Is it possible that the Mustang II has aged well? Is it really possible that there are a couple elements of cool attached to these cars now? Is it just because they are old that we’re thinking this stuff or is there an appeal to the cars that got the Mustang from fat ass in 1971-1973 and bridged the gap to the brilliant Fox-platform cars that would take the legacy and legend of the For Mustang to new modern heights? The Mustang II was the car that Ford needed to built to save the nameplate in the middle 1970s. Cleaving nearly 500lbs and more than a foot of length off of the previous generation car, the Mustang II was far better on fuel, far more nimble a handler, and far more capable of being sold by Ford dealers than the previous generation car would have been in the same timeframe.
The fact that more than 1.1 million of them were eventually sold in its four year production run means something. The fact that the “Mustang II” front end has been a staple of hot rodding and chassis building since about three minutes after it debuted must mean something as well, right? There were parts of this car that were full-on cheese. The crummy little two barrel 302 engines that made like 120hp. Not great. The V6s were even worse. But that can all be fixed.
Maybe we’re into the cooking wine already this morning but damn if we don’t watch the Mustang II Cobra ad below and think, “You know, that is not a bad looking car!” Time heals all wounds and the Mustang II may finally be getting some of the price it deserves and losing some of the shame that was heaped onto it. What do you think? Watch these ads, have a laugh and then tell us what you think.
Pinto II is a great base for a hot rod build.
Roush made one famous.
Although they were the right car for the times, I just couldn’t warm up to them and still can’t. All cars just plain sucked in the mid ‘ 70s.
The Mustang II was really not a bad looking little car, If Ford had badged it as something other than a Mustang it probably wouldn’t have pissed off every Mustang fan in existence. Unfortunately Ford didn’t learn anything from their mistake and is about to release another bastardized (tree hugging electric!) car under the sacred Mustang name.
In 79 I bought a used 75 Mach1. Quickly installed a small cam, 351w heads, a 2-4 intake, 2 -125 hp plates,headers and a 9in. ran high 11s which was too fast for no roll at that time. Wife had a lot of fun driving that car.
These were decent cars. If Ford had done a better job of styling the bumpers and used larger wheels and tires, it would have been even more popular. They were a victim of the malaise area just like everyone else.
Yep the era of the 13″ wheel was not kind to what was otherwise a not-unattractive car. Here, get a V8 4-speed T-top car for less than the price of any intact Vega:
https://reno.craigslist.org/cto/d/fallon-1977-ford-mustang-cobra-ii/7096504403.html