Car of the Week: 1972 Mercury Montego GT

Jim Speath, of Mount Clemens, Mich., comes from a Ford family. His mother worked at a Ford dealership, and his grandfather worked for Lincoln-Mercury corporate. His family helped create and sell vehicles from “Ford’s Family of Fine Cars,” so it’s only natural that Speath’s interest lies in “Blue Oval” products. And he knows the exact two points in which Ford products left their heavy imprint on him.

During the ’60s and ’70s, Speath’s mother, Janis Gabriel, worked as a secretary at Jack Demmer Ford in Wayne, Mich., and would occasionally drive home in a new Ford. One day she showed up in a Forest Green 1968 Ford Torino GT with a gold C-stripe, and it was love at first sight for her 7-year-old son, whose memory was permanently impressed upon by the vision of that muscle car. Speath wasn’t the only one who fell head over heels for that Torino GT.

“That [car] had every dad and boy fawning over” it, Speath recalls.

Now, decades later, the 1968 Ford Torino GT remains one of Speath’s favorite muscle cars. His favorite, though, remains a later generation of midsize Ford Motor Co. products, cars that he once watched race across his television screen.

In the early ’70s, Speath became a NASCAR enthusiast. At that time, the Woods Brothers’ 1971 Mercury Montego driven by David “The Silver Fox” Pearson—with its striking red-and-white paint scheme, Purolator graphics and eye-catching Number 21 on the driver’s door—was racing to win after win in front of crowds and on families’ TV screens across the country. Just as for many others, Woods’ wins in a Mercury quickly made the man and the cars Speath’s all-time NASCAR favorites.

“My love for the sport started back when the races were shown on ABC Wide World of Sports,” Speath said. “Those Wood Brothers Mercurys stood out to me, and at that time, my grandfather worked for Lincoln-Mercury as an engineer.”

The legendary Wood Brothers’ Mercury Montego and its NASCAR Hall of Fame driver made such an everlasting impression on the young man that during one of the races, Speath recalls asking himself, “How cool would it be to drive that car or own one like it?”

In 2010, Speath bought the first FoMoCo product that reminded him of the Woods Brothers’ Mercury Montego, a likewise-midsize 1973 Ford Gran Torino Sport. However, he’d tried to buy a 1972 Montego GT that same year, but the deal didn’t pan out. It wasn’t until nearly 50 years after watching David Pearson race new Mercurys on the NASCAR circuit that Speath would come to own a 1972 Mercury Montego GT, a similar street version to one of Pearson’s Mercurys that still holds numerous NASCAR records.

“Back in 2010, I had an opportunity to buy this car and the timing wasn’t right,” Speath said of his ’72 Montego GT. “I didn’t have the resources to pull it off. Regrettably, I had to pass on the opportunity to own it.”

“Miraculously, in 2020, Mike McPhillips, a longtime friend and car guy, called me one day with the news I had always dreamed about but really didn’t expect to hear,” Speath continued. “He told me the 1972 Mercury Montego GT had ended up with an owner in Britton, Michigan, and it was now for sale. Lightning usually never strikes twice. After hearing the news, I asked if he had the owner’s contact information and he hesitated for a minute, then gave the seller’s name and a phone number. I reached out to him, and we worked out a deal for me to buy it in the spring, just before Easter.”

After making the purchase, the Montego GT’s 351-cid Cobra Jet engine was removed and hardened valve seats were installed in its heads. With the engine out of the car, the engine bay was detailed and the headers received a professional powder-coating application. Otherwise, the car was in turnkey condition, with its 2002 repaint still looking fresh.

FoMoCo shuffles its midsize cars

In 1972, FoMoCo was amidst a transformation from a line of powerful muscle cars to a more refined luxury-car lineup. The philosophical changes were apparent when the second-generation Mercury Montego was introduced alongside the redesigned Ford Torino that year. In a major design shift, the intermediate Ford/Mercury model lines shifted from unibody to body-on-frame construction; similarly to the General Motors A-platform, the Montego adopted a split-wheelbase chassis (114 inches for two-doors, 118 inch for four-doors and station wagons). True four-door hardtops were replaced by “pillared hardtops” (frameless door glass remained, though the roof was supported by a thin B pillar), while two-door Montegos retained hardtop roofs, although with much wider C pillars and more fastback styling.

The Mercury Cyclone had reverted from a stand-alone model to an option package for 1972 with the introduction of the Montego. Ford produced 30 Mercury Montegos with the Cyclone option package during the 1972 model year, making it among the rarest Mercury vehicles. As a replacement for the Cyclone, Mercury introduced the Montego GT, a counterpart to the Ford Gran Torino SportsRoof; the Montego GT Fastback was offered from just 1972 to 1973.

Speath’s featured ’72 Montego GT two-door Fastback was delivered to its original owner at Pfeifer Lincoln-Mercury in Grand Rapids, Mich. It was produced at the Lorain Assembly Plant in Lorain, Ohio, in November 1971 and shipped to the dealership in early December.

The Montego GT’s factory options include the 266-net-hp 351-cid Cobra Jet engine; C-6 Cruise-O-Matic automatic transmission; Competition Suspension; and 3.50 Traction-Lok Differential. Exterior paint color is Maroon with black interior. The car is equipped with a knitted vinyl bench seat and folding armrest. Its additional options include: G70X14 belted whitewall tires; Visibility Group; power steering; power front disc brakes; and AM-FM radio. The Appearance Protection Group with tinted glass was also part of the original retail order, making this a well-optioned ’72 Montego GT.

According to information verified from the Elite Marti Report for Speath’s 1972 Mercury Montego GT, a mere 14 were painted Maroon, and only 2 received the Black Knitted Vinyl Bench Seat. It further indicates that, between the two otherwise matching maroon 1972 Montego GTs with the Black Knitted Vinyl Bench Seats, this is the only one equipped with an AM-FM stereo radio.

Full Circle in a Montego GT

In June 2023, I was invited by Doug Bender and Marty Burke to attend the Fairlane Club of America (FCA) meet in Kingsport, Tenn. Doug serves as the club president while Marty is the club’s head judge. The club’s annual event has a different location each year and Kingsport was the perfect location and setting for the event. Speath is a member of the FCA and was in attendance with his 1972 Mercury Montego GT displayed on the show field.

On the Friday of the FCA annual meet, nearly 100 members and their cars enjoyed track time at the Bristol Speedway in Bristol, Tenn. Under the supervision of track management, groups of 12 cars were led as a group onto the track by the official pace car and circled the track at a safe speed. FCA owners were allowed to get their cars up to a cruising speed on the straight-away while braking through steep embankments and turns. Drivers really had a chance to experience and appreciate how it would feel driving in a sanctioned Sunday NASCAR race there. I took position at Turn 1 during the track time event and spotted Jim Speath and his 1972 Mercury Montego GT making their way onto the track. A smiling driver throttled the gas and pumped the brakes while circling the track, living just what he’d watched David Pearson do many times before.

When it wasn’t on the track at that 2023 FCA national meet in Kingsport, Speath’s 1972 Mercury Montego GT was voted a first-place winner in the 1970-’79 Mercury Midsize Class. The class that Speath entered is what the FCA calls “the popular vote” class in which members who register for the FCA national meet get a ballot to vote for their top choice in each class.

Separately, the FCA has five concours-judged classes, along with five “original” judged classes. These 10 classes are points-judged by qualified judges using a 17-page “points judging” form with Head Judge Marty Burke overseeing the process.

That judging tradition will continue this year during the 2024 FCA National Show, to be held in the Motor City on the grounds of the Double Tree Hotel in Detroit from June 27-29. Look for additional information in future issues of Old Cars and at the FCA website at www.fairlaneclubofamerica.com. 

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