10 Epic—and Epically Named—Engines from When Detroit Ruled the World
By Andrew Wendler
Detroit has never been stingy with superlatives. As we’ve been reminded by Mad Men, marketing guys called the shots in the postwar era, and they slapped hyperbolic and animated tags on everything in Motown, including some pretty mighty engines. The good times rolled right up until the mid-1970s, when the first oil-crunch and inexpensive imports co-conspired to take some of the shine off Detroit’s enthusiasm. Despite this, a few select nameplates have endured, and they're sure to bubble to the top of conversation whenever and wherever matters of horsepower are discussed. Here’s our list of the top 10 engines—and names—from an era when the engineering inside was worthy of the hyperbole plastered on the outside.
Ford Cobra Jet and Super Cobra Jet V-8
Shamed by rival manufacturers' ability to conjure up menacing engine names seemingly at will, Ford product planners held an emergency meeting in Dearborn to select an appropriate moniker for the upcoming high-performance version its 428-cubic-inch FE-series V-8. Short on time, the team unanimously agreed on “Cobra Jet” when it became evident the minibar had run dry—sort of. As Ford engineer Bill Barr tells it in The Essential Muscle Cars by Mike Mueller: “We didn’t just roll out the product with everyone standing around it scratching their ass trying to name it. The idea was already rolling by then. Some artist in styling had already created a drawing—the snake with the wheels and exhausts coming out his tail. We had the drawing and the name came from there.”
Created by mating a production 428 FE block with 427 low-riser heads, a 390 GT cam, 10.6:1 compression pistons, and a cast-iron version of Ford’s aluminum Police Interceptor intake topped off with a Holley carb, the 428 Cobra Jet appeared as a midyear 1968 option on the Mustang, Fairlane, and Torino, as well as a few Mercury models. The Super Cobra Jet used a different crank and rods, and it added an engine-oil cooler among other tweaks. As the FE-series engine began to age, both names and a new variant, the Cobra Jet Ram-Air, would be applied to high-performance versions of Ford’s 385-series 429-cubic-inch engine for use in the Mustang and the Torino.
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By Andrew Wendler
Detroit has never been stingy with superlatives. As we’ve been reminded by Mad Men, marketing guys called the shots in the postwar era, and they slapped hyperbolic and animated tags on everything in Motown, including some pretty mighty engines. The good times rolled right up until the mid-1970s, when the first oil-crunch and inexpensive imports co-conspired to take some of the shine off Detroit’s enthusiasm. Despite this, a few select nameplates have endured, and they're sure to bubble to the top of conversation whenever and wherever matters of horsepower are discussed. Here’s our list of the top 10 engines—and names—from an era when the engineering inside was worthy of the hyperbole plastered on the outside.
Ford Cobra Jet and Super Cobra Jet V-8
Shamed by rival manufacturers' ability to conjure up menacing engine names seemingly at will, Ford product planners held an emergency meeting in Dearborn to select an appropriate moniker for the upcoming high-performance version its 428-cubic-inch FE-series V-8. Short on time, the team unanimously agreed on “Cobra Jet” when it became evident the minibar had run dry—sort of. As Ford engineer Bill Barr tells it in The Essential Muscle Cars by Mike Mueller: “We didn’t just roll out the product with everyone standing around it scratching their ass trying to name it. The idea was already rolling by then. Some artist in styling had already created a drawing—the snake with the wheels and exhausts coming out his tail. We had the drawing and the name came from there.”
Created by mating a production 428 FE block with 427 low-riser heads, a 390 GT cam, 10.6:1 compression pistons, and a cast-iron version of Ford’s aluminum Police Interceptor intake topped off with a Holley carb, the 428 Cobra Jet appeared as a midyear 1968 option on the Mustang, Fairlane, and Torino, as well as a few Mercury models. The Super Cobra Jet used a different crank and rods, and it added an engine-oil cooler among other tweaks. As the FE-series engine began to age, both names and a new variant, the Cobra Jet Ram-Air, would be applied to high-performance versions of Ford’s 385-series 429-cubic-inch engine for use in the Mustang and the Torino.
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