| |
RHAPSODY IN BLUE
Untimely demise or welcome turning point - 1978 marked the end of a short-lived Mustang era.
by Rod Short
|
When people hear the phrase "Time will heal the pain," they're probably thinking more in terms of a broken heart than anything else. Yet, that may be exactly what many Mustang enthusiasts felt in the early seventies when the golden age of musclecars came to a close. While Mustangs have made a comeback in performance since the dark days of low compression and fuel economy that followed, many people have forgotten about the Mustang II and how it actually sowed the seeds for the 5.0 phenomenon. Gary Baum of Leola, Pa. remembers those days and he helps keep them alive in the form of this immaculate 1978 Mach 1 Stang.
"People just don't remember what they were like when they were new," Gary said, responding to our question about the type of comments he gets on his car. "There are always the purists who think only of the Mustangs built between 1964 and '68. Then you have the younger crowd that only knows Fox bodies. We're just caught in the middle. I think it's getting better, though. With the passage of time and more positive publicity, things have improved considerably."
When the Mustang II was introduced in 1974, enthusiasts howled about the Mach 1 name being placed on a six-cylinder car. With a bore and stroke of 3.66 X 2.70 inches, the Mach 1 came standard with a new German built 2.8 liter V6. With an unleaded-minded 8:1 compression ratio, this V6 was rated at 105 horsepower at 4400 rpm and 149 lbs.-ft of torque at 2800 rpm. Though not even meeting today's performance standards for a sporty car by any stretch of the imagination, this powertrain was good enough to propel the car from 0-60 mph in 13.8 seconds. In its day, not a bad number.
At the time, it was all the performance many people thought they could afford in terms of gas mileage following the 1973 gas crisis. Ford called it the "right car at the right time." It II-based Mach 1 offered better handling than it bulky predecessor did, especially when equipped with the optional competition suspension and CR70-13 Wide Oval steel-belted radials on 5 1/2 inch rims. Test drive compared the Mach 1 quite favorably with other cars like the Datsun 240-Z. Had it not weighed several hundred pounds more than the popular Japanese performance cars of the era, the Mustang II's stigma of poor performance might not have been as harsh as it is today.
Gary's 78 model was purchased in the summer of 1980 and served numerous roles as a family car and work vehicle before being partially restored. With a production total of 7,968 units, (nearly 200,000 IIs were built in 1978), Gary completed a full restoration that has resulted in several MCA Gold awards in the Concours Driven class.
With its Aqua Metallic finish set off by factory forged aluminum wheels, Gary says that people often say they've never seen a Mustang II like his. The car has some other rare equipment such as T-roof convertible option, four-way manual driver's seat and AM/FM stereo cassette. Although the horsepower has been reduced substantially, the V6 powered Mach 1 was still a pleasant, albeit somewhat dated, design for the everyday driver.
While all this made for a nice and tidy package during the economically fuel-efficient era during which the Mustang II had been developed, the uphill climb back to real performance was making itself felt. Mach 1s were available with an optional two-barrel 302 V8, while Cobra IIs and Black Stallions kept the Mustang II line fresh and interesting. It was a trial balloon called the King Cobra, however, which first signaled the beginning of the 5.0 phenomenon that brought Mustangs back to the forefront in the world of performance.
Without the Mustang II, nameplates like Mach 1, Cobra II and even 5.0 wouldn't have maintained the public's awareness. Just as we all go through stages of development, these cars represent an important transitions for the now more than thirty year old Mustang. With the efforts of enthusiasts like Gary Baum, these cars still retain a special place in Mustang history.
|
  |
|
