A guy with a low-observable green Ford Maverick pulled up at the next pump when I was filling up tonight.
It did not have either of the standard motors in it (both inline sixes) -- it was definitely a V8 from the exhaust note. I wouldn't doubt he had a 302 Windsor in it.
What a great sleeper -- it looked bone stock, except for the tires.
Chip H.
Former owner: 2012 Honda Civic LX, 2006 Honda Ridgeline RTL, 2000 Honda CR-V EX, 2003 MINI Cooper S, 1992 Honda Accord LX, 1999 Mercedes ML-320, 1995 VW Jetta GLX, 1991 Mercury Capri XR2, 1981 Mercury Zephyr, 1975 Chevrolet Impala
Since the Maverick is built on the same 1960 Falcon platform as any Falcon, Mustang, Fairlane, Torino, Comet, Meteor, Cougar or Montego, any of the performance parts for one should fit another. I think a first-year Maverick in Original Cinnamon or Anti Establish Mint, with the Boss 302 drive train, and the disk brake rear axle from a Lincoln Versailles, would make a kick ass sleeper.
Ford offered a Grabber package with the Maverick that included a 302 V-8, twin-scoop hood (dummies) and special stripes, etc. The engine was not hi-po (it was a 2 BBL) but the package was neat and had a lot of potential. A friend of mine had one. With a four barrel and headers and a set of Magnum 15x7 rims, it looked sharp, sounded great (Ford small V-8s have a great note to them) and was pretty quick. Best part was the entire thing involved less than $5,000, all told.Originally Posted by chiph
It does!
There is one small snag with V-8 performance upgrades, though. The Maverick is configured in such a way that it is a real bear to fit true dual exhaust; takes a skilled shop to do it without it looking "sexual chocolate" (or having serious kinks in it).
I remember when I was in my first year of college I drove out to Banff National Park with a buddy to meet up with some ladies. On our drive back we noticed a red '72 Maverick sitting on the shoulder of the highway with the driver's door left open. We thought nothing of it and continued another 5 miles. It was then we caught up with the rather angry owner of said Maverick; desperately trying to hitch a ride.
He told us if we gave him a ride to Calgary we could have the Ford for our trouble. We jumped at the chance. He griped on and on about how much of a piece of junk it was and how it just died on him and wouldn't start. We questioned him about spark, ignition, distributors, starters alternators and carbs... but it was clear he wasn't mechanically inclined. We dropped him off and he signed over the title to the car. We turned around and returned to the car.
There was nothing special about it. It was a 6 banger with an automatic transmission and an AM radio and a red scotch plaid interior. No options. The body was straight and had never been hit. There was no glass damage. The odometer read about 44,000 miles but who knows how many times it had turned over? But who cared. It was free. After a few minutes of fiddling it became obvious that it had run out of gas. The fuel gauge was broken and read 1/3 full all the time. We put some gas in it and it fired up right away. My friend drove it back and I followed him all the way to his house. We get it in the garage and look it over.
The brakes, tires, shocks and battery were all brand new. The spare and the jack had never been used. We checked the oil and it was as clean as a whistle. The sparkplugs were recently changed. We looked on the title for the address of the guy, looked him up in the phone book and called him up. Before we even had a chance to tell him what was wrong he cuts us off by yelling "Now that hunk of junk Ford is YOUR problem! Thanks for the ride, but DON'T EVER CALL ME AGAIN!!!" and hung up.
We were "stuck" with it. Fine.
We kept it for about 4 weeks in the backyard of my friend's house while trying to decide what to do with it. One day we head over to his house after classes and my friend's father is standing on the driveway waving us down.
"There's a guy who saw that Ford of yours sitting in the back yard. He wants to buy it from you boys. You paid nothing for it. GET IT OUT OF THE YARD! He's waiting back there now."
We talk to the interested buyer and he says his dad used to have one new. He asks to take it for a drive and we toss him the keys. When he pulls out of the backyard we didn't even think about going with him. "What if he never comes back?" I asked. "Oh well, so we lost a car we got for free." my friend responded. We wait an hour and presume the car is long gone and we go inside to study. About 3 hours later the Maverick pulls up in the backyard. Seems he took it for a long test drive and had a safety inspection performed on the car. He even had the gas gauge fixed in the process.
What did we get for it? We just asked him what he thought was fair for the car and we would leave it at that.
"How about $1500?"
It took everything in us not to blurt out in boisterous disbelief. He gave us each $750 and promptly drove away.
This story is still talked about to this day by everyone we know.
That is truly "one for the ages"!
I was never quite that lucky myself. Wish I had been, though....
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