The fourth year of the Mustang II did not show great changes. It was very difficult to tell a '74 or '75 Mustang II from the '76 or '77 Mustangs because they all looked so much alike. However, 1977 did provide plenty of options to tailor the vehicle to one's personal style and set it apart a bit from past years' models.
In fact, one of the biggest marketing campaigns for the 1977 Mustang II was the addition of T-tops. This really made the difference in a 1977 Mustang II and set it apart from previous models. However, even the T-tops could not save the Mustang II and bring it out of the sales slump. Even with the addition of T tops the sales for 1977 dropped by approximately 18%. Only 153,117 Mustang IIs were produced that year.
1977 Mustang Lineup
There were no surprises with the 1977 Mustang II's lineup. The standard, Ghia, Mach I and Cobra II all made reappearances this year. The same engines were offered in 1977 as were offered in 1976. The only exception was that the 5.0L received less horsepower than the previous year.
Powertrain and Performance
As far as power and performance go the 1977 Mustang was very similar to the previous year's model. The one big change was the 5.0L engine had its horsepower downgraded to 134. The horsepower remained at 89 and 93 for the four and the V6, respectively.
A Sports Performance Package was available on the 1977 Mustang II. It consisted of power steering and brakes, a four speed manual transmission, 302 ci V8 engine, and 195/70R WSW tires. The 302 V8s as well as the V6s heading to California received a Variable Venturi carburetor design.
The wheel base of the 1977 Mustang was 96.2 inches and the front and rear tracks were 55.6 and 55.8 inches respectively. The width was 70.2 inches, the height 50.3 inches, and the length 175 inches. The curb weight for the coupe was 2,620 pounds, the fastback 2,699 pounds, the Ghia 2,667 pounds and the Mach 1 2,785 pounds.
Exterior
The 1977 Mustang II exterior was not so different from the previous model, but there were plenty of options and add-ons to make it look different. The list of new options included wire wheel covers as well as T-tops.
Convertibles were still not an option on the Mustang and wouldn't be again for some time. But, Ford made the most of this with the introduction of T-roofs on the fastbacks in mid 1977. It was the closest thing to a convertible without actually being one and still provided drivers with the wind in the hair and outside driving experience.
The SportsRoof Mustangs boasted blacked out grilles and other upgrades. These included the steel wheels, sport steering wheel, bias belted tires, appliqués of brushed aluminum on the instrument panel, and wood grain appliqués on the hardtops. SportsRoofs models could opt for the Cobra II's front spoiler as a cost free add on.
The Exterior Accent Group was available on hardtops. It boasted steel wheels with trim rings, pin stripes, WSW tires, vinyl insert moldings on body side, and dual sport mirrors.
Although not an option for the Ghia or the Mach 1, the Appearance Décor Group boasted pin stripes, two tone paint on the lower body, brushed aluminum appliqués on the instrument panel, styled steel wheels, as well as the option between vinyl and cloth with vinyl trim. There were no wheel lip moldings offered.
There were new stripe colors available on the Cobra IIs with white exteriors. These were red and green and were available on the Mach 1 and SportsRoofs with Cobra II package.
An air roof that flipped open was available and could be completely removed from the vehicle or else simply flipped up. A manually controlled sunroof was available although the moon roof option no longer existed. Cast aluminum spoke wheels did not make it on the option list either, but lacy spoke wheels did.
Exterior colors included black, bright red, dark brown metallic, bright yellow, cream, medium gold metallic, bright aqua metallic, light aqua metallic, dark emerald metallic, vista orange, bright saddle metallic and tan.
Interior
The 1977 Mustang II interior was not changed very much from previous models, but it did have some new options. One of these was the four way adjustable seats. Although the seatback was not adjustable, the height was adjustable and the actual seat could be moved forward or back. The Rallye and Cobra interior packages were also options.
The Rallye appearance package included Gold cloth seat inserts with gold vinyl piping along the headrests and seats. The vinyl interior was available in black or white Corinthian and the sports steering wheel was wrapped. The door trim panel also had gold accents. The appearance package complimented the Rallye trim package.
The Cobra II interior boasted a door trim with brushed aluminum inserts, a sports steering wheel, a panel appliqué on the right side, not to mention a instrument cluster with brushed aluminum.
Interior trim options included gold/crème cloth and vinyl, chamois cloth and vinyl, aqua cloth and vinyl, gold/crème plaid cloth and vinyl, aqua plaid cloth and vinyl, red plaid cloth and vinyl, crème vinyl, chamois vinyl, aqua vinyl, red vinyl, black vinyl, and white vinyl. Not all trim levels were available in all models, some were strictly luxury trim levels and others standard or part of another appearance package.
Final Thoughts
With only one more year to go of the Mustang II's existence the production rate began falling even more. The year 1977 saw 34,400 less units than 1976 did. There was a total production rate of 153,173 for the year. Many things seemed to be working against the Mustang II's success and Ford was doing all it could to keep the Ford Mustang alive.
