We appreciate Russ sending in this project car. It is a 1978 Ford Mustang Mach 1 located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The Mustang II is listed here on eBay and is bid to $2,000 with 2 days remaining in the auction. This car is faded but has t-tops and what looks like 14″ Cragar wheels. The seller has only owned it for a year.
The pictures are not very good but neither is the condition of the car. The carpet is faded and the seats are torn. The car is red with a white interior. There are no pictures of the 302 cubic inch V8 but the seller it started when he added gas and jump started the battery. According to the ad, the car has sat for 30 years.
The exterior condition of the car is poor but no rot is evident in the pictures. It has rear louvers and the odometer shows 74,000 miles. This model of the Mustang Mach 1 is a hatchback and the car has a floor mounted automatic transmission. The seller discloses that there is rust in the floorboards which should be expected with the T-tops.
I am sorry but I cannot list this car in the muscle car category. The best it could be considered is a pony car with its 2 barrel 4.9 liter engine that produced 140 horsepower. My brother loves these cars and the Mustang II outsold every other year of the Mustang. What would this car be worth restored?
Car’s worth nothing to me. Neighbor bought one new in ’78 and it spent most of it’s time in the Ford dealer’s garage. Finally gave up and bought a Mazda RX that lasted forever.
Pretty ballsy of Ford to put Mach I on these turds! LOL Sister had a 76 Mustang Ghia 302 could never get it to run, would barely start and move and this back in 1977 LOL
Was the redesigned ’79 v8 stang(there was no GT) much faster than this car? Certainly not sportier!
I think it was balsy for Ford in ’79 to
1. get rid of the kewl ventless glass on the II.
2. get rid of the kewl racing mirrors on the II & put on plastic junk that must have come from JCWhitney!
2. put in a cheap lookin plastic dash
3. have such a high roof
& didn’t ford take a step backwards in ’79 by offering the ancient 85 hp strait 6 in the stang, vs the v6 in the mustang II?
lol
On the mustang II fastback it would be interesting to swap out the center yellow/white rear lens on each side for red ones & convert to 3 sequential tailites per side, like on a shelby.
Oops i mean FRAMEless side glass, below.
Love the Mustang ll. Good base for modifying and reliable too. You don’t see any Japanese brand vehicles from the same era because they all started rotting away after they were driven off the boat. T tops and a V8? Wow.
The absolute bottom for Mustang design. Cartoonish level of front overhang.
Surprised it wasn’t the end of the line.
They were just re bodied re badged Pinto’s not worth the Mustang name ever.
“….and the Mustang II outsold every other year of the Mustang.”
Say what? Not even close.
Well, it is not quite true but it is close- the 65-67 Mustangs certainly sold better than any other year, period. BUT the sales for 1974, the first year of the Mustang II, are higher than any year since.
I agree. The 1974 Mustang II was the best selling SINCE then.
But that’s not what they said.
1974 was the 4th best selling year overall. And I don’t think 4th place is close to 1st. 1974 was nearly a Quarter-Million fewer than ’66. That’s not close.
4th isn’t bad considering Mustangs have been around for 55 years ! – Also , by 1974, Imports were taking a huge bite out of the American market , much more than in the early years of the Mustang ,so I would say the amount sold it 74 was a massive success
Actually it was only the 1974 year model that outsold every other model year of Mustang (Newer and older) with an exception of 1965, 1966, and 1967.
It’s not finished growing yet. Throw it back
Car needs lots of work. But it doesn’t seem like a rust bucket. The T-Tops make it kind of unique.
I’ve always liked Mustang II’s. They make cool restomods, and restored examples will draw a crowd. I like to see them at shows; another example of a car which was once everywhere, now seldom seen.
I saw a Mustang II fastback going down the street about 4 years ago. It’s funny some of these cars I will see once, and then never again. Like I saw a 71-73 Pinto at UPull & Pay a couple of years ago in the parking lot. It looked cool with the fatter tires and side exhaust tucked under the doors like some of those old Corvettes, but never saw it again. My oldie cars are driven at least once a week so people will notice them more than once.
The car is an original six cylinder car if you look at the VIN. I actually like these cars and easy enough to get 300plus HP with a Car not weighing much.
I’ve never seen this configuration! I did not know Ford had T tops on anything like this variant of Mustang. If the price is right, go ahead and do it with the understanding that you are buying an essentially two seat car with unique features.
I’ve seen these cars with T-tops before.
Pretty sure those are KEYSTONE wheels.
Keystone Rogues. I had a set on my ’79 Olds Starfire.
It would be a lot more interesting if it came with Karen Allen in her prime. (Starman reference ;-)
@ScottyMac those are Keystone Klassic rims. Yes Klassic with a K. I owned a set, one of the nicest looking aftermarket rim designs ever IMO.
I put a set on my Avanti back in about 1970 or close. I loved the looks. I know where my Avanti is but the wheels are gone
The Mustang II that I liked was the King Cobra. Don’t care much for the Mustang II Coupes. Other than that, my 90 Foxbody Mustang has a turbo swap 2.3L in it. I guess it is half Pinto and half Mustang. It still has some get up and go. Of course, it will not win any races, but I don’t plan on that anyhow. And it cruises pretty nice at highway speeds without much effort.
Had one of these in high school, gold in color, 302 with 4 speed. Really liked the car but it was front end heavy (no surprise there) and the clutch cable kept coming off. The clutch cable was held on the clutch pedal with a washer and cotter pin. It would often shear the cotter pin when speed shifting between 1st and 2nd. It embarrassed me one night while on a date. Couldn’t find a cotter pin so I stick an old nail through it and it never came off again.
My girlfriend had a ’74 and I bought a ’77 Mach 1 for $300 in ’88 because the guy needed the money. Both of them were Ford junk from the ’70’s. Like the man said, re-badged Pinto. I did fix the carb in the Mach 1 (linkage) and doubled my money when I sold it.
These cars to me are Fords red headed step child!! You know the one that gets no respect and is a little ugly to boot!! $2000 seems a lot for the mistake that ford did!!
This era Mustang was an abominable mistake when it came out and it hasn’t got any better.
So what sort of Mustang was Ford supposed to build in the mid seventies? With the chokehold of emissions restrictions and th fuel embargo we are lucky the Mustang lived on at all. This car kept Ford afloat and has its own spot in Mustang history.
Well said Bakyrdhero. While it is not a popular Mustang, I don’t get the lack of respect for its place in history. I seriously doubt we would be salivating over today’s GT500, or even a seriously capable GT or Ecoboost, if it wasn’t for the Mustang II holding down the fort during some dark days in automotive history.
Actually JoeNYWF64, the ’79 Mustang and Mercury Capri were available initially with the Cologne 2.8 V-6. I think Germany was switching to the 2.9, used in the later Ranger and Bronco II.
http://www.mustanglab.com/mustang-specifications-1979-1993/1979-mustang-specifications-performance-data/
scottymac is on target, the Cologne V6 was available during most of the 1979 model year run, but was phased out in favor of the venerable 200 straight six by the end of the model year. The straight six started to be installed in late February or early March 1979. I’ve heard two reasons why: supply problems with getting the V6 from Germany; the straight six was readily available and cheaper. Probably a combination of both reasons.
I had that 2.8 Cologne in my 85 Jeep Wagoneer, 5spd. Man it was slow off the line. Then I had it in a 76 Ford Pinto. I didn’t keep that one but a month because it right away gave me some stalling issues at an intersection. I was able though to make some money off it.
looks like it spent some time in lake michigan!
Wheels are Keystone classics, for 2 grand, no one else is gonna have one at the show, swap the intake for a 4 barrel, maybe a cam and exhaust, paint, interior is not big, gotta find floor boards
It’s a Pinto in disguise, for the love of Henry! My brother had one , almost a twin here , but it sound like a radio flyer Rollin with a load of loose rocks down the road.
LC,
When GM came out with their X(?) cars Chevy Citation, Pontiac Phoenix, don’t remember what the other variations were called, they pretty much copied the Ford Cologne V-6. Had a couple in ex-wife’s Fieros. Unless someone did a backyard transplant, your Jeep probably had a version of that engine.
http://www.jeeptech.com/engine/gm173.html
Yes Sir, 2.8 Cologne V6, 2 barrel carb.
Scottymac: Got it. GM had their own variant of the 2.8 Cologne. Thanks.
I had a 78 Mustang II with the 171 ci v6. Which gave you the power of a 4 cyl with the gas mileage of an 8 cyl. I had to stick a socket in the butterfly valve just to get it to run at all. Good times…..good times. LOL
That’s funny, TJ! I’ve had two ’76 Mercury Capri IIs, both with V-6s. I’ve always heard how you break an engine in will determine how willingly it will rev the rest of its life. My first had a manual four speed, had been owned previously by a man, and I can’t describe how much fun I had on the autobahn with that car. My current Capri is an automatic, had been owned by a woman most of its life, and is an absolute dog, even with a 390 Holley four barrel. Someday, hope to install the Cologne 4.0 OHV V-6 from an old Explorer in it, try to liven it up. I know 302s will fit, too, but like to “keep it in the family”.
I’m having a problem with calling this a Mach 1, no Mach 1 badging , or blacked out hood, black trim on roof isn’t right. I owned a 1975 Mach 1 with factory turbo 500 wheels, and Mach 1 centers, 302 engine, fast for, Government regs.
Seems legit to me:
The Mach 1 badge is present in the lower corner of the passenger fender in the top picture, and the black out paint on the rear panel matches my ’74 Mach 1.
Outside of the fender badges and paint scheme, there weren’t many exterior differences between the Mach 1 and the base hatchback.The Mach 1 did have a few interior upgrades, but you could add most of them to the base model.
I had an orange one like this, t-tops too. Orange and black plaid interior. Sharp looking car! The looks betrayed the 4 cylinder & 4 speed Pinto economy car drivetrain lol.