Dry Climate Driver – 1972 Ford Gran Torino Sport
Shiny and complete, with documentation and plenty of pictures, this 1972 Ford Gran Torino Sport in Las Vegas, Nevada is not perfect, but it runs and drives, according to the seller, and certainly looks local car-show ready. The sporty classic comes to market here on eBay, where at least eight bidders have the market price above $21,000 without meeting the seller’s Reserve. New seats, tires, and other parts shorten the to-do list for the new owner. The new-for’72 Torino’s prominent center grille opening is one-year-only as safety regulations prompted a more conventional beam bumper for’73 up. A non-original 351 V8 stands in for the car’s factory 429.
The car’s Marti report identifies the original mill as the mighty 429, and the listing offers not details on the stand-in 351C. The venerated 351 “Cleveland” spins a stout C6 three-speed automatic transmission. A friend put a stock “250 HP” two-barrel Cleveland on his dyno and it made slightly more than that rating with no tuning and stock cast iron exhaust manifolds. A stock ’72 four-barrel 351C makes 266 HP according to MustangSpecs, but we know nothing about the replacement motor’s provenance. Anyone displeased with the performance of this Cleveland can simply spend their way to happiness. DragBoss Garage made over 600 HP in their YouTube build.
The Coke Bottle styling exaggerates the long hood, short deck, and flared quarters. The Gold Glow Metallic paint with brown top and interior may not be everyone’s favorite, but it’s unusual in a sea of red and black.
New front and rear seats included a switch to buckets up front with a console in black. I’d have kept the bench seat in a 429 for the novelty factor, but let’s fill up that hole in the console by changing from column to floor shift and complete the look. The seat vinyl telegraphs its upholstery shop origin, but the color match looks great.
A Gran Torino in its natural habitat: a sunny day, and in this case with windows rolled down due to the lack of air conditioning, a factor that may turn off local bidders. Vintage Air anyone? Can you picture yourself cruising in this solid Southwest classic?
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Comments
The 1972 Gran Torino Sport, one of my all-time favorites. Big, stylish, brassy. Has the cool laser stripe and instrumentation group. Period-correct colors. Highly-styled front end contrasts to the rather simple rear styling. This one may not be perfect but it looks to be in good shape.
250 hp from a stock 351 2V…yeah right. In stock form in 1970 they made MAYBE 190hp. Cool Torino just the same. And the 429 4v of 72 made 212 hp
You’re a little off, but no point in bickering over hp ratings, they’re somewhat meaningless anyway, the Cleveland was a potent motor regardless of it’s rating. I had a 73 Cougar with a 2barrel Cleveland, not much would hang with it that year
Look it up, almost every page shows 250 Hp or at least 240 in 1970. And we know these are a little low. The 4V made and easy 300 Hp. I had both 70 motors and trust me, the 2V ran very good, with headers, exhaust and a good distributer and tunning would give the stock 4V a run for it’s money.
Gold Glow Metallic. Pretty darn good description of that beautiful color.
No stock 351 2v made even close to 250 hp in 72. Or in 1970 for that matter. Maybe 190 net. Beautiful 72 though!
My 351 Cleveland equipped Ranchero was rated at 300 gross hp. It had 11:1 compression and with good fuel, was pretty fast. More than a few boy racers were surprised by it off the line. I don’t know where you got 190 hp in 1970, Matt. The Cleveland was better than that.
Ford Guy if your 351 Cleveland was rated at 300hp it was abt 240 net. A 2 barrel 351 from 1970…was rated at 250 gross. Would be abt 220 in 1972 w lower compression. So BARELY 190 net. The seller brings up a stock 351 2v making more than 250hp on a dyno. Im saying its one of those “my buddy had one dyno at blah blah blah” claims. Pure bs.
Matt et. al. you all can believe it or not but the friend in the story was not the customer, but a Ford-focused engine builder and drag racer. This was a customer-supplied engine and Mike just wanted to baseline the “before” numbers as he was about to work it over. It was all dirty and as-is looking with the 2bbl on top and iron manifolds. It made something like 251 or 254 engine horsepower. Maybe it had some upgraded internals early in its life, but it certainly didn’t look that way. I guess we all can believe whatever we want these days, but that’s the back-story in this case. It was not a 1972 motor, nor did I claim it was. The 250 HP 2bbl was 1970. Cheers -Todd
The 351 Cleveland would consistently beat the big blocks on the weekend Sudbury to Timmins Hwy 144 Cannonball run. There’s absolutely no sense in arguing with people that haven’t got a clue. We were going through those poor bias ply rear tires every week
Hey Matt, we all know they changed HP ratings around 72 but the rating up till then were even across the board. That is how they were rated then but, we also know they under rated them for insurance reasons. So not as big a gap as you think. Some motors were more than 40+ Hp over the factory rating. Look at the Ford 429 boss and see what it was rated at. 375! LOL! And we all know it put out Over 500 HP. I grew up with these cars and engines. Don’t believe everything you read.
Ok all the bickering and argument aside. It was a well known FACT that ALL of the Major auto manufacturers down rated their engines
The purpose behind that was for insurance purposes. After 1968 insurance companies were killing drivers of high performance vehicles collective wallets. So every one of the American car companies listed their engines with lower that truthful specs. And with new and ever tighter restrictions on emissions, the performance finally began to match the spec sheets. So despite what a performance rating was listed at, it was not entirely accurate. The net result is a bunch of people online arguing whether a 50 year old engine had 120,160,or 300 hp. Truth since the real data has never been released we might never know the truth. Because if it were don’t you think the weasels at the EPA would finally get their wish and send all of our beloved classic cars to go become a toaster or a golf cart? Please stop arguing about what 51 year old horsepower ratings were and enjoy something we all love. The classic cars.
Yes miss Landers
What made that car cool was the 429; now its ?
Few cars ever looked so good…or drove so poorly. Never mind the swoopy looks – those things were barges, with a curb weight of close to 5000 lbs. Suspension was soft and body lean was alarming. It may not have been a reskinned 1969 LTD, but it sure drove like it.
We had one in the family, with the front bench seat. I fully understand the conversion to buckets, and would never consider going back – novelty or not.
My negative take on the road manners is of secondary importance, now, this late in the car’s life…as this is really a show car, not a Saturday-night stoplight racer, but a Sunday Afternoon C&C trophy. Floaty barge or not, it shall not pass this way again…
1972 Torino curb weight 3370 lbs. No light weight, but come on, 5K is way off.
I remember looking it up, long ago…it was one of two I learned to drive on, the other being a Jeep Wagoneer. I seem to remember 5000 pounds.
If I’m wrong, I’m wrong. But 3370 seems WAY too light for that car; that’s almost what today’s Camry weighs.
The Gran Torino steered like it was heavy, and drank gas like it was heavy. Twelve mpg with the 351 Cleveland in it.
Looking online, figures are all over. The 3300lb figure is the most-commonly quoted one; but on a couple of performance forums, they had between 3900 and 4200 pounds.
The 4200 was with the 429 engine.
Yep. The heaviest Torinos were the Squires with the big bumpers and they were somewhere near 4500 lbs, no Torino weighed 5000.
@JustPassinThru, most cars of this era were equipped with the basics and weren’t stuffed full of electronics, sound deadening, and safety equipment, so they were indeed very light.
Very sorry you were scared by the Torino. My ’69 GT was no Porsche, but it never made me refer to it as a land barge.
My parents had a 68 Torino Gt 390 notchback. Which was a one off performance build done by Battlefield Ford Manassas VA. which he often compared it’s handling to a wet bag of concrete. He used to say he loved it in the straight line, but hated it in the curves. He said it handled like the 76 country squire which replaced it after it was wrecked. Personally I like the way the ltd handled, it handled 2x4s and groceries, and me and my sister on our trips on vacation. Those cars really were meant for a straight line. He would know, it ended up wrecked on the Pennsylvania turnpike, with a busted steering box
It couldn’t handle the curve at 15 over in windy conditions. So handling wise. Not really agreeing with you there.
Big C, I’ve driven eighteen wheelers, loaded with a gross weight of 80k pounds. I’ve driven GMC fishbowl buses. And I was driving a full-size Chevrolet Impala, the downsized B body, as a taxi. Goes without saying, the B body was a thousand-percent better.
“Scared”? No, just underwhelmed, at an alleged car that has all the cornering of a soapbox racer, with its central-pivot front axle. Tied to a soft, floaty, drifty ride, numb power steering with a vague center feel and the cornering ability of an ocean liner.
So I remembered near-5000 pounds, and in fact, the enthusiast with a scale, has 4200. That’s hardly “some people’s posts.”
I wonder how many here have actually driven one of these things, that they’re so sure they’re light and agile.
A 58-60 Lincoln weighed 5000lbs. Some people’s comments. Lol
Perfect ride for a new rounder ♠️, or pool shark 🎱 in town 🎰
I agree with Todd, I’d have kept the bench too. Why does every muscle era car need buckets?! Not at all a Ford dude, but nice looking Torino and I really like the color combo. Looks right. Earth tones just scream late 60’s – 70’s. It’s a shame that the OG 429 is gone but overall it looks to be a pretty solid car. I’d ditch the dinky air cleaner though.
The sellers feedback is concerning.
Jus’ sayn’
I always had a soft spot for these, and even if you can’t find a period correct replacement for the original 429, this one has potential. I fully agree that a floor shifter should be part of this car’s future. I just can’t remember if these still came with a “basket handle” floor shifter or not. What I do know is that these were the first Torinos with full frames, before 1972 the Torino was a unibody car with a front subframe. I even like the copper-colored paint, I just hope that someone doesn’t try to make it into a Starsky & Hutch tribute car (Red, with white stripes)!
Wrong year and body style for Starsky and Hutch, this is the one the Clint Eastwood movie was named for
Yes, but Clint’s was triple green (paint, vinyl top and interior). Besides, by definition a “tribute car” doesn’t have to be an exact copy of the original car. As an FYI, the Starsky & Hutch car was a 1974 Edition. Ford built one-thousand (1000) Starsky & Hutch editions in the final year of the Grand Torino’s run (1976) before it became the LTD II in 1977.
Actually the Starsky and Hutch Torino was a 76 model, same car though, and Ford built just over 1300 replicas
1972! – greatest year in 70’s for top 40
music and best looking Torino too.What a pity it lasted only that year. This car looks Pisa but fastback/vinyl is a head-scratcher. Don’t worry Bob, this car is totally wrong for a Starsky and Hutch.
That’s what scares me! Too many “tribute” cars are the wrong year, or even if the correct year, they get hopelessly butchered in the process of building the tribute, like a famous actor or actress who gets bad plastic surgery, LOL!
Boy what a nice car i had a 73 when i was young i loved that car
The window sticker and the Marti report both specify air conditioning…….
This is what the stylist intended for the new Torino, look at that fitted front and rear bumper. Not the stupid park bench imposed by the government sticking their nose in. My Aunt had a 73 with the 351W, I drove it a few times, it was no slouch. Having the console with the column shift reminds me of the older T Birds who didn’t get a floor shift until the 80’s. These mid sized by that days standards are nice drivers with a good ride. Seldom seen anymore, especially the one year bumper 72.
72 was the good year- split bumper Camaros and the Torino- I had a 72 Ranchero slightly lowered in the front which gave it a great look. Of all the cars I have owned, that one is one of the most fondly remembered.
Beautiful cars, definitely the highlight of 1972. I believe most Sports came with buckets and floor shift, this one seems a bit unusual. By 72, the Cleveland was a better choice than the castrated 429
It looks nice in the photos, but with so many interested parties it will be over-bid for sure. Not sure about the mismatched seats… we’d have left the bench seat.
We’d need to spend a weekend in Vegas, then go take a look before bidding.
Like this year Torino and the 351 Cleveland is certainly no slouch. But I live in the South, so spending maybe $25-30 k on a car that I’d have to add another $3-4 grand on AC and also swap to a floor shifter is a hard pass for me.
I owned a 72 Torino Sport, baby blue with blue interior, bucket seats and console with chrome factory wheels. 351 Cleveland had plenty of power. One of my favorite cars and I have owned my share.
I own and drive my 72 on a regular basis, I’m an engine builder so of course I got a bored and stroked 460 that does not need much camshaft to boil tires at any time. Any small block is a bottomless pit when trying to make horsepower. My advice is always start off with as many cubic inches as will fit under the hood.
There is no substitute for cubic inches (or cubic centimeters for the metrically inclined), LOL!
If it were me I’d replace the 351 with a period correct 429 and fill that engine bay.
If you can’t find a period correct motor, there’s always a crate motor from Ford Performance. The crate 429 is actually a small block on steroids and they sell a crate big block that’s been bored and stroked to 540 cubic inches! Yikes!
I agree it would be hard to find a period correct engine. The last 3 yrs especially hit the engine block and engine parts industry very hard. Blueprint engines would be one way to go. A well built 351 would be fine with me.
Actually, I misspoke. The big block crate motor is 572 cubic inches! Yikes! The Ford 429 crate motor is based on the 351 small-block. Here’s a link:
https://www.fordracingparts.com/engines/#Big%20Block
I had a bright red with white interior Gran Torino Sport. It was special ordered with 351 Cleveland, dual point ignition, big 4 barrel, and 4 speed. Fast car, still talked about today. I never had an issue with the handling. Would rather have a GOOD RUNNING 351 than the 429. less weight on the front end. Guy that bought it off me had it less than one week. Showing off for friends and wrapped it around a tree. Sad end for a great car.