Check out this amazing lost film footage from Ford’s historic Le Mans campaign, with the spotlight on the development of the mighty 427 CID racing engine. This is priceless stuff, don’t miss it. 

First, we apologize for the horrible condition of this film clip. It’s so awful that we debated long and hard about using it, and we looked high and low for a better copy—but to no avail. However, the content is so awesome we just couldn’t pass it up.

What we have here is an internal Ford Motor Co. film from 1967 about the Le Mans racing effort—specifically, the development program for the 7-liter V8 that powered the all-conquering Ford Mark II and Mark IV endurance racers. The scene for much of the action is the Ford Dynamometer Laboratory in Dearborn, Michigan, which to this day is one of the most advanced engine testing facilities in the world (and one of MCG’s favorite places, naturally). The film is full of great insights: For example, those who assume that programmable road-load simulation dynos are a new development are in for a big surprise. Enjoy the movie.