Given its economy car origins, the 1974-78 second generation Ford Mustang (AKA the Mustang II) has received some undeserved criticism in certain gearhead circles. Sure, it was down on power compared to, say, a 1969 Boss 302, but pretty much every car suffered the same fate during the 1970s. Given the Mustang II’s Pinto-base, adding a Mustang II Cobra front clip and livery to a Pinto wagon to create a Mustang II Cobra wagon actually makes a lot of sense. We don’t have a whole lot of info on this example that briefly showed up in an online marketplace, but rest assured it looks pretty slick. With that said, let’s learn a little more about the much loved and hated Mustang II.
The Mustang II had a competent chassis and (aside from 1974) an available V8 and manual transmission. They looked pretty darn good too, especially as a fastback coupe fitted with a front air dam and rear ducktail spoiler. More importantly, a lot of folks forget that the Mustang II was a really, really popular car at the time. In fact, Ford sold over a million of ’em. And if we’re being honest, you can credit the success of the Mustang II for keeping the Mustang nameplate alive—ultimately setting the stage for the legendary Fox Body platform to arrive in 1979. So when we spotted a rare 1978 Ford Mustang II King Cobra during the 2021 Hot Rod Power Tour, we felt it needed a closer look… read more >
