Nutting and Brian have both done their “Top 11” list of cool cars from the year they were born, and since they are both youngsters, born in 1984 and 1980 respectively, they didn’t have much to work with. Brian worked the lack of criteria, aka cheated, and just chose cars and trucks that were racing when he was born. The good news for all of you is that I was born in 1972 which was the last year of cool stuff so my list of Big Three factory stuff will be much cooler than anything they had to choose from. Don’t get me wrong, there are few cars from 1984 and 1980 that we now like, but none of them were spectacular when first offered.

The crappy thing is that at birth I was surrounded by cool muscle cars and street machines that were built before I was born. The cool thing is there was still plenty that came out of the big three in 1972 so my list has good stuff on it. The other cool thing is that there was so much good iron being built in 1972 that I could literally make 4 or 5 “Top 11” lists, which is exactly what I’m going to do. This first list is going to be the good stuff from the Big Three that I like. Sure there are going to be some things you guys yell at me about not including, but that’s okay too because I’ll be running another one later this week that is “The Stuff You Thought Should Be On Chad’s List But Wasn’t”. That means you should totally flame me in the comments section of this blog item with the things you think I should have included, so that they can be included on my next list! Keep in mind, the list below doesn’t include any “tuner” cars like those from Yenko or Baldwin Motion.

I’ll also be doing a “Top 11” trucks, little cars, sports cars, and more. Stay tuned, this should be good.

SCROLL DOWN TO CHECK OUT MY PICKS FOR THE COOLEST CARS THE BIG THREE PRODUCED IN 1972. IF IT MAKES YOU FEEL BETTER, THEY ARE IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER. OR ARE THEY?.

11. The Ford Pinto

Sure Ralph Nader and all the hooha about exploding when rearended ultimately screwed the pooch with regards to Ford’s tagline “The Little Carefree Car”, and stunted  sales of the good looking early Pintos, but Ford’s econo car is still almost as cool as a Vega. And this is coming from an admitted Chevy guy! At 3 inches shorter than Chevy’s Vega, the Pinto was one little car. Also available in Coupe, Hatchback, and Wagons, the little Pinto was available with either 1.6 or 2.0 Liter engines. In 1974 the good 2.3 L Pinto engine we’re all fond of was introduced, and has proven itself to be a kick ass little engine when prepped right. Our favorite is the Huber’s 2.3 L SVO Mustang that runs in the 8’s in the quarter. We’d have one of their engines in a Pinto with a nice drag radial out back in a heartbeat. Like the Vega, the Pinto has been built into every kind of racer imaginable, from drag racing to circle track to road racing. We’d love to build one. Wouldn’t you?

 

10. The Chevrolet Vega

Yep, the Vega baby. I know they were considered to be little crap box econo cars back then, but these little suckers have become one of the go to body styles for building little drag cars and more. Hell, they look like Mini Camaros, as Brian said. Tons of them were built into road race machines as well, but our favorites will always be the ones with a bunch of tire under them. And you can’t forget Grumpy’s Toy! Available in Coupe, Sedan, Wagon, and Panel configurations, these little suckers were equipped with a 2.3L inline 4 that made a whopping 90 horsepower. Small block conversions came quickly, and the rest is history. A big tired Vega in on my list of cars to someday own. It should be on yours as well.

 

 

9. The Chevrolet Chevelle

1972 marked both the last good body style for the Chevelle, and the first year of horrible horsepower numbers. In their defense, Chevrolet and all the automakers were under new guidelines that required all horsepower and torque numbers to be based on SAE Net rather than SAE Gross figures. Still, increased emissions requirements hampered compression and therefore horsepower. Still, the Chevelle was available with a 454 big block, and a 4 speed, which makes it cool. It’s not my favorite Chevelle body style, but at least it’s still identifiable as the Chevelle muscle car we all know and love. These cars make great drag cars and pro touring machines, despite being a little portly. We’d drive one in a second.
 

8. The Chevrolet Monte Carlo

 

Monte Carlos, despite what Nutting thinks, were at their coolest in 1970-1972. The first generation Montes had great looks, proven GM A-Body chassis components, and a good selection of both small and big block engines. For 1972 you had your choice of two different 350s and two different big blocks, as both the 402 and 454 were available. Unfortunately no 4 speed was available in 1972. I grew up in a 1972 Monte Carlo, which my mom got after trading in her 1966 Mustang and leaving the darkside, so these hold special place in my heart. It was a special order from Bob Coyle Chevrolet and was Midnight Bronze, black bench seat interior. It was ordered with a 12 bolt posi, am-fm stereo, A/C, tilt wheel, power seat, power windows, and the 175 horse 350 with a Q-Jet. They are great looking cars, have better weight distribution than a Chevelle, and all the cool parts bolt right on. Plus they looked ultra cool in 1972 NASCAR trim. One of you guys should build a killer Monte. It would be fun.
 

7. The Ford Gran Torino

The Gran Torino carried the NASCAR torch for Ford in 1972, and although it still had a 429 available it wasn’t much to sneeze at, plus it could only be had with an automatic. What fun is that? If we were specing one out in 1972, we’d go for the 351 CJ engine combo backed by the Top Loader 4 speed and a 9 inch. With 4 bolt mains, a big cam, 750 Carb, and dual exhaust, it was the bad boy of the Torino lineup. We dig them and their popularity has grown in recent years thanks to some cool builds, movie parts, and more. We’d add one to our garage even if it is a Ford.
 

6. The Ford Maverick

Come on, it’s the Ford Vega! How can you not like this bad boy if you like the Vega? I have to admit, I haven’t liked these cars until the last few years, but now I dig them. They make great drag cars of course, and a few have been built into cool Pro Touring machines like the one pictured that Chris XXXX built. Our favorite Maverick of all time though happens to be a 1970 4 door that was run by the team of Gapp and Roush, in NHRA Pro Stock, called the Tijuana Taxi. They came with little engines, but like the Vega they are a natural for all your V8 dreams. Maverick’s will always be special to me as well because we cobbled one together at Spectre Performance and sprayed the living piss out of the 6 cylinder in it. It made a whopping 80 hp on the chassis dyno after installing EFI and other goodies, but that didn’t keep us from spraying as much as a 175 shot of NOS nitrous through the thing for giggles. Everyone should be lucky to have that much fun.

 

 

5. The Buick GSX

Only 44 Buick GSX’s were built in 1972, which makes them rare as hell, but the 455 that came in them was a bad ass. In 1970 the Buick 455 had the highest torque rating of any muscle car engine ever. If you take the SAE Net factor out of the equation, the 1972 455 still made over 450 lb ft of tire shredding torque. As another one of GM’s famed A bodies, the Skylark that the GSX was based on had some of the most distinct styling. I had a ’72 Skylark Convertible for a couple years, and loved that car. With only 195 hp and 290 lb ft of torque it was no drag racer, but the shift kit made it bark the N50s like mad. These cars will always be cool.
 

 

4. The Pontiac Trans Am and Formula

Whether you like the look of the Firebird Formula, or Trans Am, we’d take either one with the venerable 300 horsepower 455 and a 4 speed. Both the Formula and Trans Am were available with this combination, although the Formula 455HO was a much rarer car to start with although in truth there weren’t very many of either built in 1972 due to a GM Autoworkers strike at the F Body plant that built the Firebirds, Trans Ams, and Camaros. And speaking of Camaros, you are probably wondering why one isn’t on the list yet. Well, I didn’t include one. At all. Which is weird since I’m a Camaro guy. I’d build one without question, but given that this was the last year of coolness due to emissions, safety standards, etc, I’m going for the Pontiac since it has more sizzle. Chicks dig sizzle. That’s why the dudes with Trans Ams always got the girl. Just ask Uncle Burt.

 

 

3. The Plymouth Barracuda

Woot woot! All you Mopar fans can finally breath. I put one on the list, and it’s in the number 3 spot! Except this isn’t in any specific order remember. Or is it? Hmmmm. Anyway, those of you that know Mopars are going to think I’m weird for putting this one on the list since 1972 was the year that horsepower stopped at Mopar. For the first time since this body style’s inception, you couldn’t get any of the good Mopar engines. No 383, no 440, no 426 Hemi. The emissions police stopped all that. But it still looks awesome! And, the 250 horsepower 340 that was available in the 1972 Barracuda is actually a pretty bad ass little engine. In NHRA Stock Eliminator this has been one of the most underrated engines in recent years. With a little camshaft help, tuning, and some gear these suckers will flat fly. No, it’s not the Hemi ‘Cuda we would really love to have, but it does look just like one and Mopar already did the hard work to figure out how to stuff the Hemi in it!

 

 

2. The Chevrolet Nova

The big square Novas may not be as highly sought after as the earlier models, but I like them. I have a 1972 Nova in my garage as a matter of fact, and I dig it. In 1972 you could get a Nova with a low horsepower 250 cubic inch 6 cylinder or a low horsepower 350 cubic inch 2 or 4 barrel V8. No good engines were available honestly. But I like them. There are tons of great things you can do to them to make them fast, they’ll hold just about any engine ever made, and they have the same suspension as Camaros but they are lighter. In fact the 1972 Nova tipped the scales at under 3200 lbs. Not bad for a car that looks this fat. If I have one complaint about the 1972 Model, besides the anemic engine choices, it was the fact that for some reason GM decided a sunroof should be an option. Idiots. Still, I love this car.
1. The Chevrolet Corvette

1972 was the last year for a Corvette to have chrome bumpers at both ends. The C3 had been around since 1968 with a few minor changes, but in 1973 the Corvette would get a plastic front bumper. That’s just not cool. 1972 was also the last year for the removable back window and pop up windshield wiper covers. Unfortunately 1972 was the start of one bad trend in Corvettes however. It was the first year that Automatic Transmissions outsold Manuals in Corvettes. I still refer to any Automatic equipped Corvette, new or old, as a Powerglide car. The LS5 454 was still available in 1972 and rated at 270 net horsepower. Our combo of choice however would have been the 255 horsepower LT1 with the ZR1 suspension package. This combo was the only way to get an M22 4 speed in the Corvette and would mark the last year for an M22 offering. After mom’s Monte Carlo, she had a 1969 Corvette Convertible. It was an L79 350 horse 350 car with an M21. It ruled. I’ll have another one someday.

 

So now that you’ve read my list, and noticed some of the stuff I left off of it, feel free to tell me how wrong I am in the comments section below. Like I said above, I’ll be making “The Stuff You Thought Should Be On Chad’s List But Wasn’t”, to run soon. Tell me something cool and you just might make the list.