A measure of the appeal of new cars is how much old cars are going for. In particular, old cars that were laughed at when they were new cars – such as the ’78 Mustang II King Cobra I saw for sale the other day over at Duncan Imports & Classics, a dealership in my area that specializes in old cars (as well as unusual old cars, including right-hand-drive stuff from Japan that was never sold here new).
I drop by Duncan every so often when I need to be reminded of how good we used to have it – and didn’t begin to appreciate it, at the time.
The ’78 Mustang , for instance.
When it was new, it was a near laughing stock. Many didn’t even consider it a proper Mustang; more of a Pinto with hints of Mustang-ish styling here and there.
In retrospect, the Pinto was pretty damned appealing. Imagine a time when an economy car was rear-wheel-drive. Today, only very expensive luxury-cars and a handful of sports cars that aren’t inexpensive, either, are rear-drive. Almost every new car you can buy now for under $50k is front-drive and almost all of them have four cylinder engines, just like the Pinto did.
But a Pinto didn’t cost $50k.
It cost just under $2k in 1971 – its first year of availability – per the dictum of Lee Iacocca, who was VP of North American Operations at Ford at the time. That amounts to about $15k in today’s Weimar-inflated dollars. Which amounts to about $5k less than the least expensive, front-wheel-drive crossover you’ll be able to buy come 2025 now that the last-remaining new cars you can still buy for less than $20k have been cancelled.
The Pinto, of course, did not have a touchscreen or any “advanced safety assistance technology.” It did have a manual transmission and a pull-up emergency brake. That meant you could have fun with it. Its four cylinder engine was not powerful, but it could be maintained by just about anyone.
Brand-new, for about $15k in today’s money.
Looks pretty good in retrospect, doesn’t it? 
Back to the ’78 Mustang King Cobra that seemed silly at the time.
The King Cobra was the ultimate-final version of the Mustang II that Ford brought out for the 1974 model year to replace the much larger (and much heavier) 1973 Mustang, which – at the time – was considered by most Mustang enthusiasts to be the last real Mustang. It had five-lug 15-inch wheels – and you could still get a 351 V8 in the Boss 351.
When the ’74 Mustang first came out, you could’t get it with a V8. It was either a Pinto-like 2.3 liter four (the first time a Mustang came with less than a six) or the “top-of-the-line” 2.8 liter V6.
It had four-lug, 13 inch wheels.
While the new Mustang II was a sales success and deserves credit for shepherding the Mustang through the mid-late ’70s – it wasn’t much-respected. Ford tried to shore up the downsized Mustang’s credibility by putting a V8 back into the engine lineup for 1975.
But it wasn’t much of a V8 – by the standards of just a couple of years prior. It was smaller – 302 cubic inches instead of 351 – and it only made 122 horsepower. That made it the least powerful V8 Ford since the days of the Flathead Ford V8.
Probably why Ford didn’t make much of it, at the time. The ’75 Mustang II with the 302 had small “V8” badges on the front fenders and that was it. Which wasn’t much, relative to one of the car’s main remaining rivals, the Pontiac Trans-Am.
Especially visually.
The ’75 Trans-Am looked like a road-racer, which it was meant to look like. The car’s name is a race – and Pontiac had to pay the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) that sanctioned road-racing events a royalty for the use of the “Trans-Am” name each time a Trans-Am rolled off the line. This started in 1970, the first year for the car that became synonymous with the name.
By ’75-76, the Trans-Am was mostly show and not much go. But the show sold – and Ford decided to try to sell some tickets of its own. 
Enter the Cobra II – which ultimately became the King Cobra for 1978.
It copied the road-racer look of the mid-late ’70s Trans-Am, right down to the chin spoiler and side-spats. It was dressed just as gaudily, too – even to the extent of Trans-Am emulating decals (of spitting Cobras rather than screaming chickens). And not even the Trans Am had decals as huge relative to the car as the Cobra II’s “Cobra II” decals that ran along each side of the car.
The 302 V8 now made 134 horsepower. Don Sherman, writing for Car & Driver, called it “a sheep in snake’s clothing.” 
1978 – the final year for the Mustang II – was the only year Ford sold the King Cobra iteration, which had the same two-barrel, 302 cubic inch V8 paired up with a standard four speed manual transmission. It wasn’t much but it was all you could get – from Ford – that year.
At the time, you could still get a real (1973 and earlier) Mustang for less money with more engine – and that’s what many Mustang enthusiasts did. They mocked – and dismissed – the ’74-’78 Mustang II as a necessary expedient to keep the Mustang name alive.
But a well-preserved ’78 King Cobra like the one for sale at Duncan looks pretty damned good now.
That 302 just needs a cam, a four barrel carb and a set of headers to have the go to accompany the show – and that was and is true of all the cars of its type of that era.
It’s something you can work with.
The new-era analogs are powerful but (largely) untouchable – and that includes how much they cost. A 2025 Mustang GT stickers for nearly $50k to start.
Which makes this $32k King Cobra – with just 16,278 miles on the odometer – look awfully sweet.
. . .
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Older analog cars are better then the new overweight, computer controlled cars…
Here is a 2005 Noble M12 GTO-3R….it is similar to the new Corvette, the Ford GT or a Porsche 911 or Cayman.
The Noble M12 GTO-3R is better in many ways….it only weighs 2381 lb, it has a tube frame…space frame like the old race cars and it is fully analog. The tuned twin turbo V6 put out up to 420 HP, so it was quick.
The true car enthusiast will recognize this for what it is. Not a status symbol but a true track weapon.
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2005-noble-m12-8/
Noble M12 3R
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvFtia8W_2g
My first car. I think mine might have been a 76. It was mucky swamp green with hideous tan seats and a vinyl roof. For some reason, no matter the skill of the mechanic, we could not get that car to accept a working exhaust system or a reliable starter. Fortunately, it was a stick shift and light, so it was easy to push start. It was eaten up by rust on the quarter panels. The neighborhood kids called it the “Bondo Buggy.” My response: Yep, where’s your car?
I got pulled over a lot in that car due to its general visage of unroadworthiness and the decibel level. I never got ticketed though. Besides push starting, the other life lesson learned from the Bondo Buggy was how to sweet talk cops.
The Ford Pinto was ,and is the everyman’s answer to the horsepower and handling dilemma. I bought my Pinto when it was 12 years old for $80 and all it needed to fix it completely was a carburetor rebuild kit, and it was a 2.3L engine and automatic. You could drop a 302 V8 right in and bolt it up to the existing tranny, which I didn’t get to, due to finances and space issues. Even after 5 years and 80K miles, a blown water pump that overheated the engine and blew the head gasket brought an end to my enjoyable ownership, and I still sold the car for $200!! Way before Cash for clunkers and the COVID scam, I actually made money on it! Still miss that car, tho, lots of good memories and times with it. Now Ford’s gone woke and will be broke soon…too bad. At least there’s lots of cars already left out there to buy…for now!!
I shudder to think of what my old 1968 Delta 88 would be going for…
That said, is that the asking price or the selling price?
Oh, hell no. Not in this century. Not in any world would i even pay $3200 for one of those
I always liked the Mustsng 2 fastback. In my opinion it was closer to the real mustang roots in a light, simple, good looking economy car than the bloated tugboat styled mustang’s of the early 70s. Yes you could get a 351C or some big block options in the bloat boat, but it was big and heavy and in my eyes homely. A gross letdown from the 68-69 fastback’s crisp clean styking.
And yes that 302/4spd option in the M2 could easily be woken up with some basic hot rodding.
‘Every so often the humidity gets high enough that the cooler won’t work. It’s a fundamental design flaw that cannot be avoided.’ — ReadyKilowatt
Just when you need cooling the most, the southwestern monsoon cranks up the humidity in July and August to cripple swamp coolers.
I opted for a 14,000 BTU Toshiba heat pump/air conditioning unit (used both summer and winter) in a larger living space, and a 6,000 BTU Toshiba window unit (used in summer only) in the master bedroom. Total investment in both units was less than $1,000. Comfort is cheap.
Whoops, this was meant to be a reply to RK in the first post at the bottom.
I almost had a black on black with gold stickers and gold Cobra on the hood a 1978 king cobra with a stick when I was a kid for about 3000.00. Needed work but it would have been worth it but someone got it before me. Darn!
It’s a good looking car and when you get right down to it I’d rather be driving a nice looking car that’s slow than an ugly car that is fast.
OK this is ridiculous.
Went on a bike ride this morning and one of these passed me in the other lane.
Hadn’t seen one in many years until Eric posts about it.
Not sure what model it was but had the black with gold stripe paint job.
This nonsense, like real.estate, ends bad when the insanely overpriced and inflationary US Stock Market comes crashing down.
And another,,, and another,,, and another one bites the green agenda dust.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqyUAtzS_6M
[Jeep maker Stellantis — one of the Big Three automakers — is set to lay off around 2,450 workers later this year at a discontinued Ram 1500 Classic factory outside of Detroit.
“With the introduction of the new Ram 1500, production of the Ram 1500 Classic at the Warren (Michigan) Truck Assembly Plant will come to an end later this year….]
More broke Americans…. more on the SS dole,,, more future Walmart employees!
Haven’t hit bottom yet. Make sure to get the “I voted” sticker.
You’d think in this disaster of an economy they would keep making their most affordable trucks, not the ultra loaded versions at obscenely high prices. Doesn’t make any sense to me.
It’s amazing how things come back around. I’m often amazed at the prices paid for Pintos, Bobcats, and even Pacers. I get it though. I’d rather have a funky hatchback from the 70’s than any of the cookie cutter crossovers in the market today.
Saw a young man at Safeway that has a red 2000 Mustang GT in really nice condition. Think he’s an employee. Looked all stock except for aftermarket wheels. I asked him what year and what engine. 4.6L. I said “Cool” and he said “It’s fun”. Didn’t asked about the transmission but I get the feeling it’s a standard shift. He said “Have a good day sir” and I was impressed with his politeness. His dark black tint didn’t look legal but I’m not the tint police hehe.
My stepdad had a brand new ’68 Mustang Fastback. I don’t remember what it had under the hood but it was pretty quick and sounded great!
While affordable cars are turning into boring appliances, the high end of the market has seen some incredible machines being made, for the rich. You will soon be able to buy a 1000HP Corvette (probably for $200k), and you have McLarens, Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Mercedes, Porsches, and others which still come with V8’s or even V10’s, for a price.
CAFE doesn’t ban these big engines, but it requires selling a lot of appliances to offset their MPG to bring up the manufacturer average. These powerful cars are high margin profit makers, so manufacturers will squeeze even more blood from the stone of economy cars to build a few more of these.
Most of my life, I drove 4-cylinder economy cars, and even one 3-cylinder, because I couldn’t afford something nicer. I now own a V8 SUV for long trips and towing, and I’m only starting to understand what I’ve been missing. That engine is glorious in a way that no 4-cylinder turbo can, and it’s infuriating that nice things are being taken away from common people, but our betters still get to enjoy them.
“ and I’m only starting to understand what I’ve been missing. That engine is glorious in a way that no 4-cylinder turbo can “
Yep, and an iron block with iron heads V8 will last a long long time. Don’t know about the newer aluminum V8s, although all aluminum Harley V twins will easily go 100k miles with normal maintenance. (Steel sleeved cylinders)
Drove our 1991 Silverado pickup yesterday, original all iron 350 V8 with 187k miles. Runs perfectly fine. Idle is dead smooth. It has throttle body EFI so no excess fuel from a bum carb ever washed down the cylinders. I always use quality oil and filter.
Priceless to me, an easy keeper and I shudder to think what a replacement truck even used would cost. In our small town / rural valley area there are about a dozen of this era Chevy truck out and about. From faded farm trucks to a nice original (mine) to a full up restored extended cab in baby blue metallic all still in the road in practical service for the owners. Priceless indeed.
Mine is a Porsche V8. I bought the car broken, since I’m a very competent shadetree mechanic and I save money by buying broken things and fixing them. Since I had the engine disassembled in my garage, I got to know it well, and the thing is pretty simple, elegant really. Other than the turbos, I don’t see very much that can go wrong with the block and heads themselves. The turbos are the price you pay for 550HP from a 4.8L engine.
The Mustang II was less of a mistake than the current “Mustang” Mach-E.
I hated the Mustang II fastback when it came out in 1974 and still don’t like it today. Of course in my case that might be because my father bought a nearly new silver ’73 Ford Mustang Mach I, 351 Cleveland 4V and kept it for 8 years, eventually selling it out from under me to a mechanically-inclined teen in 1982. Although he did repaint it black, that kid did keep it and baby it thankfully. But I just didn’t care for the replacement Pinto – based Mustang; I thought it was (and is) ugly. And I could care less if Farrah Fawcett drove one on Charlie’s Angels.
Growing up, there was one guy who had a mustang ii in the neighborhood. I was never sure it was really a mustang.
I remember posters of the Mustang II, King Cobra with Farrah Fawcett adorning the car. That would be a no-no in today’s F’ed up world!
And the Snap On calendars.
The Pirelli calendar was amazing.
We were a proper people once.
In the early eighties my cousin did exactly that, but with a pinto
(302, 4 barrel, headers, etc.) Even with positrac and beefy tires he had a hard time maintaining traction.
“Its four cylinder engine was not powerful, but it could be maintained by just about anyone. Brand-new, for about $15k in today’s money.”
Yesterday I woke up to the sound of water running. It took me a few minutes to figure out the plastic water line running into the swamp cooler had ruptured. I knew it would happen someday, I even asked if the installation crew had copper when they put it in (no, they only carry plastic). So I knew how I’d be spending at least part of my Saturday… trip to the hardware store, pick up a few unions and some copper tubing. Took about 2 hours to actually fix, but only because sometimes you have to pace yourself.
When the old swamp cooler had rusted beyond repair, I looked at getting a heat pump. In addition to costing literally 10X more than a new cooler, it would have to be professionally maintained, because I lack the tools and knowledge necessary to fix a broken air conditioner. No doubt I could learn, and because I dealt with AC in my old job I know the basic refrigeration cycle just through osmosis, but not well enough to really fix things. Maybe I could figure out a bad capacitor or squirrel chewed control wiring, but that’d be about the end of my knowledge. And a split refrigerant line is a disaster, since it doesn’t carry water, it carries a tightly regulated chemical that’s not available to most home gamers.
The cooler doesn’t stress me out, because I know how to maintain it. Might be a hassle, and it took time out of my day, but it was my time, not someone else’s. And so I didn’t need to interrupt an HVAC tech’s weekend for an emergency call, or arrange a time during “normal hours” to meet with them (likely having to take a sick day myself), and certainly I could do the work whenever I wished.
Every so often the humidity gets high enough that the cooler won’t work. It’s a fundamental design flaw that cannot be avoided. Those days I question my choice of cooler over air conditioner. And for sure the heat pumps are built to a higher quality standard (and matching price), meaning they’re less likely to fail, but when they do it’s a catastrophe.
Yesterday reaffirmed my decision was the correct one.