Hey everyone I wanted to introduce myself real quick and extend my thanks for all the help in advance. I 'm sure i will need plenty. I am very new to Mavericks. Hell I'm pretty new to ford in general. I haven't "officially" bought my Maverick yet due to being deployed but I will be picking it up as soon as I get home. I am buying a 1971 Grabber. It already has a 302 swap. I have a lot of ideas for the car but for now I'd like to keep it simple and fix any "typical" issues these cars are known for. Can anyone fill me in on what the trouble spots are for these cars? I also know there are a few ways to go about converting my 4 lug car to 5 lug. Can anyone point me in the right direction for that as well. Again thank you for the help in advance. One more thing I really wanted to focus on is I can tell there is plenty of rust on the suspension and it looks like the bushings are pretty shot. Does anyone know a good place for a full suspension rebuild?
from central VA! Thank you for your service and congrats on your Maverick Grabber purchase! Common problem on these cars are the cowl rusts out. To test this get a bucket of water and pour it down the cowl vents. If you get water in the floorboards of the car your cowls has rust holes in them Good luck with your car!
... "I can tell there is plenty of rust on the suspension" that would be a big concern to me. you should check the car out good before taking possession, rust is a killer of most deals. do you have any pics. we could look at?
Welcome to the site from northeast Ohio!!! I agree with Frank. Heavy rust is a costly and time consuming repair. Being from South Carolina you should be able to get a fairly rust free car; unlike us members up north.
from Atlantic Canada, from a fellow 71 Grabber owner!! IIRC, that car was pretty rough for the money they were asking?? I have added your screen name to the VIN 1K93T123497 in the VIN List for 1971. Good Luck with the build, hopefully the cowl is OK... Regarding 5-lug, I changed mine to Maverick/Granada front disc brakes and used a later Maverick 5-lug housing and installed Crown Victoria rear disc brakes. There are tech articles on both of these installs by other members.
I have not actually paid for the car no. I have put a small amount down on it so it will be held for me until I get home. What is the issue with this car?
Maybe somebody will throw a link up here where we have discussed this car before. It is rough.....ROUGH. NO way would I buy that car without laying eyes on it first. Did I say it was ROUGH? Just trying to help.
He didn't say it was that bad and the pictures didn't depict it to be as bad as you are saying. I will speak with him and try to drop the hold. How is this car so well known?
Here is one post I came up with about it http://mmb.maverick.to/threads/rough-grabber-green-71-in-sc.108115/
That car is ROUGH. Unless you are experienced in body work.....best to get you money back in my opinion.