GT500 Transformation: Swapping the 428 With a 427
There are some constants in life that always feel a bit strange to break away from. In the instance of the GT500, breaking away from the 428 seems a bit sacrilegious, so is this Mustang — which doesn’t have a 428 — harder to love? It has the higher-performance 427 up front now, instead of the engine it was born with, but some would argue that it has improved.
GT500s by nature were not quite as extreme as their GT350 counterparts. They were softer, and could be lived with on an everyday basis. That more-sedate nature was also seen under the hood, with the 428 being a bit more friendly to traffic, having a softer idle, and a bit more low-end grunt.
This Muscle Car of the Week GT500 is believed to have terminated the original 428 engine quickly, and had a dealer install the 427 somewhat early on in its life. It clearly was a proper installation, with over 70,000 miles in total. And those miles were much different with the 427 than the 428.
The 427 was Shelby’s high-performance offering at the time, and used often in motorsports. It was stronger than the 428 as well, with main bearings oiled from an additional port on the side, thus being called a “side oiler.”
Since there were no GT500 models produced with a 427 (except for only one Super Snake), does that make this GT500 more or less desirable? Sure, it’s not a numbers-matching car, but it is an incredible engine upgrade, all from the same family lineage.
Chime in with your thoughts on the forum. >>
