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SteelSteeds
Senior Member
USA
1079 Posts |
 Posted - 07/28/2010 : 4:15:24 PM
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I was 19 years old in 1987, and had saved up $2000 for my first car. I really wanted a V8, manual transmission car with t-tops. I figured that meant Mustang, Camaro, or Firebird. I had no real brand loyalty at that point, I liked a little bit of everything. There wasn't a whole lot to choose from around Great Falls, Montana. And I looked at everything! I really wanted a '70 Chevelle SS, but couldn't afford it. Same story with a '69 Mach 1. Liked a red '86 Mustang GT, too new for my finances. Really liked a '79 Camaro Z-28, and could maybe have talked them down to my price but the brakes and clutch were shot, so I wouldn't have been able to afford to fix it. The only things I could find in my price range that I bothered to test drive were a couple of early 70's Chargers (too big) and a '72 Datsun 280Z (had issues). So I was stuck and bummed out. I got home from work one day and my mom said that a good friend had called to say that the car I wanted was in the paper. I grabbed the paper and ran through the classified, and the very last listing was the only new one: "1977 Mustang, V8, 4bbl, headers, mag wheels. $3000" The phone number was the same rural prefix as ours, so I knew it was close. I didn't even know what a '77 Mustang looked like! I called them up, and was a little disappointed that it was an automatic, didn't have t-tops, and was black. Black wasn't high on my list because of heat buildup, I was hoping for red.
I went to test drive it the next day. When I saw it, I really liked the looks of it. I knew I'd seen Mustangs of that era around, but hadn't really paid much attention to them. Then we drove it, and it was the fastest thing I'd ever driven. I had to have it! The 302 had been rebuilt, different heads, Motorcraft 4 barrel carb, Blackjack headers, and the owner was shifting the AT like a manual. The next day, my Dad in tow, we went back to bargain. I ended up getting it for $2000 even, and driving it home on July 3rd, '87. The next day I blew one of the glasspacks right off the car, found out they were held on with baling wire. My Dad paid to have new mufflers put on. For two days it was so loud in that car it was unbelievable!
Eight days later I was involved in a bad accident, severely damaging the entire passenger side of the car. I was determined to get it fixed, despite everyone telling me it was totaled. I worked all summer to pay for the repairs, and got the car back the day before I left for college. Since that day I have been fanatically protective of my car. I didn't even know it was a Cobra II for the first year and a half of ownership. Once I started learning more about them, I realized mine was a bit different. It had been repainted with no stripes, and the louvers were gone, but it had the scoop and rear spoiler. When I learned about the buck tag, I knew for sure mine was a Cobra II.
Some years later I owned another '77 2+2, which was an aqua/aqua car which had almost the exact same options as my first car other than the color and Cobra package.
It wasn't until 1993 that I finally found that early dream car, my '78 King Cobra with V8, 4 speed, and t-tops. I will never part with either of my current II's. Though hopefully I will eventually be able to add to the stable. 
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Lance
'77 Cobra II - 302/C4
'78 King Cobra - 351W/T5
'79 Bronco - 429/C6/NP205
'08 Shelby GT 500
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RedCobraII
Junior Member
USA
318 Posts |
Posted - 07/29/2010 : 01:43:39 AM
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SteelSteeds i can't believe this I too was 20 and in Greatfalls MT in the airforce and i was riding my bikecycle back from the KMart and pased by one of the local car lots on (if i remember) 10th ave and this little all white with red rims II caught my eye so i stoped and looked at it. They wanted $1700 for it and i went strait to the credit union just out the front gate and got approved for the loan. The next day i was driving, it had the 2.3 4cyl 4spd with red int. soon i added some stripes and a sun roof and drove that car from MT to Indiana and back had a great time with that car. then one day i got a hair up my butt and traded it in for a custom van thinking it would make me smother with the ladies (bad choise did not help LOL) Acouple of months later i came apon a wreck and there in the ditch was my II laying on its roof some kid bought it and lost control on the snow i almost cryed.
Fast forward to 2008 i always regreted selling my first II and wanted anotherone so when i get back from my deployment from iraq i had some good money saved up and was looking on ebay and saw this red with white strip II and showed it to the wife and said "if there is anyway possible i WILL buy this car" so when the action ended i had won at $4150 but it did not meet his reserve but i wanted the car bad and setteled with the owner for $6000 and went to VA to pick it up and pulling it on a trailor on the way home i had 2 offers to buy it from me and told them noway. now i am back in iraq saving up money once again and will buy my LADY a new red and white dress when i get back and i will be doing the same as SteelSteeds did i want a King Ttop to go with my current II and here is a pic of my first II
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cobra john
Junior Member
263 Posts |
Posted - 08/09/2010 : 9:09:27 PM
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| I was 18 in 1976 fresh out of high school. My dream car was a Pinto station wagon, I had big dreams for it (well as big as a 18 yr. old kid could have lol) I was gonna block out the side windows and put round bubble windows in, shag carpet was a must for the interior and a good 8-track sound system. My plans changed when I saw the Cobra II for the first time. White with blue stripes- just like Charlies Angels! I had to have it! I'd been working for 3 years and saved enough money to buy a car it was gonna be a II. My Mom and Dad and I went to Ed Mullanax Ford in Akron Oh. to pick one out. I listened to my Mom and decided on a white with blue stripes 4 CYLINDER Cobra II, drove it home that same day. It was awesome having this car.... my first car...until ,one day my brother and I ( he was 16) were cruising around on the highway and started up a long up-hill grade. I still remember the whine that little 4 cylinder made as it tried getting up that hill, people were passing me,even though I had the pedal down to the floor, not the kind of car a 18 yr. old would want, I never understood why Ford would offer a Cobra II package with a freakin 4 cyl! Whats the point??? I took the car back the next day and traded it in for a V-8- same color combo just a bigger motor. At the time, my brother worked at the local library.I picked him up in my new Mustang II and layed patch for 10 feet! I think he $hit himself, his eyes were poppin out of his head! 139 horses was a lot of power to spin those 13" tires and I never had a problem going up a hill again. Now...34 years have gone by. My first car, still sits in the garage waiting for me to turn the key. She's come a long way since 1976 but I still feel like a kid when I get behind the wheel. |
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stang74shelby
Advanced Member
USA
2718 Posts |
Posted - 08/09/2010 : 9:50:15 PM
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Hmmmm. It was 1991 I was just out of HS 17 yrs old and wanted a car, We were living in Colorado Springs, Dad Said they would buy me one for Graduating HS.... we went to an Auction and I found a 79 Pinto with a 351C in it, and said "Dad, I want that" he told me I would kill myself, and as a smartass I said but it will be fun..... then we Saw a 77 T-top 4 cyl 4 speed yellow II real clean... and we bid on it but some dealer bought it for more then we had to spend..... Saw it a week later on a lot for 3200..... so I went into scouring the Thrifty Nickle, and came across a 74 V-6 4 speed hatchback for 900 up in Rockrimmon. We went up to chk it out, and it had some light rust over the rear wheels and the battery tray was rusted through. Also found small rust hole in the DR side fender.... otherwise it was decent... All Original Saddle Bronze 128,000 miles with Tan pinstripes and ugly tan interior with the stock black rallys with beauty rings... We offered em 750.00 for it and Drove it home that day. Over the Winter me and my Dad rebuilt the carb, tuned it up, swapped the pwr rack for a manual one, stripped off all the Smog Crap, bondo'd up the rust and stripped it down to paint. Found me some wheels at a Junk yard, some nice front seats(from an 86 Tempo GL). Also found a K/C OEM airdam from a guy that had a II with a 66 GTO hood scoop molded into the hood. The Air Dam was hanging on his fence. Then I picked up some flip out side windows and Louvers. Also found some Black interior...(back when II's were plentiful in the Junk yard)...and bought a 68 CJ scoop from a yard for $40., we then stripped it all down and took it to Maaco to have them paint it. the bronze was a little off but still looked great. Took it to the Races a few times and drag raced it. Ran great, put some road racing slicks on some stock slotted 13" wheels on it and ran a 16.8.... not too bad. I went through 2 trannies racing it. But had fun doing it. Then in July 1992 I went in the USAF and it sat at my Dad's house till around mid Sept., When he drove it out to me at Tech School :). I drove it around central IL till March 1993. While at tech school, went through a few parts and found a 76 CII (very Rotted) stripped off a few parts including a 4 speed and 3.40 trak-lok Diff and junked the left over crap. Once I got to my first assignment down in Hurlburt FLD FL. I got there and within 2 weeks I blew out my u-joints. I had a 302 built for it when the V-6 started running on 5 cylinders.
Had the engine built, bought parts from a local store (new Blackjacks and all) put a Holly Contender Intake and 600 Holly on it.... was a 79 block (weird new engine is a 79 block) bored 60 over, .484 lift cam (cam dynamics) 272 duration, and C-4 with a shift kit. used a B&M Z-gate shifter and ran it a few times against some Fox bodies (back in the day) but 6 months after I had the engine built I shelled it ... floated the valves one smacked a piston and lodged in the head, and dropped the valve face into the piston... 3 holes in the block. (found out the heads were stock with .388 lift springs and the cam was .484 lift..... hmmmm wonder why it blew) I through a stock 302 in it and it smoked a lot and took it apart and the car sat from then till 2004 when I finally got back on it, and the rest is the story on Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/29532832@N02/
After the Paint :) (wish I could find an image of it when I got it) |
http://74stang.blogspot.com/
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Edited by - stang74shelby on 08/09/2010 9:59:34 PM |
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blue69gt
Member
Canada
670 Posts |
Posted - 08/10/2010 : 12:21:18 PM
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I wanted a cheap car to give to my son when he turned 16 and after looking at various models decided a II would be a cool car for him. I saw my II on Ebay and no bids so emailed the owner when there was 5 minutes left and asked to see it in person. It was a 2 1/2 hour drive and on Dec 8 2007, I headed over. The car was in a garage with farm equipment and a 55 Chrysler. The owner was in his 80's and had it since new. It only had 70 k on it and had been stored every winter . I checked out all the usual area for rust that pertains to Torino's and figured it was worth buying. I wish now that I had really checked into the inner fenders but without unbolting them , it is pretty difficult to see up inside. The purchase price included storing it until the following spring, and the week after Easter 2008 ,the old fella drove it to my house and I gave him a ride into Toronto to his daughters.
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Nothing could be finer ~ than a ragtop 69'er.
While the others drooled, the Fords ruled !
1969 Torino GT Convertable
1969 Fairlane convertable
1976 Mustang II Coupe
1997 Escort s/w
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Edited by - blue69gt on 08/10/2010 12:22:36 PM |
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78snake
Junior Member
Canada
372 Posts |
Posted - 08/10/2010 : 1:30:22 PM
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Back in late 2000 my dad was looking for a Cobra II to restore. He was looking specifically for a white w/blue stripe 76 or 77 V8 4spd car when I came across an add for a 77 in the local bargain finder. He was in town for the weekend and we went to look at it. It turned out to be a '78 black w/red stripe V8 automatic with red interior. It had a splash paint job on it w/homemade stripe kit painted on. It ran pretty good and when we checked over the body it was in decent condition, but the interior was trashed. He looked it over and thought about it, but it wasn't what he wanted so he passed on it. The following week the II was on my mind all of the time. I had a II in my driveway that I was thinking of cloning into a Cobra, but it was quite rough and needed more attention than I could give it. One day my wife said that I should check and see if it was still available cause I wasn't going to be happy until I had a real Cobra. I couldn't get to the phone fast enough since we had the cash for it and she was okay with it. The owner said it was still his so I made him an offer. The next day he phoned me back and we made a time to meet to exchange cash for keys. I decided I best do a theft/lean check on it first and was surprised to find a $900 lean against it from the previous owner. I still wanted the car and told the owner he wasn't going to be able to sell it to anyone or register it himself without this being taken care of first and so we took care of it and he got what was left of the cash. I drove the old II home that day with an in-transit sticker on it. I never before had driven a car that shimmied and shook so badly. The next day I started tearing her down and it took the next 9 1/2 years of saving for and scouring ebay to find parts needed to restomod it to what I had envisioned. With the help of my good friend Greg(blt4u2c), my dad and many of you on this site it came together. I've been driving it for about a month and it was worth every frustrating moment during the build.
Mike |
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Edited by - 78snake on 08/10/2010 1:32:25 PM |
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IdahoVideo
Moderator
USA
3477 Posts |
Posted - 08/10/2010 : 3:43:07 PM
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Ok. No laughing at the pictures because it was 1983, I was with a newly minted drivers license and I needed a used car so my mom and step dad would not have a teenager driving their car and I could get to all my increasing responcibilities without inconveniencing them. My step-sister was in the same predicatament so my stepdad tracked down a pair of comparable cars and brought them home. A blue pinto and a '74 mustang with a cobra conversion done on it. They both had 4 bangers and of course, I went for the mustang when he first gave me the choice.
It was bought from an old friend of my dad's (he did not know that) and the for $300 it was mine, but it had a damaged smog control system that leaked and it sounded really rough. So we plugged holes and fixed vacuum lines, gave it a full tune up with plugs, rotor, condensor, all the stuff and pretty soon it was running pretty nice.
Eventually the engine went bad and a girl turned in front of me at an intersection and I soon had a peppy V6 from a wrecking yard and a front end off an acquired ghia parts car and we were up and running again and I found lots of good parts from wrecking yards in every direction for 500 miles.
I disappeared for two years and was all excited to come back to my car and I went out to the garage and it was gone, but in its place was my '76 cobra II which they picked up locally. I had to do a lot of work to get it up and going and with everything in good shape like my other one was, but it was a factory V8 car so I had a better starting point this time around.
By this time it was early 1989 and I went off to college and started on a few odds and ends it needed to get everything perfect. I used it as my daily driver to work and school and courted my wife with it, eventually asking my wife to marry me in the car. She liked me in spite of my car I guess, but we had some good times and every time I take it out we reminice about the past with it.
I had the motor and transmission upgraded since it was really needing a valve job about 1983 so I went through it pretty carefully and did some good performance adders on it including a T-5 transmission. It was the dark ages back then as far as getting figured out how to do it on my own from the RAD-4. But we got it figured out and its ran great since then.
Years of rust and salted roads took its toll and so I was in the process of getting bids for it when a drunk driver took out my cobra which was parked off the road in front of my house, having no insurance. I bit the bullet and had it painted and rear quarters and front fenders put on the car. It was plenty expensive, but I figured, as long as its done, I might as well get nitrous and a posi so I can say its done. It took over a year to get through the body shop ordeal, but I have a sweet ride now as many of you know.
I have taken it to a dozen car shows now and have yet to have it appear with another II except in the form of donor parts on some hotrod. I would love to get a chance to get it side by side with another II, but I did pick up a stable mate which is slowly becoming roadworthy thanks to many of my friends here on the site who have helped me find parts. Its in the transformation to become a Monroe Handler. At least if I never get to another show with one of you, I can say I have my own Mustang II class (more than one comparable car).
I picked up the second car for $255 on ebay and already have a lot of sweat equity involved. Its come a long ways from where I started, but it will get there yet.
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cobra john
Junior Member
263 Posts |
Posted - 08/10/2010 : 4:21:34 PM
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| Wow Allan, couldn't you have found another pic of your Handler without SNOW in the pic? I'm not ready to see that white sh!t yet :( |
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SteelSteeds
Senior Member
USA
1079 Posts |
Posted - 08/10/2010 : 7:41:00 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by RedCobraII
SteelSteeds i can't believe this I too was 20 and in Greatfalls MT in the airforce and i was riding my bikecycle back from the KMart and pased by one of the local car lots on (if i remember) 10th ave and this little all white with red rims II caught my eye so i stoped and looked at it.
That's great! Shawn (feeble) also hailed from Great Falls originally, though I don't remember if he caught the II bug there or later on.
quote:
Originally posted by RedCobraII
now i am back in iraq saving up money once again and will buy my LADY a new red and white dress when i get back and i will be doing the same as SteelSteeds did i want a King Ttop to go with my current II
Having more than one II at a time is really nice. I can't wait to start rebuilding my '77, it's been 12 years since I had two *running* II's at the same time! I went 9 years without a running II at all, and am really happy to be at a point in my life where I can get serious about getting my cars into the condition I've always dreamed of. That's the best part of all of this, I still have the cars of my youth. All of the memories, all of the dreams are right here in my garage to revisit any time I wish.
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Lance
'77 Cobra II - 302/C4
'78 King Cobra - 351W/T5
'79 Bronco - 429/C6/NP205
'08 Shelby GT 500
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Darkstang
Starting Member
Mexico
5 Posts |
Posted - 08/11/2010 : 03:31:52 AM
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Mmm... Well, first of all, my english sucks 'cause I'm from México and I don't speak it well.
I got my Mustang II at a junkyard while I was looking for spare parts for my 90' Mustang. Actually it was my dad who found it. The car was in great condition, it belonged to the owner of the junkyard. The car was moving, nice paint, all it's emblems, A/C working, only a couple of little hits in the driver's door, but that was all. I fell in love with such beautiful car (especially for being in such great condition), a few words and it was mine for $500 dollars. It only needed work on the clutch. It is a 2.8L V6 Ghía with 4-speed manual tranny and was my daily driver for around 3 years until a few weeks ago, when I found water in the engine oil. Some friends say its only the head gaskets, others say it needs a heads replacement, but the truth is I want to find a Foxbody Mustang with a 5.0L EFI to serve as a donor car, cause I want to do the swap including EFI system, harness and computer.
Well, that's all for now, have a nice evening!
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A Mustang II is a Mustang Too
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SteelSteeds
Senior Member
USA
1079 Posts |
Posted - 08/11/2010 : 2:49:54 PM
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I'd say your English is excellent! Better grammar and spelling than a lot of English speaking people I know...
Welcome to the site, and congratulations on such a great find! |
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robertsmibii
Advanced Member
Canada
2154 Posts |
Posted - 08/15/2010 : 07:38:08 AM
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I was looking for a project car in 1988, my plan was a 460 in a fox, and came across a 1976 Ghia, silver with the red plaid interior...The right front fender was pushed in due to an encounter with a snow bank the previous winter, at any rate the price was right, so I drove it home and pounded out the fender and repaired the fiberglass header...Then went looking for parts, Oh! what parts you might ask, just about everything I asked for is all...After a lot of work on the car, a drunk driver with a big pickup totalled it, while parked on the street in front of my house...
To continue, the story then starts again in 1994, while reading the classified adds in the Vancouver Province, low and below, a 1978 t-roof with a blown motor for $500.00...A phone call later I bought it sight unseen...Two weeks later my friend and I headed to Vancouver to pick it up and trailer it back to Kamloops...Turns out it was almost perfect, except the interior cloth was moldy due to damp weather and leaking t-roof...Oh! I know now it was a Rallye car, but not at the time...I replaced the interior from a 1977 Cobra with the deluxe Black with Vermilion strip...The long story is I have been playing with it ever since... |
Mean in Black II
Thought will change your DNA. Think about that...
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racinnathan
Junior Member
Canada
242 Posts |
Posted - 08/24/2010 : 7:37:09 PM
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| growing up i always liked mustangs and my dad had (still has a 1977 mustang and i always liked his. and i wanted one so he foound one and he bought it for me |
Nate
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Nebraska Cobra II
Starting Member
10 Posts |
Posted - 09/01/2010 : 11:16:21 PM
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In 1982 at the age of 13, my dad got me a 1976 Cobra II with a 4cyl. 4 speed. I could get a school permit to drive only TO & FROM school (yea right!) since we lived more than 2.5 miles from Junior High.
My dad has been a professional body man since 1965, so I grew up in the shop working on everything from pushing a broom to paint and prep work. Since it was my car, I got to pick out the colors to paint it. Well this 14 year old wanted a bright Cadilliac blue metallic from the 1985 color chip book. But instead of traditional white stripe I wanted a metallic silver stripe. Ok no problem on the LeMans stripes, but dad had to hand cut the rocker panel Cobra II stripes to match.
I have owned that car since. I have restored, bought, sold and traded somewhere between 50-100 Mustangs since 1982. This is the only one I have kept all these years.
The car somehow survived my junior high days and into high school. I took my wife on our first date in my Cobra II. As the very worn 4 cyl. barely hung on my future father in law had to push start me a few times to get me to leave.
Now this winter (2010), I plan on doing a full restoration with some tastefull MODS. Original 4 cyl is long gone, so a new Ford Racing 302 or possible BOSS 302 is on the Christmas wish list. I have also always wanted to change from a blue interior to a white interior. The body color this time is still not factory correct and will be either Ford Bright Atlantic Blue metallic or Dodge Viper blue with correct white stripes this time.
I plan on doing the complete restoration online showing all steps from the rotisserie to final paint and detail.
Here are a few pics from 1993 and also from 9th grade 1st day of school. Hey OP short shorts were the style then!
Stay tuned!
Scott
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SteelSteeds
Senior Member
USA
1079 Posts |
Posted - 09/02/2010 : 02:40:20 AM
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Is that really an original 4 cylinder '76 Cobra II? Wow, I know they were technically available that way, but I've never seen one. I've seen '77 and '78 Cobra II's with the 4-banger, but never a '76.
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Lance
'77 Cobra II - 302/C4
'78 King Cobra - 351W/T5
'79 Bronco - 429/C6/NP205
'08 Shelby GT 500
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How did you get your Mustang II
