Ford Mustang 1974

Answering the call for a lighter, more nimble Mustang, Ford's Lee Iacocca, dictated that the new Mustang, officially called the Mustang II, which debuted in 1974 would be light, sporty, and more European

Iacocca wanted it to be "a little jewel" and this direction drove every aspect of the new design. Under this new direction, V8s were declared too heavy, and thus the Mustang II was powered by a new 2.3 liter 4-cylinder engine or a 2.5 liter V6.

The 2.3 4-cylinder engine was the first Ford 4 cylinder engine since the last Model B in 1934, and the first metric engine built in the US. It was loosely based on the Ford of Europe's 2.0 liter Cortina engine, although it was so extensively modified that only the nuts and bolts could be shared.

The 2.3 liter engine featured an overhead camshaft within its iron heads and was topped by a two-barrel Weber-Holley carburetor which fed fuel through an aluminum intake manifold.

The engine was rated at a rather weak 102 bhp. The optional 2.8 liter V6 was a slightly enlarged version of the Capri's optional 2.5 liter V6 and was rated at a marginally better 119bhp.

This was a far cry from the 275bhp 351 Cleveland V8 available in the Mustang just two years before.

The Mustang was now based on the Pinto chassis, which was not a performance car by any stretch of the imagination. The chassis was heavily modified to give it more of a luxury feel, "mini-limousine" as Iacocca wanted it. The Mustang II was a foot shorter than the original 1965 Mustang and just 300 lbs. heavier, but weight distribution was still horrible with 58% of the weight over the front of the car.

It was offered in four-cylinder Mach 1 or "mini-limousine" Ghia form. Ford expected it to be a huge success. It wasn't. Only 18,000 were sold the first month, compared to 22,000 on the first day back in 1964. Performance was dismal, with the V6 needing almost 14 seconds to hit 60 mph and almost 20 seconds to go through the quarter mile. But the Mustang II was saved by the OPEC oil shortage of 1974. Long lines and high prices for gasoline drove up sales of the more fuel efficient Mustang II's.