The 429 blocks are incredibly solid, and the Cobra Jets got a high nodularity, Brinnel tested crank and forged rods. This was the year that stricter emissions laws went into effect, and emphasis was shifting away from performance. Technically a midyear offering, the 1968 1/2 CJ combined 427 Low Riser heads, a cast iron copy of the aluminum 390 Police Interceptor intake manifold, the 390 GT's hot hydraulic cam, a healthy 735-cfm Holley four barrel, and streamlined exhaust manifolds to fight off the 396s, 440s and 400s from the competition. Ford introduced their second generation of FE V8 big block engines in 1962 with the 406 cid big block. The engine engineering personnel who worked for me on the 428 program were Paul Lampela, Frank Gondoly, Bob Snider, and Matt Hecht. I have the option to purchase either one of them. The facts became clear once 428 CJ Mustangs and Fairlanes started running high 13s at the strip with zero preparation. As a result, the 428 was less rev-happy but it gained a low-end torque punch that was absent in the 427. A different crankshaft and forged-aluminum pistons were also included. The Cobra Jets had three bolt caps instead of four like the Boss, and also did not have the screw-in freeze plugs like the Boss. Restyled in 1970, the Mustang returned to single headlights that moved inside of the grille. I want to register an account for free right now! There have been eight new models since then, culminating in the 50th Anniversary Cobra Jets for 2018. Although the '67 Mustang looked a lot like the original, it was, in fact, a completely new car with no interchangeable sheetmetal. Although these cars were slightly different than what would shortly be on the showroom floor, word was out that the Cobra Jet package was the way to go. The 427 quickly became one of the most popular and powerful Ford engines, pumping out 425 horsepower. To verify an original car, you can simply look at the vehicle identification number (VIN) on the dashboard. In April 1968, Ford introduced the Cobra Jet, built from a 428 Police Interceptor short block with 427 low riser heads, among other heavier-duty performance partssimilar to what Holman Moody had invented. Some of the other unique facts about the 428 are that it's externally balanced and due to the different piston and connecting rod combos used by the factory. Royce: thanx for the clarification. The two-barrel 390 was good for 265 horsepower, the four-barrel stepped up to 325, and the Cobra Jet 428 provided just ten additional horses but a fair torque boost to go with it. In April of 1968, when the Cobra Jet Mustang hit the showroom floor, it sold like blueberry pancakes. The 429/460 is going to be the cheaper of the engines to build. It was only installed in mid-size (1970-71) and pony cars (1971 only). Sold it, big mistake. Success at the track meant success at the dealership, and Ford knew this. That is, the performance motors were either a CJ or a SCJ. The 1967 Shelby GT500 featured a new 428 cid engine that had been used in the Thunderbirds and Galaxies. although the fastest factory car i have ever been in was and is to this day the 68 428scj mustang, and those cars are cars of record winning the 68' winternationals against the Hemi cars. Cyclone CJ comes with four-speed stick competition handling package, wide-tread fiberglass belted WSW tires, blackout grille, hood stripe, all-vinyl cockpit, low-restriction dual pipesall standard. Cobra Jet Crankshaft (engineering number detail) Initially, Ford limited production to only 50, but later increased that by 250 due to popular demand. The new 2008 Ford Cobra Jet Mustangs were built strictly for the drag strip, so they werent even given VINs. Now lets take a look at the various Ford Cobra Jet engines. Also, 1969 was the last year of production for the famous Mustang GT. Two-bolt main block Between 345-360 horsepower 428 Super Cobra Jet Internal structure differences included Lemans type cap screw rods (REGISTERED USERS DO NOT SEE THIS POST/AD! The 429 was not produced until 1969. Bought a new 69 Mach 1 and ran at the strip w best et 12.72. As we all understand, the 390 wasn't standing up to the 396, and sales reflected this. But there was one thing about the 428 CJ that left everyone puzzled. Its not very well known, but Ford also branded another Cobra Jet from 1971-1974 the 351 Cleveland. The CJ got the standard damper of '68-'76. document.getElementById( "ak_js_3" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Get Your Top 50 Fastest Muscle Cars ChartFREE! The 428 is a 1969 block no heads. The 1969 Ford Fairlane Cobra was a 1969-only option and was available in either a Formal Roof Hardtop or a Fastback form. But of course, it was too late to change the name. ** I've also read reports of 428 CJ balancers with engineering numbers C8AE-AA and C8AE-AB, but I haven't personally seen one of these balancers -- have you? The 429 is known as a 385 family due, I believe, to the bore size being 385 centimeters. The car automatically became a Super Cobra Jet. Cobra Jet Mustang production continued into 1970. Of course there's the Boss 429, but thats a horse of completely different color. Ford gave the electric Cobra Jet its name because it produces 1,400 horsepower and 1,100 lb-ft of torque. There were slight differences in the base and higher trim Ford Cobra Jets, yet they were all rated the same 335 horsepower, likely meaning Ford was really sandbagging the numbers the whole time. Cobra Jet engines received low-riser heads with a "rough-cast" combustion chamber (2.09int.-1.66ex. In 2020, Ford came out with the most unique Cobra Jet in history, the All-Electric Mustang Cobra Jet 1400. Also i was wondering if you hopped them up which one would have more horsepower and which one you could rebuilbd for less money, and which one would be less maintenance? Is a 428 a cobra jet or is the cj a special 428 and is the block different between the cj and non cj. The birth of the Cobra Jet engine package from Ford was in response to external pressures. There was some overlap of the C and A markings on the rear block face which means many early CJ's have the A on the block while many police and pasenger 428 engines have the C marking. This was remedied by the introduction of the all-new '67 Mustang. However, the Ford production database describes the car as having an S-code 3.50:1 traction-lok rear. Originally available in any of the three Mustang body styles--coupe, fastback, or convertible--all '68 CJ Mustangs are highly sought after, even 30 years later. The package was also available in the Torino, the Fairlane, and the Mercury Cyclone. And this dealer-inspired Ford racing engine couldnt have appeared at a better time for the Ford Motor Company. The 429ci Cobra Jet was a different entity entirely. A limited number of Cobra emblems placed strategically on the exterior warned people what lurked under the hood. So the question remains, how much horsepower does a stock 428 CJ really deliver? The spirit of Bob Tasca and Carroll Shelbys original 427/428 hybrids still live on today if youre lucky enough to see one in person. Instead, Tasca Fordthe second-largest Ford dealership in the world in the 1960sinspired the 428CJ revolution. The Ford 428 Super Cobra Jet was only available in the 1969 and 1970 model years. The GT500 wasnt quite as fast as the Camaros, though it was closer than the 390 powered Mustangs. This explains why Ford went with the 390 in the Mustang instead of the 427. The Boss and Cobra Jets had the same block with four bolt mains, short skirts, and thin wall castings. These are a few ways you can tell. It may be possible to mix components if every component of the reciprocating assembly is dynamically balanced, but why bother? 428CJ /SCJ cars used shock tower reinforcements, thicker front sway bars, and beefier springs and shocks. If you don't put the 428 in it you should get a 460 instead of the 429 for even more power. The front maintained a full-width grille with an updated horizontally slatted grille, and, in the rear, the Cougar now came equipped with taillight lenses that were concave instead of convex. Sorry, here's the other page. stronger. Either way, you can be guaranteed it will be a monster at the drag strip and not be lacking for power. The 428 Cobra and Super Cobra Jets continued for 1970, but there was also a new 429 Cobra Jet now. http://www.mercurycougar.net/gallery/showgallery.php/cat/500/ppuser/5281/perpage/12/sort/1, http://www.428cobrajet.com/facts.html#five. The 396 featured advanced-design, canted-valve cylinder heads that flowed like crazy and earned the name "porcupine" because of their splayed-valve arrangement. The W-code 427 and 428 CJ shared just about everything except main bearing caps and bore/stroke dimensions. Welcome to Club Cobra! As referenced earlier, the 390 was a 4.050 bore and a 3.781 crank. A remedy was in the making, as the 428 Cobra Jet package for the Mustang began its metamorphosis. These cars ran the quarter-mile in the mid-11-second range, quick by any standard. Ford had introduced the 385 series in 1968, and the 429 first appeared in the Thunderbird. A whole host of high-performance parts was available for the 396 from the Corvette larder, which further complicated matters in Dearborn. 1968 was the year the wild Mustangand all other Ford modelsfell prey to the untamed Cougar. Each engine was from a different Ford engine family, with the 428 and 429 both being big blocks. A common misconception seems to be that SCJs were originally equipped with forged pistons and CJs were originally equipped with cast pistons. The 406 was a serious development for Ford, as it catapulted them to NHRA and NASCAR victories in the mid-1960s. The Police Interceptor contained an aluminum intake, high performance camshaft and beefier connecting rods to produce 360 hp. The longer stroke (3.98 vs. 3.78 for the 427) gave the engine powerful low-end punch. It had four bolt mains, aluminum hemi-style heads and looked like no other engine. In second place is the 1968 Ford Mustang 428 Cobra Jet. Keith, Cobra Make, Engine: ERA Street Roadster #782 with 459 cu in FE KC engine, toploader, 3.31, also police interceptors had solid lifters and adjustable rockers---GT & CJ were hydraulic, Cobra Make, Engine: CSX #4xxx with CSX 482; David Kee Toploader, Reading this brings up a question that I've always wondered about. are identical. Unless specifically noted this comparison does not include the parts that are unique to the 428 Super Cobra Jet engine. The 390 big-block version of the Mustang ran fairly well--well enough to post mid-15-second times in the quarter-mile. You might as well lead the way. Actually, rebuilding a 428 using modern methods costs significantly MORE than $2,500. The cars ran very well and won in the Super Stock category that year. In the March 1968 issue of Hot Rod magazine, a 68 Mustang CJ ran a 13.56-second quarter-mile time, traveling at 106.6 miles per hour. For the most recent 2018 Ford Cobra Jet, Ford used their modified Coyote variant, the 5.2 L Voodoo. The Mustang still used small blocks in their engines, with the 289 cid being the largest available. Super Cobra Jet Connecting Rod For the '70 Torino and Cyclone and the '71 Mustang and Cougar, the passing of the 428 meant a switchover to the new 385-series Ford big-block. Shelby realized that this was a real alternative to the expensive and temperamental 427. Like the Chevy L-88 was 5 hp less than the trip set up Corvettes, because they lied their ass off to keep people from buying the L-88 who didn't know what they were getting into. The 1975 MPC clearly notes that the 1969 and 1970 radiator core supports were serviced using two different part numbers (C9ZZ-16138-A and D0ZZ-16138-A); the report I have is that the 1970 support is shaped in such a way that the bracket doesnt fit and isnt needed. Bore and stroke was 4.0 X 3.5. 428 Police Interceptor, and 429 ThunderJet, used in big luxury cruisers. Well, there you have the top 8 fastest 428 Cobra Jets. Ford had first introduced the public to the new Ford Cobra jet powered Mustangs at the 1968 NHRA Winternationals. Chevrolet wasn't Ford's only problem in the performance department. I won Winter Nationals at Beeline Dragway in DStock Class at 13:05 118 mph in 1970 with my 428 CJ Mach. i am putting the motor in a FORD 1972 short bed single cab pickup. ). A fairly mild hydraulic cam combined with the good-guy Low Riser cylinder heads made for an engine with a flat torque curve and good horsepower numbers. YES! According to Ford themselves, independent dynos showed electric Cobra Jets making north of 1,500 wheel-horsepower. The Mustang had grown bigger than ever, with a weight of nearly two tons. The World's largest non biased Shelby Cobra related site! 8th Place: 1970 Ford Mustang Mach 1 428CJ, 3rd Place: 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 428CJ, 2nd Place: 1968 Ford Mustang 428 Cobra Jet, 1st Place: 1968 Mercury Cougar XR7-GT 428CJ, more significant than 335 horsepower advertised ratings, Tasca Ford pioneered a high revving 428 engine, Top 10 Craziest Muscle Car Paint Colors from the Factory, Top 50 Fastest Classic Muscle Cars (1962-1973). Beyond that, the so-called Thunderbird 428 offered in fullsize Fords and T-birds made 345 hp, 10 more than the CJ despite its milder cam, low-rise iron intake, 446-cfm Ford 4300 series four-barrel carburetor, and clunky log-style exhaust manifolds. "A standard 428 will have a U1 crankshaft ballanced on the inside of the ballancer but weight added on crankshaft . Piston part numbers are marked (R) for red size and (B) for blue size to note options for selective fit based on normal production tolerances. Super Cobra Jet harmonic balancer counter weight, 1 The immaculate 1968 427 seen here powers Craig Keith's Cougar XR-7G and resides in West Brookfield. Everyone at Ford was confounded, and the brass didn't want to go back to the 427 because of the high cost of its heavy-duty internal components. The error is described on the owner's Marti report; here's an excerpt. In 1969, 10 different Mustang engine options were available. Two codes designated a CJ: the R code specified a Ram Air vehicle, while the Q code meant no Ram Air. A police interceptor may have an "A". Fords Cobra Jet engines rivaled high output big blocks from General Motors and Chrysler, and finally made some Mustangs worthy of being called muscle cars. The 1970 description says "Available only with 428 CID 4V Cobra or Cobra Jet engine" and "Not available on Boss 302, or with other optional ratio axles". In April 1968, Ford released its own version of the 428 engine and called it the Cobra Jet.. Yet, in 2008, Ford brought back the Cobra Jet badging for its 40th Anniversary. The Cyclone was now part of the Montego family of vehicles. Can be ID'd be block casting numbers of C8SE, C9VE, D0VE, D1VE among others and head casting numbers of C8SE, C9VE, D0VE among others. In 1968, Ford released the first versions of their now famed V8 Cobra Jet engines. They have released new Cobra Jets every two years, with 2022 being the first exception so far. As mentioned, the 428 Ford Cobra Jets had 427-style heads, which had 2.09 intake valves and 1.66 exhaust controllers. The Formal Roof versions were the ultimate sleeper, looking like your average everyday grocery getter to any unsuspecting contenders that pulled up next to it at a red light. Representation from nearly all Cobra/Daytona/GT40 manufacturers Help from all over the world for your questions Build logs for you and all members Blogs The Electric Ford Cobra Jet Mustang can blast through the quarter-mile in just 8.12 seconds at 172 mph, annihilating any Mustang that has ever been in production. The increasing shift towards electric power plants makes it likely that any future Cobra Jets will be electric. This package became notorious in slang as the Drag Pack. Not too common, maybe a total production of 15,000. A police interceptor may have an "A". Whenever a differential with a gear ratio of 3.91:1 or 4.30:1 was ordered as an "optional axle ratio" at a cost of $6.53, a lot more than just lower gears came with the package. But, from the factory it was never as powerful as the (solid lifter) 427. Typical Cobra Jet Crankshaft Several different cranks were used in 428 CJ and SCJ engines during the course of production. I have a 69 428 SCj hardtop, and the word SUPER is stamped (not cast) onto the flat surface behind the head on the right of the engine. The connecting rod journal diameter measures between 2.4380 and 2.4388 inches. * These are service part numbers, not engineering numbers. 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 428 Super Cobra Jet Muscle Car Of The Week Video Episode #91The Mach 1 handling and appearance package made for some good looking an. Includes year, model, engine, 1/4 mile times, and moreabsolutely free! The baddest of them all is the Boss 429. Be sure to check the bore 4.13 and measure the distance between the cylinder cores. Just as long as they dont add gimmicky speakers with faux-engine noise, like some of their competitors. The V-code designated a 3.91:1 rear axle ratio, while the W-code meant a 4.30:1 rear axle ratio. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Great article, but the 68 Cougar wasnt offered as a convertible! Register now for free! In the 60s-70s, Ford put the Cobra Jet and Super Cobra Jet engines in Mustangs, Thunderbirds, and of course, Cobras. 428 Cobra Jet Standard was 2.09 inch intake and 1.66 inch exhaust valves. The differences for the SCJ were: 1) The beefer 427 "LeMans" connecting rods. When the buyer selected the CJ option, the GT option became mandatory. With the elimination of the 428 Ford Cobra Jets after 1970, this left only the measly, low compression 351 Cobra Jet as the only one remaining for 1972-74. When this 428ci engine was installed in the Mustang, Shelby called the car the GT500. The 428 Cobra Jet returned, and all Mach 1s came standard with a rear sway bar, and the Shaker Hood was now available on all V-8s, not just the CJs. I bought a 72' Thunderbird yrs ago it was still pretty powerful. The big reason a 428CJ makes more horsepower and torque than a PI is the superior heads. Many aficionados of the Cobra Jet Mustang consider the '70 version to be the nicest of all, combining the last year of the FE engine with the last year for the '69-'70 body style. All Rights Reserved. Compression was either 10.5:1 or 10.6:1, with 10.6:1 taking over from 1969-on. In 1963, the 427 saw service in a series of lightweight Galaxies, which had seen some racing success despite their weight. . Cobra Make, Engine: Previous ERA owner on break, Just a note on the LeMans rods. Ford got down to business and began by beefing up the bottom of the 428 block casting, which included heavier main bearing caps.