Where to find a II?

mustangii.net classifieds?

oh yeah, welcome to our side of the world

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

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.

Ohio! Your about 1 hour south of me. Email address is Cobra_2_76@yahoo.com

Dave

MustangGT01 said:

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.

Click to expand...

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.

Wart said:

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.

Click to expand...

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

Project 77 said:

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

Click to expand...

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.

MustangGT01 said:

II tyros? No idea what the hell that is.

Click to expand...

Tyro: beginner, initiate, novice

As far as being serious I'm dead serious.

Click to expand...

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.

Wart said:

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.

Click to expand...

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

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

MustangGT01 said:

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.

Click to expand...

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!

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?