You could be forgiven if you mistook the 1970 Mustang Sportsroof above for a Boss 302. But something isn’t quite right. Weren’t those side stripes used on the ’69 Boss? Shouldn’t the ’70 Boss have stripes on the hood? As you’ve probably surmised, this is not a Boss 302, but instead the similarly rare but not quite as valuable Mustang Grabber. The Grabber was a “Special Value Package” intended to promote not only Ford’s bright “Grabber” colors but also to sell a few Mustangs. Only 5,120 Grabbers were built, according to Kevin Marti, and Grabber Blue was the most popular color (1,384 sold). What does this do for the value of this otherwise base Sportsroof? Barn Finds reader Mitchell G. found this beauty on craigslist in Butler, Pennsylvania, and considering the ad has been posted for 17 days, the asking price of $48,500 may be a little more than what Mustang fans are willing to spend.
So what did the Mustang buyer get when they chose the Grabber package? Motor Trend tells us that it was almost strictly cosmetic; you got the aforementioned stripes (which were available in two designs, the other more closely replicating the 1970 Boss 302), dual racing mirrors, a blacked-out rear panel, F70x14 whitewall tires, “corporate hubcaps with trim rings,” and a base 302 two-barrel, which is what we see here. The 302 in the Grabber fell far short of Boss 302 tune, making 220 horsepower through a two-barrel carburetor. This car also has power steering and power front disc brakes.
The interior looks clean, with standard high-backed bucket seats and no console for the floor shifter. A 302 Mustang would have the C4 automatic, which came standard with 2.79:1 gears out back. It’s a peppy little cruiser and nothing more. And that’s fine.
Starting with the 2+2 of 1965, Mustang fastbacks and Sportsroofs often had a fold-down rear seat with a pass-through panel to the trunk. It was optional in 1970, but this one has it.
The seller of this Grabber says that it has only 74,000 miles on it, but makes no claims regarding whether the car has been restored or is largely original. It is “well-documented,” which is good, because the Motor Trend article linked above mentions that the only way to know if a Sportsroof is a real Grabber or not is through a Marti Report (or, of course, original documentation). Many Grabbers have “disappeared” simply because they’ve been repainted, so who knows how many may be hiding under an ’80s paint job. The big question here involves value; any 1970 Sportsroof is valuable, especially one as nice as this Grabber. However, is a Grabber Mustang worth significantly more than a base Sportsroof? What’s a base Sportsroof worth? More Mach 1’s were sold than base versions (but only by a little: 40,970 vs. 39,470), but it seems that you see Mach 1’s far more often. If this car is still for sale, it seems that the price is too high (or it needs a different venue to sell at its asking price). What do you think a nice Grabber is worth?
Agree the price is a bit high but it really is a nice car. I’m a rabid fan of Grabber Blue and spent the last 20 years driving a Grabber Blue race car and answering the question “isn’t that Grabber Blue?”
Lucky 13. Cool car bobhess, care to share the specs like weight, trans and motor, rear gear in that little beauty? 🏁
Car is a ’59 Bugeye Sprite H Production SCCA road racing car with full race suspension and brakes, 948cc 100 hp 9500 rpm engine, Ford T-4 straight cut gear transmission, 4:55 positraction rear gears. It’s good for about 136 mph. With driver in it weight is around 1,550 lbs. It’s an absolute kick to drive. If the driver lost a few pounds it would go faster. BTW, 13 has been the car number since 1974.
These Grabber Mustangs were an attractive, straightforward trim package. I suppose it would enhance the value a bit as compared to a base Sportsroof. But not to the degree of a Mach 1 or a Boss, unless accompanied by a big motor. In any case, this example does look to be in good shape and would be a conversation starter at shows. A more professional presentation and/or somewhere beside Craigslist, and a Marti Report might help with the sales pitch.
That must be a riot bobhess 👍 😎 thanks for the information. Talk about a real driver’s car 🏁
Well Aaron, I was going to thank you for putting the location and the asking price in your writeup, but dang it, I think I would be better off if I didn’t know that ‘out of this world’ price. I’m befuddled. BF had a white 1970 Mustang SportsRoof about a week ago for $15,000. That’s more reasonable, IMHO. I guess if a person owned one just like this one back in the 70s and had to have another one, then maybe. If I may clear up an error Aaron, I think you meant to say ‘raised white letter’ tires, not white walls. My Dad is the only person I know that had to have white walls on his 1962 Mercury Colony Park.
No mistake, Woofer! If you see the ad for the Grabber in the article I linked, you can see that it has thin white sidewall tires.
Woofer got it right. Not sure which car you are looking at but the “Radial TA” script doesn’t come on whitewalls.
Sorry – I was talking about factory standard equipment.
The car for sale certainly has white-letter radials on it.
Welp Aaron, I’m gonna have to say you’re right, I went to that link, right there in the ad showing the Grabber Mustang, it says whitewall tires. So I apollogize, (spell checker don’t work), I’m sorry for correcting you. I had no idea Ford put whitewalls on 1970 Mustangs. Aaron let me axe you this, do you know what brand name that tire was? Would Corker make a repop?
No apologies necessary! It looks like Coker does make a (very expensive) tire for the ’70 Mustang with F70x14 whitewalls, and it’s labeled as a Firestone.
https://cokertire.com/tires/firestone-wide-oval-pin-white-stripe-f70-14.html
I really like this Mustang, I didn’t see an AC compressor under the hood.
l love the color. Too bad it didn’t get all the rest of the Boss goodies like slats, wing, shaker etc. It would probably get more coin. Sort of like a Duster Twister brings nearly 340 money.
I love the color, but in all fairness, it’s the basic Petty Blue, Basin Street Blue used by Plymouth
I know for Sure that this blue Was a one year only Petty color during the very brief time petty raced for Ford.
It does look good on a sport roof mustang but looks far better on a Roadrunner or Superbird.
The one thing is the highway gears and a very low horse power motor. You could cruise the freeway all day, but don’t try to race anyone unless it’s another grabber or Maverick
I had a bunch of Mustangs back in the day, so what I see here is a blank canvas. I simply couldn’t leave it stock, drivetrain-wise, because they respond to every little improvement due to being so light. Alas, that will never happen because the price is way too high for me.
I had one the same color in 1985 or ‘86. It was definitely a plain Jane mustang with a 302 and black stipe and blackout panel. But hey it was paid for and it was a Mustang. Like the 69’s better because of headlamps,quarter scoops, roof medallions and taillights.
This is a very nice base sports roof, other than the color and it being a sports roof it’s not a highly desirable mustang.
That stripe was found on the 69 boss 302 the 70 boss stripes went up and over the front fenders and down the center of the hood.
I think that price is way out of line for this car.
How much???
C’mon already
SS the guy is asking $48500.00 for it