1968 W Code

That's because there's no known documented facts supporting factory production figures of any 427 (W code) engine installed in a Mustang...

Mike

93 Cobra

As Mike R. says, no W-code Mustangs; just Cougars.

No such thing as a convertible Mach I anyway.

The S-code 390 and the 427 are both FE's. Aside from different exhaust manifolds, it's a straightforward trade.

CobraJet

Okay, I guess the VIN decoders I've seen on the internet are in error.

Oh yeah, I must've been brain dead when I typed convertible Mach 1. Thanks!

Yes, they are. Most of these are reprinted from old literature that listed W as an engine option for Mustangs, although none never actually materialized. I have lit that shows the Boss 429 as an engine option for Torinos, but that never happened, either. There are many cases of this if you dig around, as materials were written, printed, and distributed every year before production actually got under way.

The other error in this particular chart is the 4V Cleveland listing for '69, and the implication of a 2V the same year. We know now that NO Clevelands were installed in a 1969 anything. In 1970, while the majority of Mustang 351's were C's, an H or M code could be either a Windsor or a Cleveland. This is true for the intermediates as well.

As for the 427 '68 Mustang, there were several factors at Ford that probably contributed to its non-appearance. In '67, the 390 Mustang was getting its ass kicked all over the street by 396 Camaros and 400 Firebirds as well as lesser-known 383-equipped Formula S Barracudas and GTS Darts. Performance Ford dealers were complaining to the factory, who came up with the idea of a "civilized" version of the tempestuous

427 for inclusion in the '68 lineup.

However, the 427 is a revver, and saddled with less cam, less compression, less carb, and the 390 exhaust manifolds necessary to clear the shock towers, it was basically a turd. Fine for the Cougar, whose buyers would prefer a more docile critter, but not enough to return the salvos fired by the opposition.

While all this was going on, input from a key dealer who was very active in racing resulted in a factory R&D program revolving around a

428-inch engine equipped with some existing on-the-shelf 427 parts. Tests showed tremendous power potential accompanied by a nice smooth idle. I can see that the 427 for '68 was nixed in favor of the 428. Since plans were made to build the first 50 cars so equipped in December of '67, the decision to yank the W-code could have been made a few months prior to that, but after the 427 had been announced.

In any case, the first 50 428's ran like hell. New tooling for regular production versions of this engine included heads and manifolds, both intake and exhaust. Also, full equipment packages and model designations had to be finalized, which took a little time. The result was that the 428 Cobra Jet was unleashed to the public on April

1st, 1968, available in Mustangs, Cougars, Cyclones, Torinos, and Rancheros. The CJ promptly eviscerated every other performance car in its path. It flattened every pedestrian hapless enough to be within 500 feet into a putrid lump of bubbling entrails and shredded flesh. It bitch-slapped every righteous do-gooder into whimpering submission. It sent import owners diving into rice paddys with bricks tied to their necks. Cobra Jet pilots could speak in tongues, walk on water, and impregnate every quivering female that would swoon from beholding them. The seas boiled red and parted for the Brethren of the R-code, and the Heavens showered the muscular flanks of the Holy steeds with purified water every morning before sunrise. It was a time for rejoicing, to be sure.

I hope this answers your question.

CobraJet

Reading your reply is more like a religious experience than an answer to my post. I enjoyed the last paragraph so much I read it several times. And, yes, it definitely answers my question! Thanks!

That one gets the Pulitzer..... Glad to see you're in top form again CJ. StuK

Yep, it's a revver all right. Back in the early '70's, a friend of mine had a 1963+1/2, baby blue, galaxie fastback with a 427. I think it had a medium rise intake. It didn't have the high rise hood. It said 390 on the sides, but I knew different. You could read a paper through the steel separating the cylinders! It seemed like that engine would rev forever. When I thought he had it pegged, he'd punch it some more and it'd scream even higher. I saw it blow away a '66 SS 396 chevelle one day with no trouble. I'd have to say that was probably the fastest street car I ever sat in, so far.

damnit. I was born 20 years late.

OK wait. Just because it was an engine code for that year, didn't mean it went into ALL the cars being made. The final answer to this could be found from Kevin Marti. Anybody have his "By the Numbers" book available? Or anybody willing to give him a call to find out. It's not like he has the BIBLE to say EXACTLY whether there was a W-code Mustang actually built.

Scott W. '66 HCS

I think a report can be ordered online, but that cost $, and the advice here is free.

Think again Scott. He holds the Ford data base bible accounting for each and every scheduled and built Mustang from 67-73. There's no guesswork here. The only notable W-code you'll recognize in his book is the C-4 auto tranny...

Mike

93 Cobra

And so it was and so it shall be written. Bravisimo Maestro and nice having you back on the radar screen...

Mike

93 Cobra

"The CJ promptly eviscerated every other performance car in its path. It flattened every pedestrian hapless enough to be within 500 feet into a putrid lump of bubbling entrails and shredded flesh. It bitch-slapped every righteous do-gooder into whimpering submission. It sent import owners diving into rice paddys with bricks tied to their necks. Cobra Jet pilots could speak in tongues, walk on water, and impregnate every quivering female that would swoon from beholding them. The seas boiled red and parted for the Brethren of the R-code, and the Heavens showered the muscular flanks of the Holy steeds with purified water every morning before sunrise. It was a time for rejoicing, to be sure."

Well that's all well and good, but what kind of mileage would you get out of one of these?

180 Out TS 28

Back then, who cared, gas was ~$0.30/gal.

Mileage? I pray for your wayward soul, oh besotted plebe.

CobraJet

Welcome,Cobrajet. The 428CJ was a torque motor that could breathe, funny tho that Ford rated it at 335 horsepower, 10 less than a standard 428 at 345, I believe actual dyno test have it closer to 400 hp.

Nothing funny about it. Ford was deliberately trying to screw with the NHRA while lulling GM and Mopar into a false sense of security. NHRA wised up after the first race or two and factored the CJ at 400. My only bitch about the engine in stock form was the (cheap) use of an iron intake when Ford already had an aluminum piece in production. That would have pulled 50 pounds off the nose of the cars and made a big diff in handling and straight-line weight transfer. Oh yeah, and the smog pumps were definitely dead weight.

CobraJet

into a putrid lump of bubbling entrails and shredded flesh. It bitch-slapped every righteous do-gooder into whimpering submission. It sent import owners diving into rice paddys with bricks tied to their necks. Cobra Jet pilots could speak in tongues, walk on water, and impregnate every quivering female that would swoon from beholding them. The seas boiled red and parted for the Brethren of the R-code, and the Heavens showered the muscular flanks of the Holy steeds with purified water every morning before sunrise. It was a time for rejoicing, to be sure."

one of these?

When I buy a car I want to go fast in(or in my case a truck), gas mileage is the last thing I am worried about. Hell, I'd bet the 428CJ isn't a whole lot worse than my lightning. By the way, cobrajet, you should win some kind of award for that post, that was great reading! Erik D. '94 white lightning