Due to competition and a changing market, sales of the 1972 Ford Mustang were a far cry from its heyday in 1966. Production was off by 80%, and demand didn’t improve until the car was reinvented as a subcompact in 1974. The seller has an original luxury model known as the Grande, but this 1972 edition was involved in an accident and has issues that need to be addressed. With a 351 cubic inch V8, it’s said to be original at 93,000 miles. Located in Long Island, New York, this project (or parts car) is available here on eBay. The current bid without reserve is $2,605.55. Thanks for the pony car tip, Mitchell G.!
Though the seller doesn’t identify this car per se as a Grande model, the VIN says it is one. The Grande was added in 1969 to help increase sales (we assume). It’s a fancier Mustang only offered as a coupe or convertible (no fastback) with higher-end cues like faux wood paneling. It was never a huge seller at 18,045 copies out of 125,818 alone in 1972. Before the Grande, you could simply order your Mustang with the “pony” or luxury interior.
The seller’s ’72 Mustang got itself into a fender bender at some point. Given the number of leaves surrounding it, we’re guessing that it wasn’t yesterday. While the photos don’t help as much as they could, the sheet metal damage doesn’t appear too bad. But the hit was hard enough to break the front cross-section bar. And the impact could have been enough to dislocate more, as the engine compartment looks mighty crowded.
We’re told that this Ford is numbers-matching, including the 351 CI V8 with a 2-barrel carburetor. With detuning and a measurement reset to SAE net, the rated output was just 168 hp. The seller describes this as a “great car,” but the accident damage and undercarriage rust should at least raise an eyebrow or two. The interior has minimal wear, but it looks as though some or all of the carpeting has been removed. The seller is moving, so the car has to go. Will it soon shift over to your driveway?
The bent fender reminded me of my friend Merv. His young daughter said her first car was going to be a Corvette. When she found out she would be paying for it she settled for a Rambler with a smashed fender. RIP Merv.
That damage is weird. The bumpers don’t look bent how did this thing get hit? No matter this isn’t a simple matter of popping a dent out. I got to say, I like the interior in this car. Grande indeed. Would that 351 be a Cleveland?
I thought so too, the area where it’s bent on the opposite side on the inside has me scratching my head. This is not a simple fix. Maybe it hit some ice, hit the curb and something else to dent the fender?
Not what he hit but what hit him, my guess is somebody backed a truck into that RF fender, the back looks like it rubbed against something the bumper is pulled out a little.
Fox Owner, I’m no Ford expert, the only Ford I ever owned is a 1943 GPW Jeep that has a Chevy motor. My Hollander Interchange Manual says that a 351 in a 72 Mustang would be a Cleveland, not a Windsor.
You are right, it is a 351 Cleveland. The quick and easy way to identify a Windsor versus a Cleveland is the location of the upper radiator hose.
The upper hose on a Windsor enters the water outlet horizontally, a Cleveland the upper hose makes a 90deg turn and is vertical.
Steve R
“Due to competition and a changing market, sales of the 1972 Ford Mustang were a far cry from its heyday in 1966. Production was off by 80%, and demand didn’t improve until the car was reinvented as a subcompact in 1974”.
Please shout that again to the people in the back….. especially the Mustang II haters, that just don’t, and still don’t, understand the reasoning and success of the II, which saved, not tarnished, the Mustang nameplate.
Just sayin…
Saving the “nameplate”, and tarnishing it are not mutually exclusive. I owned a ‘76 Mustang II Stallion, which looked sharp, but was powered by a 2.3. It got 40mpg on the highway- which is what I was looking for. Not a performance car, but the Mustang did recover…
Yep. IMO, the 71-73 Mustangs are the ugliest ever, and I prefer the Mustang II. 74-79 was a sucky era for about all cars, and the Mustang II was quite popular, friends that had them liked them.
too bad the dent was not fixed @ occurrence time.
My thought –
it will B a lot harder for some one like me to fix (Shade Tree Mechanic Stage III) with rust around. Not sure @ this point (cant C much in da pic), 1st thought…
Grande was made acc all models of that line (hada rig w/oem i6, 4.2L in
it ah while back).
that fender hit did not cause that subframe damage. that is not good. if it can be bought cheap enough you could spend the money and get it fixed. that may not be cheap to do depending on the nature of the repair
This car looks interesting but the damage done on the underside on the passenger side front crossbar makes me wonder if this can be aligned properly? I knew somebody way back that used to have like a 65 Mustang and that bar was rotted out and he kept on trying to figure out why he couldn’t get the car aligned properly into spec. It was because that front crossbar had rotted out. Don’t know if this car will have the same problem. Definitely needs to be addressed that area though.
Judging from the state of the rust, I don’t think this happened too long ago if it sat outside, so this may or may not be a deal. At my old age a few years ago, I had no problem replacing the right front fender on the 66 F-100 for a few hundred dollars and another few hundred to have the paint professionally matched. Buy the cross piece used and install yourself or pay to have it done? I don’t think the ad says how the car runs otherwise. The dent at rear would cost money but is just cosmetic likely and car might be driven until ready to fix.