Would you drive this? 1974 Ford Mustang

Since the AMC Pacer wagon thread drew some interesting responses, I thought I'd bring another 1970s icon to the OT for consideration:



The second generation Mustang was introduced in 1973 as a 1974 model. It was nearly 500 lbs lighter than the original Mustang, and provided excellent fuel economy in the rare circumstances where the car was operable.



As they are today, Ford loyalist of 1974 were willing to overlook issues with reliability, safety, and performance - so the second generation Mustang (AKA, the Mustang II) proved to be popular. Many design aspects of the modern Mustang can be traced back to the Mustang II - including the shape of the front grill, rear tail light design, availability of a 2.3L 4 cylinder engine, and the trademark dash of build quality mistakes.



Like modern Mustangs, this Mustang II's base engine is a 4 cylinder displacing 2.3 Liters. In 1974, this engine produced 88 horsepower. A variant of this 2.3L engine was also used in the Ford Pinto, which was a huge piece of shite. The Ford Pinto also donated its frame and platform to the Mustang for the 1974 model year.

LINK

I can't find any performance numbers for this model. I would assume that it can reach a top speed of about 75 MPH. The quarter mile trap speed is probably in the upper 50s. 0-60 is somewhere between 18-20 second range.



Unfortunately, the oil embargo of this era did result in a host of lame products from Detroit at the time. So if you like the Mustang II (as an ironic statement or out of sincere infatuation for the ugly duckling), there are plenty of other examples of vehicles just like this one out there. Not as many people are excited to restore them though.



Would the OT drive this piece of rolling history? This was a popular car in 1974.

Check out that red carpet....