A black muscle car with a V8 and a 4-speed manual transmission? 99% of us are all over that all day long. Did I mention that this one is a 1977 Ford Mustang II Cobra II? The seller has this car posted here on craigslist and it’s located in Brookfield, Wisconsin, just west of Milwaukee. They’re asking what seems like a very reasonable $10,900 for this example. Thanks to Pat L. for sending in this tip!
I wouldn’t chuckle too much when I say that $10,900 may be a good price for this car. Remember, this isn’t 1998 anymore, things have changed, prices have changed. Hagerty is at $10,900 for a #4 fair condition car, $22,000 for a car in #3 good condition, and $28,700 for a Cobra II in #2 excellent condition. This car has future flipper written all over it. Someone will grab it, fix it up a bit, and resell it for a profit and there’s nothing wrong with that, it’s called free enterprise. When they do, here’s the original listing.
This seller isn’t super generous in providing a lot of photos, sadly. There are exactly six photos, three exteriors, two interior shots, and one engine photo. At least they show most of the car other than the back end and it’s almost impossible to tell the condition of the driver’s side rear with the door open in the only photo of that side. The buyer may be able to take a gamble and hope for the best, or get in touch and try to see it in person.
The interior has some wear and old age issues as you can see, and is that clutch pedal pad slipping off? They list the miles as being 999 which is incredibly frustrating and it makes us scratch our collective heads while shaking them at the same time yet again. Online sellers keep setting the bar lower for some reason. At least they show most of the car, but the description is basically, “Runs well, drive it home, if the ad is still up don’t ask if it’s still available.”
The engine is Ford’s Windsor 302 cubic-inch V8 which had 130 horsepower and 242 lb-ft of torque. The Borg-Warner 4-speed manual will make it fun to drive even with only 130 horsepower. How much is this car worth using Hagerty’s numbers as a basis, not what you think it should be worth or what it was worth a decade ago?
Typically crappy Craigslist ad but typically spot-on write-up from Scotty. Despite the strong love/hate response Mustang II’s generate, especially the performance models, their values are politely marching upward. Can’t really tell much about this one other than it is likely “not too bad”.
So in answer to your question, it’s not even 2017 any more….it might be on the high side on price, but likely not too far off.
I wouldn’t call this a spot-on right up, Scotty called this a muscle car.
Good bye is the correct answer.
You say “Mustang II Cobra.” I say fancy clothes on a Pinto
Eh, no different than the ’64 / ’65 Mustangs being “fancy clothes” on a Falcon. Or the Fox Body being “fancy clothes” on a Fairmont, LOL!
Mustangs have always had “humble roots”, so to speak.
Nothing to do with a Pinto, research it.
Unlike the Falcon and first gen Mustang the Mustang ii did not share any parts with the Pinto except the 4 cyl powertrain. The body structure was unique as well as the front suspension which is used in 1000’s of hot rods today.
I wonder if I would choose between this and a Vega Cosworth?
It appears the seller may have updated the posting. There are way more pics than this write-up states.
It may be “fancy clothes on a Pinto” as stated above, but it also has a V8, which along with the 4 speed, makes this a very fun light weight driver. The seller has added more photos, and there may be some rust issues in the rear quarters, but if the rust has not progressed too far, this could be a reasonable price for a very entertaining late 70s muscle car.
It may be “fancy clothes on a Pinto” as stated above, but it also has a V8, which along with the 4 speed, makes this a very fun light weight driver. The seller has added more photos, and there may be some rust issues in the rear quarters, but if the rust has not progressed too far, this could be a reasonable price for a very entertaining late 70s muscle car.
Rexfox, an older 302 will fit in quite nicely, adding 40% more hp! It’s just a matter of how rusty is the underside?
The visible rust is a little worrisome.
Seller now has 17 pictures, price hasn’t changed, 77,xxx on the odometer….
Passenger side rear quarter panel fixed behind the tire up 8” or so, so an inspection of the unibody in order, especially the back end! Ad doesn’t say it’s an out of state car, judging by the rear prater and the passenger side door of which it appears the bottom edge doesn’t shut tight and the top half is means???…rust repair on the bottom edge of the door?a big dent pulled out, or who knows? 77k could be actual if it sat indoors most winters. I had a V6 Mustang II, dropping the rack to change a starter was my first experience that designers don’t work on their own cars!
3000lb, 3.00 rear gear. 4spd. Decent tq, sad hp. Is it possible these are competitive in a street race vs the smokey and the bandit era trans ams ? 301 , 403 , 400 automatics ?
IMO, the dash warning lites should have been to the right of the headlite switch, the aux gages moved up, & the HVAC controls moved below them.
Knobs above the glove compartment do what?
14″ inch wheels & tires fitted?
Is that electronic distributor/coil comparable in power to GM’s HEI?
I had a ‘76 with the V8/4sp combination.
The V8 was a ‘67 289 transplant that had been massaged a bit with a hotter cam, intake and 4 barrel carburetor.
I never put it on a dyno but it would give 400 T/A’s, 396 Chevelle’s, IROC Z’s and Fox body mustangs a good view of its tail lights.
The 455 T/A SD’s, GTO Ram Air IV’s and the GT 500 KR I took a shot at are probably still laughing at the “Oh” look on my face as they pulled away.
Missing the “V8” emblems on the front fenders, so I’m inclined this was orig. a 4 or 6 cyl car that got a V8 transplant.
Joey V The missing emblems could’ve been from when it was repainted? A few things do not add up with the car, but if the underside is pretty clean I think it has great potential. If this was originally a four-cylinder or V6, the insurance company would be ensuring it at a four-cylinder or six cylinder rate, rather than a V-8 rate. My buddy used to do that with the Chevy mines is, do the V-8 swap for people and they got by cheaper on the insurance. Until that one guy got a speeding ticket and hit some vehicles that were parked……
I am thinking it is missing the V8 emblems due to a repaint as well. It is also missing the front chin spoiler.
If memory serves me correctly I believe the V8’s only came with the 120 mph speedo prior to ‘78. Could be wrong on that though.
It looks to have been repainted and they forgot to put the V8 and Cobra stripes back on the sides. The rust scares me as it has been repainted and repaired with bondo in the quarter. How is the hatch? They were prone to rust as well. This would require an in person inspection and verify that it is a real Cobra II and not a rebuilt clone.