1978 Ford Mustang Cobra II

1978 Ford Mustang Cobra II

As the second generation Mustang era came to a close in 1978, there was more of the same for the Cobra II special.

The 1978 Mustang Cobra II continued to be a sheep in wolves clothing. It looked great but had no poke. When Ford introduced the Cobra II for the ’76 model year, it emulated the look, if not the performance, of a Shelby GT 350. The whole objective was to make the Mustang look sporty even though its performance was pretty paltry. The Cobra II’s graphics got louder in 1978, with “Cobra” in large letters on the door. The Cobra’s standard engine was the 2.3L four-cylinder, but more popular choices were the 2.8L V6 or 5.0L V8.

The Cobra II package  $677 for the 1978 models. For the ’78 model year, the Cobra graphics were revised with tri-color stripes with large Cobra lettering running down the body sides. Color choices for the stripes were white with red, green, or blue and black with gold. While the earlier Cobra IIs were ridiculed by the press for being Shelby wannabes, the ’78 Cobra II was lambasted for its loud graphics. Rear window louvers also became available this year and were a great addition. Bobby Aldrich owns one of those “colorful” striped ’78 Cobra IIs, with his being powered by the base 2.3L four backed by a Borg-Warner RAD four-speed transmission.

1978 Cobra VIN

Learn more about the 1978 Mustang Cobra VIN decoder here

VIN Decoder Cobra 1978