ENGINES: There was a lone engine for the King Cobra in 1978-a 302-cu.in. V-8 producing 139hp with a tiny two-barrel Motorcraft Model 2150 carburetor. The 302-cu.in. V-8 had a bore of 4.00 inches and stroke of 3.00 inches. The compression ratio was a light 8.4:1, and the camshaft was hydraulic. A reason for the lack of power was that Ford installed a single exhaust on the King Cobra with a single catalytic converter.
The most likely reason Ford offered but one engine in the King Cobra was because 1978 was the first model year the federal government's corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards went into effect. Each automobile manufacturer was responsible for making fuel-efficient cars, defined in a miles-per-gallon rating as applied to the entire fleet. California buyers had a variable venturi two-barrel carburetor. For those of you striving for that factory-correct look, King Cobras built with manual transmissions had an air-injection pump. The automatic-equipped cars did not. All King Cobras had smog controlled by an EGR (exhaust gas recirculation) valve, PCV (positive crankcase ventilation) valve and single catalytic converter.
TRANSMISSIONS: The King Cobra came standard with a four-speed manual transmission. The ratios were: first gear: 2.64:1; second gear: 1.89:1; third: 1.34:1, and 1.00:1 in fourth. The four-speed was Model RAD, made by Borg Warner and the only manual available. The Ford C-4 Select-Shift was optional and was more popular than the four-speed, McLaughlin said. Ford records show that 2,017 four-speed King Cobras were built and 2,289 automatics.
DIFFERENTIALS: The rear end in a King Cobra was an 8-inch Ford unit, and while not as stout as a Ford 9-inch, which is used by all NASCAR teams today, it was more than capable of withstanding the low-performing 302 engine. There were several ratios available including 2.75:1, 2.79:1, 3.00.1 and 3.40.1. The four-speed came standard with the 3.00:1 ratio.
SUSPENSION: The front suspension in a King Cobra and in all Mustang IIs is a primary reason many of these cars are in junkyards; not because they're junk, but rather because they are highly respected by street rodders for their rack and pinion steering and easy adaptability to many different chassis that are being modified. The suspension in these cars is light-years ahead of first- and second-generation Mustangs. By adding rack and pinion steering, Ford engineers were able to dump the Pitman arm, steering box and drag link. The front suspension was compression strut with lower trailing links, anti-roll bar and coil springs.
The big difference, though, is that the front coil springs were located between the upper and lower control arms, producing a more compact suspension and eliminating the shock towers that had encroached on room in the engine bay. There also was a traditional upper and lower control arm setup with ball joints, which were tilted slightly to minimize nose-dive during hard braking. The upper control arms also were tilted like the ball joints. The shock absorbers were Gabriel Strider three-way adjustable both front and rear.
The steering was rack and pinion and far superior to earlier Mustangs, making these cars decent handlers, with an 18.1 ratio for the standard power steering. The front suspension also included an axial strut located at the lower A-arm with the other end attached to the subframe. This allowed slight rearward movement of the front wheel when it hit a bump and reduced feedback through the steering wheel. Ford engineers also attached the front suspension crossmember to the sub frame.
The rear suspension included a Hotchkiss rigid axle with semi-elliptic leaf springs with four leaves and anti-roll bar. Much like the front suspension, the rear suspension had rubber bushings installed at all mounting points to eliminate metal-to-metal contact. The rear shocks were staggered, with the right shock in front of the axle and the left shock behind it. This arrangement led to better axle control under acceleration.
BRAKES: The standard braking system included power front disc brakes and rear drum brakes. The rotors were 9.3 inches, and rear brake drums were 9 inches. The parking brake worked from the rear.
WHEELS: King Cobras featured Lacy Aluminum wheels with a center lace design in a size of 13 inches by 5 inches. Here's where it gets tricky determining if a King Cobra has its original wheels. The aluminum wheels had a four-bolt stud pattern, and the bolt circle was 4.25 inches. The wheels were color keyed to the striping on the car. So, the laced centers of the wheels are either red, orange or blue. The center caps are King Cobra-specific also, with a snake emblem.
BODY AND TRIM: The King Cobra could be ordered with a "T-roof convertible" top. The T-roof convertible was first offered in mid 1977 on the Cobra II and regular Mustang IIs. And if you are contemplating buying a King Cobra, you should know that this car did not come from the factory with either side or rear louvers. My car is a hatchback model and does not have the T-top option. Ford went to the extreme with the graphic package on the King Cobra. There were three colors of striping available: orange and gold, red and black, and blue and blue.
IDENTIFICATION: There is nothing to denote a King Cobra in the Mustang's VIN. But under the hood is a metal tag, called a "buck tag. It's screwed into the body on the front side of the radiator support near the power steering cooling tube. Stamped on that tag amongst all the options and color will be "KC," denoting a King Cobra built in Dearborn, Michigan, or "KNG," which signifies a King Cobra built in San Jose, California. Another way to verify that you are looking at a legitimate King Cobra is to find out the car's build date. Production of these cars started in the first week of December 1977 and ended in July 1978.
Other body parts exclusive to the King Cobra are brake cooling tubes, the front air dam and wheel flares in front of the back wheels. The bumper strips on both front and rear also were the color of the stripes. Even though factory sheetmetal and steel body panels are not available, fiberglass front ends, bumpers, hood and doors are.
CHASSIS: The 1978 Mustang was the last of the old platform before the new "Fox" platform would debut in 1979, and last, with several revisions, until the all-new 2005 Mustang arrived. The King Cobra was unitized and had a front sub frame, much like a Camaro and Firebird. The wheelbase was 96.2 inches, overall width 70.2 inches, and overall height 50.3 inches. The front track was 55.6 inches, and the rear track measured 55.8 inches. The King Cobra, without options, weighed in at svelte 2,733 pounds.
Probably the biggest improvement in passenger comfort was due to six rubber-isolated mountings, which insulated the sub frame from the main platform. Road disturbances and engine vibrations were now channeled into the rubber and were dampened before they could pass into the passenger compartment.
INTERIOR: If one aspect of these cars stands out, it's likely the interior. The standard King Cobra interior was handsome, practical and, if you got the front seat, even quite comfortable. The back seat is another story. Bucket seats were standard, along with a handsome three-spoke steering wheel with brushed aluminum spokes. The most notable change in the interior from 1977 was the rear seat. Rather than the previous full-length seat, Ford installed two separate cushions, divided by a carpeted hump.
There were four interior packages available: standard vinyl, standard vinyl with cloth, deluxe vinyl, and deluxe vinyl with cloth. Reproduction dash pads are available. The instrument panel featured an 85-mph speedometer and was surrounded by brushed aluminum appliqués. Standard gauges included an ammeter, temperature gauge, electronic tachometer and, for whatever reason, just a low oil warning light.
The standard steering wheel was vinyl wrapped and had three aluminum-brushed spokes with a King Cobra center emblem. The wheel is non-adjustable, but mounted further away from the driver for more comfort. A leather-wrapped version was optional. For the first time, Ford offered an AM/FM stereo cassette tape player combination. For further comfort, four-way adjustable seats were available. Buyers of King Cobras found the front seats more comfortable than the first generation Mustangs, but some complained that the footwell and pedals were cramped.
PEFORMANCE: These cars need all the performance parts they can get. When new, a stock King Cobra wheezed its way to 60 mph in 11.2 seconds. It didn't fare much better in the quarter-mile with an elapsed time of 16.59 seconds at 82 mph.
(thanks to Hemmings for this information)
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