Planning to resurrect and update this beast. She's a '76 I learned to drive in this beauty Originally picked her up for $50 motorless Back when there was a Maverick/Comet still in every salvage yard. The 4.1L will be replaced before she is done.
Holy craptastic, Batman.. that thing is going to take a LOT of work! What?.. you couldn't find one of the tens of thousands remaining out there that wasn't buried in the everglades?
Im not one to scrap cars... But I must say this one should be used as parts.. Have you looked into maybe buying another shell and using this as a donar car for it? From what I can see the resto would take...well, longer than most are willing to spend time on..then the money factor as well, it needs a whole new roof skin.. I assume quarters,floors, and mostly everything else...sheet metal wise.. If your up for an extreme challenge then give it a shot. I know it was your first car and all but sometimes you gotta know when to throw in the towel before you jump in too deep... Just some food for thought.. And it's only my opinion, everyone has one.
Ooh, that's scary... I'd salvage what few good pieces(maybe the dash?) there are and use them on a replacement... Somewhere there's a thread on a board that a guy posted about restoring a '61 Chevy Impala convertible that was in poor condition(a car that's actually worth something when restored), he wound up cutting out probably 50% or more of the original car...
swamp thing is a better name for it. drag it out of there drop in a friggin great big odd looking chrysler v8 paint the motor black just paint over whatever color it is already and then leave the car body wise just as it sets and paint it brownish green maybe even have some seaweed vines hanging out of those rust holes in the roof covering the back and side windows. have a ply wood headliner and have the paint fade into a black or like a swampy brownish black grey at the bottom take the trunk lid off and throw it away and put a keg in there for a gas tank and paint it to look like a tree log brighten up the tail lights so they glow like red eyes and have a red cover for the headlights black out the grill and then almost like the grave digger monster truck paint the swamp thing on the doors that would be an awesome rat rod maverick lol or just paint it desert cammo and park it right where it sits every night nobody would ever find it. you could totally mess with peoples heads and say how do you like my car and theyll be like where is it? when you point to the swamp theyll tell you it cant be there theres nothing but a swamp over there. your car could be famous for being one of those you gotta stare at the pic really hard to see whats right in plain site kinda like wheres waldo but wheres maverick seriously though first car and all unless you plan to turn it into the swamp thing rat rod I wouldnt attempt it. I say buy a good car and use that one for parts or just leave it rest there in the swamp forever kinda like being put out in the pasture but instead its the bamboo swamp
I see it.............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................a parts car, or a good start for a convertible!
Y'all bein a tad bit harsh, but honest. This is the sort of snarky responses I'd expect from the hondansite I go to for my wifes car.
I'd pull it out of the swamp and give it a good soap and water scrubbing, then see how much is really left to work with. I do wish you all the luck in the world - looks like ambitious project
Pull it out of the mud, pressure wash the crud off of it and see what you've got. I hauled a 2-door out of the woods missing the whole driver's side of the car and cleaned the 2-inches of leaves and pine needles off the floor and used the entire floor pan in my 4-door at the time. Anything is possible.
Don't let the "Snarky" responses get to you. Some people on here enjoy ribbing more than mavericks. I like the convertible idea.
by the time you replace all the sheet metal, hood, trunk lid, tail panel, roof, floor pans, cowl, motor, transmission, rear end, brakes, wheels, tires, headliner, seats, carpet etc, etc. you won't have the car you "learned to drive in" anyway...
wow that things a mess! a friend gave me one a few years ago that was sitting in the woods that didn't look that bad and the car fell apart when we pushed it off the car carrier when i got it home.i mean really broke in two pieces from behind the front seats! i think you'll find its probably not worth it but the love of a good car is a hard thing to explain,i'm still looking for my first car. i think you should take some good parts off of it and put into another car so atleast some of it lives on for you.your gonna bleed money trying to fix it.but good luck if you do.
