When it comes to the Ford Mustang II, enthusiasts are generally sharply divided into one of two categories – they either love it or hate it, mostly for bearing the beloved Ford Mustang nameplate. Built in a time when gas prices were high and foreign economy cars were proving to be incredibly popular, the Mustang II was undoubtedly underpowered and anything but thrilling to drive, but the model certainly has its fair share of fans, regardless. And those folks will find this minty 1978 Ford Mustang II King Cobra that’s currently up for grabs at Bring a Trailer to be quite enticing.
It isn’t every day that we come across such a gem of a Mustang II, though there are a few low-mile, one-owner examples left out there in the world. This 1978 Ford Mustang II King Cobra is extra special, however, as it’s one of less than 5,000 produced with the King Cobra package, which is easily the most desirable version of the Mustang II.
Ticking that box added a host of body mods, including front and rear spoilers, a hood scoop, and of course, that famous snake decal on the hood. This particular car is finished in Bright Red, with orange pinstriping and graphics, as well as 13-inch lacy-spoked wheels. It’s about as good as a Mustang II can possibly look, that’s for sure.
The interior of this compact machine is in equally stunning condition, with red vinyl adorning a set of bucket seats and the carpet and dash, while the stainless steel trim present in the cabin lends it a nice bit of contrast. Since this was built in the 1970s, it also has an 8-track player so the new owner can slip in some disco music and transport themselves back to the era of bell-bottoms and other questionable fashion choices.
As far as power goes, the King Cobra utilizes Ford’s long-running 302 cubic-inch V8, which in this case is backed up by a C4 automatic transmission. However, with just 139 horsepower on tap and 2.74 rear gears, it isn’t going anywhere in a hurry. But for anyone that’s a fan of the Mustang II, there’s no denying that they just don’t get any better than this.
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Comments
So few left…Why? Because they ended up in the dump. Where they belong. This thing need to be buried along with all the other bad ford ideas.
You have no idea what your talking about my uncle has a red 78 Mustang II King Cobra 4spd transmission. Its the 1st Mustang to wear the 5.0 badge with out this car there might not have been a Fox Body Pony.It’s a fun car to drive it handles better than the Camaro and Firebird due to the Rack and pinion front end setup. Which found homes under many HotRod of any brand driven today. There’s a Mustang for the times , this was the right Mustang for that time 2nd highest in Mustang sells history. Just because you don’t like -don’t mean its junk
A nice example of a moment in time. Researching the history of what economic turmoil was going on at the time, it was a nice rebound from the behemoth that preceded it.
It was the right mustang for the time and ford sold them like hot cakes for first couple of years. The black and tan Ghia was one of the sharpest.
Sorry to disagree. This vintage of FORD Mustang was the worst knee jerk reaction ever to foreign competition of the day and started the long and now familiar road of ‘following, not leading’ car design in North America. I get that the business is brutally competitive and a wrong call on new product can submarine a company in a heartbeat. That said, a right call on a new product can be a game changer as is the case with BEV.
People may not like this generation of Mustang. But because them, the mustang lived on to today. Mustang sales exploded when they released them in 1974.
They were light cars and many enthusiasts swapped intakes, carbs, cams and exhaust. They responded very well to these basic mods. They definitely were the perfect car at the perfect time.
I totally agree with you Richard it’s the 2nd highest selling Mustang of all time to this day. FORD made a lot of money off the 74-78 models which was also introduced the first hatchback to invest in the Pony car future, the King Cobra is a 1yr model the name was never used again until 2015 on a concept Mustang
It’s all in what you like have had 5 Mustangs over the years 69,70 (302’s automatic, stick) 74,80(2.3 automatic) 95(3.8 stick) also 73 Cougar(351C automatic) & 77 Pinto Cruzin’ Wagon(2.3 automatic) if you think there junk go buy your GM & Mopars.
I’m having a blast reading these comments. It’s amazing how so many are still that ignorant about these cars and spout off like they actually know what they are talking about.
Thanks for keeping us entertained !
Nice little car. Still looked like a Mustang. Sold like crazy and saved Mustang’s bacon. We had a 65 and 66 when I was growing up. I’ve owned four, two Cobras, a 99 and 03, which I still own and an 11 and 12. All convertibles. The 11 met its demise with a deer, but I still have the 12. The Mustang II was a good car and gets a bad rep. I’d own one if one came my way.
I had a 76 mustang 2 Cobra I completely gutted the engine and transmission put a completely modified 302 in it high performance cam high compression pistons and a modified Street strip c4 transmission in it the thing was a screamer what many street cars that could touch me
Does anyone have a Mustang King Cobra for sale? Looking to by Thanks