The Cobra II, 1976–1978

If you want the big picture first, our Mustang II history covers the whole generation. This one sticks to the Cobra II: what was in the box, what was under it, how it changed each year, and what to look at before you hand over money for one today.

What the Mustang II Cobra package actually was

For 1976 the Cobra II package gave you a black grille, a simulated hood scoop, front and rear spoilers, louvers over the quarter windows, dual stripes over the top and cobra emblems on the fenders. Hatchback only. No notchback Cobra II existed. You could order it with any engine in the catalog, which tells you everything about what kind of package it was.

The look came from outside Ford. Jim Wangers, who came over from the Pontiac side of the business, designed it, and his company, Motortown, applied the parts for 1976. For 1977 and 1978 Ford took the work in-house. So a 1976 car went down the line as a 2+2 and got dressed afterward. That detail matters if you ever argue about "factory" with someone at a show.

The price climbed fast. The package cost $325 in 1976, $535 in 1977 and $677 in 1978. That's more than double in two years for what was, mechanically, the same car. Buyers paid it anyway. Consumer Guide called the Cobra II an "instant success," and Ford's 1977 brochure bragged about a "runaway sales success." Marketing departments say that kind of thing, sure, but the production numbers back it up for at least the first year.

Under the stripes: the engines

Here's where the hype runs into the spec sheet. A Cobra II could carry the 2.3-liter four (VIN code Y), the 2.8-liter Cologne V6 (code Z) or the 302 V8 (code F). The code sits in the fifth position of the 11-character VIN. Check it. A four-cylinder Cobra II is a real Cobra II. It's just a slow one.

Horsepower is a mess, and I won't pretend otherwise. Sources disagree for 1976 to 1978. The four sits somewhere around 88 to 93 hp, the V6 around 93 to 104 hp, and the 302 between 134 and 140 hp net depending on whose table you read. MustangSpecs even disagrees with itself: its 1976 spec table says 134 hp for the 302, its text says 140. For 1978 the King Cobra literature lists the 302 at 139 hp at 3,600 rpm and 250 lb-ft at 1,600 rpm, on a Motorcraft 2150 two-barrel. Other 1978 listings say 134 hp and 213 lb-ft. Pick one and you'll find someone who swears by the other.

Transmissions were a four-speed manual, the C3 three-speed automatic, or the C4 automatic behind the 302. In 1975 the V8 had been automatic only. For 1976 a new Sports Performance Package added a four-speed manual to the 302, according to Ford's own fact sheet, and that matters on a Cobra II, because a 302 with a stick is the combination worth hunting.

For 1977 you could add the new T-top: twin removable tinted glass panels. On a Cobra II it cost $587, a little less than the $629 it cost on a plain 2+2. Mid-1977 is when it showed up, so don't believe anyone selling an early 1976 car with factory T-tops.

Year by year, 1976 to 1978

The 1976 car came in three schemes: white with blue stripes, blue with white, and black with gold. The side graphics were a snake decal and "COBRA II" lettering with matching lower rocker stripes. For 1977 Ford added white with red and white with green.

Then the look changed partway through 1977. The 1978-style car got a reversed hood scoop, a single wide stripe, big "COBRA" lettering on the side and louvers on the hatch. Because that update was pulled forward to mid-1977, you can find late 1977 cars wearing the later graphics. That's not a restoration mistake. It's the calendar.

A word on those numbers. Ford never broke out Cobra II sales on its own, so every figure is somebody's reconstruction. The 1976 number may overcount by about 1,000 when you check it against the total hatchback count. For 1978, one set of sources says 8,009 and another says 4,049. Nobody has a Ford document that settles it. Anyone quoting you an exact survival rate is guessing.

"People sneer at the Cobra II because it's a stripe kit. Fine. So was half of what sold in the seventies. Find a 302 four-speed with straight decals and the louvers still on it, and you've got a better weekend car than the sneerers have."

Mike Sullivan

Cobra II or King Cobra?

For 1978 Ford sold both, and they get confused constantly. Of the two, the King Cobra was the loud one: deep front air dam, flares, a reverse-facing scoop reading "5.0L," a giant cobra decal on the hood and lacy-spoke wheels. It came with the 302 only. Production was 4,313, and the package cost $1,277, close to double the Cobra II's $677.

The Cobra II stayed the cheaper, more common choice that year, and you could still get it with the four. If the hood has a giant snake on it and the car has a four-cylinder, it isn't a King Cobra. Somebody bought a decal.

Buying one now

The Cobra II is the easiest Mustang II to fake, because the whole package is bolt-on and stick-on. That cuts both ways. A clone is cheap to make, and a real one is cheap to put back together. What you're paying for is the original car underneath.

If you're shopping, start with the Mustang II for sale listings and filter for hatchbacks before you look at stripes. Decide whether you want the 302 first, because that choice narrows the field more than color ever will. And if you want to know where the Cobra name went after 1978, when the Fox body took over, that's the rest of the story.

Sources and notes

• MustangSpecs: 1976 Ford Mustang Cobra II
• MustangSpecs: 1976 Ford Mustang (engines and production)
• Old Cars Weekly: Car of the Week, 1978 Ford Mustang Cobra II
• Ford Motor Company: Mustang facts, 1974 to 1982 (archived press release)
• MustangSpecs: 1978 Ford Mustang King Cobra
• Wikipedia: Ford Mustang (second generation)