Hello all! Gee, they sure didn't have this when I was younger! I used to scour junkyards for parts! Now just look at the resources! My first car was a 1974 Maverick 2-door equipped with the 3.3 liter, 200cid inline six with a three speed manual on the floor and a bench seat. I didn't think it was factory until I started surfing your website and, sure enough, that was an option. That car didn't have many options; it didn't even have a radio! It did have the small center hubcaps with the outer brushed aluminum beauty rings. I paid $900.00 for the car in 1979. Fast forward 30 years and I have gone through a number of cars: T-birds, Mark VII's, Crown Vics, Grand Marquis, Superduty pickups, etc. This 1972 I just bought is a V-8 has 45,000 miles on it and it looks like I'm getting back into Mavericks. It is an LDO and is in good shape. My kids just got to asking me about the car and what it was like to drive one. (My son has a 2011 Ford Mustang, I had to explain that driving a Maverick isn't like flipping on a switch and heading off down the road; there is a little more to it than that.) I want to show him what dear ol' dad drove back in the day (when it quit and you had to walk to school uphill both ways!) Anyway, I will be posting in the forums because this 1972 has some of the same problems the others have had. We've owned a 1970 Maverick 2-door, 250 cid six, a 1974 Maverick 4-door 200 six, my 1974 Maverick, a 1977 Ford Maverick 4-door LDO 250 six, and a 1977 Mercury Comet 2-door 250 six. Look forward to exchanging ideas! Thanks, Craig.
Welcome back, they always come back. LOL Look forward to seeing some pictures, even better any old pictures with the mav back in the day
It was really cool when our yards had the old cars still in them. We used to find all kinds of goodies. Even a Boss 302 Cougar eliminator. Bought the motor for a song. Anyhow welcome to the site Craig. Lots of help on here to be had.
There are some local junkyards that still have some older cars from the 60's and 70's around here. You just need to know where to look. I have learned some already. I always wondered why the 69.5's had the ignition on the dash; I just thought someone modified that. You learn something new everyday. I used to catch considerable "flack" from the Mustang/Chevelle/Mopar guys. Funny, the thing always ran and I could afford it on my first job. We'll see if this one will run. (I guess I'll need my feeler gauges to set the breaker points in this '72.) Craig.
I think ford was trying to save money by using the dash ignition. The junkyards here still have a few old cars, but they just don't have mavericks anymore
I think I read somewhere that the 69.5's were actually based on Falcons, and that the 1970 model cars had the ignition on the steering column due to federal regulations for the 1970 model year. I had a 1968 Fairlane that had the ignition on the dash; I saw a Maverick in a junkyard years ago that had the ignition on the dash; I just didn't realize there was such a thing as a 69.5 until I joined this site. The 1970 we had had the ignition on the steering column. Now I know why. I saw a picture of one on this site and the steering column looks quite similiar to the one in my Fairlane. Craig.
from Northeast Pennsylvania The junkyards around here still have Mavericks - the problem is that they are the same ones that have been there since the late 80's - nothing left but rusted shells
from Oklahoma. I've been to one Junkyard and the guy that owned it was a very hateful man. I told him about building the Maverick and asked him about Mavericks/Comets/Granadas/Versailles parts and he (with a hateful attitude) said I wouldn't find any of these around because they've all been crushed. I also asked him if he had any 351 parts and once again with the hateful attitude told me he didn't have any. Maybe he was a chebby fan boy
