Script on the tail
Walk round the back of a car that is not a Mach 1. The 1971 has block MUSTANG letters across the rear; the 1972 has a small chrome Mustang script on the right-hand side.389
Class of '72 · Ford Mustang · 1971–1973 body · first generation
1972Ford Mustang
The first year of net horsepower ratings, and a production total that Maine Mustang and MustangSpecs both get wrong.
The year in brief
From 1972, US carmakers rated engines in net instead of gross horsepower. The 302 went from 210 hp in 1971 to 140 or 141 hp, with no real change to the engine.345sources disagree
Production fell 17.4 percent to 125,093, from 151,484 in 1971.16
Maine Mustang's 1972 table, which The Mustang Source prints too, has two wrong rows: its 6,121 convertibles is the 1971 figure, and its fastback figure is 1,000 too high. See the ruling below.1237
Ford sold a white-and-blue Sprint package for the 1972 Olympics. How many fastbacks got it is disputed.7one source
The story of the year
The Olympic Sprint
Ford marked the 1972 Olympic Games with a Sprint edition of the Mustang.78
It was released between March and June 1972, and the Pinto and the Maverick got Sprint editions too.4one source
Sprints were white, with blue paint on the rocker panels, blue hood stripes and a USA shield on each rear quarter panel.478
How to spot a 1972
What tells it apart from a 1971.
Production123
125,093 cars, by body.
Every trim line
| Body | Trim | Built |
|---|---|---|
| Hardtop | Standard | 57,350 |
| Grandé | 18,045 | |
| All hardtops | 75,395 | |
| Fastback | Standard | 15,622 |
| Mach 1 | 27,675 | |
| All fastbacks | 43,297 | |
| Convertible | Standard | 6,401 |
| All convertibles | 6,401 | |
| Total | 125,093 | |
Every row has at least two independent sources. Maine Mustang's convertible and fastback rows differ; see the ruling below.
Engines234
5 engines. The letter is the engine code in the VIN.
Net ratings. Maine Mustang, Wikipedia and Over-Drive agree on the 351s and differ by a few horsepower on the six and the 302.
Price when new2one source
Base retail prices in 1972 dollars, before options.
Colors10one source
17 factory colors, by number of cars. 15 of the 17 color names are confirmed by a second source210; the swatches are approximate screen colors, not paint matches.
Wimbledon WhiteM
Bright Red2B
Bright Blue3J
Medium Ginger5H
Medium Lime4F
Light Pewter5A
Dark Green4Q
Gold Glow6F
Medium Bright Yellow6E
Light Blue3B
Ivy Glow4C
Medium Yellow Gold6C
Grabber Blue3F
Bright Lime4E
Medium Green4P
Maroon2J
Bright Green Glow4B
CJ Pony Parts lists 17 colors that add up to 124,692 cars, 99.7 percent of production; the rest are not broken out. Maine Mustang lists 15 of the same names; Bright Green Glow and Medium Ginger appear only in CJ Pony Parts' list. Maine Mustang's list also has Medium Brown Metallic, which is not in CJ Pony Parts' list. The counts come from one source.
Reading the VIN27one source
A 1972 VIN has 11 characters. Type one in, and the decoder reads it against the code tables on this page.
2F05Q100001 · The Mustang Source's sample: a 1972 Dearborn-built Mach 1 with the 351 Cobra Jet. Maine Mustang's sample, «2HO1Q100001», has an H where the plant code belongs.
The code table
| Position | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 2 | Model year (1972) |
| F | Plant: Dearborn (others disputed) |
| 01 – 05 | Body: hardtop · fastback · convertible · Grandé · Mach 1 |
| L · F · H · Q · R | 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.11one source
Questions about the 1972
How many 1972 Ford Mustangs were made?
Ford built 125,093 for the 1972 model year: 75,395 hardtops, 43,297 fastbacks, 6,401 convertibles.123
How can you tell a 1972 Mustang from a 1971?
Three signs, each explained under «How to spot» on this page: script on the tail; no more Boss; the Sprint edition.3489
What engines did the 1972 Ford Mustang have?
Five engine codes, from the 250 cu in inline-six to the 351 cu in V8. The engine table on this page gives every code and rating, and the rulings cover the disputed ones.234
How much did a 1972 Ford Mustang cost new?
Base retail prices, before options: hardtop $2,679; Grandé $2,865; fastback $2,736; Mach 1 $3,003; convertible $2,965.2one source
What colors did the 1972 Ford Mustang come in?
CJ Pony Parts counts 17 factory colors. The most common was Wimbledon White, on 17,175 cars.10one source
Where is the VIN on a 1972 Ford Mustang?
On the top edge of the dash, driver's side, visible through the windshield.11one source
Where the sources disagree
Every conflict we found for 1972, and how we settled it. All rulings.
Settled
1972 production
Our ruling: We use 125,093, the sum of rows that each have at least two independent sources: 6,401 convertibles and 15,622 fastbacks (CJ Pony Parts and Over-Drive), 18,045 Grandés (Maine Mustang and CJ Pony Parts) and the hardtop and Mach 1 figures, which Maine Mustang, CJ Pony Parts and Over-Drive all give. 6,121 is exactly the 1971 convertible figure, and 16,622 is 1,000 too high, the same slip as the 1965 hardtop figure. 125,093 is also MustangSpecs' 125,903 with two digits swapped. MustangSpecs' rounded 28k Grandés and 33k fastbacks fit none of the lists.
What each source says (5)
- 6,121 convertibles and 16,622 fastbacks; total 125,81327one source
- 125,813 (US sales)12one source
- 125,903 in total; 6,401 convertibles; «Grande versions (28k units)»; «The Fastback as base and Mach 1 sold about 33k units»13one source
- 15,622 SportsRoofs and 6,401 convertibles; the rows add to 125,0931one source
- 15,622 SportsRoofs, 6,401 convertibles and 18,357 Grandés; no total3one source
Settled
How much production fell in 1972
Our ruling: MustangSpecs computed the fall from its own 125,903. With 125,093 it is 16.4 percent against 149,678, or 17.4 percent against 151,484 with the Boss 351.
What each source says (1)
- «Total production was down 15.88% year on year … from 149,678 units in 1971»13one source
Open
1972 net ratings for the 250 six and the 302
Our ruling: Unresolved: 95, 98 or 99 hp for the six, and 140 or 141 hp for the 302. Over-Drive's two figures are the ones Maine Mustang gives for 1973.
What each source says (3)
- L = 250 six, 98 hp; F = 302 2-barrel, 140 hp27one source
- L = 250 six, 95 hp net; F = 302 2-barrel, 140 hp4one source
- 250 six: «Horsepower: 99 @ 3600 RPM SAE Net»; 302: «Horsepower: 141 @ 4000 RPM SAE Net»3one source
Open
How many 1972 Sprint fastbacks
Our ruling: The same page gives two figures for the fastbacks, and we have no second source. We do not state a Sprint count.
What each source says (2)
- «Ford made 800 Sprint fastbacks, and 50 convertibles»7one source
- Sprint production table on the same page: 3,086 SportsRoofs, 6,247 coupes, 50 convertibles, 9,383 in all7one 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) only6one source
- 1972 and 1973: Dearborn only2714one source
- Dearborn, San Jose and Edison/Metuchen for the whole 1971–73 generation4one source
Sources
- 1965-1973 Mustang Production Numbers CJ Pony Parts · read 2026-10-11
- 1972 Mustang Technical Data Maine Mustang · read 2026-10-11
- 1972 Ford Mustang Fact Sheet Over-Drive Magazine · read 2026-10-11
- Ford Mustang (first generation) Wikipedia · read 2026-10-10
- 1964-1973 Mustang Engine Codes CJ Pony Parts · read 2026-10-11
- 1971 Mustang Technical Data Maine Mustang · read 2026-10-10
- Timeline: 1972 Mustang The Mustang Source (Internet Archive copy, 2016) · read 2026-10-11
- 1971 vs 1972 vs 1973 Ford Mustang CJ Pony Parts · read 2026-10-11
- Classic Mustang Spotters Guide 1964-1/4-1973 Autotrader Classics · read 2026-10-11
- 1965-1973 Mustang Production Numbers: production by color CJ Pony Parts · read 2026-10-11
- 1972 Ford Mustang VIN Information MustangSpecs · read 2026-10-11
- Ford Mustang Wikipedia · read 2026-10-10
- 1972 Ford Mustang Production Numbers MustangSpecs · read 2026-10-11
- 1973 Mustang Technical Data Maine Mustang · read 2026-10-11
Keep going
Three more years.
1970Ford MustangThe second and last year of the Boss 302 and Boss 429, and a fall to 198,239 cars.198,239 built1971Ford MustangThe biggest first-generation Mustang, and the year the Mach 1 made up almost a quarter of production.151,484 built
1973Ford MustangThe last first-generation Mustang, and the first rise in production after six falls in a row.134,867 builtSee the whole first generation.
Dimensions, production year by year and every ruling, 1964½–1973.