Terry Sullivan was 5 years old when his father, Terrence, pulled into the family driveway in a brand-new Burnt Amber Metallic 1967 Mustang GT from LJ Trotter Ford in Wickliffe, Ohio. Terrence worked at a local manufacturing facility, and the Mustang GT was his first new car. While taking his first ride in the new Mustang GT, the 5-year-old could tell by the proud look on his father’s face that this Mustang was something special, and its purchase had meant a great deal to him.
During one of their weekly road trips of cruising the country back roads to their town’s Main Street, Terrence watched in his rearview mirror as a GM muscle car quickly approached. The two cars stopped side by side beneath the stop light on the four-lane road through town. Terrence instructed his son to get low. Doing as he was told, Terry quickly crawled down and laid himself across the floorboard with his mid-section resting on the carpet-cushioned transmission tunnel. From his low position, Terry heard the engine roar and the tires squeal and felt the surge of the Mustang GT taking off. Minutes later, his father told him to sit up and act as though everything was normal.
After that first street-racing experience, 5-year-old Terry would notice his father’s demeanor flip like a switch whenever a fast muscle car pulled up next to them at a stop light. Terrence would give his son the look, nod his head, and Terry would immediately and dutifully lay down across the transmission tunnel, knowing it was “game on.” When his father’s Mustang GT hit second gear, little Terry could sense the speed of his father’s pony car. He’d listen to the incredible power coming from the Police Interceptor 390-cid V-8 and feel his father work through each of the car’s four gears. It was music to the young boy’s ears.
Once the race was finished, Terry’s father would tell him, “All clear,” and Terry would pop up, assume his normal riding position in the back seat and they’d go about their day, talking about how the Mustang had conquered its competition once again.
However, in 1970, the imaginable happened. Terry’s father pulled into the driveway with a 1971 Pinto Squire Station Wagon. He had sold the ’67 Mustang GT to his brother, Richard Intorcio, and now-8-year-old Terry was devastated. He had built a special bond with the Mustang GT.
“I had basically grown up with that car,” Terry recalls. “Dad buys a four-cylinder Pinto station wagon with a four-speed transmission, and it was the total opposite to the Mustang. It was the slowest automobile I’ve ever ridden in and couldn’t pass anything. I’m saying this from experience: My father tried to pass a car once and couldn’t do it. He just said, ‘Forget it.’”
Uncle Richard kept the ’67 Mustang GT until 1974 when he showed up in a new, black-on-black 1974 Mustang II 2+2. It, too, was bought at LJ Trotter Ford in Wickliffe, Ohio. By this time, Terry was 11 years old and the shiny running horse in the car’s grille caught his eye, reminding him of the galloping horse on the ’67 Mustang GT’s grille. After walking around the new Pinto chassis-based Mustang II a few times, he thought to himself, “That’s a cool-looking car. Wish it was ours!”
A second dance with the Mustang II
In 2018, nearly five decades after seeing his uncle’s new 1974 Mustang II 2+2, Terry Sullivan bought his first Mustang II, an original-owner, black-on black 1978 King Cobra. That kick-started a collection that has grown to include a black, 5,900-mile 1977 Mustang II Ghia with a chamois tan interior; a red-on-red 1977 Mustang II T-Top hatchback from California; and a 15,000-mile 1978 Mustang II T-top hatchback in silver with a burgundy interior like the cover car on the 1978 Mustang II sales brochure.
“I honestly thought I had the ultimate Mustang II collection,” Terry said. “Then this low-mileage, black T-top 1978 Mustang II literally finds me.”
After acquiring his fourth Mustang II, Terry says he really thought his collection was complete. When he read on an internet forum that there was a 1,300-mile Mustang II just 25 miles away from his home, he was caught off guard and overcome with temptation. He couldn’t help but reply to the forum post.
The post had been made by Dave Grauel, Jr., the son of the low-mileage Mustang II’s owner. He happened to recognize Terry as “Jungle Terry” from the educational animal programs that Terry holds at county fairs and schools across much of the northeast.
Dave explained that his father, David Grauel, Sr., had purchased the Mustang II new and had “rarely driven it.” Terry was skeptical. Then Dave called back a year later to say that his father’s car was for sale and suggested that Terry stop by to see the car and get a closer look. Terry’s curiosity was piqued and a few days after the phone call, he showed up at the Grauel shop to see the car for himself.
“I walked into the shop and locked eyes on a black T-top 2+2 Mustang that looked like it had just left the factory,” he recalled. “My immediate thought was, ‘If the interior smells like a new car, then it’s a low-mileage car.’ When I opened the door and looked inside, the new-car smell hit me in the face.”
Dave introduced Terry to his father, the Mustang II’s original owner, and learned David Grauel, Sr., had ordered and taken delivery of the black-on-black 2+2 at LJ Trotter Ford in May 1978. At 89 years of age, David had decided to sell the Mustang II, along with his 1966 Mustang hardtop, which he had also purchased new. Sometime during the introduction process between Terry and David, Dave informed Terry that he would be keeping his father’s ’66 Mustang, but the Mustang II was for sale.
After meeting in person and seeing Terry’s excitement and passion for the Mustang II, David and Dave were convinced that a Mustang II collector such as Terry would be the ideal caretaker for the low-mile and well-preserved, like-new hatchback. A deal was sealed in the fall of 2022.
The life of a low-mileage original
David explained to Terry that he always had other Mustangs to drive, so the Mustang II was used sparingly. It was occasionally driven on short trips to local car shows, then stowed away in a heated garage as a “keepsake.” With only 1,346 miles, the original tires were still on the car and the T-tops had never been removed. Amazingly, the T-top storage bag was still strapped in place in the hatchback area and had apparently never been disturbed since it was installed at the factory.
David had also saved all the paperwork since buying the car new. Even the factory window sticker was never removed from the driver’s side door glass. The sticker shows it’s a very well-equipped 1978 Mustang II 2+2, carrying 18 factory options that total $2,710 alone, making the total sticker price $6,679 (including transportation and handling charge). In addition to the 302-cid V-8, four-speed transmission and T-top roof, the car is equipped with a front spoiler, clock, power steering and brakes, bumper guards, rear window defroster, AM/FM stereo, leather-wrapped steering wheel and color-keyed bodyside moldings. The optional Rallye Package adds extra cooling, heavy-duty springs, adjustable shocks and dual color-keyed mirrors. The wheels are the optional (and rarely seen) white forged-aluminum versions with red stripes and chrome center cap.
Today, on the Mustang II’s lower front fenders (below the bodyside moldings), there are “Mach 1” decals. No, it’s not a Mach 1, because, as David explained, he didn’t like the two-tone Mach 1 exterior. However, the decals were added by the dealership at David’s request, prior to him taking delivery of the car in 1978. The addition of these decals is even documented by a separate 1978 LJ Trotter Ford sales receipt.
David told Terry that he had previously owned a couple Mach 1s — a 1972 and a 1974 — and thought the silver decals would complement the all-black exterior. The U.S. flag and AAA-Plus decals applied by David also remain on the windshield.
Since taking possession of the low-mileage Mustang II, Terry is still amazed at the car’s preservation. Upon acquiring the car, he wiped it down and applied wax to the factory black paint. He noted that the exterior has no nicks, dings or dents. The original Goodyear white-sidewall radial tires still have nubs, and the factory inspection stickers remain under the hood. A factory chalk mark is visible on the spare tire, The engine compartment is pristine with the remarkably preserved, original part number stampings, decals, hoses, clamps, etc.
According to Terry, the 302-cid V-8 engine, with its two-venturi carburetor, runs as well as the rest of the car looks.
“Dave is a mechanic who works on vintage cars, “says Terry. “He drained the old fuel, added new fuel and tweaked the carburetor. On a cold start, just depress the accelerator pedal, hold it down and the engine fires right up. Kick off the high idle, and it purrs like a kitten.”
During the purchase process, Terry also found the car’s original starting instruction sleeve that was meant to wrap around the sunvisor, and the car’s warranty card.
“While moving paperwork from the car to my office for safekeeping, I found the sunvisor sleeve wrapped in the T-top bag, and the warranty cars stapled inside the owner’s manual.”
The build sheet, however, has not been located. Terry searched all of the common places where a factory worker would have left it on the car during the assembly process, such as under the carpet or under the front seats, but has decided to not disassemble other parts of the chassis or interior in his search.
As of this writing, I’m the only person to see, inspect and photograph Terry’s newly acquired, black-on-black 1978 Mustang II 2+2. I had the good fortune to photograph the car before Mother Nature put northeast Ohio under her winter spell. Due to the low mileage and winter environment, I had to roll the dice and do the photo shoot at Terry’s residence. Two weeks before the shoot, the area was hit by a snowstorm and there were several inches of snow on the ground. Warmer temperatures rolled in afterward, and we methodically went about the process to complete a thorough photo shoot. During the photo shoot, the car started, stopped and performed without any mechanical issues.
Being afforded the opportunity to see this amazing automobile in person, hear its engine run and watch its proud owner position it in the ideal location for each phase of the photo shoot was a humbling experience.
This 1978 Mustang II 2+2 is stunning. It’s truly a benchmark example, and an automobile that the Mustang community needs to see in person to truly appreciate for the care that went into preserving it for nearly five decades.
To date, Terry has only driven the Mustang II about five miles to add fuel at a local gas station, which puts its mileage at 1,351, possibly making it the lowest-mileage — and likely the most-original — Mustang II in existence. Terry plans to show and display his original 1,351-mile Mustang II so enthusiasts — and especially Mustang II owners and restorers — can see what an original, benchmark Mustang II looked like when it was produced at the factory.
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