there must be something good to say about these babies!!!
what do you think?

 

1974 Motor Trend Car of the Year!

 

there ya go... but why? do u think you could find the article

 

Good fuel economy with decent performance during an oil crisis helps.

 

They were very popular--the 1974 Mustangs outsold the faster 1973 Mustangs by three times!

 

I think the little II's are under-rated. No, they weren't the best Mustang ever done, but they weren't bad either. Styling was actually pretty attractive really, with the only thing really taking away from it being the ridiculously small 13" rims Ford put on the car. I saw a picture of a really clean dark green Ghia with some LX tn holes on it once and the car actually looked really good with the larger rims.

Also, IMO it was a far better "performance" car in the emissions choked 70's than the Camaro. And, the Camaro didn't exactly have a "looks" advantage when they were wearing those giant chrome bumpers in 74-76 either. Those cars looked horrible with that big battering ram in front, and were slow as a stone too. When they went back to the intergrated front bumper it was much better IMO, but still as slow as molasses going uphill.

Don't get me wrong, neither car was a "factory race car" by any stretch. However, the lighter Mustang was a whole lot easier to make respectable on the street than the much heavier Camaro was. If Ford had just opened up the wheelwells a bit, slapped a set of 15's on the little pony-car, and stayed away from the "you think you got a screaming chicken, well let me show you something" graphics packages the Cobra and King Cobra offered....well then Ford might have gotten away with it.

As it is, if I was going to buy a small Ford performance car from the 70's I wouldn't mind a Mustang II. And, I would probably pick a Ghia and paint it dark green. But, I have to say my first choice would be a early to mid seventies Capri. Ford nailed that one on the head.

 

I forgot something, if you are looking to carry the Mustang banner into battle at the drag-strip...there is little better choice than a Mustang II. Light as a feather, and easy to amke hook up with the right mods.

 

My family bought a V6 coupe in 1974 with the four speed. It seemed far sportier and cooler than the other family car (a 1970 Pontiac LeMans), even though it was far from fast.

I do remember being impressed by the fact that, even with the v6, the car had a full set of dual exhausts from the factory. I also remember how low the car was.

Unfortunately, it suffered from typical '70s quality issues. By 1981, rust was beginning to set in, despite regular washing and waxing. As well, Ford v6s of this vintage apparently had a problem with valve guides, so it was using a fair amount of oil with around 80000 miles on the clock.

Still, I have fond memories of the car, though I wish they had gotten the hatch as it was a much nicer looking car!

 

the Mustang II of 1974 was voted Motor Trend Car of the Year.
Sales in '74 hit 385,993, nearly triple 1973 sales of 134,867.

 

This was one of the topics in the last forum

 

IIs rock............ but then im biased

 

i still must say, if i see one on the road im still like "holy ponies batman!"

 

I allways like the IIs

 

I think this one is pretty freakin' sweet.

 

Do you have any interior Mustang II pics, Brad? I think that blue one is sweet too.

 

 

Thanks Brad. Does anyone else see some of the 05's interior in the first pic? The center console and armrest look similar imo.

 

I think this is my favorite II!



I love the Shaker Hood Scope!!

 

I think the Monroe handler was one of the best looking II's of it's time (subracting the paintjob)




NOW THAT'S A DUCKTAIL!!!!

 

I agree with you. that is so nice with the shaker...I wish I had thought of that when I had my cobra 2. I ended up sticking a Mr. Gasket Street Scoop through the hood.

I always loved the body lines on the side of the mustang 2 hatch backs.