History of Ford Mustang :Second Generation (1967-1968)

By 1967, the Mustang had something it hadn't had before: competition. Chevrolet was now making the Camaro, Pontiac the Firebird, and Plymouth had redesigned the Barracuda into a more serious machine. Even within Ford, Mercury was now selling the Cougar.

Ford's response to that competition was a new, slightly larger Mustang with an all-new body over what was pretty much the same chassis. The wheelbase was still 108 inches, but total length was up two inches to 183.6 inches and every styling feature was just a little bit exaggerated — the grille opening was bigger, the side scallops deeper, the taillights were now larger and concave instead of modest and convex, the 2+2 fastback's roof now extended all the way back to the trunk lid's trailing edge and the convertible's rear window was now a two-piece item made of real glass instead of instantly hazing plastic. A hood with dual recesses was optional.

The standard power plant was now the 200-cubic-inch six making 120 horsepower with a 250-cubic-inch (4.1-liter) 155-horsepower six and the 200-, 225- and 271-horsepower K-code 289 V8s optional. New on the menu was a 390-cubic-inch (6.4-liter) "big-block" V8 breathing through a Holley four-barrel carburetor making 315 horsepower. Accommodating that wider engine meant that the front suspension's track needed to be widened by 2.5 inches for clearance.

With its wider track, the '67 Mustang was a more stable car than the '66. The seats were more comfortable, and the instrumentation was easier to read. It was, generally speaking, a better car in every way that counted. Ford sold 356,271 coupes, 71,042 2+2s and 44,808 convertibles during '67 despite the new competition. Of those, only 472 cars were equipped with the 271-horsepower 289, while around 28,800 had the 390 under their hoods.

Federally mandated side marker lights and a revised grille distinguished the 1968 Mustang from the '67 on the outside, while a slew of new engines set it apart mechanically. A low-performance 195-horsepower 289 V8 was still an option, but the other 289s were gone in favor of two new 302-cubic-inch (4.9-liter) versions of the small block V8. The two-barrel 302 made 220 horsepower, while the four-barrel-equipped version put out 230 horsepower.

More glamorous than the revised small V8s were new 427- and 428-cubic-inch (both convert to about 7.0 liters) versions of the big-block V8. The more radical 427, which had a slightly higher-compression ratio and wilder cam, was rated at 390 horsepower, while the more civilized 428 knocked out 335 horsepower. Both the 427 and 428 were very rare options. Those big engines hinted at what was in store for the Mustang over the next few years.