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Fresh Paint: 1975 Ford Mustang II Ghia

Cars that rolled off the production lines in the 1970s and 1980s are really beginning to come into their own within the classic car scene. This is partly because they have generally managed to remain more affordable than their older counterparts. Part of the attraction also comes from the fact that many of them were much-maligned when new. This meant that they tended to be treated as disposable goods, finding their way to the scrapyards when their owners felt that they had outlived their useful life. Barn Finder Rocco B spotted this very tidy 1975 Mustang II Ghia for us, so thank you so much for that Rocco. It is located in Chesaning, Michigan, and has been listed for sale here on Craigslist. The owner has set a sale price of $7,900 for the Mustang.

The presentation of the Mustang is very impressive. It is finished in its original shade of Silver, with the car receiving a repaint around 2-years-ago. The paint holds a nice shine, while the silver landau-style vinyl top and the Cranberry taping add a real touch of class to the vehicle. There are no signs of any appreciable dings or dents in the panels, and no indications of any rust problems. The Mustang rolls on a nice set of alloy wheels, although there is only a normal steel wheel on the front-right corner. I’m wondering whether the car has experienced a puncture, or whether that wheel is missing or damaged. Beyond that, the Ford features a factory sliding sunroof, and while I’m not the greatest fan of them, it is also fitted with a chrome luggage rack. The combination of colors and features across this particular vehicle actually marks it as something a little bit rarer than your average Ghia. The Silver paint and matching vinyl top, the red striping, and the hood ornament actually identify it as a Silver Luxury Group Mustang II. This was effectively an additional luxury package within the Ghia line. There really doesn’t appear to be a lot to fault here, with this appearing to be a classic that is ready to be driven and enjoyed.

As part of the Silver Luxury Group package, potential owners could have an interior trimmed in any color…as long as it was Cranberry. Red and brown were two shades that were strong choices for interior trim during this era, while velour was meant to add a real touch of luxury. In this case, the next owner gets the double-barrel shot of red and velour. I mean, what more could you possibly want? Seriously, the interior is actually in remarkable condition. There are a couple of cracks in the dash pad, and while these could potentially be repaired, it might be worth remembering that replacements are available for around $130. The one aspect of the interior that impresses me the most is the state of the upholstery on the seats. This always presented well when new, but could become dirty, worn, and stained, pretty quickly. This all looks really great, while the carpet would seem to need little more than for someone to break out a vacuum cleaner and give it a quick once-over. As is the case with the exterior, the next owner will have very little to do inside the vehicle.

There are no engine photos, but what would a Mustang be without a V8 under the hood? That’s what you get here, with the 302ci V8 backed by a 3-speed automatic transmission. The car also features power steering and power brakes. This brought 129hp to the table in the Mustang II and allowed it to cover the ¼ mile in 18.4 seconds. Part of the loss of performance when compared to its predecessors could be squarely blamed on tightening emission laws, but part of it lay in the fact that at 3,180lbs, the Mustang II Ghia was actually a relatively heavy car for its size. Having said that, when you compared its performance with that of its competition, the figures stack-up fairly reasonably. The owner claims that the Ford has a genuine 25,000 miles on its odometer, but doesn’t indicate whether he holds evidence to verify this. What he does say is that he has invested around $10,000 in the car, including fitting new tires. However, he doesn’t actually tell us how well the car runs or drives.

When the Mustang II was launched in 1974, it managed to repeat the feats of its predecessor, and sold in far greater numbers than anticipated. These figures soon reduced substantially, and by the end of 1978, the Mustang II was no more. The 1975 sales figures show that 188,575 people chose to park a Mustang II of some description in their driveway. Of those, 52,320 were the Ghia Coupe edition. It isn’t clear just how many of those were the Silver Luxury Group cars, but today, surviving examples would have to be a relative rarity. Maybe this isn’t the ultimate in collectible cars, but it is a rust-free V8 Mustang that is in good condition, and you could own it for less than $8,000. That has to make it a tempting proposition.

Comments

  1. Avatar Bob_in_TN Member

    OK friends, I’ll start, I have my flame-retardant suit on. I like Mustang II’s, and this is my second favorite model. (My favorites are the 77-78 Ghia’s with the black/tan or tan/black Sports Appearance Group option). I’d be proud to own this one. It would be a huge attention-getter at Cars & Coffee and a tribute to its day and time.

    There can’t be more than a handful of these still around.

    Good job Adam.

    Like 27
    • Avatar Moparman Member

      Suited up as well! I, too, like the Mustang II, but my preference lies with the hatchback first, and the non Ghia notch back second. There were two hatchbacks listed on this site last year (one a Mach I, manual!) that were just too far away for me to consider! I have fond memories of a military bud’s 4 spd notch back coupe! GLWTA :-)

      Like 11
    • Avatar MarveH

      Same here, both my wife and I love Mustang II’s. In fact, we’re looking for one now. Unfortunately, the automatic is ALWAYS a show stopper for us, we must have a manual. But this is a very nice car.

      Like 4
      • Avatar BillB

        I have a 1975 Ghia with the 2.8 Cologne V6 and the 4-speed. Polar White with a full vinyl top on Cranberry vinyl interior. It’s been in the family since new and is still original and stored winters. This one seems to have all available options except the AM/FM 8-Track (can’t see if it has intermittent wipers). Good luck finding that RF lacy spoke rim and the Mustang horse center cap if the owner doesn’t have it!

        Like 2
    • Avatar Howard

      Hello,
      I’m wandering if the car is still for sale. I’ve been trying to inquire about it all week but never got any reply at all.
      Even sent an email on Craigslist. Can someone contact me about it please?

      Like 0
  2. Avatar Jamie

    I’m not seeing the sliding sunroof on this one. The person doing the write ups on these cars that are featured here need to pay attention…there was a mistake before about the 77 Corvette with cruise control. Love all the articles, but if I’m going to be a buyer We need facts otherwise it’s a nice car….

    Like 3
    • Avatar Bmac777

      Jamie,
      Your being a bit hard on Adam and the others.
      This site takes submissions from people and presents them for discussion and memories for entertainment, not sales.
      If you are going to be a “buyer”, then you should be consulting the actual listing on Ebay,Craigslist or other site that is actually selling it

      Like 24
    • Avatar Tony Primo

      Click on the Craigslist ad, the sunroof is there. Another cup of coffee may help.

      Like 21
    • Avatar Tim

      If you zoom in the picture you can see sunroof it wasn’t glass on these cars the sunroof panel was metal.

      Like 2
  3. Avatar Ed VT

    I hope they remembered to put the milk away.

    Like 12
  4. Avatar Mike H.

    Regarding the mileage claim. . .

    10k miles seems possible based on the condition of the interior. I can’t imagine those seats would hold up real well to years, and years, and miles of use. Their condition has not often been seen since 1978 for 1979 at the latest, so the stated low miles could be believed.

    These were neat cars for their time, though I have preferred this car’s sister for most of my life. The Mustang II was a stopgap measure slotted between the gigantic 1971-1973 Mustang and the Fox Body of 1979, and regardless of the Pinto underpinnings these were really good sellers that completely hit their mark.

    Thanks again, Lido!

    Like 9
  5. Avatar Will Fox

    In `75, on just a handful of silver pkg. Ghia Mustang coupes you could get the glass moonroof that cranked open–and only on this model. If this one had that, you could add another $1000. to the price. This one has the steel painted sunroof panel.

    Like 2
  6. Avatar JoeNYWF64

    I’m surprised people were not upset they could not get an interior or dash as nice as in this Ghia – on the ’79 stang – let alone racing mirrors(out of place on a non hatchback tho IMO) & frameless glass. Looking at the pic with Lee in it, the white non ghia looks better w/o opera windows & of course has better visibility than the ghia. The white ’74 actually looks fairly similar to the ’65 non fastback. Ford should have made the wheel openings on the ’74 bigger(higher) & fitted std 14″ wheels.
    Wonder how ez it is for those seat “buttons” to pop off after lot of use.
    I would imagine that (dealer installed?) luggage rack is rare on a stang II.
    Wonder if ford thought of doing a semi fastback & having just 1 basic body, like 1st gen f-bodies.

    Like 1
  7. Avatar Mike

    Huh?! A Craig’s List ad with decent pictures?! All that is missing is a pic of the motor.

    Like 4
    • Avatar Mike H.

      I thought the same thing. I had assumed that The List of Craig had an algorithm that detected considered photography and simply denied submission until clarity is removed.

      Like 5
      • Avatar David Ulrey

        I used to sell cars regularly on Craigslist. It’s all about the people posting the ads. Some ads are informative with plenty of good pictures and accurate descriptions and some just plain old suck.

        Like 2
  8. Avatar Car Nut Tacoma

    Lovely looking car. I remember the Mustang II. I was way too young to drive at the time. But I know people who had one at one time or another. If only they had more powerful engine for what names that they were given. Given the name “Cobra”, I would think they’d be given a more powerful V8 engine and firmer suspension.

    Like 1
  9. Avatar Jamie

    I was being harsh…. and I do apologize. I saw the sunroof I’m eating my words as we speak. So I do apologize again.

    Like 15
  10. Avatar txchief

    “Potential future classic” It more like a future soup can!

    Like 5
  11. Avatar Little_Cars

    After this car was painted, the pinstriper must have snapped a level line on both sides of the car to do his work, would look better following the lines of the rear fender or better yet leave the pinstriping off. One of the few cars that looks better without it. The upright hood ornament is a little off putting too, for a compact “sports car.” My sister had the Ghia in brown with poofy tan leather interior and opera roof. Felt downright classy compared to the 71 Pinto I owned a few years earlier. Still…a lot of 2020 dollars for this future soup can.

    Like 2
  12. Avatar david R

    people at Ford should have done time on a chain gang for what they did to the Mustang

    Like 4
    • Avatar don

      The Mustang II was the right idea for the time ; the 71-73 Mustangs would have sold poorly during the gas crisis and “performance” was a four letter word back then . To bring an economical car out when everyone wanted an economy car was a perfect idea ,and like the original was based on the cheap Falcon platform , so the Mustang II shared the cheap Pinto platform .It worked the first time, it worked the second time too . At least the 74-78 Mustangs tried to copy the looks of the first gen cars ; the Fox bodied cars looked like they didn’t even try to design a car that looked like a Mustang. And at one time the Probe was going to be the new Mustang- you should be happy they didn’t go that route !

      Like 8
  13. Avatar TimM

    The ghia being the least desirable model in my opinion but this one is nice and clean and sports the 302 which with very little mods can cut that 18 second time down quite a bit!! At this point in time I always wondered what Ford was thinking but these cars grow on you!!!

    Like 2
  14. Avatar Bhowe Member

    Ah the memories. My first car was a silver 74 mustang II. 4 cyl, manual. Not a ghia but boy was I proud. Payments were 47 dollars a month that I paid with my paper route money. The paint was shot but I did my best to buff what was left. What an oil burner. Mine ran good, but it was nearing the end of life. A quart every 100 miles qualified as significant oil consumption.

    Didn’t matter to me though as I was one proud 15 year old owner and it was a Mustang! In my state of ND you can get your driver’s license at 14 but it took me awhile to save up some money while driving my folks hand me down 72 Galaxie.

    I’ve got plenty of cars already but maybe I’d consider getting another copy of my first car if the price was a little more reasonable.

    Like 1
  15. Avatar Stevieg

    Put me in there as a fan of these. This one really does it for me, having a V-8 & a sunroof! Add this one onto the list of cars I wish I could buy!

    Like 1

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