Although a 302-cubic-inch V8 has been available off and on in the Mustang since 1968, it was the engine's identity as a 5.0-liter that later generations now revere. To be sure, it wasn't always a smooth conversion from cubes to liters. The first time the metric 5.0 designation appeared on the outside of a North American Mustang was on the hood scoop of that paragon of European sophistication and understatement, the 1978 King Cobra.

The 5.0 emblem looked more at home on the crisply restyled 1979 Mustang, and it was this generation of pony car that turned the humble 302 into the famous 5.0. Although Ford downsized to a smaller V8 for 1980 and 1981, the