Road Test TV pits a rare 1969 428 Cobra Jet Mustang GT Coupe, one of only 243 built, against an equally scarce 1968 Pontiac Firebird Ram Air 400. Commenters immediately dig up a 1968 Car and Driver test where the Ram Air 400 beat four rival muscle cars outright, setting the stakes for this quarter-mile rematch. Watch to see whether Pontiac’s airflow-focused engineering or Ford’s Cobra Jet muscle wins this round.
A magazine test from 1968 once put a Pontiac Firebird up against four other muscle cars from four different brands, and the Firebird beat every single one of them so decisively that Car and Driver said it stood in a class by itself. That old print result gets dropped directly into the comments under this video, because the Firebird facing off here, a rare Ram Air 400 model, is about to prove the point all over again against one of Ford’s most desirable factory Mustangs. Neither car is common, neither driver is holding back, and the final result is close enough to keep both fanbases arguing about it years after the tree first dropped and the cars crossed the stripe.
A 1968 Magazine Test That Still Gets Quoted Today
Road Test TV frames this one around genuine rarity on both sides of the line. The Mustang is a 1969 428 Cobra Jet GT Coupe, one of only 243 built that year with this exact engine and body configuration, running an automatic transmission paired to a 4.11 posi rear end for maximum launch grip. Across the line sits a 1968 Firebird carrying Pontiac’s Ram Air 400, likewise backed by an automatic transmission and a slightly taller 4.10 posi rear axle, a gearing difference so minor between the two cars that it barely factors into the final outcome compared to what each engine is actually doing under full load.
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Two Rare Combinations, One Very Close Race
The Ram Air 400 deserves real context here, because Pontiac’s engineering approach differed meaningfully from the big-inch philosophy that Ford and Chrysler both leaned on so heavily during the same competitive period. Rather than simply chasing displacement, Pontiac focused on airflow and valve timing, hence the Ram Air branding itself, extracting serious top-end power from a comparatively smaller 400 cubic inch block. One commenter makes this exact point in the thread, noting the Ram Air 400 embarrasses plenty of bigger-cube Mopars and Fords at the same events, “even down on cubes” compared to its rivals on any given weekend.
Why Pontiac Chased Airflow Instead of Cubic Inches
The Car and Driver reference that shows up repeatedly in the comments points to a specific 1968 magazine comparison test, where the 400-powered Firebird reportedly outran a 390 AMC Javelin, a 390 Mustang, a 390 Cougar, and a 340 Barracuda in the same session, along with a 396 Camaro that shared Pontiac’s own General Motors corporate family. That kind of result across a genuinely mixed field of period rivals is exactly the sort of factory pedigree that keeps Ram Air 400 Firebirds relevant in enthusiast conversations more than fifty years after the original test ran in print.
The Winternationals Legacy Behind the Cobra Jet
Cobra Jet Mustangs carry their own well-documented performance legacy, dating back to their star turn at the 1968 NHRA Winternationals, where the engine’s real-world output so dramatically outpaced its conservative factory rating that NHRA officials reclassified it almost immediately to keep the cars competitive rather than dominant. Finding one of only 243 GT Coupes originally built with this exact specification puts this particular Mustang solidly into serious collector territory today, a rarity level that matches, and in some ways exceeds, the Firebird it lines up against on this particular pass.
‘Fell Asleep at the Tree’: Reading the Reaction
Several commenters focus on how close the actual race turns out to be, with more than one describing the Cobra Jet Mustang as looking like it “fell asleep at the tree,” a phrase that shows up more than once in the thread to describe a launch that simply could not match the Firebird’s reaction time off the line. Others push back gently, noting that 12 and 13-second quarter-mile times remain genuinely respectable by any era’s standards, muscle car or modern, regardless of which specific car happens to cross the stripe first on any single given pass down the track.
A Shop Teacher, an Oscilloscope, and a 13-Second Mustang
One commenter’s personal story adds real texture to the thread: a former auto shop teacher who owned his own 400-powered Firebird decades ago, teaching students, including the commenter himself, how to tune engines with an oscilloscope well enough that a modest 302-powered Mustang could run with genuine 13-second cars. That kind of hands-on mentorship, passed down through actual shop classes rather than internet forums or online tutorials, represents a piece of American car culture that has largely faded from public education over the past few decades, making the memory itself almost as valuable to the comment thread as the race footage.
A Channel Built on Letting Rare Cars Speak for Themselves
Road Test TV’s extensive back catalog is filled with exactly this kind of matchup, rare factory muscle cars from competing American brands staged against each other down a quarter mile with minimal commentary, letting the cars and the crowd noise do all the talking. That format rewards viewers who already know the history behind each car, since half the value of watching comes from recognizing just how uncommon both the Cobra Jet Mustang and the Ram Air 400 Firebird actually are, long before either car even reaches the painted starting line at the strip.
Two Body Styles, Two Very Different Design Philosophies
Beyond the engines, the Mustang and Firebird represent two distinct approaches to late-1960s pony car design that are worth appreciating on their own terms. Ford’s 1969 Mustang grew noticeably longer and more aggressive than its original 1964 debut, chasing bigger-engine compatibility and a more muscular stance, while Pontiac’s 1968 Firebird stuck closer to its 1967 origins, favoring the split-grille, coke-bottle profile that would define the model through the early 1970s. Commenters on the video frequently mention preferring one body style over the other entirely separate from which car actually wins the race, a reminder that muscle car loyalty often runs on styling and brand history just as much as it runs on raw quarter-mile numbers.
See the full video above and join the conversation in the comments.
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Automatics
Makes me ill too but in “dial in” drag racing hitting your time is a lot easier in an automatic.
It would appear the “closer to stock” car here was the Mustang. Don’t get me wrong it makes my day whenever a GM product beats a Ford on the track but that Firebird is about 1 full second faster than it should be ( if it was stock/close to stock). This morning turnwed into a good morning after me waking up about an hour and a half before I had to, I got to watch a whole bunch of drag racing with “sort of stock” cars .
mustang didn’t appear to come off the line very hard, even if it was stock ….not very aggressive
Nope you’re right. could be driver. wasn’t it NOT uncommon for some Fords to have “open” diffs???? In a true heads up with identically talented drivers in stock or pretty much bone stock condition the Mousestang should have been 1-2 car lengths ahead at the end. Nice Firechicken though. My neighbout bought his wife a blue 70 “Formula” with the 400 cube but an automatic. That car never saw wet except when it got washed and I’m positive it never saw redline either. He was an older Italian guy and had a younger wife . She drove that like it was a raw egg. Hope she was more aggressive on him! ;)
I agree Alex. But I love those birds. Still a blue oval guy, though.
Wrong that bird is a RA car and they were plenty fast. Had a 70 Formula RA car and put a lot of vets to rest
Yup the firebird was purposely under rated so it didnt seam so much faster than gto. So i saw on documentary lol
ford sucks
I agree Alex and, I also am a GM fan but, the Firebird seemed to be faster that it should have been to be stock.
Liking these new videos!
Obviously the guy driving the Mustang sucks
Thank you. They never mention about the driver. And that means alot.
Yup the firebird was purposely under rated so it didnt seam so much faster than gto. So i saw on documentary lol
Al Adams
Check this out
Brian Gastile & another one!
No stock car pulls the wheels
You’re funny .
GM wins again
Jill Laird
Jim Tressler….Mustang must have spotted the Firebird!
Brad Sutton
Not surpised at all to see that bird walk up and down on that pony.
Christopher Alexander Andrews
ordered a 68 1/2 400 Ram Air 2 in the spring of 68, 4spd 3:90 rear end, it was my daily driver, yes they were that fast, but only a little over 100 were produced
I also ordered and bought the same Firebird spring 68. Ram Air II, 4 spd, and 3;91 rear. Then I put a set of Zoom 4;88 rear gears. It was crazy quick and I was 21.
I guess you were he’ll bent on beating those 426 Hemis, LOL
Oh yeah.
Certainly didn’t buy it for gas mileage! Lol Top speed about 100 wound tight. 4th gear, 2000 rpm rev, pop the clutch and burn rubber. Young and dumb.
I was 22, and if I was smart, would have put mine up on blocks, yes I can believe the 100mph top speed with those gears
Yes I wish I had kept mine and some of the others I had. Traded a 66 GTO 389 3×2’s and 4 speed on the Firebird.
Yeah right!
firebird stock?? lol yeah ok..
it was stock, but you had to check off the option on the order form
David Gum
69 428scj mustang is fastest production car of that era..
look closely the fire bird left early
He didn’t Red Light!
He left when it was yellow don’t u leave when it turns green
Awesome,not a Mustang fan,lol
The Firebird is not even close to stock! The Mustang has bias ply tires.
The guy in the Mustang cannot drive
Pontiac didn’t sound like a stock car.
Thought it would be closer
Nice video thanks!!