Where to find a II?

[MustangGT01]

My wife and I are getting interested in getting a Mustang II for my replacement pony. I was wondering a few things. First, where could I find one that's not over three grand or so? I checked autotrader and classic trader but didn't find any in my area. We got interested in them when we went to pick up a few parts at our local salvage yard here. The owner has a ton, (at least 6), Mustang II's in his yard with a heap of parts. He even had a few t-tops which is the style I'm looking for. Any suggestions as to where to begin?

 

[77sleeper]

mustangii.net classifieds?

 

[77sleeper]

oh yeah, welcome to our side of the world

 

[1badII]

http://www.collectorcartraderonline.com/

 

[Eos]

welcome aboard! You should be able to find a decent II that runs for under 3 grand I would say pretty easily.

 

[MustangGT01]

Thanks guys. I'll check the sites you listed. I looked at classictraderonline earlier but there didn't seem to be anything in my area. I should probably check the Houston area also since I may be planning on flying down there in a few months.

 

[Stang2Man]

Where aboutsin Ohio you live, I've got a 78 T-top I've thought about letting go. But I wanted to make sure it goes to a good home if I give it up.

 

[cobra_2_76]

Ohio! Your about 1 hour south of me. Email address is [email protected]

Dave

 

[MustangGT01]

I live in the heart of Amish country in OH. The closest big city to me is Wooster. I'm hoping that when my 89 sells I can get a II. I'll admit when I first saw them I didn't like emm at all but then seeing what can be done with them changed my mind. It's also not a Mustang every hairy, tom, and dick drive around all the time. I used to drive a 1980 Mercury Capri RS and loved the thing. It had bare bones electrical and didn't give a crap about sensors and delicate electronics to make it stop running. I hate fuel injection more and more everyday. you have a nice looking ride for your pic cobra 2 76.

 

[Wart]

I live in the heart of Amish country in OH. The closest big city to me is Wooster. I'm hoping that when my 89 sells I can get a II.

Your about 50 miles from me. Your also roughly 50 miles from Dave.

If your serious drop me a line when you get the money. I know where there are a few, from factory original to restorable.

I tend to avoid II tyros as their expectations are usually ... unrealistic.

 

[MustangGT01]

II tyros? No idea what the hell that is. Maybe I've been sniffin fuel injector cleaner to long. As far as being serious I'm dead serious. As I mentioned I have a salvage yard close by that has more than enough parts for a resto. I spewed when he told me he had a II with a v-8 and t tops but it was not in good enough shape to fix.

 

[Project 77]

Your about 50 miles from me. Your also roughly 50 miles from Dave.

If your serious drop me a line when you get the money. I know where there are a few, from factory original to restorable.

I tend to avoid II tyros as their expectations are usually ... unrealistic.

I think that last comment was a direct Jab to youres truely

 

[Wart]

I think that last comment was a direct Jab to youres truely

Never occured to me.

What I meant by unrealistic is the person looking for a rust free quarter century old car with good paint and interior within a hundred miles or so of their house who wants to drive the car home, and more than likely want's it for a song.

We've seen more than one of those posts here.

 

[Wart]

II tyros? No idea what the hell that is.

Tyro: beginner, initiate, novice

As far as being serious I'm dead serious.

Good. A II isn't for the weak or those without commitment.

OTOH, if you want a II you probably should be commited (for observation).

Just giving a heads up, more than once there have been posts where someone bought a II then was shocked to find parts are non existent or extremely expensive, and that no one seems to know how to work on them.

 

[Project 77]

Never occured to me.

What I meant by unrealistic is the person looking for a rust free quarter century old car with good paint and interior within a hundred miles or so of their house who wants to drive the car home, and more than likely want's it for a song.

We've seen more than one of those posts here.

I think it's hard sometimes to put a dollar amount on these cars. Case in point...There's a King for sale in NH....damn nice car, white with blue, hard top Auto, 38,000 original miles, and the owner wants $9,000. Now I go to my trusty price guide and according to it a King with T tops and in number 1 shape with AC is worth like $8500. Now what's a Nimrod like me supposed to do? follow this price guide or go with my heart and buy it?? All comes down to what you want and how much you can spend. As for me? I'm done buying cars that previous owners "built up", UNLESS I know who and how they were built. The best car I had was my white King that was mostly stock and original. I also notice once you get past the $5,000 point in mustang II's you get into cars that are MUCH nicer, as with any car that's more money. I'm the first one to admit I don't know a whole lot under the hood, i learned a few things over the years so for me it makes it alot easier to buy something nicer then cheap and do a restore where I am at the mercy of other people to help. Mark, could you e-mail me off list as to what you know is for sale around you?

Thanks

 

[MustangGT01]

LOL, I know about getting into it for the long haul. My first Mustang, the one I have to sell, but don't want to I've had for 8 years now. I know about hard to find or non existant parts to. The Fox body does have a lot of parts out there but there are those few hard to find or non existant parts. I've found being presistant, creative, and damn lucky traits to have when looking for that one special part you just have to have. I'm no stranger to salvage yards either. I grew up in one damn near alway looking for a part I just had to have because I wanted everything as close to perfect as I could. When I couldn't find a part that's when I got creative. I'm having the same situation with my wifes 89 GT convertible. I can't find decent interior parts. I basically gave up on it and decided to put my skills and my wifes skills to work. I'm designing a custom interior and she'll do most of the sewing work.

I'm willing to pay for quality in a car, as far as the budget allows though. I've seen my share of people that want a car with functioning a/c, heater, mint paint and body, and 50,000 miles on the clock for $900 also. Those kind of people really piss me off. I've had people make offers on my car lately that made me flat ass mad for them to think I was as dumb as a post. One guy offered me $700 for my 89 LX 5.0 5 speed because he said he just looked at a 93 Cobra for $3,500, only a thousand more than I'm looking at getting for my car. My reply was if you think its a real Cobra and it hasn't been beat like a rented mule go for it, hell I would. He thought I was joking with him.

I'm almost certain any II I look at in the $3,000 range will require signifigant work. I may be totally off here but from what I understand the hardest thing about a II is body parts. Also, looking for replacement suspension parts in a salvage yard is a little harder because the II has a good suspension for other car projects. If I'm wrong tell me. I'll most likely not try to drive the car I buy back home as it is. I got a tow dolly I need to get my monies worth out of. When I moved from TX to OH a year ago U Haul wanted to rape me on renting one at a tune of $400. I said screw that and bought one for $500. Find someone with a truck and you have a free tow. I know I've bailed out friends regularly since I moved up here.

 

[dmoody]

From what I've seen $3k should get you a decent II w/o *major* amounts of work. Heck don't take my opinion for it, e-bay, e-bay, e-bay. Watch the sales for II's and learn not only what the cars go for but which parts are expensive, sought after and/or hard to find. That is the best advice anybody can give you for buying a II. If you are restoring a II, you better get familiar with e-bay.

d

 

[THE COBRAMAN]

I may be totally off here but from what I understand the hardest thing about a II is body parts. Also, looking for replacement suspension parts in a salvage yard is a little harder because the II has a good suspension for other car projects. If I'm wrong tell me.

The hardest, like most 25 year-old cars, is going to be the unreproduced interior pieces. The hard plastic crumbles, and lots of the pieces have been hacked for speakers, etc. Consoles get cracked/burnt by cigarettes, dash pads crack, dash bezels fade/delaminate, seat belts get bleached by the sun, etc etc, etc.

Seatbelts can be rewebbed (although pricey), seat covers are available presewn for standard interiors (a decent trim shop can fix you up, too), carpet is easy, headliners are easy. Cobra II door panels are hard, and any of the other pieces can be difficult to locate in decent condition.

Body panels aren't all that tough, IF you're willing to look other than in one's immediate area.

Front suspension....I wouldn't even bother looking for used, when you can buy new OE-style control arms for about $70 each, complete with bushings/balljoint. By the time you buy the used arm, replace the components, blast and paint/coat it, you're just about there anyway.

Of course, the hardest are the "specialty" pieces...spoilers, louvers, V8 bellhousings, etc. Not so tough to find always, but tough to cough up the dough this stuff brings sometimes.

I am becoming more convinced all the time that the hardest part of fixing up an old car to factory appearance is the interior. Unless you're building another "cookie cutter" early mustang, chevelle, corvette, or camaro, the difficulty obtaining quality interior pieces can be trying. I guess you already figured that out with the cvt, though.

3K should buy a decent plain stang II, but the prices being asked for some of the specialty models seems to be getting out of hand for those who know what it takes to get one back "right".

I always figure it's going to take 1000 for a complete interior if you have to buy door panels or change color, 2000 for a decent paint job with minimal repair work, 300 to go through brakes, 300up for suspension, and drivetrain is wide open. So a $3500 Cobra II that needs interior and paint just doesn't add up to me, and I see it a lot. BUT, there are always more people that want to buy into a project than there are buyers for a finished car (by virtue of the lower buy-in), so the price keeps going up on the rougher cars.

My policy is to never pay for "OK" interior or paint, because you know you're going to want to do it over anyway, and it costs the same to redo "OK" interior or thrashed interior. Same for drivetrain, and just about everything else on the car.

Good luck on the hunt!

 

[Power Surge]

So what is the max you are willing to spend? That should help the rest of us keep an eye out for certain cars for you. And what is your intention for the car? Are you looking for something that's close to factory correct, or are you looking for a solid foundation for a hot rod?

 

[MustangGT01]

Thanks guys for everything, yall are too cool. I'm hoping to sell my 89 for around $2,500-$3,000. If not I'm definatly looking for the $3,000-$3,500 range once I get it saved up. I'm not hel bent on factory correct but not going the hot rod route either. I'm looking for something that is a good solid base to make something I would like stylewise. Just as an idea. On my wife's 89 GT vert we are putting several styles together that we like to something that should look appealing. Right now we have a Cobra front bumper, Mach 1 style hood, and a saleen wing. We are looking to complete a smooth look with a Cobra rear bumper cobra/saleen rear wing (not sure yet), smooth ground effects (not the gt vented type) and a custom designed classic style interior of my design.

For the II I like the black and gold combo of the 5.0 Cobra and the overall styling. For me it doesn't have to be a real Snake. Just something that I like stylewise and would be happy with. The II looks like a fun car to drive and is definatly not something everyone else has on the road. I'm unsure which II the local salvage has but he mentioned that it was a t-top and had a v-8. I probably should take a look to see which one it was. I know one that I peeked in last week he had looked like it had a really decent tan interior. I'll see if I can get back up there and shoot a few pics of them for you guys to see what you think.