Mustang II popularity

deadhead5.0 said:

Why are the Mustang II's looked upon so terribly by most Mustang enthusiasts? The King Cobra is a beast of a car, and it can compete well with the second generation trans ams and camaros. With the 5.0 engine, the Mustang II's are good lookin' cars.

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IMO I have found many Mustang enthusiasts don't and most are very receptive to them once they see a few nice II's in person. It seems that there are alot out there especially younger ones who only know what they have read and what they hear from others. This stuff gets the parrot effect and then we have people who have only heard negatives, don't know jack about the cars, and just have not seen anything other than a broken down survivor at best. Since they have never seen a nice one in person it is unlikely they will even attempt to envision the potential that we all see.

Honestly growing up back in the mid 80's I never would have gotten the II bug if it were not for a good friend who had a very nice 76' Cobra II with some engine and suspension mods that he had on loan for three months. I was excited by how well this car cornered, it responded very well to the engine mods, was a blast to ride in, and it got alot of attention. I got my chance to drive it (sshhhh) and the Mustang II went to the top of my list and became my first car.

There are some out there who have only heard the bashing and they are now offically brain washed and just don't have the intelligence to form their own opinion. There will always be some that just don't like them and a few that thinks they are part of the majority by jumping on a II haters band wagon, but I have noticed this becoming less acceptible. I also think there are people out their who blame the Mustang II for ending the "Muscle Car" era rather than offering the respect it deserves for carring the torch for five years and whose success enabled the torch to be passed on to the next generation.

I don't think there are enough clean II's around to set an example and not enough representation in local clubs, car shows, the track, etc. I am a little guilty of this myself, but I get to some parking lot gatherings and a few club events yearly, just not enough. There is always someone who says they have never seen a Mustang II before and are excited and receptive of the car. I can't help to think many people like this are those that had little to no prior negativity about the II and they form their own opinion which is usually in high regards.

I like the bad publicity. That just makes the IIs more unique on the street. Screw the trendies!
Anyway, when people see my car, they sometimes go, "Hey, holy ****! Isnt that one of those Charles Angels Mustangs??"

It depends on which group of Mustang enthusiasts you ask. Not all Mustang people look at II's in a negative way, but of the ones who do, here are few reasons why. For the non II owners reading this post, please excuse the satire. It's hard to grasp, until you've logged a few miles in a II.

1) The Original Classic Mustang owners (including those that bought them years later) as potential investments:
This group of original owners could never accept the idea that Ford created a Mustang without a V8 option. In their minds, the II was/is nothing more than a glorified Pinto. Many in this group feel the II is an insult to the heritage of the "original car", in spite of it receiving Motor Trends 1974 car of the year award due to it's all new design and truly technological improvements.

2) Fox Owners...the 5.0 crowd:
This group carried on what (by then) had become the popular thing to do, (ignore and snub II's) and probably in part to shift the focus away from the fact that their own cars didn't really look like traditional Mustangs. A rather negative group at times, they are sometimes known to dislike their own siblings...(aka '79-'81 models) for similar reasons.

3) SN95 Owners:
With the introduction the all new models of '94, Mustang II bashing was soaring to new heights and thirty years running. This group was sure that with the return of the signature C scallops on the doors, Ford had reintroduced a true Mustang that captured the heart and soul of the originals, while at the same time correcting all the shortcomings of Ford's previous attempt a decade before...the Mustang II.

4) SN197 Owners...the '05 RETRO crowd:
Forty years after the fact, a new generation of first time Mustang owners and previous classic owners that are attempting to relive their youth, are drawn to an all new Mustang.... that while being a retro copy in many ways to the classics, also has some uncanny, subtle, yet undeniable similarities to the Mustang II. Few of the owners in this group will admit it, and many of the rest are too young to realize it anyway.
Media sources touting this lastest Mustang as "the best ever" (don't they do that every year?) will have this group on an ego trip for the rest of the decade. It's filled with two distinct core groups of enthusuasts (separated by age) that either never liked a II, or were indoctrinated through poor parenting skills to believe II's were the not "real Mustangs".

So, there you have it in a nutshell...a happy family of Mustang owners that either dislike, can't stand, or accept the thought of such a skeleton buried in the heritage of their Mustang's past.

From a mechanical standpoint, a fox is a hell of a lot easier to build into a performance car than is a II. The II's specific bell, oilpan, flexplate, converter, and tiny trans tunnel sometimes make life very difficult. But my real annoyance is that god damned front strut rod assembly, which makes installing big tube(1 3/4" and up) headers virtually impossible. But overall, they have a good combination of parts, and they're very light, too. The II also has an enormous availability of aftermarket front end parts, so fortunately, it's pretty easy to get rid of that strut rod setup. (Can thank the street rod crowd for that)
I think my car weighed 2850 in stock trim with a 302, which is just about as light as you're going to get with a factory street V8 setup. Last I checked, it was weighing about 2500 pounds on my truck scale. (about the same as a honda civic)

"it's not a REAL Mustang".....until you get smoked by one!

I have always loved all mustangs. I never knew the II was any different. I just knew it was a 70's mustang just like any other 60's or 70's mustang. I got mine and logged on the net, thats how I found out they were unpopular!

The biggest problem is you cannot appreciate a II unless you owned one in good condition. Most people get them as broken down and neglected unless of course it is a "cobra". That unto itself creates a snubbing effect within our own stepchild status. It is bad enough no one else likes us, but I have heared way too many times snubbing within the II crowd over that. "Ohhhhh it's a ghia..... etc. I think the lack of people wanting to make performace ii's in the eightys because of the attitude towards them then, is what really hurt them in the long run. I don't want to even think how many i've seen go the way of the crusher, or the ifs hackout. I guess I'm still alittle depressed about the show in Oak Harbor WA this last sunday. My ii is still so far away, not that I could even enter the stock class. It was a show and place event. Not a single ii ! At least they had sent up for 1,2,3rd place, boxed and recycled for another year .......

sos

deadhead5.0 said:

Why are the Mustang II's looked upon so terribly by most Mustang enthusiasts?

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Everyone needs someone to crap on.

In closing,

I don't much care what others think. And I think I never have.

The King Cobra was no faster than any V8 MII. There was no powertrain changes on any of the V8 models. The King did get the heavy duty sport suspension and brake cooling ducts standard, but it was no faster than base model with a V8. It still had the whopping 139hp .

I love my II. It's weird, and fast, and getting weirder and faster pretty much every weekend.

Ditto Blue Thunder on the #$%&ing tranny tunnel. Stuffing my new 331 and C4 back into the car I busted loose the grommet where the dipstick enters the tranny housing. Leaks like a sieve.

i have an 83 and an 86, so im a 4 eyed fan myself. but happen to like the unique look of the Mustang II's. im kind of in the market for one. about a 74-75 hardtop

My Dad bought a 1966 Fastback in Nov. 65' I currently have that car today. He has never liked many Mustangs after 1970. Except of course for the new 05. He is old school and I accept that. I don't really think he like my 99 GT, but thats ok. His opinion. I for one, embraced all Mustangs even the II, because there are some not so great looking Mustangs in every generation. But, again its an opinion.

LXXVICOBRA said:

2) Fox Owners...the 5.0 crowd:
This group carried on what (by then) had become the popular thing to do, (ignore and snub II's) and probably in part to shift the focus away from the fact that their own cars didn't really look like traditional Mustangs. A rather negative group at times, they are sometimes known to dislike their own siblings...(aka '79-'81 models) for similar reasons.

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This sums up MANY Fox owners that I know.

CobraIILover said:

The King Cobra was no faster than any V8 MII. There was no powertrain changes on any of the V8 models. The King did get the heavy duty sport suspension and brake cooling ducts standard, but it was no faster than base model with a V8. It still had the whopping 139hp .

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I was thinking the KC had a standard 3.50 posi, whereas the others had 3.08s? My memory may be inaccurate, though.

Blue Thunder said:

I was thinking the KC had a standard 3.50 posi, whereas the others had 3.08s? My memory may be inaccurate, though.

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2.79 and 3.00 only for V8 cars in '78

VOORHEES said:

but thats ok. His opinion. I for one, embraced all Mustangs even the II, because there are some not so great looking Mustangs in every generation. But, again its an opinion.

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That is the most lucid comment I have read {about any given generation of Mustang owner concerning a different Mustang generation} in a LONG time.