When I first caught wind of my brother-in-law's Maverick being up for sale, dreams of a clean and subtle muscle car project danced through my head. I had no idea what condition it was in, or even what year it was, but for the princely sum of $700, I didn't have high hopes. When I finally got a closer look, however, what I found blew me away. The passenger side quarterpanel had a very small amount of rust and there was a dent in the back passenger side door. That was it! The interior was absolutely pristine. Needless to say, this had to be my car. It ran a little rough, but I knew I could get her purring again. The Maverick on the day I bought it. This marked the first time it saw the light of day in 2 years I handed over $700, got the title, and went straight to the department of licensing to transfer it into my name (which incidentally happened to be across the street). From there, it was over to the gas station for air in the tires and fuel in the tank, then over to the country store I work at to show off my new ride! In an anticlimactic turn of events, nobody was impressed with a near immaculate, buttercream yellow Maverick. It was at this point that I came to a conclusion: My coworkers must have terrible automotive taste! I swung by the local parts store and picked up a set of points and a vacuum line to replace the missing vacuum advance line. I also picked up a new windshield wiper, as one was completely missing. I got home and started to pick things apart to try and learn the story behind this well preserved little car. Little did I know how much of a story I would find. And with that guys, I need to go to bed. Work comes bright and early in the morning. More on this story tomorrow!
looks like a...Dale-mobile... https://plus.google.com/photos/1068...5769992398023846626&oid=106846236668898252987
It doesn't look like you will have much work to do to restore your car. What are your future plans for the car?
from the east side of WA! Nice find on a clean original '73, and your co-workers definitely have no taste. I just finished cutting up a V8 version of your car...
Thanks for the good words guys! She's a sweet car! Back to the story, though! I was asked if I wanted all the records that went with the car. Being a car guy, I realize the importance of having ALL the paperwork available, so I told them to throw it in. Their idea of "the records" included the original window sticker from the dealership, the financing paperwork, and all the original paperwork that came with it at the time of purchase. I also got a bill of sale from when it was sold from the original owner. Here's the picture that I was able to come out of it with. On April 9, 1973, Warren Carlton sold Mildred Austin this beautiful yellow Ford Maverick. After all the options, licensing, and taxes, Ms. Austin had herself a $3,233 car, in which she put a $1,000 down payment on. It was purchased at Arlington Ford (and still wears the original license plate frame), and then taken to Marysville. Ms. Austin owned the car until her death in 2001, where it was sold for $1,000 in her estate sale. My brother-in-law's wife's relatives bought it and kept it until she was of the age to drive. The title was transferred into her name and she learned how (and how not) to drive in it. She started dating my brother-in-law and the car got garaged, where it sat for two years. A marriage and a pregnancy later, and they decided that they needed an SUV to haul the baby, so the Maverick had to go. That's where I came in.
There isn't a rip, stain, or stitch out of place in the original brown interior. The dash has no cracks, the gauges work just fine, and all the lights behind them work. With the excellent condition of the interior, could this be original mileage? I hope so! The original 250 C.I. inline 6 is dirty and needs a valve cover gasket, but it runs smoothly After flipping through this, I'm wondering if anyone has ever handled it before. Life is too short to drive something boring! And the owners of these same vehicles thought nothing of my classic beauty!
I hope to restore it to it's original condition and daily drive it. After it's all restored, it'll just be be a matter of keeping it that way.
