Ford Mustang 1967 GT 390 Fastback

Before the Boss 302 or the Mach 1, the biggest engine a Mustang buyer could order was the S-code 390. Rated at roughly 320 horsepower and 427 lb-ft of torque, it turned the 1967 fastback into the serious performance choice a full year before the 428 Cobra Jet arrived. It also wore the exact silhouette that Steve McQueen would make famous. Here is what the GT 390 package actually included.

There is a version of Mustang history where the interesting cars all have famous names attached to them, and it skips over a large and significant middle. Before there was a Boss, a Mach 1, or a Cobra Jet, Ford answered the question of how much engine would fit in its pony car with a considerably plainer letter code on an order form. Checking it produced the most powerful Mustang a dealer could sell that year, wrapped in a body shape that would become one of the most recognizable in film within about eighteen months. Most buyers walked past it in favor of something cheaper. The ones who did not ended up with the car enthusiasts now want most from that model year.

The Biggest Engine Ford Would Sell in a ’67 Mustang

The S-code 390-cubic-inch FE-series V8 was the largest and most powerful engine available in any 1967 Mustang, rated at roughly 320 horsepower and 427 lb-ft of torque. It sat above the small-block options as the top-tier choice for buyers who wanted genuine straight-line performance rather than only the Mustang’s styling, and it defined the GT 390 as the serious pick in the lineup for a full year before the 428 Cobra Jet arrived and reset expectations for everyone. That torque figure is the number worth focusing on, because it explains far more about how the car drives than the horsepower rating does.

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How the FE Differed From the Small Blocks Below It

The FE family was an entirely different architecture from the 289 and 302 small blocks most Mustangs used. It was physically larger, considerably heavier, and designed around long-stroke torque production rather than high-rpm output, with a reputation forged in NASCAR and endurance racing. Installing one in a Mustang required the revised engine bay Ford introduced for 1967, and even then the fit was tight enough that routine maintenance became noticeably more awkward. Owners trade that inconvenience for an engine that pulls hard from just above idle and never feels like it needs revs to do its work.

What the GT Package Added Beyond the Engine

GT equipment went well beyond the engine choice. The package brought a handling suspension with stiffer springs and shocks, front disc brakes, dual exhaust with distinctive quad outlets through the rear valance, GT badging and side stripes, fog lamps in the grille, and specific wheel treatments. That combination mattered, because a large-displacement engine in a chassis without matching brakes and suspension was a common and unpleasant configuration in the 1960s. Ford bundling the hardware together meant a GT 390 buyer received a coherent car rather than an assortment of individually chosen boxes on an order sheet.

The Fastback Shape That Became a Movie Icon

The 2+2 fastback body paired with the GT 390 produced the car’s most recognizable silhouette, and the shape reached a global audience the following year when a Highland Green 1968 fastback chased a Dodge Charger R/T through San Francisco in Bullitt. That sequence made the fastback profile permanently famous and has driven demand for the body style ever since. The 1967 differs from the 1968 in grille, side scoop, and trim details, but the fundamental shape is the same, and its appeal to buyers today owes an enormous debt to roughly ten minutes of film.

1967 Was the Year the Mustang Grew

1967 was also the year the Mustang physically grew. Ford widened the body and enlarged the engine bay specifically to accommodate big-block engines, which the original 1965 platform could not reasonably accept. The car gained weight and visual mass in the process, moving away from the compact proportions of the first cars toward something more substantial. Opinions on that change have never fully settled, but the engineering logic was straightforward. Without the redesign there would have been no 390 Mustang, no 428 Cobra Jet the following year, and no big-block Mustang at all.

Why the 390 Got Outshone So Quickly

The 390’s moment at the top was brief. In April 1968 Ford released the 428 Cobra Jet, an engine rated conservatively at 335 horsepower that in practice made considerably more, and the 390 was immediately relegated to second-tier status in the minds of buyers and in the pages of magazines. That timing has shaped the reputation of the S-code car ever since, leaving it slightly underrated in enthusiast conversation. Judged on its own terms rather than against the engine that replaced it, the 390 GT is a genuinely strong performer and a much easier car to live with.

The Weight Problem Up Front

The honest weak point is where all that iron sits. The FE’s mass over the front wheels gives the car a distinctly nose-heavy balance, and period road testers noted understeer and heavy steering as the consequences. Modern owners address it with improved geometry, better shocks, and revised spring rates, and the results can be transformed. In stock configuration, though, this is a car that rewards a driver who plans ahead into a corner rather than one who arrives hot and hopes, which is entirely typical of American performance cars of the period.

Decoding the VIN Before You Buy

Verifying an S-code car is straightforward if you know where to look. The fifth character of the 1967 VIN identifies the engine, and S designates the 390 four-barrel, which makes an initial authenticity check quick. Given that GT trim and 390 badging are easy to add to a lesser car, that single character carries real weight in the market. Serious buyers go further, checking the Marti Report, door data plate, and casting numbers, but the VIN is the first thing anyone knowledgeable looks at when a car is advertised as a genuine GT 390.

What a Genuine S-Code Is Worth Now

Values reflect that authenticity gap plainly. A documented S-code GT fastback in good condition commands a substantial premium over a comparable C-code or A-code car dressed to look similar, and the gap widens as condition improves. The fastback body carries a premium of its own over the hardtop regardless of engine, thanks in large part to Bullitt. Anyone shopping should expect to pay for documentation rather than for presentation, because in this corner of the market a well-presented car with no paperwork is worth considerably less than a scruffy one with a complete history.

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