A bigger body
The largest first-generation Mustang: longer and wider than the 1969–70 cars.6789
Class of '71 · Ford Mustang · 1971–1973 body · first generation
1971Ford Mustang
The biggest first-generation Mustang, and the year the Mach 1 made up almost a quarter of production.
The year in brief
The 1971–73 car is the largest Mustang of the first generation: a 109-inch wheelbase where every earlier car had 108, 189.5 inches long and 74.1 inches wide.3one source
Of 151,484 cars, 36,499 were Mach 1 fastbacks. Only 6,121 were convertibles.12
Production fell 21.5 percent from 190,727 in 1970, counted without the Boss models in both years. Counting them, 151,484 against 198,239, it fell 23.6 percent.124
The story of the year
The only Boss 351
The 1971 Mustang was green-lighted by Ford's president, Semon «Bunkie» Knudsen, who had come from General Motors.3one source
The Boss 302 and the Boss 429 were gone. In their place came the Boss 351, offered only for 1971, so a Boss 351 in this body is always a 1971.56
Its 351 V8 was rated at 330 hp, with a four-barrel Autolite carburetor, an aluminum intake manifold and a solid-lifter camshaft.5one source
Ford built 1,806 of them. The Boss 351 model did not return for 1972, though a detuned version of its engine stayed on the list as the 351 HO.1356
How to spot a 1971
What tells it apart from a 1970.
Production1210
151,484 cars, by body.
Every trim line
| Body | Trim | Built |
|---|---|---|
| Hardtop | Standard | 65,696 |
| Grandé | 17,406 | |
| All hardtops | 83,102 | |
| Fastback | Standard | 23,956 |
| Mach 1 | 36,499 | |
| Boss 351 | 1,806 | |
| All fastbacks | 62,261 | |
| Convertible | Standard | 6,121 |
| All convertibles | 6,121 | |
| Total | 151,484 | |
Trim rows from Maine Mustang. MustangSpecs confirms 6,121 convertibles and a Mach 1 share of 24.39 percent of 149,678, which is 36,499 cars.
Engines13
8 engines. The letter is the engine code in the VIN.
Codes and ratings from Maine Mustang and Wikipedia, which agree except on the Q-code. Maine Mustang calls the J-code a Cobra Jet Ram Air, Wikipedia a Super Cobra Jet.
Price when new1one source
Base retail prices in 1971 dollars, before options.
Colors11one source
16 factory colors, by number of cars. 12 of the 16 color names are confirmed by a second source111; the swatches are approximate screen colors, not paint matches.
Light PewterV
Bright Red3
Bright Silver Blue6
Medium Ginger5
Dark GreenC
Medium GreenP
Grabber YellowD
Wimbledon WhiteM
Prairie YellowE
Grabber LimeI
Grabber BlueJ
Grabber GreenZ
Light Gold8
Pastel BlueN
Raven BlackA
MaroonB
CJ Pony Parts lists 16 colors that add up to 149,208 cars, 98.5 percent of production; the rest are not broken out. Maine Mustang lists 12 of the same names; Dark Green, Prairie Yellow, Medium Ginger and Bright Silver Blue appear only in CJ Pony Parts' list. Maine Mustang's list also has names CJ Pony Parts does not use, such as Dark Ivy Green Metallic, Medium Brown Metallic and Silver Blue Metallic. The counts come from one source.
Reading the VIN1one source
A 1971 VIN has 11 characters. Type one in, and the decoder reads it against the code tables on this page.
1F05M100001 · Constructed from the code table: a 1971 Dearborn-built Mach 1 with the 351 4-barrel.
The code table
| Position | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 1 | Model year (1971) |
| F · T | Plant: Dearborn · Metuchen (San Jose disputed) |
| 01 – 05 | Body: hardtop · fastback · convertible · Grandé · Mach 1 |
| L · F · H · M · Q · R · C · J | Engine code (table above) |
| 100001 → | Consecutive unit number |
Where to find it: On the top edge of the dash, driver's side, visible through the windshield.12one source
Questions about the 1971
How many 1971 Ford Mustangs were made?
Ford built 151,484 for the 1971 model year: 83,102 hardtops, 62,261 fastbacks, 6,121 convertibles.1210
How can you tell a 1971 Mustang from a 1970?
Four signs, each explained under «How to spot» on this page: a bigger body; a nearly flat fastback; a tunnel-back hardtop; hidden wipers.356789
What engines did the 1971 Ford Mustang have?
Eight engine codes, from the 250 cu in inline-six to the 429 cu in V8. The engine table on this page gives every code and rating, and the rulings cover the disputed ones.13
How much did a 1971 Ford Mustang cost new?
Base retail prices, before options: hardtop $2,911; Grandé $3,117; fastback $2,973; convertible $3,227.1one source
What colors did the 1971 Ford Mustang come in?
CJ Pony Parts counts 16 factory colors. The most common was Light Pewter, on 17,513 cars.11one source
Where is the VIN on a 1971 Ford Mustang?
On the top edge of the dash, driver's side, visible through the windshield.12one source
Where the sources disagree
Every conflict we found for 1971, and how we settled it. All rulings.
Settled
1971 total production
Our ruling: The difference is exactly the 1,806 Boss 351s. We show 151,484 including the Boss 351, and 149,678 without it.
What each source says (2)
- 149,6782one source
- 151,484, including 1,806 Boss 3511one source
Settled
How much production fell in 1971
Our ruling: 149,678 against 190,727 is a fall of 21.5 percent, both counted without the Boss models. Counting them in both years, 151,484 against 198,239, it is 23.6 percent. Not 36.
What each source says (1)
- «down 36% year on year» from 190,727 in 19702one source
Open
Boss 302 and Boss 429 prices in the 1971 price list
Our ruling: Maine Mustang's labels cannot be right: neither car was built for 1971. shnack.com gives the same two prices to the Mach 1 and the Boss 351, which fits the 1971 line-up, but its tables copy Maine Mustang's, so it is not a second source. We leave the prices out until an independent source settles them.
What each source says (3)
- 1971 prices include a Boss 302 at $3,268 and a Boss 429 at $4,1241one source
- Boss 302 and Boss 429 engines are listed for 1969–70 only, not for 1971–733one source
- The same two prices, labelled «Fastback, Mach 1, standard: $3,268» and «Special, Boss 351: $4,124»13one source
Open
The 1971 Q-code 351 Cobra Jet
Our ruling: Unresolved: 280 or 285 hp. CJ Pony Parts' entry describes the earlier 428, so it does not settle the 1971 engine.
What each source says (3)
- Q = 351 4-barrel Cobra Jet, 280 hp1one source
- Q = 351 Cleveland CJ, 285 hp, late in the 1971 model year only, replacing the M-code3one source
- Q = 428 Cobra Jet for 1969–197114one source
Open
Which plants built the 1971–73 Mustang
Our ruling: Unresolved. We list the plant codes Maine Mustang gives for each year and flag the others as disputed.
What each source says (3)
- 1971: plants F (Dearborn) and T (Metuchen) only1one source
- 1972 and 1973: Dearborn only151617one source
- Dearborn, San Jose and Edison/Metuchen for the whole 1971–73 generation3one source
Settled
1971 Mach 1 production
Our ruling: We use 36,499, which Maine Mustang and CJ Pony Parts give alike. Over-Drive's 36,449 stands alone.
What each source says (3)
- Mach 1: 36,4991one source
- Mach 1: 36,49910one source
- «It was quite popular with 36,449 made»5one source
Sources
- 1971 Mustang Technical Data Maine Mustang · read 2026-10-10
- 1971 Ford Mustang Production Numbers MustangSpecs · read 2026-10-10
- Ford Mustang (first generation) Wikipedia · read 2026-10-10
- 1970 Mustang Technical Data Maine Mustang · read 2026-10-11
- 1971 Ford Mustang Fact Sheet Over-Drive Magazine · read 2026-10-11
- 1971 vs 1972 vs 1973 Ford Mustang CJ Pony Parts · read 2026-10-11
- 1971-73 Ford Mustang: Buyer's Guide Hemmings · read 2026-10-11
- Classic Mustang Spotters Guide 1964-1/4-1973 Autotrader Classics · read 2026-10-11
- Ford Mustang (styling text) Wikipedia · read 2026-10-10
- 1965-1973 Mustang Production Numbers CJ Pony Parts · read 2026-10-11
- 1965-1973 Mustang Production Numbers: production by color CJ Pony Parts · read 2026-10-11
- 1971 Ford Mustang VIN Information MustangSpecs · read 2026-10-10
- Mustang History: 1971 shnack.com · read 2026-10-11
- 1964-1973 Mustang Engine Codes CJ Pony Parts · read 2026-10-11
- 1972 Mustang Technical Data Maine Mustang · read 2026-10-11
- 1973 Mustang Technical Data Maine Mustang · read 2026-10-11
- Timeline: 1972 Mustang The Mustang Source (Internet Archive copy, 2016) · read 2026-10-11
Keep going
Three more years.
1969Ford MustangA longer body and four new names: Mach 1, Grandé, Boss 302 and Boss 429.299,824 built
1970Ford MustangThe second and last year of the Boss 302 and Boss 429, and a fall to 198,239 cars.198,239 built
1972Ford MustangThe first year of net horsepower ratings, and a production total that Maine Mustang and MustangSpecs both get wrong.125,093 builtSee the whole first generation.
Dimensions, production year by year and every ruling, 1964½–1973.