Blame Ford marketing.Īs far as differences between engines, here's a quick list of some of the differences and similarities between the them. So, the Mustang uses the GT engine, which was also used in the Fairlanes, Comets, and Cougars, and not the Thunderbird Special engine. The "Special" moniker comes from the earlier '61-'62 375hp High-Performance 390 engines, which were different than the 390 PI engines of the same era. The GT engine used the same intake as used on the T-bird and has a big "S" cast on the front intake runner, which adds to the confusion. The Service Specifications for '67 lists the engine as a 325 hp 390 GT. Thunderbird Special." It also states the 320hp rating you mentioned. Right there on page 14 it says, "a new 390 cu-in. The confusion starts with the Mustang sales brochure in 1967.
The 1967 Thunderbird sales brochure lists the 315hp engine as the "Famous Thunderbird 390.
In 1967 the Thunderbird used "Power By Ford" valve covers. The origins of the "Thunderbird Special" comes from the earlier Thunderbird models, when the 390 was called that and it was stamped on the valve covers of the early T-birds. Although these engines shared a lot of components, they were quite different.
The 1967 S-code Mustang came with the 335 hp GT engine, and the Thunderbird was equipped with the 315hp 390 4V engine. In this case, I went back to my 1967 Ford Car Service Specifications book, the Ford Text and Illustrations book, and the sales brochures for both the Mustang and Thunderbird. When this happens, I like to go back to the original documentation and see what Ford wrote back when the product came out. Some of it is caused by old guys remembering things wrong, and then it gets passed on as fact. Sometimes information like this occurs because of Ford printing it in a brochure, and then it gets picked up by the writers, and then it gets cloudy when we try to do research.
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