Its Time to Start Cheering On Mustang II Builds
Ford’s Mustang II doesn’t get quite nearly the love it deserves, and this resto-mod is the definitive proof.
We’ll admit that a short stick was drawn by the Mustang II. The most powerful engine it ever received was the 140 horsepower V8, choked by emissions equipment. But, that’s not to say the resto-mods can’t be amazing.
Standard body lines on the car are chintzy and chunky, yet with a little bit of finesse, look remarkably good. As we see from Hot-Cars, SEMA has been a great showcase of these builds, with the Mustang “Evolution” seeing two incarnations in the past.
Unfortunately, Mustang II’s simply don’t get as much attention as the classics or newer cars. In a way, this is a good thing. All Mustang II’s are in a buyers market. Parts are widely available and simple to upgrade. And if you cut one up for the sake of a body kit, you’re never cutting into precious metal.
Style wise, the coupe leaves a lot to be desired, but the fastback has some neat lines to be played with. The car is short, and almost squared up in a way, meaning any fender extensions only accentuate width. In the case of the Mustang Evolution, it’s a truly mean looking machine.
And if you really want to go wild, you can always go to IMSA. Although this race car has little success, the Mustang II was a genuine IMSA GTX car. According to RacingSportsCars, the Mustang II entered 6 races in two years, and only finished one of them. But that one did net a second place finish. But like IMSA GT cars of the era, the body work on this one was wildly different from the original.
The front end looks an awful lot like the later Fox Body, with flushed headlights and a big air dam. At the rear, the fenders are flared out almost a foot on each side, and a monster wing is mounted high up and back. This was the IMSA way back then, with cars only needing to stay loosely close to their road going counterparts. But if you’re building a custom one of your own, there’s no rulebook to play by.
Photos: Hot-Cars, RacingSportsCars
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