This was a 4 cylinder wonder. A common misconception was that the Mustang II was just a Pinto. I’ve even call them that myself. But in reality they only shared a few parts.
Of course these were all either 4 (2.3L) or V6 (2.8L) powered
Ok stop right now. I know what some of you are thinking. A 1978 Mustang II….. oh please!! There were no muscle cars in the mid and late 70’s. There were no power house Mustangs on the market at that time.
While that is true, the Mustang II did sell over 1 million copies. We had one in our family when I was in college. A 1974 Mustang II Ghia:
It was a 4 cylinder and the picture above is an exact match.
The design of the Mustang was developed by Gene Bordiant with help from the Italy based Ghia studios. Good thing, because Ford started out looking at having Pinto as the base model Mustang II or the Maverick.
By 1975 Ford realized that offering only a 4 or 6 cylinder Mustang wasn’t going to cut it. So they made modifications to squeeze the 5.0 L (the famous 302) back under the hood. Of course long gone (at the time) was the massive horse power of the old 5.0L. The 1975 Mustang only mustered 122 to 139 hp’s.
By 1976 I guess Ford was feeling it oats and designed a Cobra II package for the Mustang II. It was a looker:
1976 Mustang Cobra II
But is labeled “all show and no go” by most critics. I like the look!!! Just to make less exciting you could get the package on a 4 cylinder!!! WHY??? WHY??? WHY???? Oh well. The package was added by Jim Wangers’s Motortown company but only for 1976. (Can you say “collector status”? – yes.) Ford began adding the kit at the plant.
1978 the company wanted to one up the Cobra II and created the King Cobra.
The “Boss of the Mustang stable” came only in a hatch back (no coupe). It held the 302 with a 4 speed manual transmission, power brakes and steering. T-tops were an option ($587) and an automatic transmission could be added for $225.
Want to talk about the 700 pound monkey (or snake?) in the room? Ok…what about that hood? Oh the scoop was just fine, in fact it made it look almost normal. You either loved or hated that cobra on the hood.
The Snake!!!
1978 King Cobra
For 1978 Ford sold 4318 units. 1979 saw the first Mustang Fox body, which is now legendary.
