Man attempts to revive this 1978 King Cobra Mustang after decades of neglect

A man set out to find if a 1978 King Cobra Ford Mustang would run after 26 years parked – and it didn’t go very well.

The barn find King Cobra had been off the road since 1997 and was clearly in need of some TLC.

It was rescued by mechanic and content creator Dalton, who runs the Pole Barn Garage YouTube channel, who was keen for a restoration project.

He was hopeful that he could do the restoration on a budget but that turned out not to be the case.

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The King Cobra had been off the road for decades

The enduring desirability of early model Mustangs means that they’re often picked up as restoration projects, such as this one-of-one Cobra II that was parked for decades and was in need of some TLC, or this 1967 example that was pulled from a swamp.

However, unlike some of the seriously beefed-up muscle cars out there, the King Cobra was fitted with a 4.9 liter V8 that produced 139 horsepower.

But it was enough to impress Pole Barn Garage’s Dalton who rescued the abandoned vehicle after decades of neglect.

The poor old motor had certainly seen better days, it was covered in a thick layer of dirt, dust, and grime and appeared to have been home to some rodents in its not-too-distant past.

Things went from bad to worse, after Dalton hauled the King Cobra out of the barn and discovered it had once caught fire and sustained damage to the passenger-side fender.

Alongside that, its wheels are locked meaning he fails to get it rolling and has to enlist the help of a trailer to bring it to his shop.

Its engine had seen better days – but would it still go?

Once in the shop, Dalton finds the car has no oil and its engine has completely seized up.

Further exploration reveals some serious rust and other damage to the cylinders – let’s face it, things aren’t looking good for the car, are they?

Despite his best efforts, the following day Dalton admitted defeat and instead decided to replace the busted engine with one from a Ford Mustang II that has same V8 inside.

With the new engine – and some additional tweaks and adjustments along the way – Dalton finally gets the King Cobra up and running.

But that wasn’t quite the end of the car’s problems – while Dalton was aware that the Cobra was leaking oil, he didn’t know how bad the issue was until he took it out for a test drive.

After only traveling around 123km (80 miles), the engine was almost entirely out of oil, suggesting the leak was worse than originally feared. Ouch.

Look, it ain’t pretty, but at least it’s back on the road.