Long before the American energy crisis of 1973-74 the Ford Motor Company had decided to re-design the Mustang and re-image it as a smaller, more economical car.
It is said that it all started with a woman who had spoken up at the Spring 1968 Ford Motor Company stockholder's meeting, who stood up and complained directly to Henry Ford II. "Why can't you just leave a sports car small?," she asked. "I mean you keep blowing them up and starting another little one, blow that one up and start another one. I mean why don't you just leave them?" Her forceful remarks received a round of applause from the other stockholders.
Automotive designer Dick Nesbitt penned his vision of what the new, down-sized Mustang was to look like, in notchback form, dated December 1971. Nobody at Ford was even thinking about any upcoming oil shortage, they simply were admitting it was time for a change!
The new smaller version
The Mustang was no longer a sleek horse and within a few years of its introduction, it was more like a fat pig. In 1968, Bunkie Knudsen came in as the new president of Ford. Right away he added a monster of an engine with double the horsepower to the Mustang. To support the engine, he had to widen the entire car. By 1971, the Mustang had grown eight inches longer, six inches wider, and almost six hundred pounds heavier than the original 1965 model.
Dated January 5, 1972, this clay mockup is getting closer to what the production car ended up being in coupe form. Product planners had set four major objectives for the new Mustang: sensible size, high style, engineering excellence, and high perceived value for the money of the base car.
The "long-hood, short-deck" theme was retained but with a dimensionally reduced scale. The wheelbase was selected to be within about one inch of the rival Toyota Celica and as compared to the huge 1973 Mustang that it was replacing, some 20 inches shorter. A little trick to make the car quieter on the highway was discovered in testing, by building the car without rain gutters. Because of declining sales across the industry, a convertible version was never considered.
While some immediately thought the Mustang II was nothing but a Pinto with a different skin, there were actually numerous upgrades and changes, including the addition of two inches of wheelbase and lengthened to 96.2 inches. Overall length was also different, with the Mustang II being 6 inches longer as compared to the Pinto.
To go with the new smaller version of the Mustang the horse logo was slightly changed, now a more "trotting" horse design rather than the previous full gallop. This symbolism wasn't all that noticeable to the eye but more of a subliminal message.
Like any other new model launch, nobody knew how well the smaller version of the Mustang would sell. The news and impact of a national gasoline shortage crisis in America soon came and the public welcomed the Mustang II with impressive sales numbers. The car was a success as a result.
Motor Trend Magazine awarded the Mustang II as their 1974 Car Of The Year and stated it was somewhat of an effortless decision. The editors recognized it as a "new class of small car" as they analyzed that 1974 was a time of introspective about the function and purpose of the automobile, and in a time when the entire motoring world is being reevaluated and radicalized by an energy crisis of enormous dimension. With that in mind, a car that delivered enhanced fuel efficiency was definitely what the publication wanted to recognize.
The timing of the Mustang II was truly phenomenal in terms of luck. As a result of the Arab oil embargo that had taken place starting on October 18th, 1973, debuting a more fuel-efficient sporty car at this time was most fortunate for Ford. Motor Trend Magazine had reflected on this when the Mustang II was shown at the press launch, saying that the introduction of the smaller had been "one of the best-timed announcements in auto history."
1974
Initial advertising to introduce the car read this way: "Size. First of all, it's smaller. Smaller than the original Mustang and almost 18 inches shorter than last year's model. And with less weight to carry, Mustang II is an extremely nimble car." Three-door 2+2 is featured here on the golf course.
This publicity photo shows the public what the Mach I optioned version looks like, and the decision was to equip the featured press car with white-lettered tires to further support a "performance" theme.
Highlighting the hatchback feature that made for easier cargo loading, this promotional photograph shows the car as factory-equipped with a locking fuel cap, a popular feature based on the raised gasoline prices.
Using the "Mach 1" identification was a gutsy move for Mustang II marketers, however, the buying public liked it even though the standard engine was the 2.8LV6. It was a new and different era, and fuel mileage was a priority over performance.
At the end of the 1974 model year, the sales for the Mustang II added up to an impressive 338,136 sold. It has been said that the Mustang II saved the Mustang from extinction and with the healthy sales, the gamble of downsizing paid off handsomely.
A variation of the Ghia design was this one-off Targa-styled "Sportiva II" 2-seater show car that never saw production. Shown in 1974 on the car show circuit, it featured a removable roof panel and rear window, but obviously didn't gather enough interest to be considered as an available option.
Builder Sean Conway took a 1974 Mustang II and stuffed a 6-71 supercharged 492-cid big block Chevy into it creating a radical "Pro Street" car in 1983. A six-point roll cage and a beefed chassis was added along with wheel tubs to tuck in the 33x15-inch McCreary rear rubber. Known as "Totally MAD," it's shown here on the January 1984 Auto Buff Magazine cover.
Early in 1974, Doug Thorley ran this advertisement with a rather mundane Mustang II Ghia fitted with their chrome "Street Tubes" side pipes. The use of a new model car with aftermarket equipment was typical were the mid-1970s publications.
1975
The Mustang II received the 302-cid V8 engine option starting in September of 1974 for the new 1975 model year run. At first glance, a new, smaller and lighter Mustang with a V8 may sound exciting to enthusiasts, but the reality was that the 302 wasn't all that exciting, as it had a two-barrel carburetor and only developed SAE net 120 horsepower. It was good for a 17.9-second 1/4-mile run at 77 miles per hour.
The 1975 Mach I version had a shipping weight of 2,869 pounds (V6) at a base price of $4188.00. With just 97 horsepower, the standard engine of the Mach I was a disgrace to the famous Mach I Mustangs built in 1969-1973. But it was all about sales at the dealerships, and during this time frame the V6 Mach I outsold the previous V8 high-performance editions.
1976
The optional front spoiler, optional aluminum "mag" wheels, Firestone Steel Radial 500 rubber and optional side pinstriping adorned this 1976 example, which also featured the newly-released plaid upholstery.
As seen in this "Boredom Zero" 1976 advertisement: 34 highway miles per gallon, with a manual transmission, 2.3L V6 engine. Ford was going after the Japanese imports with this version.
Here's a 1976 T-roof car staged in a studio shoot with optional lacy-spoke aluminum wheels. Also equipped with an optional 302-cid engine indicated by a small V8 emblem placed on the lower front fender.
Black with Gold was the theme for some Mustang II buyers with the Cobra II model in 1976, complete with scooped (non-functional) hood, blacked-out grille, front and rear spoilers, louvered rear quarter windows, racing-style outside mirrors, full instrumentation, a two-barrel 302 V8 and more fluff than muscle. But with the energy crisis that had hit the USA, it was at last something.
From the hit ABC TV series Charlie's Angels came the 1976 Mustang II Cobra II, the car that crime-fighter Jill Munroe (Farrah Fawcett) drove on the show, in later shows it was older sister Kris Munroe (Cheryl Ladd) as a result of Ford Motor Company's product placement program aimed at getting their vehicles shown in the mass media. Greenlight Collectibles released a 1:18 diecast of the car.
1977
A black and chamois Ghia with the optional Sports Group featured in this 1977 ad, the car included the aluminum cross-spoke wheels, accented in matching chamois hue.
"A flame went out when old-style convertible died." That was a line used in the 1977 Mustang T-roof advertisement, promoting the new optional roof design. The T-Bar Roof Package included a wide black band across the top, except on Cobra II models.
Playing upon the original 1965 GT350 in the ad, Ford's "Cobra II" model shown in advertising and here's how the copy read: "Cobra II starts with the Mustang II 2+2 hatchback and fold-down rear seat with some heavy standard equipment: a 2.3-liter four-cylinder engine, rack-and-pinion steering, four-speed manual transmission and front disc brakes." Sorry, but listing a 4-banger as standard equipment wasn't too exciting! At least an optional 302 V8 was offered. Three different color combos were available: White with Blue, Blue with White, and Black with Gold. "Boredom Zero" was a continued theme used by the advertising agency.
1978
While the side graphics are more than a tad overblown in presentation, there's no question onlookers who saw a Cobra II were aware of exactly what it was!
New for 1978 was the "King Cobra" which had to be a FoMoCo answer to the popular Pontiac Trans-Am Firebird. Exclusive body parts of the King Cobra were the front air dam, brake cooling tubes and rear wheel opening "pants." According to records, only 4,306 were built.
A factory-fresh King Cobra with the emasculated 302-2V, as noted on the air cleaner housing identification V stands for venturi, a two-barrel carburetor engine. Unfortunately, these powerplants were rated at a miserable 139-horsepower, as a result of just 8.4:1 compression ratio, a Motorcraft two-barrel and single exhaust. This is an automatic transmission version of the King Cobra, 4-speed manual cars had an air pump to comply with smog legislation.
Three-spoke steering wheel and brushed aluminum instrument panel and passenger's side panel over the glove box ads some sporty flavor to the interior. 85-mph speedometer and tachometer dominate the dash.
King Cobra cars featured a coiled snake motif on the hood, reversed hood scoop, a blacked-out grille, a specific front air dam, front brake cooling ducts, and with special graphics. Some feel it was rather tacky and garish, some say performance-inspiring.
Racing Mustang II Highlights
The "Blue Max" Mustang II Funny Car shown here from 1976, was one of the most popular and successful cars on the NHRA circuit. The blue paint and gold-leaf lettering set the car apart from the others, plus that highly-detailed German World War I Blue Max commendation medal for combat flying gave the car a real distinctive look.
Billy Meyer was a young Texas Funny Car driver who was known as "Waco Willie" as a result of his hometown. Here's he doing a then-standard procedure smoke-filly burn out in 1974, in his well-funded Mustang II Funny Car.
Shown here at the Union Grove, WI, drag strip, East Coast Pro Stock racer also relied on the Mustang II body shape, a car that replaced his former Chevy Vegas as he found the Ford Cleveland powerplant more advantageous than the Chevrolet small block for the 1975 racing season.
The 1978 model was the last Mustang II and galloped into the sunset, in effect doing its job of keeping the Mustang continuously alive and selling very well. Over 1.1 million were sold during the five-model-year run. The woman who had spoken up about the growth of the Mustang was one of the first to see the first pre-production prototype in mid-1973, as Henry Ford II had invited the outspoken shareholder to view the Mustang II. After giving a personal preview of the car, she liked it. And it turned out she was absolutely right, the Mustang needed to be a smaller vehicle.
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