1972 Maverick Grabber Resto/Mod for my Dad

I wanted to document the most special build I have ever done. This one is special because it is for my dad. After receiving positive feedback about posting this build I will do my best to attempt to document the story.

This is going to take me a few days to get caught up to where we current are on the build. So bear with me.

Here it starts;

I recieved a phone call from my brother asking if I wanted to go in halves with him on purchasing a 1972 Maverick Grabber for our dad. My dad owned a 1971 when he was younger and he was quit attached to it. My brother found this Grabber and thought it would be nice to restore it for him. I actually thought it was a great idea because my dad is not really into cars, but for some reason he loved that Maverick.

After many of the questions that I asked where answered my brother and I went into a holding pattern trying to actually purchase the car.

Well after 9 months of trying to get this 1972 Grabber we purchased it. The guy we bought it from acquired it in an estate sale. He owns a used car lot so to speak and had it on the side of his business. There were some problems with him getting the title so the whole deal sat still for the nine months. Finally after some escalated discussion with the people he got the car from the lady signed the paperwork releasing the car to him. So after 3 attempts at getting a bonded title he succeeded. Now the work begins.




























When my dad came back from Vietnam my mom and my dad purchased a 1971 Maverick. My dad loved that car and speaks of it frequently. My brother came accross this Grabber 10 months ago and said something to my dad about it. So my dad went down and looked at it and fell in love with the car. Everytime he goes to that part of town he drives by to see if it is still there. My brother called me and asked if I would be interested in restoring the car for my dad. Of course I agreed. So thats when the battle for the car started. I am hoping by Christmas 2012 we can give him a restored 1972 Grabber for his Christmas present.

I had a friend who did bodywork for a living come over and look the car over and said that the car was in great shape and had very little rust. He gave me a list of the major parts we will need and we have started to look for them. (Lower front valance, left front fender and a rust free grabber hood) We already have acquired the left front fender. We had it completely torn down in a couple of weeks and have it sent to media blasting to find out what is left.

We decided we are going to make it fuel injected. We thought it would be nice to have the car look basically stock on the outside and interior but have a modern day drivetrain under it. The color will probably be velocity Yellow since his original Maverick came in the lighter yellow.

 

awesome project and cool story! ill be watchin this thread

 

Well it was time to bring it home for the tear down. It took a full day to get it torn down and all the parts cataloged.

The first thing we did was to wash it and try to get off as must dirt and debris as possible before pushing it into the garage.



























In the garage finally:

 

I'm hooked... I'll be watching for your updates...

 

Nice..starting point!

 

The tear down starts:

 

After posting up our intentions to change the color and install a modern drivetrain many of you had your own opinion on the rarety of this car. So after a few suggestions on getting a Marti Report I thought it would be a great thing to do to answer the questions about the color and trim.

Come to find out it was a rare car for having that particular paint and trim code combination. It turns out that the car is 1 of 7 Grabbers built in 1972 with that Paint/Trim Code. I am still planning on painting the car Velocity Yellow.

Marti Report Numbers:

Your car was one of:

1,748 With this Paint Code
7 With these Paint/Trim Codes
15,861 With these Engine/Transmission Codes
577 Order from DSO
5,232 With Interior Trim Option

For the 1972 Maverick 2-Door Grabber

After a complete tear down with every nut and bolt removed. We bolted the body to a rotisserie and loaded back on the trailer to go get media blasted.

 

sounds like a really cool build id like to c the look on ur dads face when he sees the car for his first time

 

Wow, what a nice find is such great shape. Great job!

 

Look like a nice solid start for a project.....

 

Another rotessorie car.....love it!!!

 

How do you manage to keep your Dad out of your garage when he comes to visit? Looking good. Excited to watch this build....

 

I know I have not got to the point in the write up to where it shows that the car is currently at a shop now and not in my garage. That has helped a ton.

At one point I had a double sided dead bolt with keys on both sides for the garage and a locking door knob for the basement where the Maverick parts store presides.

 

Wish you were my son It will be fun seeing your progress pics especially with some of the mods you are going to do with it such as grill and bucket seats and upgrade engine and running gear. Thanks for sharing