We tend to believe that the Ford 428 was probably the most under-appreciated engine of the muscle car era. We were thinking about the 428 powered Cobra Jet Mustangs that showed up and cleaned house at the 1968 NHRA Winternationals on this Mustang birthday week and of several 428 powered drag cars that we know and settled on the idea that the 428 had an image problem. We think that image problem was probably created by Ford when they gave the thing a 335hp factory rating. After all, with the LS6 454 being rated at northward of 450hp and the Hemi making an advertised 425, the 428 was like a kid in the corner with its 335hp rating, right? Ford did this to keep insurance companies off their backs and to help the end user from the same enemy, but here’s the rub…the 428 (we’re talking the good Q-code jobs) was making lots more, and we mean LOTS more than 335hp.
This video shows a 428 Super Cobra Jet, a 1970 vintage engine running on a dyno. The pull sounds great and is made to about 6,000 RPM. The engine has a single 4bbl carb, iron heads, factory intake manifold, what sounds like a factory camshaft, and exhaust manifolds. You need to see it to see exactly how much power the big blue FE engine puts out but the numbers it develops start to explain the prowess of the Cobra Jets and other big 428 equipped cars in the late 1960s and into the 1970s before the 385 series of engines came to be and the FE was relegated to trucks for a while and then ended altogether.
So consider this a little Ford history lesson the day after the Mustang’s birthday and why more people than not were surprised back in the day when they rolled up on one of those “335hp” 428 powered Mustangs and then saw it drive off into the night without ever given them a chance to catch it.
PRESS PLAY BELOW TO SEE A CLAIMED FACTORY STOCK 428 CRANK OUT SOME DYNO NUMBERS – TAKE A GUESS BEFORE YOU HIT PLAY
Tell me! I ran SS/EA my record was cut by .50 when the factory CJ drag team cars showed up. I was already cheating so I dropped out.
its incredible how many iron head big blocks couldn’t break 300 to the tires when I worked at a Dyno Shop. Lots of classic car guys feelings got hurt when the found out a v6 honda accord could actually outrun them.
I have a friend who has a 67 Camaro who swears no matter what, his car makes 900HP on a 489 Iron block with iron heads and a 6:71 blower. Then he claims it will make 1200 hp with a pulley swap. His e.t/mph tell an entirely different story, then the excuses start and it’s popcorn time.The excuses have to be my second favorite part of drag racing, second only to participating myself.
Yep, painful but true. Stock for stock, new stuff performs better in every measurable way. You don’t dump a shit-ton of money into an old car to make it faster than new stuff, though. At least you shouldn’t. It’s for love of the old iron & love of the game.
If you happen to smoke a WRX, all the better.
My only surprise is that it wasn’t higher – like 420 HP.
with a little work they broke that 420 and more!
I ran a similar package a few weeks ago.
With good machining, modern rings, some mild porting, and a pretty small hydraulic roller it just crested 450HP. Seems about right all things considered.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jQJLKWlbQI&feature=share&list=UUb-AQ6WAjcksumZz52bzvVg&index=3
The Super cobrajet option makes even more stock due to the lighter piston pins they use stock.
Let’s just suppose, for the sake of argument they did use lighter wrist pins. I don’t think those came even close to making up for the tank like Lemans rods that were so heavy they had to add a counterweight to the front of the crank and more weight to the flywheel. Maybe somebody should dyno a normal cobra jet seeing as it says this one is a super. Lol
Well the difference is substantial. the weight difference is as lot of weight when there are eight of them. found out the hard way when re-building mine. Ordered the parts and when I got to the pins you could see the difference with the naked eye can’t remember exactly but it look like a decrease in wall thickness of 1/8 inch.
Well the difference is substantial. The weight difference is a lot of weight when there are eight of them. I found out the hard way when re-building mine. Ordered the parts and when I got to the pins you could see the difference with the naked eye can’t remember exactly but it look like a decrease in wall thickness of 1/8 inch.
We had a Boss Mark I when I lived in sweden. With a good cam and better rings and dual quads, we hit over 525 with that motor. For drag racing, it was much better then the 427 or 429.