As the owner of a family heirloom 1965 Mustang, I have long been immersed in the Mustang lifestyle, ever since I was a kid with a Mustang Monthly subscription back in the ’90s. Back then, the Mustang II was always the next big thing, as magazines did their best to give those polarizing cars a fair shake. Of course, the Mustang II never quite got there as the “next big thing,” but they’ve carved out their niche in the collector car world, and I always stop to look at one at a show. This 1978 Cobra II has a few tricks up its sleeve, and it’s for sale here on Hemmings Marketplace in Millersburg, Pennsylvania, with a current high bid of $13,500 (which hasn’t met the reserve). Thanks to PRA4SNW for the tip!
The first trick the Cobra II is hiding lies under the hood: Instead of the stock 139-horsepower 302 that was factory-stock, someone has installed a 351 Windsor with a neat “Cobra” dress-up kit. It has a Ford Motorsport aluminum intake manifold, Hedman “Hedders,” an electric fuel pump, and a Holley 600 cfm four-barrel. It’s backed by a rebuilt C4 automatic with a shift kit, so the only bad news is that the air conditioning doesn’t work. The Mustang II “runs and drives great.”
The other trick can be seen through the windshield, but sharp-eyed Mustang II fans have undoubtedly already noticed it. This car was repainted in its original “Polar White” back in 2008, but the painted over-the-top stripes (and vinyl side stripes) do not follow the pattern of the 1978 car, but rather the 1976-77 models. I personally like that stripe package better because it resembles the Cobra II’s forebear, the 1965 GT-350, so that’s a modification I can live with.
The interior is “very nice,” according to the seller, and the Mustang II hatchback was actually quite a practical platform, with plenty of luggage space. As always, I appreciate an interior that is more colorful than today’s mostly drab offerings.
The undercarriage appears to be in excellent condition, and you can only imagine what the exhaust system sounds like.
While the paint has some “minor blemishes” and the bumpers have some minor cracks, this looks like a fun driver for those who feel that the Mustang II has been unfairly maligned over the years. Some subtle modifications have put some of the muscle back into the Mustang II, and the Cragar S/S mags give it that muscle-car-era touch that it deserves. No, the Cobra II will never demand Shelby money, but it’s a fun and relatively inexpensive way to enjoy Mustanging. Maybe Mustang Monthly was right all those years ago.
The one Ford should have built.
Nice Mustang II for Bob in TN to cruise around in. 😎 A/C working 🧊 of course.
Stan is correct, a Mustang II in good shape, with some engine upgrades, I’d take it.
Nice car but a third petal would be the icing on the Mustang cake! And bidding still under $20k.
I may be getting senile in my old age. But unless the 302 is a poke and stroke to 351 c.i. That engine is no 351 Windsor. It is too narrow. (As in valve covers too close together. ) I just walked out to my F150 that DOES have a 351 Windsor to verify. And a 351 would not leave as much room in the valve cover to inner fender area. PLEASE, other Ford guys comment in to verify.
351w has higher deck height than 289/302. Basically the only difference was stroke. Looks almost identical to any SBF Windsor motor.
It’s almost impossible to tell with the three engine compartment photos, but I don’t think there’s any reason to doubt it’s a 351. It would be easily verifiable up close, and I can’t imagine someone risking a tanked sale based on a lie like that.
One of the nicest II’s I’ve seen in a while. The 351 is a plus.
Best Pinto ever built.
Mustang II had Weak styling and poor performance but it save the Mustang name in the poor muscle era. Some sales numbers were impressive. Cobra II should have been higher like Fox body ‘79-93 era.
I spent more time with 302 Mustang II’s than I care to remember at
Fomoco . I worked in the 302 engine development group in Dearborn, specifically on the 1976 Mustang II. While its been been almost 50 years since I opened the hood on one, I think a 351W could fit. The exhaust headers might be close. The 350W is a couple of inches wider than a 302 and the deck is a maybe 1.25 inches higher but it probably would fit. I don’t think it would be any worse than the FE (390 or 428) in the older Mustang platform, which was a very tight fit.
The 302 has a very narrow intake so to my eyes the engine in the photos looks like a 351W. The last thing a Mustang II needs is any additional weight on the front end and a 351 would add to the front axle weight, unless it had at minimum aluminum heads and intake. Wasn’t happening on a lower end platform like the Mustang II. As it was, with a 139 Net HP 302, I could spin both tires on a Traction Lock equipped car, AT or MT, especially during a turn. A larger engine would have never been installed on a Mustang II since Fomoco’s main focus at the time was fuel economy and emissions. Adding weight and displacement were directly opposed to that goal.
Nice Mustang. This would be a fun driver. I would buy it, if I were in the market. The Ford experts on here could weigh in better if a 351 was possible to fit in these cars, but I would seem to think it wouldn’t be a big deal.
My wife bought a new 78 Mustang Cobra white with blue stripes with huge Cobra lettering down both sides which I tried to talk her into deleting but she wouldn’t. Now this Cobra is not a 78 with those side stripes with the Cobra lettering those were on the 76 and maybe the 77 model unless whoever dropped the 351W in it also repainted it and ordered the wrong stripe kit. Just think Farrah Faucett’s car it was a 76.
it should rip with a 351 in it
I’ve never felt the Mustang II deserved the hate it gets. When you consider the regulatory environment (bumpers, emissions, and pending CAFE legislation) hitting the 1970’s it seems few remember how much that affected ALL performance cars at the time. Consider that Porsche created the 930 Turbo as one way to deal with that era. Of course the Camaro’s all new body style for 1970 survived for the entire decade, yet no one criticizes it for the similar power drops that it suffered. During the 5 year lifetime of the Mustang II it was outsold by the Camaro in just two years, 77 and 78 when fuel shortages seemed a distant memory.
That said, I never liked any of the attempts by Ford to invoke the glory days of the Shelby Mustangs with only cosmetic throwbacks. If I were giving a Mustang II performance upgrades I would make it a sleeper. And there was no better M II sleeper than the one done by Gray Baskerville of Hot Rod Magazine around 74 or 75. As I recall it ran a 460, toploader, and some very big slicks. It might have been tubbed for those tires as well.
What about that pinto rear & not so heavy duty c4 which did not last as long as i expected behind my falcon’s 200 cid inline 6?