The current mustang that I'm looking into is a "J" code 302-4V.

According to my copy of the Mustang Recognition Guide "At the beginning of the 1968 production year, the 289 4-barrel and the 289 High Performance were dropped from the Mustang powerteam selection, and replaced with a brand new 302 4-barrel. The 289 2-barrel lasted until mid-year before being replaced by the 302 2-barrel. Two high performance engines were offered for the 1968 Mustang: a 302 High Performance and a 390 horsepower 427 - both were very limited production."

As far as I can figure, the 289 4-barrel and the 289 High Performance are the 1967 "A" and "K" codes, respectively. And these codes did not appear in 1968 so the first sentence seems to make sense.

The 289 2-barrel was the "C" code in both 1967 and 1968 so the second sentence also seems to make sense.

But the third sentense is a bit confusing because the only 302 4-barrel code that I can determine is the "J" code. I cannot find a code for a High Performance 302 in 1968 -- like the famous 289 4-barrel "K" code.

So:
1) was there really a High Performance "K" code equivalent 302 4-barrel?
2) or are they really talking about the 390 4-barrel "S" code and just typed 302 instead of 390?

Also, does anyone know how many "J" codes were built in 1968 vs the other engines?

Any help would be most appreciated...These Ford production quirks are maddening :-)

 

There was a 302 HIPO which was used in the Shelby GT350 in 1968.

 

Well, there was no such thing as a "302 High Performance", except maybe in some sales department's fevered brain. Even the GT 350 had the same J code 302 as the Mustang, early units didn't even get the Holley and high-rise intake, and they all had the same lame 289 2V camshaft and pitiful exhaust manifolds, making the 68 GT 350 really lame compared to all other year GT 350's. Even when the 68 GT 350 had the Holley/high-rise it was just an over-carburated 302 4V. It did have a lot of potential, simply installing a C9OZ-C camshaft and 289HP manifolds made it run like a whole different engine.

The 390GT was just that, from 66-69, and if some salesman did an ad calling it "High Performance", it had nothing to do with the technical specs of the engine itself.