1973 · Mercury · United States
1973 Mercury Montego GT: The Fastback's Last Year, Sold More on Comfort Than Power
The Montego GT fastback's second and last year; a vehicle profile reports 4,464 built.
United States · researched through 2026-09-22
The Montego GT fastback ran for only two model years, and 1973 was its last. Wikipedia's second-generation coverage places the GT across 1972 and 1973, and a conceptcarz vehicle profile puts 1973 GT production at 4,464 cars, though that figure comes from a single secondary source that names no underlying Ford or Mercury record, so it is carried here without a second source to corroborate it. Against the 156,805 Montegos of all series built that year, the GT accounted for a small slice of a much larger line.1,2,3
Mercury's 1973 full-line brochure lists the GT's standard equipment as the 302-cubic-inch two-barrel V8, a 3-speed manual transmission, front disc brakes, F78-14 whitewall tires, non-functional dual hood scoops, dual racing mirrors, and full instrumentation with a tachometer behind a 3-spoke steering wheel. The one step up in power was the optional 351 Cobra Jet V8, and the brochure's options chart ties it to a specific transmission choice: the 4-speed manual with Hurst shifter was available only with the 351 Cobra Jet, meaning a buyer who wanted a stick shift beyond the standard 3-speed also had to order the bigger engine.
Beyond the drivetrain, the GT's options chart reads more like a comfort-and-convenience catalog than a performance sheet: Traction-Lok differential and a Cross Country Ride Package sat alongside power windows, Whisper-Aire air conditioning, an AM/FM/MPX radio with dual rear speakers, a six-way power seat, and a Visibility Light Group. Some items came standard rather than optional on the GT specifically, including the Montego Instrumentation Group, an electric clock, a remote-control left-hand mirror, racing mirrors, and deluxe wheel covers, while bucket seats were available at no extra cost as an alternative to the standard bench. A buyer could also add a Trailer Towing Package, a Convenience Group bundling deluxe seat belts and front shoulder belts, and an Appearance Protection Group covering front floor mats with inserts, door edge guards, and a spare tire lock, three grouped option packages that further show the GT sold on comfort and trim as much as on the engine under its non-functional hood scoops.
No source this record can cite breaks the 4,464-unit total down by engine, transmission, or paint color with a defined population. A conceptcarz profile separately states that 2,262 of the 1973 GTs had the 351 Cleveland and that 557 were painted Blue Glamour Poly, but both figures are one-off statements without a stated total population or record behind them, so they are held as unpublished leads rather than reported facts. Set against the 4,464-car GT total, even the larger of those two unverified numbers would represent roughly half the model's production, a share plausible enough to be worth chasing down in a future pass but not yet confirmed.2
Placed against the wider Montego line, the GT's 4,464 units amount to roughly 2.8 percent of the 156,805 Montegos of all series and body styles built for 1973, a figure conceptcarz compiles from nine separate body-and-series rows that sum to the line total. That share underscores how much of a specialty model the GT fastback had become by its final year, a single performance-styled body among a much larger catalog of sedans, hardtops, and wagons carrying the Montego name.3
Fact sheet · 1973 · United States
The numbers
1973 Mercury Montego GT — The Montego GT fastback's second and last year; a vehicle profile reports 4,464 built.
Coverage: Partial — researched sections are shown; missing ones are not yet sourced. Researched through 2026-09-22.
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.
Key facts
- Mercury's 1973 catalogue lists the Montego GT with the 302-2V V8, 3-speed manual, front disc brakes, F78-14 whitewalls, non-functional dual hood scoops, dual racing mirrors, full instrumentation with tachometer and a 3-spoke steering wheel as standard.
Production
| What was counted | Count | Basis | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Montego GT 2-door fastback, all engines2,3 Montego GT · 2-door fastback · as published Single secondary source. | 4,464 | built, model-year | Reported |
| What was counted | Count | Basis | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| All 1973 Montegos (host line, context)3 all series · as published Denominator for the GT; conceptcarz lists nine body/series rows summing to it. | 156,805 | built, model-year | Reported |
No engine, transmission or paint breakdown with a defined population was found; see unpublished leads.
The GT fastback row and the all-Montego host-line total are both already recorded; conceptcarz's 1973 Montego page states no other family-level total, and no source seen states a GT total on a different basis. The GT row is not summed with any other row. Searched 2026-09-29: conceptcarz spec, article and profile pages already cited, Wikipedia; OpenLibrary search-inside of Heasley's Production Figure Book returned nothing for Mercury mid-size totals. A Mercury production report or the Standard Catalog of American Cars 1946-1975 would settle the basis.
Engines
| Engine | Factory rating | Availability | Built |
|---|---|---|---|
| 302-2V V8 302 cu in · 2-barrel | standard on the Montego GT | Not yet sourced | |
| 351 Cobra Jet V8 351 cu in | optional; the only engine with the 4-speed | 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.
Transmissions
| Transmission | Availability | Built |
|---|---|---|
| 3-speed manual | standard | Not yet sourced |
| Select-Shift automatic | optional | Not yet sourced |
| 4-speed manual with Hurst shifter | optional with 351-CJ only | Not yet sourced |
Options and packages
| Code | Option | Price | Installed |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Select-Shift automatic transmission [optional] | — | Not yet sourced |
|
4-speed manual transmission with Hurst shifter [optional; available with 351-CJ only, footnote 16] | — | Not yet sourced |
|
Traction-Lok differential [optional] | — | Not yet sourced |
|
Cross Country Ride Package [optional] | — | Not yet sourced |
|
Trailer Towing Package [optional] | — | Not yet sourced |
|
Power brakes, disc front and drum rear [optional] | — | Not yet sourced |
|
Power steering [optional] | — | Not yet sourced |
|
Heavy-duty battery [optional] | — | Not yet sourced |
|
Montego Instrumentation Group [standard on GT] | — | Not yet sourced |
|
Power side windows [optional] | — | Not yet sourced |
|
AM radio [optional] | — | Not yet sourced |
|
AM/FM/MPX radio [optional] | — | Not yet sourced |
|
Dual rear seat speakers [optional] | — | Not yet sourced |
|
Whisper-Aire air conditioning, manual temperature control [optional] | — | Not yet sourced |
|
Tinted glass, complete [optional] | — | Not yet sourced |
|
Electric rear window defroster, V-8 only [optional] | — | Not yet sourced |
|
Electric clock [standard on GT] | — | Not yet sourced |
|
Remote-control left-hand mirror [standard on GT] | — | Not yet sourced |
|
Interval windshield wipers [optional] | — | Not yet sourced |
|
Deluxe seat belts and front shoulder belts [optional, with Convenience Group only] | — | Not yet sourced |
|
Convenience Group [optional] | — | Not yet sourced |
|
Visibility Light Group [optional] | — | Not yet sourced |
|
Floor mats, front and rear [in Appearance Protection Group] | — | Not yet sourced |
|
Six-way power seat [optional; not on bucket seats] | — | Not yet sourced |
|
Bucket seats [optional at no extra cost] | — | Not yet sourced |
|
Racing mirrors [standard on GT] | — | Not yet sourced |
|
Console [optional] | — | Not yet sourced |
|
Vinyl roof [optional] | — | Not yet sourced |
|
Deluxe wheel covers [standard on GT; hubcaps with trim rings also listed as standard on the equipment page] | — | Not yet sourced |
|
Luxury wheel covers [optional] | — | Not yet sourced |
|
Vinyl-inserted protective bodyside molding [optional] | — | Not yet sourced |
|
Appearance Protection Group (front floor mats with inserts, door edge guards, spare tire lock) [optional] | — | Not yet sourced |
|
Rear bumper guards [optional] | — | Not yet sourced |
|
Glamour Metallic paint, with colour-keyed wheel covers [optional] | — | Not yet sourced |
Specifications
| Measure | Value | Applies to |
|---|---|---|
| Standard tires | F78-14 whitewall size | Montego GT |
Identification
Read a 1973 Mercury 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 1973
- AMC AMX The Javelin AMX's best year. 5,707 were built, a quarter of them with the 401, alongside the Trans Am Victory decal and the Pierre Cardin interior.
- AMC Gremlin X and Spirit AMX The V8 Gremlin X continued, with new stripes and an available Levi's denim-look interior. No production split has been found.
- AMC Javelin The SST name dropped away and new twin 'TV-screen' taillights arrived. Javelin production reached 25,195, alongside the Trans Am Victory decal package.
- Buick Riviera Stage One (260 hp net) joined a separate GS handling package; 1,234 Stage Ones and 3,933 GS cars of 34,080.
- Buick Skylark Gran Sport, GS and GSX On the new Colonnade A-body the GS became a Century Gran Sport package; 6,637 were built, 728 with the 455 Stage 1.
- Chevrolet Chevelle and Malibu SS The Colonnade Chevelle's only SS year: RPO Z15 on the Malibu coupe and, for the first and only time, the station wagon, with a 245 net hp 454 available.
- Chevrolet Chevy II and Nova Hatchback appears in the source body table; SS offered with any engine per the source. Enthusiast-compiled production: 369,509 cars; Super Sport 35,542.
- Chevrolet El Camino SS The new Colonnade El Camino could still be ordered with RPO Z15 SS equipment; no El Camino SS count was found.
- Dodge Challenger The six was gone: every 1973 Challenger hardtop had a V8, the 318 standard and the 340 optional, with the Rallye now sold as a package.
- Dodge Charger The Charger's best-selling year of the original era, 119,318 cars, came as the 440 lost its Magnum name and the car moved toward personal luxury.
- Dodge Dart GTS, Swinger and Demon Renamed Dart Sport, the fastback's 340 model sold 11,315 in the 340's final year.
- Ford Maverick Grabber The 200 six became standard as the 170 was dropped; Classic Industries counts 32,350 Grabbers.
- Ford Ranchero GT The Ranchero GT continued on the 1972-76 Ranchero; 15,320 GTs were built, per reference-site counts in the Standard Catalog lineage.
- Ford Thunderbird The 429 4V was standard and the 460 4V optional in the sixth generation's best-selling year.
- Ford Torino The 1973 Torino kept the 1972 body behind a heavier bumper; the Gran Torino Sport fell to 51,853 SportsRoofs and 17,090 hardtops while the 351 Cobra Jet remained the performance engine.
- Mercury Cougar The last Cougar convertible and the last 351 Cobra Jet year, with production up to 60,629 as buyers shifted to the XR-7.
- Oldsmobile Cutlass, 4-4-2 and Hurst/Olds On the new Colonnade Cutlass the 4-4-2 was a W-29 appearance and handling option, and the Hurst/Olds came in white or, for the first time, black: 1,097 built.
- Plymouth Barracuda and 'Cuda V8 only: the 318 became standard on both Barracuda and 'Cuda, the 340 moved to the option list, and production rose for the only time after 1970.
- Plymouth Duster 340 and 360 The 340's last year in the Duster produced 15,731 cars with power front disc brakes now standard, and the Spacemaker Pak fold-down rear seat joined the line.
- Plymouth GTX, Belvedere and Satellite For 1973 the GTX name survived only through the Road Runner's optional 440 four-barrel, which came with TorqueFlite only; Mueller's Muscle Car Source Book counts 749 of them.
- Plymouth Road Runner A secondary count puts production back up to 19,056, the highest of the 1971-1974 Satellite-based years.
- Pontiac Firebird and Trans Am The Super Duty year: 4,802 Trans Ams, 252 of them SD-455s.
- Pontiac GTO A GTO option on the new Colonnade LeMans, with the 400 standard and a 455 optional; 4,806 built.
- Pontiac Grand Am Pontiac's Colonnade GT with an Endura nose and a 400 or 455; 43,137 built, the Grand Am's best year, with 1,058 four-speeds.
- Pontiac Grand Prix The Colonnade-body Grand Prix arrives, with the 400 standard and the 455 in the SJ.
- Pontiac Tempest and LeMans The Colonnade LeMans arrives, with GTO and GT options for the two-door models and a Super Duty 455 listed for the LeMans in Pontiac's dealer book.