Looking for a Mustang II to buy
5/24/10, 03:38 PM
#1
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Looking for a Mustang II to buy
I have decided to begin to look around to save a Mustang II. A quick look on the internet and they are a scare as 65 GT350 R's.
So what happened to them all? Did we lose our soul on these models? Was it a model series we never forgave Ford for making? Were we just that (*&(**&&^%^% off after losing the first generation? Was it by 79 we got over being mad? Did no one save any of these? Come to think of it, when was the last time you saw a maverick or a pinto??
I got off track, so what do you think about thses models? Was this model really the savior of the mustang tradition?
So what happened to them all? Did we lose our soul on these models? Was it a model series we never forgave Ford for making? Were we just that (*&(**&&^%^% off after losing the first generation? Was it by 79 we got over being mad? Did no one save any of these? Come to think of it, when was the last time you saw a maverick or a pinto??
I got off track, so what do you think about thses models? Was this model really the savior of the mustang tradition?
5/24/10, 08:53 PM
#2
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The problem is that there is a lot of derision regarding the reskinned Pinto. That, and they were fairly abused, and they do have their rusting issues here and there. Lots of reasons for them to be hard to find... and those that are around, are treasured even more than ever, because those that know, know, and won't let go.
I still to this day wish I had my '78 II. And my '66. I'd have a neat little stable then.
The II was the savior of the BRAND. But not the tradition, not in the original sense. Oh, some of it came back when the 302 got back in it, but it wasn't a pony car like before, that had to wait for the '79 Foxes. But The Mustang name lives on because of this crossover. Without it carrying the banner from '74 for '78, the '79 might have been named 'Probe', or 'Capri' for all we know. Or maybe not even happened at all.
The brand lives on. The II has it's place, albeit in many minds, grudgingly accepted, in the history of the Mustang. I accept it warmly, but then... a II was my first car.
/and if pressed, I'll tell you it was a real POS... and I still miss it to this day.
//Oh, and google is your friend, I've found a couple here and there... http://www.google.com/search?q=site:...&start=10&sa=N
I still to this day wish I had my '78 II. And my '66. I'd have a neat little stable then.
The II was the savior of the BRAND. But not the tradition, not in the original sense. Oh, some of it came back when the 302 got back in it, but it wasn't a pony car like before, that had to wait for the '79 Foxes. But The Mustang name lives on because of this crossover. Without it carrying the banner from '74 for '78, the '79 might have been named 'Probe', or 'Capri' for all we know. Or maybe not even happened at all.
The brand lives on. The II has it's place, albeit in many minds, grudgingly accepted, in the history of the Mustang. I accept it warmly, but then... a II was my first car.
/and if pressed, I'll tell you it was a real POS... and I still miss it to this day.
//Oh, and google is your friend, I've found a couple here and there...
http://www.google.com/search?q=site:...&start=10&sa=N
Last edited by houtex; 5/24/10 at 09:02 PM.
5/27/10, 05:04 PM
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they;re hard to find these days. even harder to find a good one. hot rodders love to cut them up to steal the independent front suspension in them. thats why you see all those hot rod suspension kits advertising mustang II suspension. though its gotten to the point where those kits actually have no parts shared with the II, they are all just based on it.
thaat sorta ended up well for us II owners because now we can get coilovers, stiffer springs, tubular control arms, sway bars, polyurethan bushings etc, etc for our cars.
if you want an idea of what a II is like to have, its got a body that looks retro, but it had a fairly modern, for the time, interior. i actuaally prefer my IIs interior to a foxes. they are small and nimble to drive. if it werent so down on power, it could probably stay close behind my friends z3 m coupe.
engines are the biggest problem. they are pretty low on power compared to todays cars (but keep in mind they had the same amount of power as a 65 with a 289 2bbl carb. the rating system changed in 72. the 1971 F code 302 was rated at 210hp, but when the rating system changed in 72, the identical f code 302 (no changes made between years) was now rated at 140 hp. the Mustang IIs v8 (also an f code, but it had different exhaust manifolds, though probably similar in terms of airflow) was rated at 140hp and this was WITH the new smog equiptment now required on cars. the ratings made everyone think they were slower than they were. the most hp you could get back then was what, 175ish in the trans am anyway. and even then, any hot rodder worth his salt could have remedied the low power levels pretty easily. theres a plethora of after market goodies for the 302 these days, so power shouldnt be a huge concern.
when looking around at them, check for rust in the hatch. water likes to collect at the bottom of the class and its even worse if you have the cobra spoiler. if you can find a Cobra II or king cobra, ****** it up. they had cooler interiors and most had the sport suspension on them, even on the V6s. i had sway bars on my cobra II even though it was the 2.8L, 1" in the front .75" in the back.
as for owning them, its a bit of a PITA to find II specific parts these days. exhaust is a big deal. you cant use headers for any other mustang. hooker, hedman and blackjack all made longtube headers. blackjacks were best bang for your buck, hookers were the best overall and hedmans suck, generally speaking. other than that though, you can pretty much bolt on any mods you want to the SBF in there. if you get an original V8 one, watch out for the cam gear, because i think the original ones were palstic and wear down. my plan would be just find a roller 5.0 out of a fox, swap in the long block and get a 4bbl itnake/carb and you'll be pretty happy. you can pull that motor for less than $200 at a junkyard, and the intake/carb combo shouldnt be too much either.
if you get a manual trans car, its adequate for V6 power levels, but on a modded 302 it'll start to die pretty faast. T5 swaps are fairly simple and common, but they make headers a wee bit difficult. if its an auto, its a C4 in the V8 and C5 in the V6. from what ive heard the C5 is physically akin to the C4, but the internals are far inferior. not sure what was o the 2.3L a V8 with a C4 though is pretty fun. I've got an 86 5.0 in mine, and i was running it carbed. edelbrock intake, holley carb, and some decent exhaust made mine pretty fast. i had a shift kit and B&M megashifter too, so it barked the tires in the 1-2 shift and even a little bit from 2-3.
these cars arent very quiet inside, as you might expect of any car of that vintage. i couldnt hear jack diddly on the freeway once the 302 was in there. the cars are extremely light too, so even with a carbed 302 i was getting high teens in the mpg department. the 13 gallon tank though is kinda meh. some V8s had an additional2-3 gallons, but that was optional, so dont bank on it.
wheels: you'll be tempted to use fox wheels, since they have the same bolt pattern, but the offset is wrong. i put ten holes on mine and they sit a little too far in. in the back my tires rrubbed on the inside wall. in the front, the wheel itself was being ground down on the control arm. i reccomend tubular control arms if you're going with fox wheels. american racing lets you design your own wheel from a few different styles and you can choose your offset. 5 lug rotors arent too expensive for the stock sized brakes, less than $100 i think, and im fairly sure you can just use pre mustang II 5 lug wheels. of 14-15" they also make bolt on adapters to convert them to 5 lug as well. those are also spacer such that you could bolt on SN95 or S197 17" wheels with no problems atall. alot of guys use cheap takeoff wheels, since they are sso plentiful
the 2.3L IIs arent completelly worthless either. these cars makee great candidates for an SVO/Turbocoupe motor swap as well.
sorry if all that sounded scattered and rambling, but im in a rush atm lol. if you have any more Q's dont hesitate to ask
as a final thing to think about... it may not be the fastest car ive ever driven. it is close to being one of the best handling cars ive driven though (dad's 323i and my friends Z3m coupe top the rwd list) but it is by far 100% the most fun car ive ever had the pleasure of driving.
thaat sorta ended up well for us II owners because now we can get coilovers, stiffer springs, tubular control arms, sway bars, polyurethan bushings etc, etc for our cars.
if you want an idea of what a II is like to have, its got a body that looks retro, but it had a fairly modern, for the time, interior. i actuaally prefer my IIs interior to a foxes. they are small and nimble to drive. if it werent so down on power, it could probably stay close behind my friends z3 m coupe.
engines are the biggest problem. they are pretty low on power compared to todays cars (but keep in mind they had the same amount of power as a 65 with a 289 2bbl carb. the rating system changed in 72. the 1971 F code 302 was rated at 210hp, but when the rating system changed in 72, the identical f code 302 (no changes made between years) was now rated at 140 hp. the Mustang IIs v8 (also an f code, but it had different exhaust manifolds, though probably similar in terms of airflow) was rated at 140hp and this was WITH the new smog equiptment now required on cars. the ratings made everyone think they were slower than they were. the most hp you could get back then was what, 175ish in the trans am anyway. and even then, any hot rodder worth his salt could have remedied the low power levels pretty easily. theres a plethora of after market goodies for the 302 these days, so power shouldnt be a huge concern.
when looking around at them, check for rust in the hatch. water likes to collect at the bottom of the class and its even worse if you have the cobra spoiler. if you can find a Cobra II or king cobra, ****** it up. they had cooler interiors and most had the sport suspension on them, even on the V6s. i had sway bars on my cobra II even though it was the 2.8L, 1" in the front .75" in the back.
as for owning them, its a bit of a PITA to find II specific parts these days. exhaust is a big deal. you cant use headers for any other mustang. hooker, hedman and blackjack all made longtube headers. blackjacks were best bang for your buck, hookers were the best overall and hedmans suck, generally speaking. other than that though, you can pretty much bolt on any mods you want to the SBF in there. if you get an original V8 one, watch out for the cam gear, because i think the original ones were palstic and wear down. my plan would be just find a roller 5.0 out of a fox, swap in the long block and get a 4bbl itnake/carb and you'll be pretty happy. you can pull that motor for less than $200 at a junkyard, and the intake/carb combo shouldnt be too much either.
if you get a manual trans car, its adequate for V6 power levels, but on a modded 302 it'll start to die pretty faast. T5 swaps are fairly simple and common, but they make headers a wee bit difficult. if its an auto, its a C4 in the V8 and C5 in the V6. from what ive heard the C5 is physically akin to the C4, but the internals are far inferior. not sure what was o the 2.3L a V8 with a C4 though is pretty fun. I've got an 86 5.0 in mine, and i was running it carbed. edelbrock intake, holley carb, and some decent exhaust made mine pretty fast. i had a shift kit and B&M megashifter too, so it barked the tires in the 1-2 shift and even a little bit from 2-3.
these cars arent very quiet inside, as you might expect of any car of that vintage. i couldnt hear jack diddly on the freeway once the 302 was in there. the cars are extremely light too, so even with a carbed 302 i was getting high teens in the mpg department. the 13 gallon tank though is kinda meh. some V8s had an additional2-3 gallons, but that was optional, so dont bank on it.
wheels: you'll be tempted to use fox wheels, since they have the same bolt pattern, but the offset is wrong. i put ten holes on mine and they sit a little too far in. in the back my tires rrubbed on the inside wall. in the front, the wheel itself was being ground down on the control arm. i reccomend tubular control arms if you're going with fox wheels. american racing lets you design your own wheel from a few different styles and you can choose your offset. 5 lug rotors arent too expensive for the stock sized brakes, less than $100 i think, and im fairly sure you can just use pre mustang II 5 lug wheels. of 14-15" they also make bolt on adapters to convert them to 5 lug as well. those are also spacer such that you could bolt on SN95 or S197 17" wheels with no problems atall. alot of guys use cheap takeoff wheels, since they are sso plentiful
the 2.3L IIs arent completelly worthless either. these cars makee great candidates for an SVO/Turbocoupe motor swap as well.
sorry if all that sounded scattered and rambling, but im in a rush atm lol. if you have any more Q's dont hesitate to ask
as a final thing to think about... it may not be the fastest car ive ever driven. it is close to being one of the best handling cars ive driven though (dad's 323i and my friends Z3m coupe top the rwd list) but it is by far 100% the most fun car ive ever had the pleasure of driving.
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