{"id":4012,"date":"2025-07-29T19:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-29T19:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bruntonwolf.com\/?p=4012"},"modified":"2025-07-30T15:48:33","modified_gmt":"2025-07-30T15:48:33","slug":"70s-mustang-dyno-cobra-result-shows-the-horrors-of-the-malaise-era","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.bruntonwolf.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/29\/70s-mustang-dyno-cobra-result-shows-the-horrors-of-the-malaise-era\/","title":{"rendered":"'70s Mustang Dyno Cobra Result Shows the Horrors of the Malaise Era"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Just how weak was the American performance car in the 1970s? Very weak. New emissions and fuel-economy regulations sucked the life out of the American V-8, and it wasn’t until the rise of modern engine management systems that our performance cars got a bit of muscle back. A dyno test of a 1979 Ford Mustang Cobra shows just how grim things got.<\/p>\n

YouTube channel Late Model Restoration recently did a mostly cosmetic restoration of this early Fox-body Mustang<\/a>, and rather than stick a much hotter V-8 under the hood, it kept things stock. On its dyno, the automatic Cobra managed just 125 horsepower and 211 pound-feet of torque at the wheels. That’s not terrible\u00a0<\/em>since Ford rated this 4.9-liter (badged as a 5.0) engine at 140 hp and 250 lb-ft when new. But also, sheesh. Today’s four-cylinder Mustang<\/a> makes well more than double that.<\/p>\n

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