After a year without a V8 in the Mustang, Ford decided that a 302 cubic inch V8 with two barrel carburetor would be enough for their little Mustang II. Here is a nice and fairly unmolested example. It is a 1975 Ford Mustang II with 109,000 miles and can be seen here on Craigslist. The car is for sale in northern California outside of Sacramento. This survivor is listed for sale for $4,200.
Pumping out a wheezy 140 horsepower, the 302 cubic inch V8 was a shadow of its former self. The 302 cubic inch V8 was an option available over the 2.3 liter 4 banger base engine. Road and Track tested the V8 Mustang II and recorded a top speed of 106 mph and 0-60 time of 10.5 seconds. Can you imagine this car pulling up to a light next to a Super Duty 455 Trans Am or a 454 Corvette. It might start leaking fluids right on the spot! Despite all the fun we might poke at this version of the Mustang, it was a great seller with 199,199 sold in 1975. This was down by 100,000 models from the prior year.
The interior looks fairly nice on this white on white Mustang II. With manual crank windows, the seats and door panels look original and a little dirty. The car is equipped with air conditioning and an automatic transmission. When Ford introduced the Mustang II in 1974, it shortened the car by 19 inches and the Mustang lost almost 500 lbs. With it rack and pinion steering, it is said to handle better than the prior generation Mustang.
The chrome slotted mags and tires look undersized but then again, this car was designed for fuel economy not machismo. More stripes and an appearance package or two were to come in 1976. What do you think this Mustang II with its original V8 is worth?
You can do a lot with a wheezy 302 to make it better
Bear in mind this Mustang only weighed a ton and a half.
This is the kind of Mustang II that I could almost get excited about. I am just not 100% sold on any white over white car.
That said, a gentleman here in Northern Florida had a Mustang II hardtop for sale a few years ago. His was automatic transmission, A/C, but a 4 cylinder in pond scum green…yet he was asking about the same price. These don’t sell quickly, at least not the 2 door coupes.
So…the four door sedans sell better? Hmmm. I bet they do.
I guess.
He is referring to the coupes not selling as well as the fastbacks
One of my sisters had a Mustang II, in looks and to drive they always struck me as being compacted Thunderbirds. NOT smaller Thunderbirds, but like they took the Thunderbird and put it in a machine that squeezed it into a smaller size.
The 3 door/liftback at least injected a hint of sportiness into the design.
BTW, the decision to build the 2 door model was supposedly a last minute deal, there was originally only going to be the 3 door.
I remember seeing a 4 door mustang driving down a lone lonesome road. An abirition of sorts. It just dissapeared mysteriously. Ghost Mustang.
One has to respect these cars. … They kept the mustang alive during the embargo/ smog years and still going today.
Hmm Camaro or Corvette have gap years … 🥺
Mustang fan..owner .with 67 vert 👍👀
& so does Challenger – big gap of years.
I wouldn’t even call these real mustangs…the only thing they
kept alive was the public’s perception on how terrible Fords quality was getting in those years with this re-bodied pinto!
Also a 67 mustang convertible owner ….but certainly not a mustang II fan
You have to keep in mind this was the result of government interference. The big three had to have their cars meet fuel economy standards.
That said, the Mustang II nearly put Ford out of business.
It seems to a fair price for those that like this car.
Steve R
Let’s Disco!
I was about 14 in 1975 and there were two sailors who were members of our volunteer fire dept. They both owned 302 Mustang II coupes , one dark brown with a white top and interior, the other one was a pale yellow/green with a green top and interior . both cars had slotted mags like those pictured, but they were jacked up to hold the wider tires. They had done some work to the engines and those things would smoke the tires !
I like this. I definitely prefer ones that don’t have a vinyl top but vinyl tops on darn near anything were all the rage. In 1973 my parents bought a 1971 Country Squire that someone had put a full vinyl roof in. Have seen pickups with them too.
These Mustang II brought great memories for me! My second girlfriend got one from her parents a H.S. grad present. it was also 2-dr. coupe with the 302. It was a ’76 Ghia. We both liked the car and she kept it after she graduated from college. These were decent cars. Too bad we split up after college graduation. Everytime I saw one, my heart skip a beat!
Up against a Super Duty 455, or any pre-75 Trans Am/Formula for that matter would be a no contest. Only way this II could win that race would be in bracket racing….maybe.
Drop in a well built drive train front to back and it’s a different story.
Nobody expected any real performance out of a 2 barrel 302, most of all Ford, but at least they offered a starting point here.
Love those Trans Am’s too but they were rare even when new. Sadly Pontiac discontinued the SD version early in the ’74 year. Still believe it had more to do with Chevy not liking a threat to the Corvette more so than smogging… 1970’s in the USA, oh my !
Wonder how much Ford had to pay Pontiac to use the super duty name..and yes that 302 can be livened up fairly easily..nice car and good luck with the sale
That’s usually worked out by way of allowing the use of some other name or moniker. FCA allowed Kia to take the Stinger name that they had previously used. Ford did lose the rights to use “Futura” when they failed to use the name for many years and it was taken by Pep boys automotive and applied to a line of tires.
Fords use of the super duty name goes back to 1958, the new big truck V8 engines introduced that year along with the FE and MEL series of engines. Pontiac used that name referring to a particular race version of the 421 before the no racing policy in the early sixties. 421 Super Duty will devour the 455, provided with enough 100 plus octane gas of course.
These sold very well due to many factors. 71-73 Mustangs were too bloated and took a major hit from the press. High insurance rates for muscle cars. The big one. Fuel crisis.
Everyone wanted a small car. Everything small was selling. Take an existing Pinto and rebody. This was the NEW Mustang. Everyone jumps on the bandwagon when something is new. The new AMC Pacer sold 145,000 in only half a year in 1975.
People who bought the Mustang were not buying them again. What was the target buyer? Had to be women. On TV Farah drove one. In pop culture when Burt Reynolds wanted a fast car he got a Trans Am. That was the norm. AMC had the V8 option with the Hornet hatchback and brought back the AMX 150 hp. in reply to the Cobra II. I drove both and not because I am a FAN but the Hornet was a all around better car. The T/A and Z28 weren’t shabby in this era as compared. Everything looked good next to the Mustang II.
Thankfully in 1979 Ford understood their mistake. Then came the Fox. With it came a renewed interest in performance and by God they gave the masses what we wanted. No looking back. The Mustang today is still the King.
I wouldn’t say they Ford made a mistake on the them ; it was a car for the time and they sold like hotcakes . In a way , they followed the same idea of the first gen Mustang – the 64s were based on the lowly Falcon platform, the Mustang II was on the Pinto platform. and while options for the Falcon and Pinto were minimal, both Mustangs were loaded with choices from body styles , different size engines and a bunch of trim options so you could “personalize ” your car.. True it wasn’t a family size car, but it wasnt meant to be and really neither Gens .were . As you stated, the gas crunch was on and Muscle cars were fading from the scene and large cars were doomed to used car lots and demo derbies ;men and women bought them for economy . By 1979 technology had advanced and styles had changed and the Fox platform was far and away a better platform. The Mustang II had a good run of 4 years, but advancements in economy required a lighter more efficient car to be produced and Ford found the right car at the right time once again.
Beautiful looking car! Although I was way too young to drive at the time, I remember the Mustang II. I preferred the two door coupe version over the hatchback. $4,200 looks like a reasonable asking price. You could still afford to have it inspected to make sure it’s worth the price.
Why does it look like the A/C compressor is missing?
Was told years go that when equipped with a 260 or a 302 the motor had to be lifted partially from its mounts to change certain spark plugs. Never found out if fact or fiction.
Sunbeam Tiger application
I had a ’68 390 GT fastback, same problem, if not specialized tool had to lift from mount to change plugs :(
I used to say it then and I still say it now. “That’s a Mustang??”
I had a V8 1978 M2 hatchback and it was not hard to work on. This generation of Mustang is not a muscle car. But, it was a nice driving car that was better handling than the early ones
When I was a lad these cars were new. We all thought that fun cars were over as these mustangs were neither fast, fun, or well made. I had a thrashed 67 cougar at the time with a tired 289 hypo that would put any of these away.
I just read an article on the new Mustang Shelby 350 with something near 600 horsepower, and it’s not the hottest set up available so I’m I quite happy that we were all wrong!
Nice piece of history the car shown here but a Mustang II is still a completely underwhelming car by almost any standard.