After the Mustang grew wider, longer, and heavier into the late 1960s and early 1970s, Lee Iacocca took an interesting question from a shareholder at the company’s annual meeting. Anna Muccioli, who owned 200 shares of Ford, asked why it was that Ford kept introducing great small cars, and then blowing them up in size, only to start over again. She had a ’65 Mustang and saw that replacing her car would mean investing in a much larger vehicle. In 1970, after Iacocca became head of Ford, he ordered the Mustang on a diet. Prior plans to lightly redesign the larger Mustang of the early ’70s were discarded, and in 1974, on the heels of the oil embargo, the Pinto-based Mustang II was launched. While the downsizing was prompted by consumer concerns including fuel efficiency, the result could not have been better timed. The new Mustang was wildly popular, nearing the highwater mark of ’67 for units sold. Here on eBay is one of these underloved ‘Stangs, a 1978 coupe. It is bid to $1000 with no reserve, and you should probably bring a trailer to pick it up from Lansford, Pennsylvania.
No engine bay photos accompany the listing, but we know this is Ford’s 2.3-liter four-cylinder lurks under that hood, with an output of about 89 hp. The C3 automatic is new. Thanks to the work invested, the car runs and drives but the seller notes that the exhaust and suspension need attention. While the second-gen Mustang receives a knock for its down-on-power mechanicals, gas mileage improved dramatically, and its smaller platform wasn’t a hindrance to the perception of comfort.
Iacocca, knowing the Mustang was losing its trademark horsepower glow, wanted the new Mustang to offer an interior at least as good as any previous version. Its seats were bolstered, it had a full complement of gauges, and there was that center console with its gear shift – no “granny” column shift! Our seller notes that the rear seat vinyl is cracked and that the driver’s floor might need a patch but “the rest of the car is solid”.
Previously yellow, the car wears a shabby black paint job embellished by a few dents, but the lenses look clear and uncracked, and the glass appears decent. Notably, the pony badging on the II had the horse’s head raised, while the faster early Mustang’s badging showed the horse in streamlined “full gallop” mode with its nose even with its tail. Despite various complaints about the Mustang II’s power, looks, and “un-Mustang-ness”, prices on these second-gen cars have been creeping up. Is this one a viable starter classic? What do you think?
Looks like they taped up the windows & lights,
and painted the whole thing Black.
Gave up totally on Ford when they introduced these things. Sure the original cars got too big but at least they didn’t look like ’50s Bulgarian cars never imported to anywhere.
Probably the biggest pile of nothing ever made. Built like crap, look worse and very uncomfortable. Sorry Ford fans.
We put almost 200,000 miles on our 1974 “built like crap, pile of nothing” Mustang II. Replaced the timing gear, once. Had it from ’74 til ’85. Sorry, George.
Ford somehow managed to sell 1.1 million of these over their production run. A couple people must have liked them!
I had a ’77 coupe, with the 2800 Cologne V-6 and the C-4 automatic. It was an awful car, burned oil and rattled from day one.
There were actually released in September 1973, a few weeks before OAPEC announced the oil embargo (17 October 1973) so the timing was good.
I still have the 1977 mustang 2 my wife bought in 1989.
It has been parked in a barn for about five years, has over 200,000 miles.
Now my daughter wants it.
I know it needs woul like the brakes and interior, but she loves it.
It has the small 2.9 engine and is yellow.
I had one just like this when I was in high school, you it lasted well into my 1st marriage. It has well over 200000 on it and still was a good car when I traded it for my 1st pickup. Damn Good Car and Damn Good Times!
The rattle can paint job is sweet! $500, tops.
Unlike most, I actually like these small Mustangs. That said, this one requires way too much restoration when there are better examples out there.
From the comments enthusiasts seem to love or hate Mustang II’s. Add my name in the latter group
Reading your report on this and seeing the price I started to really interested in buying it because I thought it would fun to drop a 4.6 in it and just build it a little, then came the picture of the license plate and its no way am I buying that, what rust is that Craigslist paint job covering up.
I have a Crown Vic P71 with a 4.6, great engine but have fun trying to squeeze one into an engine bay the size of a Mustang II. It probably CAN be done but I bet it’d be an awful lot of work.
Truer words were never spoken! The DOHC cylinder heads on a 4.6L “Modular” engine make that V8 plant much wider than a traditional OHV plant like a 302/351. To make it fit without turning the body into a “Flexible Flyer”, you’d have to put some kind of frame under it before cutting the shock towers that the front MacPherson struts are attached to, then welding in new metal to provide attachment points for a new front suspension. It can be done, provided you have the right skills, tools and enough raw money to support the effort, or can afford to hire someone who does have those attributes. Any thing can be done with enough time, money and effort that doesn’t violate the Laws of Physics, the question is: Why would you want to?
I purchased a 1976 Cobra II new NOV. 1975 new I still own it love driving it will not sale it for any price .302 auto rebuilt engine 60 over flattops cam headers ford alumium intake 600 holly still needs some body and interior work .
I learned to run a clutch and a stick in a yellow fastback with the 2.8 V6 version with the hatchback. It belonged to Janice Lowe,,, the assistant manager at the McDonald’s in Seffner Florida back in 1980-81. She was like an aunt to me and my brothers. A very riske’ cool aunt too.
I have been a gearhead all my days. Not a Ford guy,, but I just stopped in my tracks when the movie Guardians of the Galaxy II came out because of the corporate blue Mustang II Cobra that was featured along with the music they chose for that scene. It pulled me back to 1980, and Jan telling me to ease the gas up and the clutch out at the same time and ‘beautiful things would happen’..
Man, these Mustang II’s will always remind me of those days, and her tomboyish charm. And her ponytail out the back of her ball cap.
Jan, and her little sister Robin… two all American girls. These cars will always remind me of that time.
SOLD for $1,125.
Personally I like the 1st generation cars better, at least most of them, not to big on the 71-73 cars, never understood how they really qualified as 1st generation, but I really don’t mind the Mustang II. I am of the generation that saw many of the hatchback versions of the Mustang II made I to pro-street or even full drag racing track cars. There were very light and with a blown V-8 they were pretty fast. But all that said, never was a fan at all of the coupe version. If this was a hatchback, maybe I would have taken a look at it.
I had a ’74. Without a doubt, the most troublesome, rusty, unreliable cars I ever owned. It’s rear quarters needed replaced because of the rot, less than a year old. A ground wire worked loose, and it literally boiled six batteries to death. Funny how the mechanics at two different Ford dealers couldn’t spot it, but a little one-man auto repair guy found it the minute he put it on the lift.
I unloaded that piece of trash on my local Buick dealer and bought a ’74 Century. And 43 years later, I wish I had kept it.
My dad bought a Mustang Fastback new in 1967 ,no air/3 speed stick.Gave it to my brother and bought a Mustang 2,the paint peel off of it in a matter of months and the dealer repainted the whole car.He drove it till 1978 and traded it in for a new Granada.