Collection Completer? 1978 Mustang II

If ever there were a “six of one, half dozen of the other” car, this 1978 Mustang II has to be it. You can see it for yourself here on Craigslist, then make a play to buy it by contacting the seller, who apparently has it somewhere in the wilds north of Chicago. Not a bad place to go in the summer, actually, while you thank Rocco B for helping complete your Mustang collection. Load it up and take it home, or try to make the drive. There’s nothing to stop you from attempting the journey. But let’s go over some of the ins and outs of this deal.

One the one hand, the car is only $11 grand, and that’s the asking price. You would naturally try to work that number down upon personal inspection with ten grand in your pocket, maybe less. But then again, when do you get the chance to own a collectible car for just barely into the five figures? One comparable available in the market right now is a 1981 Vette on Barn Finds’ job board for just past $15K. Most of the rest of what we drool over these days touches down in the mid-$20K realm. However, you have to ask yourself how collectible this once-scorned and left-out member of the Mustang lineage is. Nobody wanted these Pinto-based 1974-78 models back in the day. Now, you need to decide how cool this is. Time does make it more attractive and more clearly linked to the first-generation cars that it succeeded. The styling is way more true to the original (19641/2-1968, say) generation of cars, before the Mustang became large (1969-70) and then practically unrecognizable AS a Mustang (1971-73).

On the one hand, the miles are low, at 39,000. But then again, there’s no documentation proffered as proof that that low number is authentic. A good look around the car might help that, though; so have a peek at the places that wear, like the driver’s seat bottom, pedals, and gear shift knob. Maybe do a check in the glove box. It’s surprising how often something thrown in there, like an old registration receipt, can reveal a truth. How about an oil change sticker? For those who don’t remember, before that was up in the corner of the windshield, it was on the door jamb.

In the end, this is not a bad price for a car that, as the ad says, is “a fun car to drive,” and which we might add is not all that bad to look at either. That, plus all the positive claims about starting and running, being rust-free, and having an easy-driving 302-CID engine and automatic transmission, makes this worth a look. Maybe it’s your first Mustang. Maybe it’s the one that completes your collection. Surely you’ll get a good deal of your money back after you drive it around for the rest of the summer. Or, what the heck?! Keep it forever!