They had an obsession with winning the crown jewel of Le mans, which they DID. Holman-Moody was going full tilt to provide engines for all the Ford teams, in Le Mans and Nascar. Many engine builders became famous from working for Holman Moody, such as Robert Yates, Waddell Wilson and several others. A friend was a decent engine machinist and had a thriving business, so I had him do all the machining for me. All I had to do was double check his work and assemble the engines. First time out the engine lasted about 9 laps, before it exploded. I was a newby but not stupid. Most everything left was scrap metal. Even one of the rare cylinder heads was beyond repair. They only thing good for myself was that it was fast as hell. Even the driver said, it was awesome while it lasted. I wasn't happy at all since it badly bruised my confidence. After more hell and frustration and diminishing engine parts, I stumbled over the reason for the failures. The crank throws were hollow and sealed off by plugs and C clips. My machinist didn't remove the Crankshaft throw plugs to clean it properly and the metal and junk inside was getting into the fresh bearings. Both of us should have known but Ford was the only company that did this process that I am aware of. Frustrating and expensive lesson. Eventually, we ran out of parts and money, even though we won 3 races that year and it was getting close to the end of the season. Another friend gave us a stock 428CJ out of a Mustang to use. I thought it was a waste of time, since we could hear the valves floating at the end of the straights, but we actually won the last race of the season with it. He installed it back into his Mustang and drove it for another 5 years until he sold it. Good/bad old times.

[@MACvSOG]

Interesting post. I raced a 1967 Shelby GT500, with a 427TP, dual 4's, in SCCA, IMSA and other club circuit racing. Back in the day, I was just a poor garage racer, did all the work myself, no sponsors, but with that TP, I don't know how you could ever have any more fun. The power was incredible, I used a Dan Williams 4 spd. TC, that never broke and had to re-enforce the clutch mounting on the car, to use the heaviest clutch possible. Those were the days, I doubt that road racing will ever be what it was then, Sebring 12 was such fun, so many stories. I still have the car, although it needs some tlc and all of the TP motors, trans, spares, even have a 1966 GT 350 race car and several other Shelbys and Bosses. Had a chance to get a friend's Boss 429 complete car and spare motor, along with a GT 40, Maranello, several Shelbys and a Lola street car, but ya never do have enough sheckels, do ya. Oh well. Maybe soon, I'll start one one of the cars to get them restored, maybe the Buick GN first.

[@waynejohnting2954]

It's insane what those shelbys are selling for these days

[@MACvSOG]

Hey You bet they are or could be valuable. I keep telling myself I should sell them, even though they are in poor shape. But, I have personal connections to each on, so it's hard to consider. One particular one, besides the 66 350, is a 1968 GT500 KR convertible, but also, with 4 spd and air, in green, blk inside, very very rare, not but a few ever made optioned that way and I believe a museum in california has three of the same. Oh also, it has the original motor, trans and rear. I have restored shelbys and boss 302's before and as crazy as it seems, I was, I sold the one's I restored, and for almost nothing at the time, I cringe everytime I think about those life's mistakes. Probably the biggest mistake I ever made on these cars, was at college in the college parking lot, I came across a 1967 427 cobra, some girl was using to go to school, she offered to sell it to me for 8K and at the time I didn't have the bread, that one kills me every time I remember it, have no idea what happened to that car, lost touch. One more was the Miami Serpentarium's owner's daughter owned a 1970 shelby GT500, white on white, with very few miles on it, perfect. I went to buy it from her, but she answered the door naked, high as a kite, so me being the nice proper guy, said I would come back the next day. Someone I knew, a female friend, got there before me and bought it for $5000. A few years later, that girl who also owned a Hertz GT350, mint, had a husband issue where she needed bond money and offer both of her shelbys for $10k cash. As it would be I was broke at the time and missed that one as well. Many more of the same purchase misses and selling when I needed to. All mistakes.@@waynejohnting2954

[@robertschmidt8307]

You're really good at this. Thank you very much.

[@mikemurilloracing]

Man that was awesome info! Everyone thinks I know a ton of FORD history but they would be disappointed. Plan on watching a lot more of your stuff 😉 👍🏽

[@Wheelhouse812]

Thabks Mike!

[@hotroddude6551]

Very informative. Hell yea. I was lucky enough to work part in a small shop in 1997 that I was able to solely build a full Retro-fit roller cammed tunnel port for a customer. It turned out absolutely amazing. Dual 4 and all. Unfortunately the customer chose not to do a proper break in and use too hot of a plug that he thought was correct after we installed the correct plugs on assembly. Without breaking it in, he chose to do a full pull down his street and blew it up. Even his friends, that were present, testified to this in court because the dude sued the shop owner. But it was an amazing experience to build one.

[@nojunkwork5735]

@hotroddude6551 If the motor was built right it wouldn't hurt it to run a full pull down the street with it. What has to break in that would hurt the motor on a full pull?

[@FRLN500]

@@nojunkwork5735 Yep. The camshaft/lifters only take 20 minutes to break in and the builder should have done that when the engine was test run after completing the build. Now, if he did a full pull with to hot a plug he might experience bad pre-ignition.

[@nojunkwork5735]

@@FRLN500 First off I think Hot Rod dude was talking out his backside and just made up that story. But that being said Hot Rod wrote that the guy blew up the motor making a full pull down his street and unless he lives on a farm where his street is a county road it is hard to imagine that it would hurt the motor. He also wrote that the motor had a roller cam in it that would require no break-in. But even if it had a flat tappet cam and he didn't burn the cam in properly that still wouldn't blow up the motor as he stated in his post.

[@calesmith3673]

Very helpful lesson into Ford motorsport development and history. Thanks for posting!

[@olblu8746]

Very informative and interesting. Great work and memory, the video is as perfect as can be. God bless.

[@Wheelhouse812]

Thank you!

[@johnsmith-dx1rf]

Good video! Really appreciate showing cylinder heads.

[@rickcunningham5581]

Which ever 427 fe you liked or ran street or strip, it doesn't get the respect it should. For the regular street use it's hard to beat the 428 cobra jet and still highly popular today. The Mopar 440 was also a great street motor. Sometimes just as fast on the street as some 426's .

[@dirtfarmer7472]

Very interesting & I thank you for sharing your experience & knowledge Thank you Sir

[@michaelwalsh98]

I came across a guy in 1966, he had a 1963 1/2 Ford Galaxy, with Aluminum bumpers, fiber glass hood. With a 427 dual 4 barrel Holleys, screw in freeze plugs. It was one of the production cars Ford had to see to be legal for Nascar. It was a monster street racer back in the day in Philly when I was 18 yrs old.

[@deeremeyer1749]

BS. "1963.5" would be a top oiler and they did not have screw-in CORE PLUGS and there were no Holley 4-barrels in "1963.5". Carters and Rochesters were the only 4-barrels available. Not until 1964 were there any factory "lightweight" Galaxies. And the "lightweight" with aluminum and fiberglass front end parts had NOTHING to do with NASCAR. They were built for NHRA Super Stock drag racing and they were BADLY outclassed by Super Stock Dodge Darts and Plymouths even before the 426 "Race Hemi" came along when the Mopars were running 413 and 426 Max Wedge engines AND "pushbutton" 727 TorqueFlite transmissions. A Ford with a "top loader" wasn't close to competitive with them.

[@FRLN500]

@@deeremeyer1749Sorry to burst your bubble but Ford started using Holley 4150 series 4 barrels in 1957 on the 312 y-blocks. They continued to use them on the high performance FE's. The 429 CJ's also came factory equipped with Holleys but the 429SCJ's were equipped with a spread bore Quadra Jet.

[@BigEightiesNewWave]

Boss 429 was my favorite, my neighbor had one new, when I was a kid. Green Mustang Boss.

[@rbell3109]

1969

[@leetrotboswell6273]

This is very well done, I love ford history.

[@jamescook3297]

Me too

[@garyradtke3252]

Very interesting. I knew there was a lot of history about the 427 and 429 but I didn't know the particulars. I noticed the radio in the background. My Grandparents had one like it. When I was a kid I played it a lot and it was sold still working in the late 70's when their stuff was auctioned.

[@charleshaggard4341]

Great information that I never knew. My dad worked for a Chevy dealership from 46-69 and I after school and on weekends 67-69. Dad wasn't a racer so I was never around modifying engines or learning much about them.

[@rrt5000]

My father talked about the tunnel port he ran for a while. He said it broke everything. That was when he was young and put all his money on an engine without having everything else capable or handling the power. He still got his 56 ford to run 11.61 with it.

[@roberthoffrichter287]

Yeah especially the 4-speed toploader at the the time it was okay but if you horsed it wrong or hopped the tires you would snap the internals pretty quick 427 she was a bad baby.

[@rrt5000]

@@roberthoffrichter287 he eventually got things right. But he always laughed about that tunnelport. He said he broke EVERYTHING with it. Engine mounts, seats, trannies, driveshafts. He was relatively young at the time. It taught him to get everything else right first. Then worry about power.

[@invoxicated]

Great video. I never knew they used restrictor plates back in 69-71. I've been a Ford Fan since I was 8 years old. I'm 73 now. My Dad belonged to NASCAR back in the early 60s and raced at all the local tracks. I wished that they would put together a Vintage Race Program with say a limited # of cars where they would race Dodge Hemis against the Ford SOHC in specially prepped 60s Fords and Dodges just to see what would happen if those cars were allowed to slug it out. Tell me that would't draw a huge crowd. I'll bet it would.

[@henrysmith8012]

My neighbor had run them for years and still has some. These engines were unreal.

[@bobkonradi1027]

Recall: Ford won the 1969 Daytona 500 with a Tunnel Port 427, beating the Chrysler hemis. Ford had the Boss 429 ready to go, but they hadn't yet complied with the NASCAR rule that it had to be available in street cars. So the Ford teams got out their TP heads and ran the race with it. Everybody was surprised, but it won.

[@supercuda1950]

Being a Mopar fan I still love Ford's engineering. Back in the day, a Ford looked like a ford, etc. Today not so much. That's why I quit attending and watching NASCAR. NHRA is not much better as Prostock has turned into a Chevy show, At least you can still see the older cars in the Sportsman classes. Also when the Grump, The Gliddens, and Johnsons ran, they could switch brands and stay competitive. Today the pros just switch decals {lame}.

[@jesse75]

I don't watch NASCAR for the same reason. Cry baby Chevy owners.

[@Wheelhouse812]

Couldn't agree more. 60s really were the best of times for being somewhat relatable

[@kennethcohagen3539]

I know what you mean. I’m a Mopar Fan and AMC nut, but I’ve got nothing but respect for Fords. In fact over the years I’ve gotten my hands on about every motor built in the US. A good engine builder can get power out of all of them, and there’s a lot of power to be found from the Blue Oval Offerings.

[@jesse75]

@@kennethcohagen3539 I know where there's a 390 AMC engine. Has a Edelbrock high-rise on it. Was in a boat has those expensive polished exhaust headers on it.

[@adamhoffman3687]

Couldn't say it any better

[@godsowndrunk1118]

The High Riser hood bubble was necessary because of the 4+ inch tall ram air box on top of the carbs...the High Riser will fit under the 65 Galaxie hood with the oval air cleaner if a corresponding oval is cut out of the under hood support web. Same goes for the 66 Fairlane.

[@billfryy5440]

Finally someone who knows what they're talking about this wheelhouse ate 12 guy don't have a goddamn clue can't pronounce people's names right doesn't know the years engines were produced

[@dennislaws5187]

I loved those 427s, I had a 427 side oiler that was dealer installed in my 68 Shelby GT 500, sold it in 76, dont I wish I had kept it.,

[@andystreets4660]

Great video!!! Can I suggest other historical 427 videos, perhaps the difference in rods (like Lemans, or nascar spec). I just love old ford performance engine designs.

[@dtengineering1]

Great explanation - cheers.

[@danielkennedy1524]

Excellent history! nicely done thanks!

[@ouimetco]

Thanks man. Great video. Big Ford fan. Cheers

[@bobp5356]

awesome video! Really great information. thanks

[@douggruver3601]

Great vid, never to old to learn

[@rongamblin2107]

I can't thank you enough, Ron from Bakersfield, CA

[@bobg3034]

What a great history lesson!

[@elebeu]

Great video with lots of interesting information. Thank you for your effort.

[@Wheelhouse812]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@george1la]

Great information. Thanks.

[@jeremiahchamberlin4499]

Great story, very informative, subscribed.

[@ronaldrussell5481]

Very interesting, thank you!

[@paulvincent3280]

VERY good video! Thank you so much!

[@brandonknight7240]

Excellent video

[@ronstiles2681]

Thank you sir, I found this very informative and interesting:)

[@richardh3540]

outstanding and informative video. New subscriber

[@matsfredsson9445]

Very interresting! Thanks a lot!

[@Mike583]

In the mid 70's, i bought a white,'67 Fairlane factory 427,dual 652 Holleys w/ 4 speed. The guy told me it came w/tunnel port heads,but another guy wanted them really bad. He bought him 2 brand new complete, medium riser heads,dual 4's,652 Holleys. That was the setup that I got. I remember it had long track bars,they were welded to the rear-end housing & bolted under the front bench sear. I don't know if this was a factory setup or not. It had 5.67 gears & the optional fiberglass hood for '67.

[@emiliomei3478]

Awesome video thanks

[@wysetech2000]

Well done and very accurate.

[@gibsonexplorer8777]

Love this video we ran late modle super stock and sportsman circle track we had so.e bad ass engines we had a 289 withe 351 windsor heads that we turned at 10 grrand rpms in a 1964 galaxy that was awesome won many race's in the sportsman division when we moved up to super stock we ran the 427 side oiler with highriser heads in a 1967 Fairlane and then in a 1973 Mach1 mustang won many race's we raced against a guy who ran the tunnel port heads he was fast but couldn't out drive my uncle lol the dee stroked it to a 342 cid to get more rpms but i don't think it made that much of a difference really awesome video love all of them keep them coming Fords forever brother!

[@cavemanballistics6338]

Very well done video. I laughed my ass off at the I knew a guy statement,I cant count the times that I’ve heard bullshit just like that!

[@sheridenboord7853]

Hi from down under australia. Great story thanks. I got books on those motors but didnt know the history. I cannot imagine running at those speeds. I can imagine going out and doing 150mph and having the car skating around and losing the nerve. The guys that raced them every weekend must of really had nerve to push them to those kind of speeds.

[@robertellison4691]

Excellent info!!

[@vrm86gt]

awesome info!

[@henrycarlson7514]

Interesting , Thank You

[@georgiafan6618]

I had a choice of heads for my 427 FE when we were planning the build some 30 years ago. We were wanting to keep the comp ratio down to run pump gas on street. I was told that the tunnel port head would require more octane/comp to run appropriately. The hi-riser wouldn’t fit under the hood and may also have needed more octane or more compression to run optimally. We decided on the med riser that made great power, temps were safe, started up easily on 93 oct. The FE was a cool motor.

[@hertljager1252]

My heart beats die the Ford FE 427 Engine. Best classic design, unbelievable Sound and a lot of Power.

[@pageophile]

Thanks for the great video on the 427 Ford. Remember reading Hot Rod and stories of people installing Tunnel Port 427s in street going Fords. While the Tunnel Port was a fantastic race engine trying to run one on the street wasn't a whole lot of fun. Pretty cool to say you've got a 427 Tunnel Port under the hood though!

[@Wheelhouse812]

This one will be on the street this summer!

[@pageophile]

@@Wheelhouse812 Please keep us posted, that'll be a blast 😃

[@rjshouse739]

l can confirm that. l've got a 427 Tunnel Port in a 1967 Fairlane. That car is a pig on the street but is a brute at the track when the tacho is bouncing around 7000 RPM :)

[@dodge73dart]

That was short and to the point. Good night all

[@nickanagnostou5408]

GREAT video and good topic. You outline it all very well. So, Nascar essentially restricted engine development to the detriment of the fans. No wonder they've become irrelevant

[@kavemanbites]

quite informative thanks

[@edjeep]

I always was taught by friends the 426 HEMI and big block chevys were it! I gotta listen to this!!

[@jamesdamron2065]

Bang for the buck,BBC has always been it !! Now the LS is the new weapon of choice for low$

[@ivanrousseau5066]

The 427 sohc ford made more power,so much so that it was outlawed by NASCAR, nhra super stock, and pro stock

[@kramnull8962]

There were only a few Holman Moody engines on the road. But when they were, they usually took out 1st or second..... And still drove that way for years...... A 3/4 race cam from holman moody would make tears come to your eyes.

[@nojunkwork5735]

@@kramnull8962 3/4 cam, couldn't they afford a full came? It must have been down on power with just 3/4 of a cam.

[@kramnull8962]

@@nojunkwork5735 Your wife says the same about you. You weren't just walkin into HM and getting their best parts. They weren't your mom... They controlled nascar. For your weak mind, a 3/4 race had better manners on the lower end, just like for a shorter track like darlington.

[@kevinstich7603]

We raced Tunnel Ports, High Risers, and Medium Risers in a flat-bottom runabout. 1975-1978...We then switched to a 426 Hemi until 1981. The Hemi was from Petty Engineering

[@hotrodfeguy]

Nice job on the video.

[@GorillaCookies]

Ford FE heads all flow pretty well on the exhaust side. The flow issues with exhaust on FE engines was the exhaust manifold designes on certain vehicles. The log style manifolds in the Thunderbird , Pickups and other Fords were horrible. A simple swap to headers on a 390 powered vehicle equipped with a 4 barrel really woke them up. Swapping to a 700 cfm 4 barrel holley , a Edelbrock street master and hooker headers on my 390 powered 69 f100 was like flipping on the lights in a dark room as far as performance goes. With the stock 2 barrel and log style exhaust manifolds my pickup was unbelievably poor on performance and gas mileage. It wouldn't spin a tire no matter what I did. Now its a tire frying beast even with the power consumption of the C6 automatic transmission. The truck will hunt now and my mileage improved significantly during normal driving.

[@davidreed6070]

I don't know why nascar DQed the mark II mystery motor, those made power also. They didn't know what that tube in the intake port would do to the wet flow.

[@stevegabbert9626]

I always wondered about those, as far as history goes. My 70' Mustang had a 428 Cobra Jet engine, which had these enormous intake valves but really small exhaust valves. The way I found out was when one of the intakes broke off at the stem and ricocheted around, destroying the engine. It's fascinating how you can get so much air into the cylinder, but it seems like so much less comes out.

[@Wheelhouse812]

It's also completely different from an engineering standpoint. On intake, you are trying to coax or draw air into the cylinder. On exhaust, when the valve opens, it has a huge amount of pressure inside the cylinder that blows it out, in addition to the puston shoving it out. Even with that, the exhaust are to small for sure

[@stevefowler2112]

I remember as a teen boy working in a local garage me and my buddy used to look through the ford parts catalogs and we couldn't figure out why the low riser, medium riser, high riser and tunnel port engines were all listed as 425 HP. Obviously the 425 number was picked as a place holder of sorts but it would be cool to know what the real HP was for all four engines.

[@yafois988]

I have the Pontiac version of this "type" engine, like the chivvies L88 heads. They are the #722 Round port heads with WINTERS Intake.

[@jamesleone5468]

The 427 tunnel port ford was one of the best gasoline burning racing engines ever built believe me it gave the hemi a run for the money and we all know the hemi was all that and some but it was beatable let’s all remember it was a wedge engine so it was limited to what a hemi could breathe for what it was it was one hell of a engine

[@dave7830]

Fun to watch the progression of the technology. In later years the racers were still able to break 200 mph with the 358ci limitation AND constrictor plate under the card to further reduce air flow.

[@Rick-ux5ku]

great job thanks

[@wedge4hire]

Which Ford big block had the largest intake ports, The Boss 429 or the 427 Tunnel port? Both heads had massive ports!

[@JohnSmith-if4et]

Great explanation but, should ad that Mesuim Riser style ports were what came on the 428CJ….Now do a small block Ford head from the 289/302/351 series with the various heads including the exotic 68 Trans Am Tunnel Port heads…The Rare Gurney-Weslake Indy head and the various road race intakes for the motors including the Boss 302 stuff. My buddy had a Cross Boss with the in-line Autolite carb but, never being able to get it properly tuned he traded it for a Bud Moore “mini-plenum” intake that ran awesome!

[@2429scj]

Sir the 428 cj head has the same intake port size as the 1963 1/2 427 low riser.

[@dallascowboys1683]

351-C is the baddest small block engine out of all the manufacturers. It’s still killing it today on the track and streets along with the rest of the blue oval engines. Coyote is a beast!

[@markhale8084]

Ford was using the 406 in 1962…not until 1963 was the 427 released. You didn’t even bring up the other significant design change in the 427 FE Fords, the switch from center oiler block as found in 1963 and 1964 low and high risers, to the legendary side oiler block found on the 1965 and later SOHC, medium risers, and tunnel ports. Own a period medium rise side oiler myself.

[@Wheelhouse812]

Good content for another video!

[@UncleRobsGarage]

I worked on a tunnel port once it was intriguing.

[@charlesvan13]

I like the black Mustang behind you. I had a red one, then it got wrecked. I replaced it with a white one, and sold it in 2004.

[@BXXification]

good video.

[@truthweallknow]

Well bro very entertaining I got to admit I do love my Mopars and my my old Fords

[@thegreenerthemeaner]

The Hemi and the 427 FE in all flavors especially the SOHC were heavy. Imagine using Cast Iron intakes! Surprised they didn't get Aluminium heads perfected. Think of what discoveries in power that would've given them aside of the weight savings. Quietly, Jim Hall was working on his McClaren Chaparral cars using all aluminum Chevrolet Big Blocks. What a time to be alive!

[@bobbybieln853]

Mopar had several versions of the hemi head also. Square port was street / production., They had oval ports on NASCAR engines.

[@Wheelhouse812]

I didn't know that! Thanks for the post

[@tomstrum6259]

Was in my early & Mid--Teens watching all this Action goin on in the drugstore Magazines.....Licensed at 15 & wanted a "Tunnel Port" "65 Comet Cyclone 4 speed real Bad !!! ....Usual Teenage story,...No money (paper route) & no Connections..... Did know wherever a 390 would fit, a 427 "Tunnel" could Be squeezed in....."Sewer Port" heads & No low/Mid range Torque,.who Cares ! ...Droppin the cluch at 6500 on 5" wheels with Screwed on wrinkle Walls was the Dream Machine !! ....No Doubt, I would've never seen 18 or graduation with my Bad judgment !!

[@DonEdler]

My dad still has his RAM AIR V Pontiac.

[@vernonslone8627]

The trouble with big port heads is you have to turn high RPM to get any port velocity....

[@kinikinrd]

the few guys that tried to run the Boss 429 Mustangs had the same problem. No bottom end. A Cobra Jet Mustang would kill it.

[@carolnelson9269]

Unless you build a big engine. Get a set of tunnel ports on an engine north of 450 cubic inches and the ride gets wild.

[@bradgriffith4231]

Not true. Big ports with a shorter duration / higher lift cam work excellent. The main reason GM's LS engines run so good is that even the little 4.8 has 200cc ports with a short duration / big lift cam. Cams that were once considered hot street cams are common in computer controlled engines now & GM figured out how to make over 400 tq/hp with a short duration cam & a redline of 6,000rpm in their CT400, IMCA crate motor.

[@edge2sword186]

@@carolnelson9269 Yet Holman Moody had a destroked 396 Tunnelport that won 2 championships for David Pearson .

[@shelbydupree6157]

Really cool to see info on these heads that you typically never see. One question I’ve always had: how restrictive is the tube running through the port in the intake??? I know the heads flow well, but what are the flow numbers of the intake with that big ass tube blocking the port?

[@mikedonzero2692]

It's not that restrictive. The cross section of the manifold was still adequate.

[@shelbydupree6157]

Sorry but even with the cross sectional area being the same, thats just not an ideal flow path, having the air hit that tube and bend around it. That’s got to wreak havoc on the intake charge. Obviously it worked good enough, but there’s no way you can think that’s not restrictive

[@bryanmaloney6651]

If they would have had aerodynamic tubing available back then like is now used for dragster wing struts, the flow loss would have been a lot less. The round tube in the middle of the port is not ideal.

[@jesse75]

​@@shelbydupree6157may have even aided flow. Only way to know is test with and without. Sometimes looks are deceiving. It's why I would never date a blonde.

[@Wheelhouse812]

As soon as I get the intake here, I will flow the head with and with out the intake and post results

[@lars277]

I would agree, the 427 FE rules Lemans, NASCAR, and even the drags for a couple of years at least. The 428, which was Ford's idea of a replacement for street cars was anemic and grossly underpowered compared to the King, the 427 FE R code.

[@ldnwholesale8552]

428 was a torquey long stroke mild performance engine. Smoother and dragged around big cars far better and economically. Friend has a original 7 litre manual Galaxie and it is quite a quick thing

[@rossawood5075]

​@@ldnwholesale8552Agreed, the 428 was a great low down torque engine that would move off the line very quickly with an auto in a mid sized platform. I liked driving them, however the later 335 and 385 351 and 429 460 were easier to build and work on IMO.

[@lars277]

I love the 385 series big block. @@rossawood5075

[@jerrywatson8281]

Thank you sir for your knowledge of not just ford racing history but with other manufacturers as well...especially Mopar...you mentioned how the tunnel port heads were allowed for use in nascar on the fords/mercurys even though they weren't a production car street head...you also talked a quite a bit about the 426 Hemi but you failed to mention the 426 Hemi was allowed to compete in 1964 even though it wasn't a production engine...a lot of people dont realize thats exactly why ford thought when they introduced the 427 Sohc Cammer to nascar in 1965 that it would be allowed to compete because they (Ford) realized the 426 hemi was allowed to compete in 1964 despite it not being a production engine...so ford cryed foul and rightly so but i guess ford got the Mopar boys back when they were allowed to run the "non production" tunnel port heads!

[@markcatcash4688]

Maybe you can help me answer a question..Back in the 80's I had a FE head ( way before internet and google ) that had a stock 390 intake but over sized exhaust..I never could determine what type of head it was. I was lucky and bough a new 427 Cross boit main block new in the crate for $350 if I remember correctly and it was a fast combo..Wish I still had it.

[@wizerulz]

Very informative! Still there must have been some kind of hanky payment the rules for ford to run the tunnel port Also do you have flow numbers with and without the pushrod tube in place?? And I wonder why no one makes an aftermarket version anymore. I also wonder if anyone developed a pushrod tube that had an airplane wing type design to enhance the flow? Thank you

[@ricknoah9184]

I recall seeing an AC Cobra 427 at San Antonio Drag strip back in the 60's. (yeah, I'm old) The poor thing just couldn't not blow the tires off. He was nearly up to full-on dragster slicks... then started blowing 3rd members or driveshafts. The car had surreal "presence". Usually was a complete smoke show. Would have been perfect for today's obsession with burn-out cars. LOL Yeah, those 60's Ford 427's were nasty mean things.

[@thewatcher5271]

Thanks A-lot, Man! So Much History & I Always Wanted To Know Which Version Was In The Gurney-Foyt GT-40 At Le Mans In '67.

[@Wheelhouse812]

Episode coming up on the gurney westlake engine

[@lonniemonroe2714]

Years ago could have bought a complete engine in boxes. It was disassembled. Asking price was 800 or 900. Was a lot of money in late 70's early 80's. Barely out of High School. Wish i could turn back the hands. Used to have a lot of great Ford stuff. Likevthe movie..it's Gone With The Wind.

[@jamesarthurbowers]

Friend of mine has tunnel port heads on his 66 Merc Cyclone GT. He needs to put 4:88's in it instead of the 4:11s he has and it would really rip.

[@timsmith1589]

Great motors