i found in my dads shop a side oiler 427 cam, i know its a side oiler 427 because wehn i was looking the cam up in my book side oiler 427's were the only ones that used grooves in the #2 and #4 cam shaft bearing journals, my question is, is it worth anything, or is it just another fe cam that can be used in anything i know the lobes are much larger than the stock cam lobes out of my 390, any info would help thanks.

 

it only worth something if it like brand new otherwise it is worthless to me anyway.

 

its not brand new, but my dad said it was run for less than a year so it is like new, can you only use these cams in the side oiler 427 it was designed for or can you use it in any FE.

 

If it's not rusted up or anything like that, it'd probably work ok in a side oiler 427. You'd have to get new lifters for it, though.

I dont know if it'd work in a regular FE. If all the bearings are in the right places and all the other dimensions are the same except for the lobes, I see no reason why it wouldn't work.

 

I wouldn't run it w/o having the old lifters
Im picky about stuff like that, but it may work with new lifters without flattening a lobe.
If its a stock cam, it may be worth something, If its an aftermarket Id say it wasnt worth much becuase there was a ton made

 

If that's a Ford cam, it should have some markings on it. Look on the end of the last journal, between the last lobe and last journal, or between the distributor gear and first journal. Also, all 427 cams were mechanical except for the '68 hydraulic.

Barry

 

markings inbetween the first journal and lobe are, SF 63 and B 16.

 

Hey there,
Most aftermarket FE camshafts have the 427 grooves because they're ground from the same blanks as 427 cams. Most crane cams I've seen are this way. There are no differences in journal sizes from 427-other fe's. If you have access to a lathe or 2 centers, rotate the came with a dial indicator on the lobe then multiply distance by 1.76 to get lift. Compare lift to cams in like summit or a cam catalog that will give an idea of cam size if you can't find any #'s on it. Also, you can always put new liftes on an old cam if the lobes are good, but NEVER put old lifters on a new cam. If the lobes are rusty throw it out. It won't last 10 minutes.

 

lobes arnt rusty, and ill see if i can find a way to measure the duration and lift and ill find some new lifters, so i atke it i couldnt use the stock lifters with this cam.

 

lobes arnt rusty, and ill see if i can find a way to measure the duration and lift and ill find some new lifters, so i atke it i couldnt use the stock lifters with this cam.oh and what is the stock valve size for a 390 isnt it 1.54 exhaust and 2.03 for intake, thanks

 

Valves depended on year and application
and no you can't use the lifters you have in your motor now
But if you have a new set of lifters laying around, you could use those

 

Sorry, don't know what those marking are, maybe your dad might know a little more about where it came from. I'd bet money it's a solid lifter cam.

Barry

 

he said it was out of a very hopped up 428 he bought years ago and when he sold it he took the performance parts off and sold it stock and kept the performance parts and this is the only thing left from it other than that he has no idea but when i was looking in my big block ford engines book it said side oiler 427's were the only engines to have the grooves in the #2 and 4 cam journals so i dont know anymore info on it, should i junk it or what should i do i dont know if its worth anything to sell but i know it has alot more lift then the stock 390 cam i have.

 

Well, you can buy a better cam today thanks to technology but it would be interesting to get to the bottom of the story. Does your dad remember if it was solid? Now I know you can run a grooved cam in a standard block. It's easy to measure lift with a pair of calipers, just measure the high part, then the low part and subtract the two.

barry

 

he said he didnt know if it was a slid lifter design or not its been quite a few years so thats all the info i have for you.