The Mustang II comes from an absolute black hole period in the history of America’s first pony car. A time when newly-minted emissions regulations and crippling safety requirements took a classic sports car formula and made it several shades of drab. But that doesn’t mean Ford didn’t try to build a sporty Mustang II. They just failed miserably in comparison to what came before it.
Nearly 50 years post-sale, this 1977 Mustang Cobra II is soon to be a fleeting memory of the hardships the Mustang brand endured to become what it is today. Sure, Ford sold hundreds of thousands of these Mustang IIs in their first model years. But you almost never see these Mustang IIs on the road anymore. When you look at period-correct photos from when these Mustang IIs were new, how they looked like less-muscly, wimpier versions of what they used to be, you can sort of tell why almost none of them were well-preserved later on.
Ford’s leading man, Lee Iacocca, had a specific vision in mind for the Mustang II when he led the team to replace its iconic first generation. Just like the original Mustang was based in large part around the Ford Falcon, Iacocca planned to make a bespoke Ford model all its own, the basis for the Mustang’s second go around. Initial plans called for the compact Ford Maverick to do the job. Sadly, Iaccoca and Ford pivoted away from the Maverick towards something considerably smaller and wimpier.
That base car turned out to be the Ford Pinto, a family subcompact wagon with a terrible reputation, for which chapters in books about automotive safety have been written just about it. Now closer in size to a Datsun Fairlady or a Toyota Celica than the Chargers and Camaros it once competed with, the result wasn’t fast enough to out-drag muscle cars or competent enough in the bends to beat JDM imports. Compared to a Mustang II, a second-generation Camaro may not have been the hot shot its predecessor was. But a Camaro still undoubtedly had more guts in its day than the equivalent Mustang II.
Heck, even compared to the Mercury Capri Mk II that you could buy at the same time, it made the Mustang II feel like a beached whale. That’s all the more tragic because a Mercury Mercury was just a Euro-spec Ford Capri badge-engineered for sale in the United Kingdom and Continental Europe. As it happens, the Capri was the top-selling import in the US domestic market, only second to the VW Beetle, at the peak of its popularity. That’s despite it coming standard with the same drivetrain as a Mustang II, sans V8.
When this allegedly sporty Mustang II hit the dealership, its 302-cubic inch V8 jetted a scarcely believable 135 horsepower. For some context, an equivalent Datsun 280Z from a brand Americans at the time thought as inferior jetted 149 horsepower out of its inline 6 engine while weighing less and handling considerably better. Mustang IIs that came equipped with a 2.8-liter Cologne-series V6 or a 2.3-liter Lima-series four-pot fared even worse in the performance department. All while not offering much more in the way of fuel economy.
Gearbox choices were equally woeful. The only manual transmission available from the factory was a four-speed unit at a time when many alternatives had the option of five. The automatic was even more slushy, a three-speed transmission from the Ford C3 family you’d also find in the Pinto, Fairmont, Grenada, Mercury Capri, Bobcat, and Zephyr, plus the re-badged Ford Sierra, the Merkur ZR4Ti. In any application this gearbox came in, the result was a drab, uninspiring driving experience.
Midway through the model year, Ford decided to arbitrarily turn the front hood scoop a full 180 degrees to make it look like it was performing more work than it actually was. Even crazier, the Cobra II’s iconic twin hood stripes were deemed too flashy and replaced with a single top stripe alongside the standard decals on either side. None of it did much to bring a sporty flair to an otherwise dreary and forgettable attempt at a pony car. Even the Mustang II King Cobra that made its debut the year after this model did little to bring that winning edge back to Team Mustang.
Back in 2025, this particular Mustang II is in a particularly woeful state of affairs. The front grille is entirely disassembled, and the entire exterior, from the fenders to the rocker panels and all across the roof and hood, is covered in a thick layer of rust and dust. There’s even a chunk missing out of the rear trunk spoiler, like a bear or some other wild creature bit a piece off of it like. Various mounting hardware and other riff-raff that fit on this car rest on top of the hood in a plastic tote you’re supposed to carry the laundry around with.
Inside, the interior is an equally sorry state of affairs. The red leather interior with matching red carpets and trim pieces once looked pretty sweet for the time period. After nearly half a century of brutal elements and sitting parked in the brutal sun, there’s almost nothing left to save this interior that you could realistically remove and restore. At least without breaking the bank, trying to get it right again. Apart from possibly the steering wheel, the entire car would have to be stripped down to bare metal to even consider restoring this Mustang.
With that said, is it really worth restoring a pony car this far gone when it’s associated with the most miserable and painful period in the 60-year history of the Ford Mustang? If you ask most people, they’d probably tell you to let this one slide and spend your money on a gen-I, gen-III, or even a gen-IV or V that’s infinitely more worth restoring than this bucket of bolts. That’s probably why the eBay listing for this Mustang II ended before a single bid was placed on its behalf. Hopefully, the owner realizes that’s a cue to cut your losses and just scrap the thing.
But what do you folks think? Is there any point in saving a Ford Mustang II in any condition for any amount of money? Or is the entire platform so woefully awful that you’re better off investing in literally any other platform to make into your next restomod project? Let us know in the comments down below. Somehow, we feel like we already know the answer to that question. But please, indulge us anyway. If for no reason other than all the funny comments.
