[Rick Parker]

The 429 Thunder Jet was the first varient of the of the traditional 385 series engine as we know it now. It originally was introduced in late 1968 and early 1969 in the full size passenger cars made by Ford and Mercury such as Thunderbird, and LTD. For a brief period the tail end of the FE production was being installed in pickups, and the Torino, Fairlane, and Mustang as the Cobra Jet nameplate. The 385 was phased in to ultimately replace the FE. Shortly after introduction the SCJ (Super Cobra Jet) nameplate was attached to the performance version of the 429. It was equipped with performance cam, solid lifters, adjustable rocker arms, 4 bolt mains, Holley and or Autolite carb, aluminum rocker covers, It was a pretty hard runner in this form. Few of the SCJ varients remain today. The introduction of smog equipment really hampered this engine from reaching it's full potential during its short performance run. Even the Boss 429 IMO never reached its potential as a performance engine. The technology of the day demanded the timing be altered and camshafts retarded which kills these monsters.

Rick