1972 · Ford · United States
1972 Ford Maverick Grabber
The dual-scoop-hood Grabber in its second year as a model; Classic Industries counts 35,347.
United States · researched through 2026-09-23
For 1972, its second year as its own model, the Grabber carried on with the special dual-scoop hood introduced for the 1971-1972 pair of model years. Classic Industries counts 35,347 Grabbers alongside 145,931 plain two-door sedans and 73,686 four-door sedans, though the record's own notes do not state whether those three figures together partition every 1972 Maverick built or leave some other body or trim uncounted. A separate note from the Maverick Page adds that the optional 302 V8 could not be ordered with the three-speed manual in California that year.1,2,3
Factory prices for the Grabber two-door ran $2,359 for the six and $2,519 for the V8, read row-aligned from the Standard Catalog of American Cars; the Standard Catalog of Ford's own OCR text for the same row instead reads "$2.360," almost certainly the same figure misread by the scanning process rather than a genuinely different price. The plain two-door sedan listed at $2,190 (six) and $2,350 (V8), and the four-door sedan at $2,245 (six) and $2,406 (V8). The only engine detail carried for the year is the optional 302 two-barrel V8 itself; no horsepower or torque rating for it was found in the sources consulted for 1972.4,5,1
Standard Grabber content ran to trim rings, two-color or black hood tape, body side stripes with a Grabber decal, one of four lower back panel paint-and-tape combinations, simulated hood scoops, a black grille, dual racing mirrors with a left remote, grille-mounted road lamps, a deck-lid spoiler, bright window frames and drip moldings, and full-width seats in Ruffino vinyl or Manston cloth over carpeting. A separate Sprint Decor Option, in white with blue and red trim, added dual racing mirrors and a color-coordinated interior of its own. Tire choices ran to D70-14 white-sidewall Wide Oval belted tires or DR78x14 white-sidewall steel-belted radials, and a Luxury Decor Option and a heavy-duty suspension were also available, though no prices for any of these were found in the sources consulted.3
Curb weight ran to 2,736 lb for the Grabber against 2,681 lb for the plain two-door sedan, a modest weight penalty for the package's added trim and equipment. Only two exterior colors are recorded for 1972 in the sources consulted, both Color Glow finishes, Ivy and Gold, and the record does not say whether that reflects the full 1972 offering or simply an incomplete reading of the source page.3
Beyond the Grabber's own decal-and-stripe treatment, the wider 1972 lineup added a Luxury Decor Option and continued the Sprint package's white-with-blue-and-red scheme as a distinct alternative to the Grabber's own color-and-tape combinations, giving buyers two separate visual identities within the same two-door body. No performance figures, identification codes, or interior trim beyond the Grabber's own Ruffino vinyl and Manston cloth choices were found for the year, and the production notes' silence on whether the three reported body counts add up to a complete model-year total is itself the most significant documentation gap in this record: without a stated scope, the 35,347 Grabber figure cannot be checked against, or added to, any other total in the file.3,1
Fact sheet · 1972 · United States
The numbers
1972 Ford Maverick Grabber — The dual-scoop-hood Grabber in its second year as a model; Classic Industries counts 35,347.
Coverage: Partial — researched sections are shown; missing ones are not yet sourced. Researched through 2026-09-23.
Every figure is labeled with how sure we are. Reported means a manufacturer, registry, or reference figure we cite but have not reconciled against factory records ourselves. Disputed means credible sources disagree and both are shown. Rows are separately scoped; don't add them together unless the note says they make up a total.
Production
| What was counted | Count | Basis | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| All 1972 Mavericks (conceptcarz total)6 as published A total stated by the page. It equals the sum of the body rows below (73,686 + 145,931 + 35,347 Grabber), which repeat the Classic Industries rows, so it is the same lineage with a stated whole-year figure, not an independent count. | 254,964 | built, model-year | Reported |
| What was counted | Count | Basis | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grabber1 Grabber · 2-door · as published | 35,347 | built, model-year | Reported |
| What was counted | Count | Basis | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2-door sedan1 Maverick · 2-door sedan · as published | 145,931 | built, model-year | Reported |
| 4-door sedan1 Maverick · 4-door sedan · as published | 73,686 | built, model-year | Reported |
Body and Grabber rows as published by Classic Industries; conceptcarz states a 1972 whole-year total (254,964) equal to their sum, so the rows partition the year on that page (same lineage, not an independent count).
The Maverick Page says the 302 V8 could not be had with the 3-speed manual in California in 1972.
Searched 2026-09-29: conceptcarz (series modelID 543), Wikipedia, the Classic Industries and Standard Catalog lineages already cited.
Prices when new
| Model | Price | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Factory price, Maverick Grabber two-door (six)4 | $2,359 | factory price (catalogue 'Factory Price' column), base car before options; row-aligned reading, 1972 model year |
| Factory price, Maverick Grabber two-door (V-8)4 | $2,519 | factory price (catalogue 'Factory Price' column), base car before options; row-aligned reading, 1972 model year |
| Factory price, Maverick two-door sedan (six)5,4 | $2,190 | factory price, base car before options, 1972 model year |
| Factory price, Maverick two-door sedan (V-8)4 | $2,350 | factory price, base car before options, 1972 model year |
| Factory price, Maverick four-door sedan (six)5,4 | $2,245 | factory price, base car before options, 1972 model year |
| Factory price, Maverick four-door sedan (V-8)5 | $2,406 | factory price, base car before options, 1972 model year |
Prices are the nominal dollars of the day, not adjusted for inflation.
Engines
| Engine | Factory rating | Availability | Built |
|---|---|---|---|
| 302 V8 2-bbl1 302 cu in · 2-barrel | optional | Not yet sourced |
Ratings are the manufacturer's advertised figures under the standard shown (SAE gross before 1972, SAE net after). They are not dyno results, and gross and net ratings can't be compared directly.
Options and packages
| Code | Option | Price | Installed |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Grabber standard content: trim rings, two-color or black hood tape, bodyside stripes with Grabber decal, lower back panel paint/tape (four combinations), simulated hood scoops, black grille, dual racing mirrors (left remote), grille road lamps, deck-lid spoiler, bright window frames and drip moldings, Ruffino vinyl or Manston cloth full-width seats, carpeting3 | — | Not yet sourced |
|
Sprint Decor Option (white with blue and red, dual racing mirrors, color-coordinated interior)3 | — | Not yet sourced |
|
D70-14 WSW Wide Oval belted tires3 | — | Not yet sourced |
|
DR78x14 WSW steel-belted radial tires3 | — | Not yet sourced |
|
Luxury Decor Option3 | — | Not yet sourced |
|
Heavy-duty suspension3 | — | Not yet sourced |
Paint
| Code | Color | Built |
|---|---|---|
|
Color Glow, Ivy3 | Not yet sourced |
|
Color Glow, Gold3 | Not yet sourced |
Color names are the factory's. We don't show color swatches, because a screen color is no guide for a restoration.
Specifications
| Measure | Value | Applies to |
|---|---|---|
| Curb weight, Grabber3 | 2,736 lb | Grabber 2-door |
| Curb weight, 2-door3 | 2,681 lb | 2-door |
Identification
Read a 1972 Ford VIN
The VIN decoder runs in your browser and never sends the VIN anywhere. How the factory numbered this year's cars:
Same model year
Also in 1972
- AMC AMX The first year of SAE net ratings and Chrysler-built TorqueFlite automatics. Javelin AMX production rose to 3,220, and the 304 V8 became available.
- AMC Gremlin X and Spirit AMX The first V8 Gremlin: the 304 (150 hp SAE net) in AMC's subcompact. Gremlin X production is not published in any source found.
- AMC Javelin The base model was dropped, so every non-AMX Javelin was an SST. This was the first year of the Pierre Cardin interior and of Chrysler-built automatics.
- Buick Riviera Net ratings only for 1972: 250 hp standard, 260 GS per ROA; 2,171 of 33,728 were GS.
- Buick Skylark Gran Sport, GS and GSX The last A-body GS year before the Colonnade Century; the GSX package, now in many colours, was invoiced on only 44 cars, most of them outside the lower 48 states.
- Chevrolet Chevelle and Malibu SS The last Z15 Chevelle SS of the first generation: net-rated engines, an LS5 454 at 270 net hp, and 5,333 SS 454s.
- Chevrolet Chevy II and Nova The source engine table switches to net ratings; SS and Rally Nova offered. Enthusiast-compiled production: 349,733 cars; Super Sport 12,309.
- Chevrolet El Camino SS Last year of the Chevelle-bodied El Camino SS; 50,359 V8 Malibu El Caminos were built, and the SS share is not separately published.
- Dodge Challenger Hardtop only, with a new grille: the R/T gave way to the Challenger Rallye package, and the most powerful engine listed was the 340 four-barrel.
- Dodge Charger The R/T and Super Bee were dropped; the new Rallye package became the performance Charger, and the 440 Six Pack was cancelled after a handful of cars.
- Dodge Dart GTS, Swinger and Demon The Demon's second and final year under that name: 8,773 Demon 340s, with small Canadian and Swiss-market 340 runs counted separately.
- Ford Ranchero GT The Ranchero GT continued on the 1972-76 Ranchero; 12,620 GTs were built, per reference-site counts in the Standard Catalog lineage.
- Ford Thunderbird First year of the sixth-generation Thunderbird; only the whole-line production total was found.
- Ford Torino The new body-on-frame Torino sold 496,645 in 1972; the performance models were the Gran Torino Sport SportsRoof (60,794) and hardtop (31,239), with the 351 Cobra Jet and a Rallye Equipment Group on the option list.
- Mercury Cougar Net ratings arrived, the 429 was gone, and the 351 Cobra Jet became the performance Cougar engine, fitted to 3,560 cars.
- Mercury Montego GT The first year of the fastback-only Montego GT on the new split-wheelbase intermediate, with the Cyclone name reduced to a performance option that only a few dozen buyers took.
- Oldsmobile Cutlass, 4-4-2 and Hurst/Olds The 4-4-2 became a Cutlass option again, engines were rated in SAE net (W-30: 300 hp), and a Hurst/Olds paced the Indianapolis 500.
- Plymouth Barracuda and 'Cuda Hardtops only, single headlamps, four round taillamps, and a 340 four-barrel as the top engine: the 'Cuda carried it as standard.
- Plymouth Duster 340 and 360 In the first net-rating year the Duster 340's 8.5:1 340 was rated 240 net hp with electronic ignition, the Twister became order code A51, and output rose to 15,681 in both compilations.
- Plymouth GTX, Belvedere and Satellite For 1972 the GTX existed only as the 440 four-barrel option on the Road Runner hardtop; Mueller's Muscle Car Source Book counts 672 of them.
- Plymouth Road Runner The hardtop-only Road Runner took a 400 four-barrel as its advertised standard engine, and production fell again.
- Pontiac Firebird and Trans Am A strike-shortened year: 29,951 Firebirds and 1,286 Trans Ams, every one a 455 HO.
- Pontiac GTO The GTO goes back to being an option on the LeMans, with net ratings only; 5,807 were built.
- Pontiac Grand Prix A carryover year with the SJ still offered; production recovered to 91,961.
- Pontiac Tempest and LeMans The GTO becomes a LeMans option, and the LeMans gets WW4 and WW5 performance packages.