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The Mustang was built on the larger Fairmont/Torino platform. Ford was planning for the big block V8's just before the fuel crisis and emission requirements hit. These cars grew by another 3 inches and were big "luxury" Mustangs and didn't handle as well as in previous years. The '71's offered the same engines as before, but as smog and fuel efficiency restrictions came into play the power started dropping. The V8's lost HP in '71 and again in '72. New bumper requirements in '73 added weight--up to about 3800 lbs. In '72 Ford began using Net HP ratings instead of Gross. The Boss 351 was one of Ford's best small-block production engines, arguably the best until the 4.6L DOHC. 1,700 produced. Related Events 1973 OPEC cuts oil supplies to countries friendly to Israel in the 1973 Arab-Israeli War. Before the Oil Crisis the average price of gasoline was $.40 or about $1.20 in today's dollars. Prices jumped after the OPEC embargo and rose steadily until 1981. 9.7 million American-built cars sold. Still the record.