1968 Mustang 428 Cobra Jet

From the era of glorious muscle-car excess comes the 428 Cobra Jet. Introduced in April of 1968, the 428 CJ was the brainchild of Robert F. Tasca, an infl uential Ford dealer from Rhode Island. It was a drag-race winner from its fi rst event (the NHRA Winternationals, in February 1968) and is still winning NHRA Stock and Super Stock races today. And it’s been a legend on the street since day one.

After recording a 13.6-second quarter mile at 107 mph in a test of a Cobra Jet prototype, Hot Rod magazine proclaimed it “probably the fastest regular-production sedan ever built.” Under the ram-air hood was a 428-cubic-inch V-8 whose special features included low-rise heads patterned after the 427, a variant of the Police Interceptor intake, and a Holley four-barrel.

Ford rated the engine at a demure 335 hp, but the true fi gure was somewhere north of 400 hp. Power front disc brakes, a nine-inch rear end, and a heavy-duty suspension helped round out the package, which was offered on all three body styles. Honorable mention goes to the ’69 Mach 1 with the Super Cobra Jet option and Shaker hood, as it is in our opinion the best-looking Mustang ever and an equal performer to the ’681∕2.