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Reviled as it may be nowadays, the '74 Mustang II sold very well; about 386,000 of the Pinto-derived Mustang rolled off the showroom floors that year, nearly triple the number of '73s that Ford managed to move. More »
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There are some parts that usually disappear within minutes of hitting a self-service junkyard. Ford Granada brakes, for example; everyone knows they'll bolt right onto a 60s Mustang. The Mustang II front suspension is another. More »
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After a long day of 24 Hours Of LeMons BS inspections, we knocked off for the day when it got too dark to see those "junkyard" Bilstein shocks or "Katrina flood cars." Out of the 76 cars that will be racing tomorrow, we probably got through 45; the others weren't... quite... ready... yet (cue sounds of Sawzalls, frantic phone calls to junkyards, welding). At that point, the judge wigs came off and the whole LeMons crew went prowling the pits in search of quality barbecue (embarrassingly enough, we were treated to a fine meal of fajitas served by the guys to whom we handed out the biggest BS penalty all day- glad those guys don't hold a grudge). I'll be too busy with Round Two of inspections tomorrow morning, but I'll do my best to put up some posts once the race itself gets rolling. For now, enjoy the sight of this excellent Field Expedient Hood Scoop, crafted out of the license plates that came with the car: a monkeyshit brown $125 '76 Ford Mustang II with the crudest vinyl-top removal we've ever seen. Yes, you'll see more of this car soon. More »
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By the fifth year of the Mustang II, Ford's ads for the Pinto-esque pony were taking a different approach than those from '74. In 1978, you could pick up a new base Mustang Ghia (i.e., the one with the Malaise-o-riffic 88-horse four-cylinder) for less than the 1977 price. Sign us up! More »
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When a company does all that work to build a brand you'd think they'd be careful about letting it go to crap for a couple of extra bucks. But companies love extra bucks and, when nothing else is going for them, they can always leverage awareness. Take the VW Caddy Carrera, a special edition VW van from Porsche? Really? Though we admit it looks sort of hot. A classic example is the Cadillac Cimarron which answered the question "Could people still respect a luxury car company if they made a version of the Olds Firenza?" That one took a while to recover from. More »
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The never ending smörgåsbord of awesome and terrifying projects that is eBay Motors leads us to a steaming heap of horror today with this very uniquely modified 1976 Ford Mustang II. The poster child for the malaise era, this particular 2.3L terror began its transformation to a mid-engined beast way back in 1978 and ended in 1988 when the over enthusiastic seller got too busy to continue work. What you get is a chassis last driven in 1984 with a plaster mold over the front and rear and what looks like a sliced up C3 Corvette tail end. More »
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The completely indecipherable photograph and PCH Superpower heritage of the '48 Morris Minor truck were the winning combination when it came to beating the 89-year-old Dodge in yesterday's Choose Your Eternity poll. Today we're going with a regional theme, because the last time we had two vehicles from the same American region was when we had the PCH Philadelphia Edition, and that's just too long. Today we're looking at some high-quality project material from the state where the Civil War began: South Carolina! Thanks (and a PCH Tipster T-shirt) go to Ktek01 for these tips! More »
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In the first few months of 1974, the new Pinto-based Mustang II outsold the Camaro, Firebird, Barracuda, Challenger, and Javelin combined. The cigar-chomping Edward G. Robinson-esque guy didn't know that! Not only that, the Mustang II came with a 4-cylinder engine, something you couldn't even get in a Camaro. So get on down to Small Car Headquarters and experience the Malaise! More »
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Nothing seems more emblematic of Malaise Era cars than what happened to the Mustang as the 70s progressed. First Ford went into Bloat Mode, piling on gingerbread and ever-larger bodywork on the once-sleek Mustang, then ditched the platform completely and produced the Pinto-based Mustang II starting in 1974. The Mustang II was actually a more sophisticated machine than its predecessor, but it was underpowered, suffered from crappy build quality, and (perhaps worst of all) looked like a cruel killjoy parody of the once-sporty Mustang design. In a sense, the Mustang II told America that the good times were over- now get ready for 120-horse V8s, Nixon's resignation, and the Fall of Saigon, suckaz! More »
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