I always hear the sweeping, classic 1970s Charlie’s Angels theme song when I see a Mustang II. That theme song seemed to fit both that show and these cars perfectly. This 1974 Ford Mustang II looks like the usual suspect but it has a little surprise lurking inside. No, not one of Chuck’s Angels in the back seat, come on, this is a family show! This ‘Stang II, nicknamed Lily, can be found on Craigslist with an asking price of $4,000 or best offer and it’s located in Enumclaw, Washington. Thanks to Jack M. for submitting this find!
I’m assuming that in back of that thumb on the upper left, behind the great looking pooch, is the owner, seller, builder, and caretaker of “Lily”, this particular white Mustang II. She said that she “bought this car in 2012 to be my senior project for high school. She had 69k original miles and was perfect, inside and out considering her age. I’m the third owner of the car and have all the receipts and history of her back to 1976.” How cool is that? We rarely hear about women in the car hobby here and it’s great to hear about a car like Lily being owned and built by a young woman.
And, like them or not, Lily is a good looking example of a second-generation Mustang. Yes, I love the vinyl top and the trunk-mounted luggage rack. And, yes I had a pair of white shoes and a white belt in the mid-70s when I was a teenager. You already guessed that, though. The Mustang had grown to gargantuan proportions by the end of the first-generation so to me, even though these Mustang IIs are basically Pinto-based cars, I thought they were cool and interesting. And on a side note: why didn’t Ford break up the first-generation cars into separate generations? I mean, I know why, but that a 1971-73 Mustang is the same generation as a 1965 or a 1970 Mustang is crazy to me. Back to Lily.
As you can see, Lily has an automatic – we were hoping for a 4-speed weren’t we? The owner says that it’s a rebuilt C4. On a side note, this is how to do a Craigslist ad: give tons of info and have it be well-written and add some humor, and also include a nice amount and variety of photos. Well done, seller. The interior looks great other than having a couple of seam separations on the driver’s seat which shouldn’t be a big deal to have fixed. The back seat looks brand new.
Here’s the surprise. This isn’t a 105 hp V6 that would have been in this car, it’s a “1987 2.3l efi turbo motor with a rebuilt Warner IHI turbo at about 13 pounds of boost. Less than 3,000 miles on rebuild.” A lot of upgrades have been done including “Bored .040 over, Rebuilt head, Hypereutectic cast pistons, Cometic head gasket, Late model ranger roller cam, Vertical front-mount intercooler, 2.5″ custom exhaust built for a deeper sound, 2.5″ core radiator, Stainless radiator hoses” and more. That’s a nice upgrade. There is no mention of horsepower but I’m guessing, what, 175? 190? More? Have any of you owned a project car when you were in your teens? How cool is that Lily the ’74 Mustang II Turbo was owned and built by a young woman? That’s very cool in my opinion.
Young lady’s quite the gear head reading her ad. Hope Lily finds someone who’ll leave her pretty much as Sarina has built her.
I just noticed the “Built, not bought” decal👍
This could surprise a few people at a weekend bracket meet at the local drag strip.
Nice car. One concern…no underside pics. Would really be nice, considering she took other great pics and wrote it up so well. Good job ma’am. This would be barking right up my tree were it not that I’m working on my house and all my money…. well, ya know.
The only thing I see wrong with her is she’s a long way from Georgia.
Never liked these Mustangs. 2 yearg ago I bought ALL original 73 Mustang coupe bronze exterior and brown interior with 8K original miles Zero rust all documentation , manuals 302 auto , factory ac , factory am radio , manual windows I paid 17K for it Just beautiful ! Not for sale am just sharing my passion for classics !
Your ’73 V8 Mustang has nothing to do with this ’74 four cylinder Mustang II.
Seeing them new in the showroom as a kid, they were cool then and they’re cool now.
Very nice car, kudos to the builder. With the set-up described under-hood, I would say 200 horsepower as a conservative estimate. When that turbo spools up, things would get squirrelly for sure.
To tell you the truth, when I watched that show, I didn’t even realize what kind of cars they were driving,,, :)
Ha!
Lovely looking car. I remember this generation Mustang II from when I was a boy. I thought at the time that it was the most beautiful car offered. I found the coupe more attractive than the fastback. It’s a shame that it isn’t as desirable with collectors as earlier Mustangs or later Mustangs. Oh well, you can’t please everyone.
Sarina, that’s a nice build and a great write up in yer ad!
I live Wa. I have seen this car at a few shows. Very clean. Nice work too! Would love to have it.
So would I. I’ve always loved the Mustang II. Never mind what detractors say about it. Every car has their limitations and quirks. If you take care of the car, don’t drive recklessly, and take it in for maintenance every other month, then it’ll last indefinitely.
I also live in Washington state. Originally from Seattle. I grew up in Kirkland. I now live in Gig Harbor. :)
Small world. I live in Gig harbor!
Hey Scotty – Nice write-up! Love the way this was built with the brutally stock look inside and out and the neat modified motor. This site suggests 230 HP+ at the wheels so maybe a legit 270 at the flywheel. https://www.stinger-performance.com/faq.html
While I love the car and its immaculate condition, Craigslist never seems to post enough pics of the car. Twelve pictures hardly seems to be enough when selling a car.
I’ve always had a soft spot for the II’s..Don’t see them often enough now..specially the coupes..The proportions look better to me..Fine job on your build Sarina! Having driven an 88 ThunderChicken, I’ll bet Lily’s a blast to drive! Wish I had the spare dinero’s right now..She’d be on her way to St.Louis and grace my garage in a heartbeat!
Hey Kurt. I agree. I’ve always loved cars of the 70s. My favourite cars have always been the Toyota Celica ST and GT and the Ford Mustang II.
@ Rob S Awesome! :)