Fresh Paint & Decals: 1978 Ford Mustang II King Cobra
In 1978, brown was a popular color. Both the Camaro Z28 and Pontiac Trans Am could be acquired in different hues of brown. Ford offered the Mustang II for the last year and someone stepped up and purchased this Mustang II and ordered the King Cobra option. The seller states that the King Cobra was only offered in 1978 and fewer than 5,000 were built. This car is located in Middlebury, Connecticut. It is listed on eBay with a Buy It Now Price of $17,500 with one day left in the listing. A seller can also bid on the car. As of this writing, 19 bids have been placed and, while the reserve has not been met, the top bid is $8,850.
The base engine for the Mustang II in 1978 was the 2.3 liter inline 4 cylinder engine. It is almost unbelievable and sometimes hard to conceive how low horsepower ratings were for many pony cars in the mid to late 1970s. The 5.0 liter engine was only available with a 2 barrel carburetor. The 302 cubic inch V8 engine was the top of the line motor for the Mustang II and was rated at 139 horsepower. At least this engine is backed by a 4 speed manual transmission.
The interior looks very clean for a car this age. There is no mention in the ad whether it was restored or not. The carpet appears to be faded by the sun but the seats and dash look good. I am always curious why we don’t see consoles in more Mustang IIs. The car does have fresh paint and decals. The tires, exhaust and brakes were recently replaced. The ad states that the odometer reads 68,000 miles.
This Mustang II King Cobra is listed here on eBay. The Mustang II was one of the most popular Mustangs over its glorious history. Ford was selling Mustang II’s as fast as they could make them from 1974 to 1978. After dropping the V8 in 1974 in the Mustang, Ford decided to offer the optional 302 cubic inch V8 in 1975.
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Comments
This is a teriffic example of what represented the ‘Pinnacle of Performance and Pizazz’ for the Mustang II for 1978: emissions, poor tuning of a V8 to reduce emissions, single exhaust, and the the proverbial ‘lipstick’ on the hood to distract us.
Let us never go back…
Never go back. I leased a ’78 red “Mach 1” 4 spd new and it met a bad end in an accident but was an OK car – that is all there was new at the time. Or, tired 60’s classics. The 302 was out of breath early as you can imagine. Back then leaded gas was still sold, but unleaded only cars like this one had a different filler hole to prevent the improper fuel being used.
Takes you back – for some this may be just the one for them.
Torino what about the LTD II coupe.
Available 460, 3sp Cruise-O-Matic, sure it had the 2.50 gear ⚙️ but a swap to 3.15 and you’d have a nice flyer.
I like Mustang IIs. If the price were right I’d want a regular Cobra. The KC was too over the top for me.
Just FYI.
I asked the seller if the A/C works, here was the reply:
“I never tested AC. I doubt it works but it’s all intact. No leaks”
A sharp little Mustang. Always loved the shape of the hatchback II’s.
Can’t help but think of Charlie’s Angels. Anyone else with me? 📺
Old man had one – I remember that giant tranny up up front. the 2.3 had nylon timing gears which he replaced with steel ones. Man that thing would chatter like a semi truck..
For not a lot of money you could get this little 302 to well over 200 HP. That’d be a ton of fun with under 3000 lbs of move along. I wonder what this one’s got for a rear end ratio, hopefully the 3.40
Nice looking Mustang II. Brown affords a change from the usual black, red and white. Great little time capsule to remind us how far we’ve come.
Ended at $10,700.
Reserve Not Met.