what should i expect to pay for a maverick?

if i wanted to get into the maverick/comet, which i find to be a very attractive car.. what would i expect to pay for one that lets say ran, had a straight body, and an OK enough interior. you know, something rough around the edges that could use a restoration, but actually runs enough to drive it while i work on restoring it?

if so, i can set aside periods of time when i have enough free time to tackle certain aspects of a restoration.. maybe i get a newer, better axle, rebuild that on the side and then over a weekend i swap the new axle into the vehicle... maybe i spend another weekend cleaning, refinishing, and reupholstering the interior... maybe the carb needs to be rebuilt.. you know, something i can use now and work as i go?

 

any photos of what i might expect to find at $1,000 and at $1,500, both for a 2 door?.. im trying to debate if i can get a decent enough maverick to buy now, or if i should spend my money on a decent motorcycle for daily commuting, and use the money i save to buy a nicer maverick i can take more time to work on.. i have $1,500 on me now

 

any where from $1000 to $5000 all depending on the factory options and the modifications and condition.

their are some problem rust areas to know about before you go looking for one.

these cars have a problem with rust in the cowl vent areal. what happens is the drains get plugged up with leaves and then the rain water collects in the cowl vent area. it will rust out around the fresh air intake. water will then come in when it rains or the car is washed and get the passenger side carpet wet. then the wet carpet will rust out the floor board.

the test for this is to dump a gallon of water or run a hose down the cowl vents and see if the water ends up in the passenger floor board area.

also its a good idea to pull up the carpet to see if their is any rust there.

the other area that rusts on these cars is the rear quarter panel at the bottom right behind the rear tire. go into the trunk and stick your hand down deep into that corner and see if its clean or comes out rust or covered in crud that holds moisture that starts the rust.

 

im curious about the engines.. they use an inline six?.. its been my impression that inline sixes typically have really poor fuel economy and mediocre at best power... is this true with the mavericks engine as well?.. if so, what would you use instead? id be interested in a more efficient driveline so long as i didnt have to sacrifice power... so upgrading to an EFI system i could be quite interested in (im more familiar with EFI than carburation) are the I6s good engines or typically replaced?. if so, with what?

 

i found my comet in Phoenix AZ for $900. it has none of the rust issues. it did not run. it had a problem with the carb. it was an I6 motor. all it would have needed is a carb rebuild and it would have been driveable. i didnt care all i wanted the rust free body. im putting my v8 and all the other parts out of my wrecked maverick into this body.

also a $1500 car most likely will not be a dependable daily driver. the pre 74 cars are drum brake cars. not very safe.

heres what the car looked like when i got it.

 

their are guys on this site that claim over 20mpg from their I6s

i was getting 17mpg from my built 302 v8 in my maverick. it had a t5 trans. the overdrive is what made that possible.

the power from the I6 is nothing to brag about but it should be just fine for commuting.

 

come on comet.. people regularly ride snowmobiles at greater than city traffic speeds, you simply have to dress for cold weather and its fine... and that fuel economy people have been claiming, is that city or highway?

 

if the majority of my driving gets me 50mpg, then i can have a real gas guzzler for fun and not have to worry about the fuel costs.. i could get something like a charger, torino, javelin... but if a maverick is able to get atleast decent fuel economy of 20mpg city or more... either with or without EFI then ill probably go that route instead of the motorcycle.. definitely if i could get 30-35mpg highway.. but i might need something like a focus engine to get that decent.. i seriously doubt an I6 will come close to that

 

In your state, you should look for rust in a lot more places. You know what salt will do to cars that run very much in the winter. I would look at estate sales, or cars that wasn't run in the winter. Good luck and happy hunting. Rust is a lot more expensive than nicks. and dents to fix.

Ray

PS: You are wishful thinking on the gas mileage. The best that I have got on the interstate was just over 22mpg with my 6 cly Fords.

 

yeah, thats true, which is why i mentioned wanting to find something solid without serious rust problems.. i might be better off getting a new motorcycle for now since i need a commuter i can use now, and take my time to find a good maverick to rebuild

 

i expect the 20+mpg is mostly freeway driving. try the search feature on this site to find mpg threads.

i dont think their is any way the I6 will get over 25mpg city.

converting one to efi is tricky. the intake manifold is part of the head so to do direct port you would have to machine the head. you would need to do a throttle body of some sort to put efi on it. a carb does a better job than a throttle body injection at atomizing the fuel which gives the best results. its just a matter of tuning.

if you want the 30+mpg then converting to a modern efi 4 cyl is the way to go. now your well beyond your $1500.00. the older 2.3 motors from mustangs and rangers barely got 20mpg. those are the only rwd 4 cylinder ford motors that i know of besides the few years ford stroked them to 2.5 liters. still not a very efficient motor.

you can adapt a front wheel drive motor but the costs will keep adding up. the results will be you have spent thousands of dollars just to get 35mpg. so the money you save on gas mileage will take decades to recover from the cost of the conversion.
now it should be cheaper than buying a new car so factoring that in, the cool factor of doing it is worth a alot.

 

There is another way to go. Check your state surplus sales department and buy a v-6 engine with a 5 spd manual tranny behind it. I have bought several Rangers with low mileage for around $1000.00, and they were all good trucks. With the Maverick rear end gear you can get over 30mpg.

 

I drove my Maverick to work last fall a bunch of times. Almost ALL Highway. I don't push the car, and never went beyond 60mph. I got a little over 350 miles to my 17 Gallon tank. That works out to be 20MPG. It has a 200 CID, C4 and 2.79's out back.

 

Just stay away from the 3.0l Vulcan engine. My experience with those is 17-20 mpg at best in the Ranger, city or hwy didn't matter(mine had 4.10's factory). My 4.0l SOHC Explorer Sport Trac with 3.73's got 21mpg on the hwy and a lot more torque.

 

I have changed some things on my 1993 Ranger 4.0L OHV motor, and went to a 3.00 rear gear, and I get a little over 30mpg on I-75 between MP 156 and lake Park GA at MP 1, and back. The way people run down through there you have to run 75/80 mph to stay out of the way. Of course I very seldom carry ant weight. BTW: I have a 5spd O/D tranny. Corvette side pipes also help reduce backpressure on the engine.