“When America needed a better idea in driving fun, Ford put Mustang II on wheels.” I can hear the Mustang II haters rolling in their cyber graves after that line from a Mustang II brochure back in 1977. This 1977 Ford Mustang II can be found posted here on craigslist in Oswego, Illinois and they’re asking $6,300. Here is the original listing, and thanks to Pat L. for sending in this tip!
Just to finish out that brochure paragraph, “The sweet handling Mustang II, since inception, has been the best-handling car in its class.” Numbers don’t lie, and while we can always debate whether the Mustang II saved Mustang or ruined it, they sold a ton of them at just the right time. Gas prices were rising and there were gas shortages and MPG numbers needed to rise in order for American cars to compete with a flood of imports. In the 1970s, that often meant that engine power and vehicle size went down, unlike today when you can get a new car that does 0-60 in five seconds and gets 30 mpg.
This car appears to be a bit of a Cobra tribute, a Mustang II Cobra II, I mean. The body looks great in the tiny, un-enlargeable photos (I know), but they do show a small glitch in the paint, which is commendable for a craigslist ad. The seller says that they bought this car in pieces after it had been off of the road for 15 or 20 years, and they appear to have done a great job in turning those parts into a nice-looking car. They mention that this car has a clear North Carolina title.
Speaking of nice-looking, this is the interior that I was hoping to see here with “Ashton cloth” inserts. Yes, it has a three-speed automatic with a console shifter rather than a manual, but those seats are great. There’s some work to do on the driver’s seat upper seatback fabric, but otherwise, the interior looks nice.
The engine is cleaner than most that we see here, well done, seller! It should be a Ford-Cologne 2.8-liter V6, which would have had 93 horsepower and 149 lb-ft of torque when new. You have to read the seller’s listing, the amount of work that has been done on this car is incredible for the asking price. Whether a person likes the Mustang II or not, it’s hard to argue with this car. Any thoughts on this one?
Good write-up Scotty. This looks like a pretty good Mustang II. Finding them in decent condition isn’t easy. With the amount of mechanical work done, I doubt the seller is making much money. Some more work to be done. I like the in-your-face red interior, and the Cobra II look isn’t bad.
Count me in the “right car for its time” camp. It wasn’t the 60’s anymore.
It looks like a cool fun car but this raises some red flags. It is located in illinois,has a vermont plate and said to have a north carolina title. What is the story with that? Otherwise it looks like it could make a nice cars and coffee car show cruiser.
Very nice!!
So it’s in Chicago, with a Vermont tag, and titled in North Carolina……..?
Easily explained. You buy a car from someone in VT who ships you the car with a plate on it (some states plates stay with the car whether expired or not; to be registered or not) while you reside in NC. So you title the car in SC but never register it because it doesn’t run. You then move to IL with your NC titled car with the VT tag and decide to sell it it and, there you have it. Nothing fishy or sinister.
That’s one scenario. I’d like to add; The car may have never been to Vermont. You can register any car in the country in Vermont, through the mail. All Vermont wants is the registration fees.
Probably no problem for me since I live in NC. Shipping it to NC would be my problem.
Years ago one could register a car and get Vermont tags and be looking living in any
lower 48 states state. Just fill out the form. Been there done that. Not sure about now.
For the money, it’s a great start if you like
Mustang IIs. Fix little things; a/c and cruise.
Mustangs are still with us, so these must’ve
been important to their survival…
The Mustang II was a cool car. My parents bought a 74 new and it became my school car…Would like to find a rust free nice Cobra II or King cobra, even the Mach 1….
For all the hatters….The Mustang II looks more like a classic Mustang (65 through 68) than the FOX body versions all day long.
One last comment about Barn Finds….NOT a fan of not seeing the comments people leave where I have to open up the write up and seacch for it.
Nice car, but the 2.8/automatic combo is a big downer. Cologne V6s are fraught with valve train/cylinder head issues- and for some reason small Fords of that era suffered greatly from having their limited horsepower decimated by automatics. I suspect torque converter “issues”. I had one of the much maligned Mustang IIs back in the day. “Cobra” styling. “Stallion” package. 2.3/4 speed. Actually got 40 mpg on occasion. Conversely, my brother-in-law bought a ‘77 Pinto Squire wagon with 2.8/auto. 12 mpg. 😬
That Cologne 2.8 V-6 uses a Bosch distributor, good luck finding parts for the distributor. Even the parts stores that specialize in imports have a hard time getting pieces to rebuild them. My daughter had that engine in a 1979 Capri, looked like a fox body Mustang. That is what she thought she was getting. And that is what you get if you don’t listen to dad.
Back to the Mustang II. Nice little car, Great for in town driving and running errands on the weekend. As much as has been done, the ask is almost a giveaway price. I estimate it a mid to high #3 so good for around $5600 to 6000.
Our 1974 Mustang II had the V-6, automatic. Bought it used from Hertz, and kept it 15 years. Only problem was a shattered plastic timing gear during the blizzard of 77. Went from mom, to dad, to my sister, to me. I sold it with 199,000 miles on it. If the body wasn’t rusting off of it? I’d have kept it.
Ok someone has done a very nice job of restoring a few into one. However with a red interior, they should have used the same shade of red instead for the blue stripes added to the car, then it would resemble a very rare red/white Cobra II. The ones that came with blue had a blue interior. I remember this very well as I almost special ordered one. But refrained when I heard the 78 would come with an optional 302/4 V8. That a good friend would end up buying. But instead I went in a totally different direction and ordered a Scout II TERRA truck, 4×4, with a 345/4 V8, with posi rear limited slip front, that could easily outrun the V8 Cobra II
Looks to be a pretty nice car for the money. Tempted but I have no more garage space.