Ford Maverick.... what's the concensus on that?

[andylawcc]

all this time I never notice its existance, until last night I walked past one and felt it presence. It has the classic Mustang look, but in a smaller package. i think it even looks as good as the original Mustang fastback.
but according to wikipedia, collectors don't seem to care much about it.

 

[StageLeft]

'collectors don't seem to care much about it.'

Maybe why I've not heard of it

 

[MiataNC]

The Maverick of the 70s was like the Escort of the 80/90s.

A decent car, but not special enough to warrant collector status.

 

[GuitarDaddy]

The Maverick holds the number 2 spot just behind the Pinto in Fords hall of shame. A truly craptastic car. Even die hard Ford fans cringe when they hear the name

 

[Metron]

The Maverick holds the number 2 spot just behind the Pinto in Fords hall of shame. A truly craptastic car. Even die hard Ford fans cringe when they hear the name

A Maverick looked like a 4 door version of the Pinto... horrible car, actually.
There was a Mercury version of the car, the Comet.

I was actually offered one (for free) from a relative as my first car. I turned it down.

Seriously.

 

[Ronstang]

You guys are high. The Mavericks/Comets were very decent cars for the time. In Grabber trim they look pretty bad ass also. They are cheap because they are not a Mustang. I am actually thinking about getting one to toy with. Easy and cheap to work on.

 

[darkswordsman17]

The ones in Google Image look like mini-Chevelles.

Looking at more, they're fairly hit and miss. Some have a good muscle car look and then others just look like atypical sporty coupes of that time (which is to say not especially great).

 

[Throckmorton]

It looks just like the Capri my friend's dad had in Trinidad. Was it badged as a Mercury Capri for other markets?

I don't see what's so hateful of a small RWD car. Classic car enthusiasts are so damn fickle... I don't think most of them really know shit about cars except what they see on some stupid Spike Network show.

 

[WackyDan]

Yup... Great cars. Engine bay big enough for a decent sized V8, and light enough to make it a great sleeper....

 

[marvdmartian]

Buddy of mine had one, back when we were going through training in the Navy. Think it was a 74 model, yellow exterior (nasty color, imho, but when you're 18, wheels are wheels, right?).

Think he told me he paid $500 for the car. He then ripped the stock radio out of the dash, and put a $700 stereo in it. Made for some great nights cruising the streets of Orlando, drinking screwdrivers out of cartons of OJ, with the tunes blasting! :awe:

 

[AstroManLuca]

I don't see what's so hateful of a small RWD car. Classic car enthusiasts are so damn fickle... I don't think most of them really know shit about cars except what they see on some stupid Spike Network show.

It does seem like certain cars will get bad reputations for no good reason. Or maybe there is a good reason, but it doesn't necessarily mean it's a bad car.

I saw a short video where Jay Leno described restoring a Corvair Rampside. Didn't look like a typical "classic" car but it was still beautifully done and I could tell Jay liked this car every bit as much as any of the more popular cars of the era.

I'm sure there are 100 Camaros and Mustangs for every restored Corvair out there. So I don't see anything wrong with the Maverick. If you want to work on one and make it beautiful, I'm sure it'll be worth it. And you won't have to pay as much for one!

 

[SooperDave]

It was always the Maverick vs Vega at the dragstrip. Shoehorn in the biggest V8, stiffen the frame, traction bars and the fattest tires you could fit in the back.

 

[SooperDave]

The Maverick holds the number 2 spot just behind the Pinto in Fords hall of shame. A truly craptastic car. Even die hard Ford fans cringe when they hear the name

The Mustang II holds that spot IMHO

 

[thedarkwolf]

They are a lot like Dodge darts/plymouth valiants only even less cool. Meaning they weren't seen as cool and still aren't by most people but that makes them affordable compared to most of the "cool" cars so I see them getting fixed up more often now. Can't afford a 70 429 boss mustang but you can afford a 70 grabber maverick.

and they can be good looking cars if done up right.

 

[Pacfanweb]

They're small and lighter than Mustangs. You can make one haul ass if you like those old, ugly Fords.

 

[franksta]

I know of at least 1 getting built with a turboed 460.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBn4BXQB87c

 

[Vetterin]

Now the old Falcon was a car that I liked.

 

[alkemyst]

all this time I never notice its existance, until last night I walked past one and felt it presence. It has the classic Mustang look, but in a smaller package. i think it even looks as good as the original Mustang fastback.
but according to wikipedia, collectors don't seem to care much about it.

The 69/70 Grabbers were nice, I have been in a few modified with modern suspensions/rack and pinion.

They are a lot like the Mustang II's you either love or hate them.

 

[Tom]

Dyno Don Nicholson used to run a Maverick in pro stock. The glory days of pro stock grumpy jenkins, sox and martin, etc.

http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2387643230038079276zkLgCU

 

[KIAman]

Was my first car ever. Such a wonderful car until I rolled it.

Edit: Mine had the 302 in there and was faster than the mustangs that were rolling around.

 

[evident]

my dad used to have a ford maverick, it was the first car in my family that i remember ever being in. It lasted until 1993 when by brother ran it into a tree =\

i dont know how it is for modding purposes, but i always thought the styling was very nice. it was pretty much the only american car that our family had that wasn't a complete POS.

 

[marvdmartian]

The Mustang II holds that spot IMHO

With the Mustang II "Cobra" holding a special place in hell, just for using the Cobra name!

 

[BUTCH1]

Base models were not the most exciting transpo, most had a straight 200cid 6 IIRC but they had no major issues either, cheap to buy, cheap to insure, cheap on gas, ect..

 

[69Mach1]

Our family had 2 of them, they were pretty much trouble free until they had about 150.000 miles and then they completely fell apart. Either of them, on their worst day, were better than the escort that they were traded in for.

 

[BUTCH1]

Our family had 2 of them, they were pretty much trouble free until they had about 150.000 miles and then they completely fell apart. Either of them, on their worst day, were better than the escort that they were traded in for.

Yea early model 'scorts were sorry although I had a '94 that ran just fine for 180K miles..