1972 Mercury Montego

Coupe

400

Automatic

2H16S511346

Clear

Gasoline

You are looking at a very rare 1972 Mercury Montego GT. According to the deluxe Marti report that comes with the car, there were only 45 of these cars made with these options and trim level. The Mercury Montego Registry indicates that there are only a handful left accounted for and this is most certainly the nicest example left in existence. The Montego GT is the cousin to the Ford Grand Torino Sport Fastback and was the only model in the lineup to have the fastback styling in order for Mercury to use it as a platform for their NASCAR program. This is the body style that Cale Yarborough drove for the Wood Brothers team in the 1972 and 73 season. This car has been meticulously restored starting as an original rust free and low mileage one owner car from Florida. The original color was yellow but when the body was disassembled and stripped it was repainted in the correct for 1972 code 2B bright red and had zero rust anywhere on it. The bumpers have been triple chrome plated and all the original trim is in excellent condition with the exception of the driver's side door trim which has some scuffs in it. Since this trim piece is impossible to find, it was left as is but is not very noticeable. INTERIOR: The interior has the original dash and headliner in perfect condition. New carpeting was installed and the seats were re upholstered in the original material which took nearly two years to locate as it is not available anymore. The original AM/FM radio was removed and rebuild by a Raytheon electronics engineer who added an iPod plug in cable which can be pulled out of the glove compartment and you can plug in your iPod and listen to it through the factory deck. The speakers were replaced with a modern four speaker system hidden behind the factory covers in the doors and rear package shelf. All power options work perfectly and all the widow motors were removed, cleaned, lubricated, and rebuilt before being put back in the car during re-assembly. The air conditioning has been converted to R134A and blows ice cold. All the gauges work perfectly except the clock. The car is equipped with bucket seats and console with floor shift which is rather rare as most of these were bench seat equipped with a column shift. In addition, it also has the three spoke rim-blow steering wheel which was unusual also as most of these cars had the standard two spoke wheel. The door panels are perfect and were restored to correct original appearance and the glass is all good with the exception of a polishing scuff on the passenger side which I was told could be polished out but haven't tried. There is a new windshield in it as well. ENGINE: The original 400 ci engine was bored out to 408 ci and a set of very hard to find Ford closed chamber Australian heads were added. A four barrel intake replaced the two barrel and a era correct Holley 4150 4bbl carb is in place. A slightly bigger cam was added by Crane Cams with a slightly higher lift and longer duration. A double roller timing chain, high flow oil pump, and TRW forged aluminum pistons were also used as well as stainless steel valves with hardened valve seats. Special attention was paid to keeping the engine as correct and original as possible and most of the improvements are all internal and not visible. The points in the ignition have been replaced with a pertronix electronic ignition hidden under the NOS Ford distributor cap and correct reproduction Motorcraft wires and hoses. All engine accessories have been rebuilt or replaced with NOS Ford parts and everything has been painted and detailed down to the correct quality control markings. The pictures show a chrome air cleaner cover with a 351 CJ insignia on it but the original blue cover comes with the car with the correct 400 2V markings if you prefer to use it. Every mechanical component on this car has been replaced or restored with original Ford parts where possible including complete new braking system, suspension, drivetrain including the addition of an NOS original 3.25 traction lock gear set to replace the original 2.79 limited slip center section. There is a brand new aluminized dual exhaust system in place with Borla mufflers that have a nice muscular sound to them but are not too loud. MISC: There is a new set of reproduction Magnum 500 wheels on the car that are 15X7 in front and 15X8 in the back with Mercury center caps and BF Goodrich Radial TA tires. The 1972 Montego was awarded the Car of the Year award by Road Test Magazine and Lincoln Mercury dealers were given a set of decals to put on the windows of their Montegos but very few actually did. These gold award decals have been meticulously reproduced for this car and attached to the rear side windows as originally directed by Lincoln Mercury to their dealers in 1972. This is a stunning example of one of the rarest Mercury Muscle cars made and I guarantee that you will not find another one like it as it is believed to be the finest example left. No expense was spared in the restoration process and it is truly a museum quality show example that has won numerous class awards at the All Ford Nationals as well as Good Guys events on the West Coast. Included with the car is extensive documentation on the 1972 Mercury Montego GT as well as original dealer paperwork, brochures, and receipts for all the restoration work done including the deluxe Marti report and original build sheet. This is a very rare opportunity for a true Ford Mercury enthusiast to add a unique piece of history to their collection. In all the shows this car has attended, there has never been another one like it present, in fact, most people can't remember the last time they even saw one of these unusual cars. Please feel free to e-mail me with any questions. I will be happy to answer them as I'm sure I have probably forgotten something.