How did you find yours?

Finding a '74

I was looking for a 1974 Maverick Grabber to replace the one I bought new in '74 and sold in '88! It had to be a '74! I looked everywhere and told everyone what I wanted. It was difficult! I prayed for help. As it turned out, my Nephue sau the car I have now on his way to the Mall just 7 milrs from my house! He called me, the rest was history. I have the same car except its white/black instead of red and its a bench instead of buckets. Mostly orginal to. This was a blessing! Check, Auto Trader, Hemmings, ebay(collector cars), Local Paper:classic col. Car shows, Swap meets, join Ford clubs. I also own a '69 Mach 1, Talk to people, tell them them what you are looking for. Good Luck! I'll pray that you find what you want! Joe

 

If there is an "F" in the VIN, it is a 302 (unless the 2nd # is an F, which indicates it was built in Dearborn). Otherwise you could verify for sure by opening the hood and taking a look. Stock hoods on these old cars don't have any sort of lock. Be careful though, the owner may think your trying to steal something. You could also look under the car's engine compartment and probably tell. Also, if there are 4 lugs, it is a 6 cyl...but 5 lugs doesn't necessarily mean it is a V8, depends on the year.

My first '72 Maverick was a V8, 3spd Grabber and just fell into my lap for $400 in excellent condition (this was 1987 though). My second similar ;71 Grabber was off of e-bay and took an intense search for a month or so (cost $2000 in 2004). I had to travel 1,000 miles to pick it up and trailer it home. My third Maverick fell into my lap on the same day I won the e-bay Grabber and was only 25 miles away. I was able to buy and drive home the beautiful 1972, V8 auto for only $500. I've been checking the ads all over since then and realize there are still some good deals out there on Mavericks, it just takes patience...which I don't have much of . Good luck in your search.

-Erick

 

The bell housing cracked and the clutch took a dump on my mothers old miny van so she was looking for another miny van or a 4 door car. One of my mothers friends said that he saw an old 4 door maverick settin in a field with a for sale sign in the windshield. The next day she took it for a test drive and bought it. Five years later when the head gasket blew she siad I could have it .

 

Found mine on this very site. Found my 4 door in the local autotrader.

 

I found my 73 on this site's classifieds a long while ago when we still used the e-page listings. I also found my 70 Grabber, and the couple other various Mavs I've had over the internet. My brother's old Mav which is the 73 Don has, was purchased from a co worker of my dads. That car was sold in my hometown, stayed in my hometown, and the furthest away if went before we bought it was a couple towns over.

 

Found mine on a roll-back, headed to the crusher. Went with a friend to pay for another car he bought. I asked to look at it. NO rust, just beat up. Asked what the crusher was going to give him for it...$50. I told him if he would take it to the house, I would give him $100. He said ok, the rest if history. This is almost 5yrs later.

 

That's an awesome story, Earl! I'd have never guessed your car was on its way to the crusher when you got it!

I stole my car from my wife while she was my girlfriend, about 14 years ago. She got a good deal on a car with A/C and fewer miles, and I needed something to drive, and... I always liked it alot more than she did, in fact, I still do.

 

Me and my dad were sitting at the table at my grandparents house talking about Mavericks for some reason and my uncle walks in and overhears us. He told us about how he used to have a Grabber and that the guy he sold it to still drove it. Then he said that if we were interested that the guy might be willing to sell it. We figured hey why not and we left right then to go look at it. Turns out the guy was ill and couldnt do the required maintenance on the car, so he was selling it cheap. $300 later and the car was mine. I was 15 at the time. This is the longest I have ever owned one car. The fact that the car survived my uncle speaks volumes for it. The guy could literally bust an anvil, and EVERY hot rod he ever owned he either blew the engine or the transmission...except the Mav. Of course when we dropped the oil pan, there was literally a double handful of chunks of miscellaneous engine parts in it (still ran fine, never did blow up)

AC

 

I found mine in the local auto shopper. I was hoping that it would be in bad shape becuase I really did not have the money but when I saw it, it was love at first sight.

 

Auto Trader Online

 

Bought the '74 last November. Won it on e-Bay from a local seller. He was the third owner, but knew the first owner that sold it to his grandmother who sold it to the guy I bought it from. The car had been in the same small town since it was new.

Bought the '72 from Dan Hines, the '71 from Earl Branham, the '73 from Brian Branham - all three whom I met on this board. I bought the '76 from a used car dealer in Knoxville who had sold it on e-Bay, but the winning bidder backed out. I bought it for $200 less than the winning bid.

As some have stated, all I need now is a '70, a '75, and a '77. But, since I love my wife and kids and have a small yard (the main reason), I will not be pursuing thoise other years anytime soon...unless a deal pop ups whilst I'm holding folding money.

 

I got my 77' Mav from a guy I worked with. He had it for 6 months, but he really wanted a Mustang. I had a tired old Mustang I wanted to get rid of, so we traded cars. Best swap I ever made. We found the 76' Stallion by pure chance. It had been sitting in a restaurant parking lot for months with a dead plate on it. It had been painted all one color and was pretty rusted out, so there was no way to tell it was a Stallion at first glance. One day I drove by and it was gone. I figured it had been taken to the local junkyard. The very next day we went for a drive in the town where my husband grew up and low and behold, we spotted the Maverick parked in a driveway by an old ratty mobile home. We stopped to look at it and the owner came out and told us he had bought the car only a few days ago. However, he failed to disscuss it with his wife first and she was fit to be tied. He had to make peace with her somehow, so he sold it to us for what he paid for it: $400.

 

A lot of times they are sitting in garages, barns and backyards. Must act like a detective and sniff them out. Easiest way is to run a "Wanted" ad in the paper, but be preparred for some wheeling and dealing from the sellers. Like digging for gold, more empty pots than not, but when you strike it big, the rewards of the hard work are well worth it.

 

Bought my 70 from my uncle in 1978, I am the 3rd owner.

 

I'd recently introduced my '90 Mustang into a tree and was looking for a rolling chassis of some sort to put the drivetrain into.

Went on a trip to a local go-fast garage with my buddy to check on his ride when I saw the Maverick in the back. Since I was looking for a track-only car for the (347) engine, that particular Maverick fit the bill - especially since a Maverick was the first car I ever drove down the race track (in sebmty-two).

It already had a 9" rear, 6 pt roll bar and a C4 in it. I worked out a (relative) fair price for it and towed it home. Immediatly went to work on making the shock tower mods to fit 1-3/4" primary headers.

Layoffs and subsequent lack-of funds put the project on hold. I just come here to visit my online 'friends' now.

Now that I've got a four-letter word (work). I should be getting back to turning some wrenches after a few more pay-days.