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The Lost Pony
In the mid-1970s, Ford developed the oft-overlooked Mustang II
by Mike Dieffenbach
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When Lee Iacocca took over the reins at Ford in 1970, America was already in the waning days of the "muscle car" era. Gas prices were creeping up, emissions standards were being established, and insurance companies were reeling in automotive manufacturers and their continuing plans to build big, bad muscle cars.
Iacocca, whose sterling reputation had been built around his efforts developing the original Ford Mustang in 1965, came up with an idea how to consolidate Ford's future efforts in manufacturing cars that conformed to the painful new realities all car makers faced.
The Regulators and Regulations
It was a very pivotal year, 1970. It changed the face of the American roads.
Congress amended the Clean Air Act that year to establish air quality standards to protect public health - setting parameters below the levels at which demonstrated health effects occurred. On April 22, 1970, "Earth Day" became a part of the American lexicon. It was a grass-roots movement born out of the late '60s protest movement focusing on clean air and water. Also, in 1970, the Environmental Protection Agency was established.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), founded in 1960, became aware of its influence on the economic interests of its customers. In 1970, they began raising the tax rate and posted prices of their products.
And then there were the insurance companies.
Concerned with the rise of young drivers (under 25) and the increase of high-output engines with manual transmissions, some insurance companies jacked their rates into the stratosphere, while others freaked out and denied coverage altogether. 1
In November of 1970, Ford gained controlling interest of the Ghia design studios in Italy. Iacocca used this leverage to have the famed coachbuilder to build a concept for the new, smaller Mustang.
The Boss is Lost?
The first generation Mustang got its last facelift in 1971. It also lost two of its most exotic powerplants - the Boss 302 and the heavy-metal Boss 429. Though those Boss engines only lasted two years, in the 1969 and 1970 models, they are truly legendary now 30 years later. In their place a Boss 351 was offered.
With a longer snout, concealed wipers, a new grille, flush door handles and an overall length increase of two inches over the 1970 Mustang, the design had become too large to be considered a "pony car' in many people's eyes. When compared to the 1965 model, the 1971 Mustang was five inches longer, plus it was wider and heavier. It European styling still said Mustang, but it was viewed by most as a muscle car and not the sporty little pony car it has started as. The 1973 model was the last time the Mustang offered an engine larger than a 302 until 1995. And it was the last Mustang to offer a convertible until the 1980 model.
The Mustang added minor changes in 1972 and 1973, mainly in the options. Total production of 134,867 in 1973 was less than half of that of the 1968 model.
When the 1974 Fords hit the show room the Mustang had changed, really changed.
From Lion to Lamb
The 1974 Mustang II officially ended one era in automobile manufacturing history and began another. Initially marketed as luxury sub-compact measuring 175 inches (seven inches shorter than the '65 and 19 inches shorter than the '73), the car eventually gained acceptance as an economy car with its base 2.3 liter four cylinder. The four bangers produced an abysmal 95 hp, while the optional 169 ci two-barrel six cylinder upped the ante to an only slightly better 105 hp. The famous Mustang logo on the grille was even different. The original pony car featured a "pony" at full gallop. The Mustang II, true to form, had a logo in which the horse seemed to be trotting.
Like the original 1965 Mustang, this was a car designed to be practical and affordable. There was the base model, which offered good handling and a touch of luxury, priced at a mere $2,895. The good-looking Mustang II Ghia notchback offered more distinctive luxury - there was lots of leg room in the comfortable front seats. Finally, the three-door hatchback Mach I was a sportier-looking car, though it lacked sports-car power. The cars logged 20.72 and 19.47 mpg respectively when tested by Motor Trend in December 1973.
What astounded many was the sales figures the Mustang II recorded. Snubbed as a cheap knock off (it did retain some basic styling of the original Mustang), Ford sold 338,136 of the 385,993 Mustang IIs produced in its first year. Motor Trend magazine name the Mustang II "Car of the Year."
Let's Dress This Baby Up
The 1974 Mustang II did offer options to the buyer. The car came in a two-door hardtop coupe, a three-door fastback, a two-door Ghia and a two-door Mach I (which was phased out on the Mustang II after '74). There was the Convenience Group which had dual color-keyed remote control door mirrors, right visor vanity mirror, rear ashtray, and day/night mirror among other features. The offered the Luxury Interior Group, the Maintenance Group, the Light Group and the Rallye Package. The available packages and individual options did change frequently from year to year.
The Pony and the Pinto
One of the big raps against the Ford Mustang was it relationship to the pint-sized Pinto. The Mustang II suspension is based on Pinto components (likewise the original Mustang was based on the Falcon). The subframe and front suspension parts of the Mustang II are identical to the Pinto. The Mustang II had a unitized body, which utilized a front subframe, cradling the engine and transmission. The Mustang II had an insulated subframe that used six rubber-washered mountings to cushion it from the main platform thereby reducing vibration.
Imagine, if you will, a muscle car enthusiast's dismay when he learned that the legendary nameplate shared parts with the little-respected Pinto. It's like swapping parts between a Camaro and a Vega (even though many of their steering components were interchangeable).
In reality, about 10 percent of the chassis parts - front wheel spindles, brake discs and brake master cylinder, universal joints and other are common among Mustang and Pinto. If your compared another Ford product, the Thunderbird, with the Ford Torino you'd see about the same percentage of parts being used between the two. Yet most guys never accused the boat-sized T-bird of being a re-skinned Torino!
Snake Bite Proves Healthy
When the Mustang II finally tucked a V-8 under its hood it recaptured a fraction of the allure of the original pony car. This was done by introducing the Cobra II and, to a lesser degree, the Mach I and the Stallion option packages. A closer look reveals, however, the Mustang II wasn't allowed to get to venomous. In 1975, the pokey 122 hp V-8 was tucked under the hood. The horsepower increased the next year as the Mustang's 302 V-8 produced 139 hp.
Also in 1976, in an effort to rekindle the Shelby Mustang magic of 1965, the Cobra II package was installed by Motortown Corp. They dressed it up with stripes, spoilers, louvers wearing snake emblems, interior door panel emblems, and the signature grille snake emblem. A total of 25,259 Cobra IIs were sold in America's bicentennial year, 1976.
Ford was dutifully impressed by that successful sales figure. Cobra IIs were factory produced in 1977-78. There were several differences between the Motortown Corp.'s '76 Cobra and the '77 and '78 factory model Fords, most of them were cosmetic.
Outside, a wider stripe pattern was used along the sides of the car. More color options were included, too. In 1976, the Cobra II could be purchased in white/blue stripes, blue/white stripes and black/gold stripes. In the final two years, the blue and white Cobra II was eliminated but white/red stripes and white/green stripes were made available.
Inside, the '77 and '78 trim on the instrument panels and brake handle was changed to black. The steering wheel, a two-spoker in '76, became a three-spoke wheel.
So Then What Happened?
The often-maligned Mustang II's demise came just about the same time as Iacocca's at Ford Motor Co. As president of the company, Iacocca was at odds with CEO Henry Ford II, the grandson of the company's founder. Ford had established the new position of deputy CEO and had given it to Philip Caldwell (who went on to succeed Henry II as chief executive). Iacocca had hoped to someday be the first person outside the Ford family to head the automotive giant, but to no avail. Caldwell's ascendancy signaled that he was heir apparent, not Iacocca. In July 1978, Iacocca was unceremoniously "fired" by Henry Ford II 2.
The Mustang II began to lose favor as far back as 1975 in just its second year, when sales slipped dramatically and Ford design teams were beginning to develop a new platform - the "Fox body" chassis which began with the 1978 Fairmont 3.
Also, new government regulations - Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) laws written by Congress were to take effect in 1978. The CAFE standards rose for passenger cars for model years 1978-1980 and called for an eventual doubling in new car fleet fuel economy. In 1974, American passenger cars averaged 14.8 mpg; the new law required an average of 18 mpg in the 1978 model year and required and average of 27.5 mpg on the highway by 1985. The modestly popular Mustang II didn't fit Ford's long-range planning in that regard.
When the automaker introduced the Fox-body Mustang in the fall of 1978, it was a midsize automobile with an overall length of 179.1 inches. Though longer, it actually weighed less than the Mustang II due to advancements in the mass weight of production materials. It also got up the road quicker due to that fact, plus it was more aerodynamic. The new Mustang's final design came from the team headed by Jack Telnack, and including Fritz Meyhew and Dave Rees.
Though the new Mustang enjoyed a sales increase of approximately 140,000 vehicles, its sales figures also slacked off over the years like its predecessors - the legendary original "Stang and its "lost pony" follow-up the Mustang II
(1) From the SEMA News, August 1999
(2) Lee Iacocca was almost immediately hired by the financially ailing Chrysler Corp. and continued as the company's president until 1993.
(3) The Fox-body platform was used for the 1979-1993 Ford Mustang, the 1979-1986 Mercury Capri, the 1978-1983 Ford Fairmont and Mercury Zephyr, the 1980-1982 Ford.
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