57k Mile Survivor: 1976 Ford Mustang Cobra II
Just a few weeks ago, my family and I were driving down the road and I saw a mid-70s Mustang Cobra II sitting in a driveway. I made mention of how very few of those you actually see these days and how I thought it was a cool car. I’m not sure if it was the state of that car’s condition or that particular style of Mustang, but my family didn’t seem to hold the same opinion. If you’re like me, though, these little unloved Mustangs tend to catch your eye a bit. This one, found here on eBay, is said to be a 100% original with only 57,000 miles on the clock.
It’s obvious to any automotive enthusiast that the 1970s weren’t the best era in automotive performance. The gas crunch put the squeeze on any real horsepower output and automotive manufacturers were left scrambling to find ways to sell cars. For the Mustang, this meant getting a little smaller and getting dressed up with some unique appearance packages. This listing will definitely cause a few eyebrows to raise as the seller states that it’s a straight-six engine under the hood. There’s obviously some confusion since this is likely the 140 cubic inch four-cylinder.
True to its survivor status, the interior in this car looks phenomenal. This is to be expected out of a 57,000-mile car that has been garage kept its whole life. And while the powerplant doesn’t inspire a huge desire to run that manual transmission through the gears, the interior is at least inviting for some evening and weekend cruising. This is the type of car that should be preserved as a nice time capsule.
This Cobra II is said to look even better in person, which seems to really say something with it looking so nice from the pictures. Even though these Mustangs aren’t highly desirable, there is something very unique about such a nice original example. Hopefully, this one will continue to be well taken care of by the new owner. So, with a current bid of $8,800 and the reserve not met, where do you think this one will end up at auction’s end?
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Comments
Great write-up. It is the variety and unique vehicles I get to read about that keep me subscribed to Barn Finds. I love all the cars and trucks I get to read about. I also love Howard and Geomechs comments.
I can’t look at these Mustangs and not see my mom’s old brown Pinto lurking underneath them, which wasn’t as bad of a car as they were made out to be as long as you weren’t rear-ended in one. Her’s always started and got us where we needed to go, and at the time, that was all we needed.
Thankfully the Mustang II was a success!
Otherwise I have a feeling that the Fox body generation may have never happened and those diehard Mustang fans like myself would have not seen just how amazing the Mustang has become over the years!
It has the 2.8-liter Cologne V6, not the straight six or the Pinto four-cylinder. It is a nice engine.
It’s a 2.8 litre V6 in this Mustang. 103hp, quarter mile 18.7 sec. Top speed 105 mph…
Yep – you can even see the 2800 on the air cleaner decal.
Very nice Mustang II. Not too many around in original condition which look this good. I like the blue interior. The manual transmission would make it more fun drive. Those who appreciate the Mustang II, as I do, will like this one.
This car IS the definition of “all show and no go”…had one years ago, and although it could not get out of it’s own way, it was a really nice driving car…future collectable for sure…
Time to break out my old Charlie’s Angels posters. Those reading that have never seen Farah Fawcett in the mid 1970s, look her up.
There, just saved you some time.
I bought one of these in 1980, it was a 1976 Ford Cobra II, white /blue strips, hood scoop ,automatic C-4, V-8,302, 4 barrel carb.AC, power windows, rack-n-pinion power steering, blue leather seats, cobra II wheels, side and rear window louvers, spoilers in front and back ,all stock ,had 38000 miles on it from a dealer in Sedilia Missouri for $2400.00… It would lite them tires up right now !! I put 21/2″ exhaust on it,, as soon as the factory exhaust turned back at the bend ,,they cut it there and put on 1 foot mufflers then because of the fuel tank ,they couldn’t run exhaust all the way out the back ,so turned them where they came out in front of back wheels, and it was loud ,It took about a month to burn them mufflers OUT,, and when I would start it up it would shoot out flames about 16″, so needless to say after fueling it up I would push it away from the fuel pumps before starting it ..The transmission started slipping about 35 miles from home one time ,10 miles lost 3rd gear drive ,now was in 2nd gear ,and lost that about 2 miles from home ,,so now in 1st gear low, made it to the 4-way stop and lost low gear and had to reverse to a buddies house in town,, A ford man he was.. He said get a B&M shift kit and it came with street or strip,, so we put the strip kit in ,,and at that time the cost for the kit was $27.00 and a case of trans fluid, which was, around $10.00.. So In 2 1/2 hours, we was going for a test drive, with the strip kit installed, It was a bit much as you had to hit 5000 on the RPM gauge before it would shift into 2 gear ,even doing it manually.. so back to the shop and pulled the valve body down and installed the street kit.. and got a good clean shift in all gears just like factory ,,but a lil harder.. there were no laws back then on window tint so I bought and installed it myself mirrored tint all windows, except front windshield, from top 6″ down and 4″ up from bottom ,, had it for about 2 years and sold it for $3300.00 in 1982 ,and that was good money then !!!!!!!!!
Still makes my sticker peck up.
I am really impressed at the shape that car is in. If it was the V8, I think i would go for it, mostly for nostalgia purposes. I bought a new black Cobra II in 1976. There weren’t many 4 speed cars that year and I had a lot of enjoyment in it. I drove it from Chicago to to Banff and back. I remember having problems with the 4-speed during our cold winters. The bearing in the tail shaft went out, twice. The transmission guy put ATF in it and it never had another issue. That was a new idea back then. It was a solid car after that and tolerated my driving well.
Tell me that Farah sat her buns on that hood and I’m a buyer
Hah! Agreed.
I was a Lee Majors, the Six Million Dollar Man fan at the time. Lucky dude indeed.
This is a pretty cool little Mustang II, for what it is. I always thought that they look pretty cool in this guise.
Surprisingly, these outsold the 68, 69, and 70 models when they came out in 74. They almost tripled the sales of the prior year.
A sign of the times for sure.
All the women in Charlie’s Angel’s were gorgeous, Farah definitely looked hot in that swim suit poster, awe man, that’s so bad what happened to her.
Not a fan of the II but I am curious myself what this sells for.
Embarrassing
Eh, not really when you think about it.
All Mustangs came from humble beginnings. The first generation cars were reskinned Falcons. The beloved Fox-body and SN95 cars came from the Fairmont. And the II’s share heritage with the Pinto.
These Mustang II were pretty nice cars, the only negative “Thing: against them were low HP out engines due to the gas crunch and emission control as well as it a little tight inside and under the hood with either the V-6/V-8l! This would have been a great find some if it was a v-6/v-8! My old G/F had one of these, also white but had the V-8 which had decent power. Unfortunately, her’s Died of Rust! i missed that old MustangII Cobras!
I owned an identical model, same colors, engine, transmission, same everything. Bought it from a small town dealer in North Dakota. It was my first new car. Loved it. Sold it to a college girl who used it for several years. Last I heard it was parted out. Sad ending.
From where in ND?
I’ve always wondered if a BOSS 302 would fit in one of these cars?..Diff. architecture of the KING COBRA II’s 302?..Anyone?…
mine had the 302 boss in it. aftermarket intake 650 holley hooker headers t top loovers and ground spoilers all around too. it was cool
This is simply one of the nicest Mustang II’s that I’ve seen to come up for auction! Some people always whine about it’s not a “real” Mustang, it’s a “Pinto in drag”, etc., etc., ad nauseam. These cars were a product of the times. I’m thinking that the bidding on this one is going to eclipse my dream budget for acquiring one. The “want” out there for this one is strong!!
GLWTA!! :-)
I remember this: https://performance.ford.com/enthusiasts/newsroom/2018/02/_sudden-death_-big-block-mustang-ii-.html
Sudden Death, was supposed to go against the meanest Challenger in Detroit at the time: https://www.caranddriver.com/features/columns/a15142490/the-heirs-of-woodward-avenue-detroits-1970s-street-racing-culture-archived-feature/
I remember it well, never found out who won…
Thanks.
I enjoyed reading those articles.
Glad you enjoyed it, according to this, Steve (Challenger Owner bested Sudden Death 3 out of 4 who knows?
https://www.hotrod.com/articles/hrdp-1009-hot-rods-past-feature-cover-cars/
Not surprised about that. The Challenger was a mean-looking street legal drag racer.
The picture in that article says it all!
Farrah Fawcett’s poster hung on my wall for so long that there was no curl left in it. Best $2.50 my Mom ever spent on me.
Why do you think you see so few of them? I won’t tell, but the first letter is P and the last is S.
I honestly really like these , I think, by the standards of the time they very sharp little cars , I prefer them to the fox bodies. I know it’s no rocket (Dad had a 4 cylinder back when they were new) but with the V6 it should st least keep up with traffic.
I owned a white with red stripes 77 Cobra II. Mine was a factory 302 2v V8 automatic. Of course I rebuilt the engine, added a set of worked 65 289 heads, a aluminum intake, with a 600 holley 4v. That really woke up the original engine!!! After all that it was a really fun car to drive.
Auction ended @ $12,100; Reserve Not Met
Love em or hate em, they were the right car for the times
That would have to be one of the ugliest cars i,ve seen to date, only nice thing is the lady on the hood.
Opinions are like rectums, everybody’s got one
My Mom had the original ‘74 Mustang II in that green they had, without power steering, with the v6, I thought it was a 3 point something? 4 speed, pretty tight ratio gearbox, SINCERELY needed a 5th gear/overdrive, was screaming on the freeway at 70mph, but had absolutely no problem getting out of its own way, I still remember my brother and I gleefully running errands for her and burning rubber in first and second gears between stoplights in Hayward, Ca…
Good candidate for a Coyote swap. Just can’t see the 2.8 bringing big money or interest.