At $21,000, Would You Hate To Fall In Love With This 1978 Ford Mustang II Cobra II?
While today's Nice Price or No Dice Mustang II Cobra II is all show and very little go, it still shows off very nicely. Let's see if it's nice enough to flash the significant cash the seller is asking for its sale.
If you know where to look when visiting the Disneyland theme park in Anaheim, California, you can see vestiges of former attractions that have been long abandoned but aren't totally gone. There are the twin tunnels through the middle of the Matterhorn, where the Skyway gondolas once passed. Then there's the People Mover track, still snaking through Tomorrowland, and visible from the Monorail, but long-ago shuttered and now looking mildly post-apocalyptic.
In the automotive world, we see the detritus of brands long dead and sometimes only vaguely remembered. The 1995 Oldsmobile Cutlass SL that came our way on Thursday is one such reminder of what once was. Despite its orphan status, the Olds wouldn't be too tough a car to maintain, and at $2,700, it would be dirt cheap to buy, as well. That was not lost on all of you, which was the deciding factor in the Cutlass cutting the mustard to the tune of a 78% 'Nice Price' win.
Getting back into shape
Before we get into the meat and potatoes of today's 1978 Ford Mustang II Cobra II's intrinsic value, let's address the elephant in the room. This second-generation of Mustang is not the demonic hell-spawn of satan we have all been led to believe it is. This was the right car at the right time, and both its size and shape are vastly more reflective of the original 1964.5 pony car than the hulking, too-big-for-its-own-good edition that the model had become in 1973.
Not only that, the Mustang II brought rack-and-pinion steering to the line and added enhanced practicality with a handy hatchback body style. In fact, the alternative-universe result of the Mustang having kept to its course of ever-larger, less pony-car-like positioning is evident in its former platform mate, the Mercury Cougar. Instead of getting smaller and returning to its roots like the Ford, the Cougar got even bigger, trading pony car aesthetic for Lincoln-like luxury. Car buyers also liked the Mustang II's new style, nearly tripling sales its first year over the outgoing model.
A product of its era
It's also important to note that, while this generation of Mustang offers the lowest performance of any by a long shot, it's not the model's fault. In fact, pretty much every car from the 1970s offered awful performance. That's why manufacturers of the era traded get-up-and-go for the illusion of performance, offering decals and fake hood scoops to make cars look fast even if they weren't.
This Cobra II (yes, it's a Mustang II, Cobra II) is one of those gussied-up tape-and-decal cars, and dang, if the illusion doesn't still work. First off, this is the hatchback body, which is arguably the preferred version of the Mustang II over the coupe in terms of looks. Atop that is elegant black paint that the seller says has only minor flaws, and brash gold stripes, badging, and a rearing Cobra on each front fender, ready to strike. Add to that the model's appended front and rear aero aides, Rallye-style wheels with raised white-letter tires, and a set of louvered covers on the quarter windows, all harkening back to the Mustangs of the sixties, and you have a pretty good-looking car.
The one you want
As far as specs go, while laughable, it still has all the option sheet boxes we'd want to see checked. That includes the top-of-the-line 302 Windsor V8 and a four-speed manual transmission. Yes, the engine makes a pitiful, why-even-bother 139 horsepower, but at 250 pound-feet, the torque output is a bit more respectable. These are nose-heavy cars, so don't expect any heroics in the tight-twisties, but as we've noted, it's more of a show car than a go-kart.
Per the ad, the engine runs as strongly as can be expected and may have been rebuilt a few owners back. The transmission and clutch are also said to work as intended, which isn't all that surprising considering how lightly taxing the engine output is, and the car's modest 66,000 miles of service. Suspension and braking components have also been renewed, but the seller says the list is too long to detail.
Other things to note on this Mustang are a restored-to-original interior that looks very nice, right down to its factory radio and the placement of the bog-standard Ford climate controls on the left side of the steering column to keep passengers from fiddling with them. Those controls look to be absent A/C, so be prepared to go old-school for your cooling needs by hand-cranking those windows down.
Snakes alive!
According to the seller, this Cobra II is "turn key and ready to go anywhere. Safe and reliable, great handling too." It's also one of the few out there that is in almost all-original condition, as many Mustangs of the era have been modded into drag-strip predators or have headed to the junkyard. That's just how little respect they have, perhaps unfairly, garnered.
That's not the case here, as this clean-title car shows obvious signs of love and careful curation. It is a slice of '70s pie for whatever that might be worth. The seller seems to think it's worth $21,000, and we're now going to all weigh in on whether or not we agree with them. What do you think? Is this Mustang II, Electric Boogaloo worth that kind of cash as presented in its ad? Or, like the car, is that price tag just for show?
You decide!
Jersey Shore, New Jersey, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to Whatsupdohc for the hookup!
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