WOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOO Shelby Maverick

I agree with Ray and Chuck. IF people are going to collect
some of those 4 cyl. ugly dodge cars that Shelby had his
signature on in the 80's, the Maverick would be just as valuable.

Seth

 

To T.L.

The difference would be that Shelby LICENSED his name for the Shelby de Mexico Mavericks, but not yours. I would suggest trying that with yours and seeing how much it would add to the cost of building it. That alone might make it special. Look, we're all entitled to our opinion, and I agree that the Shelby Maverick could have been done better, but it doesn't diminish the fact that it is a legitimate part of Shelby history and EXTREMELY rare. Speculation on the value of a real one is probably moot because we'll only know for sure if someone can actually locate, verify, purchase, and import one. That's a tall order in itself. But if it ever happens, I'd like to see what it would bring at Barrett Jackson fully restored...

 

I'm certainly not trying to prevent anyone from having their opinion.

Here's another point; it was stated that the "Shelby Mavericks" have no designation as such in the V.I.N. Even a Grabber is designated as such in the V.I.N. Shelby Mustangs are as well.

So there's really nothing any more special about the "Shelby" Maverick" than there would be about my Maverick with the name "Shelby" painted on the side, other than the fact that there were only 303 made. So Carol let them use his name on 303 cars, big deal...he had nothing to do with the cars and they had no performance options whatsoever over any other run of-the-mill Maverick.

Since there is no V.I.N. designation, it would be next to impossible to prove that it was genuinely one of those 303 cars. Therefore, not worth any more than any other South American Maverick with the same equipment. Which tells me that the value of those cars is sentimental at best.

That's my opinion...

 

I certainly cannot argue that point...

 

So T.L.? What would someone with logical sense pay if they could get
their hands on the Comet that got treatment by Shelby of Europe with
a GT40 engine in it?


Seth

 

IF a person could import a documented Shelby Maverick, then we'd see. Unfortunately, if one were going to surface, it probably already would have. But I guarantee if one ever does it will bring alot more than a U.S. Maverick with Shelby painted on the side.
There's no reason to continue to beat a dead horse here. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I for one don't believe Hemi Cudas are worth almost a million bucks, but people with money don't agree with me...

 

Well now how should I know?.

All I was trying to say was that:

1. They're not that great
2. Shelby really had nothing to do with their design or construction
3. They have no real performance treatment
4. There's no way to truely doccument one because there's no V.I.N. designation
5. They're not even in the same class as a Shelby Mustang

Only attribute being that there were just 303 made...and that's IF one could even verify that it was one of those 303.

So although I think that the Shelby Maverick story is interesting, I don't personally think that it's anything to get real excited about. I've already conceded that there are rich people in this world who will pay BIG $$$ for anything that is rare, no matter what it is. I have seen the ridiculous prices that cars go for at the Barrett-Jackson Auction.

Now, find one of the original (7 was it?) factory prototype BOSS 302 Mavericks and I might get excited...

 

I know of no such "Boss 302 Maverick prototypes." Where did you get that information? Can you provide any type of documentation. I'm aware of several Ford dealers in various parts of the country that converted some Mavericks to Boss 302's, but I have dozens of magazine articles from the 70's and have no info on a Boss 302 Maverick that FORD ever did. I'd be very interested in verifying this.

 

Well, I honestly don't know if it was Ford or just a Ford dealer. I read article many years ago in a car magazine (don't remember what magazine it was) about one such "prototype", that I thought said Ford built, but I couldn't swear to it...My memory simply isn't that good...

 

I think I am gonna buy a maverick cattle bull and name him Shelby. I bet the steaks I cut out of him would be really tasty.

 

I just wanted to diffuse another rumor before it got too blown out of proportion. Ford never made a Boss 302, prototype or otherwise. I have articles from magazines where at least two dealers, one in Michigan, one in California, were doing conversions. The magazines were following the build-ups of the "prototypes" and they were intending to do multiples. I've only talked to one person who claims to own one of those cars and have documentation, but I've never personally seen the documentation. There were also a couple of Ford engineers that campaigned an early 1970 model with a Boss 302 set back in the chassis, but this was a drag-only car built and campaigned by employees, not Ford.

 

Now, there's a car worth trying to track down, after all, it may have only been a "dealer conversion", but then again, Yenko and Baldwin Chevys were mere "dealer conversons" also......

seen what a Yenko Camaro goes for lately?

Also, we're talking about a real performance upgrade here, not just a package of looky-loo bolt on parts. The Boss 302 motor is very rare and valuable itself, I have little doubt they probably "beefed" up (pun intented ) other parts of the drivetrain too.

And, if they were intending to do multiples, they were more likely to do things to make the car unique, and to stand out from other Mavs, like a special paint scheme. badging, etc. and were more likely to document the conversion in some way too. So, even though the dealer might not have followed through on the mulitiple builds, there's a possibility, however slim, that there's a few VERY rare Boss 302 Grabbers out there somewhere.

True, it's likely that any that were made are long gone, driven to death, raced and wrecked, or parted and disgarded (remember, back then even the rarest of todays classic muscle cars were mostly just considered "another car", like the 427 Vette my brother's college roommate hauled off to the junkyard in 69 because it got side-swiped and he didn't want to bother with damage repair,...he just went and bought another new Vette)

But still, imagine finding one of these....."Shelby" bolt-ons, phooey!......an actual performance package, even "dealer installed", it's as close to factory built as you're going to get.....

That would be my choice as a Maverick lover's Holy Grail.

 

Come to think of it......I'm heading out to Cali next week, I've got a friend out there that worked at several Ford dealerships in the So. Cal area in the late 60's to mid 70's........

You say you've got articles about this dealer conversion........

What were the dealership names and locations?

 

I can't remember for sure without looking them up, but both were dealerships that were well-known as performance "tuners" of the era. I can't get as excited about them as you since I don't agree their value would even come close to the "bolt-on" Shelby Mavericks, and I would almost guarantee there'd be no records of the serial numbers of the cars converted. I do remember that there weren't any custom paint or decals applied to them, so identifying them would be difficult. Good luck. It would certainly make a storied find. I'll add the dealer names as soon as I can find them.

 

I'd still be impressed if I saw a dealer-converted BOSS 302 Maverick. If something like that does not impress you, something's wrong. I am not impressed by the "Shelbys". There's nothing more I can really say on the subject, other than "to each his own"...

(Am I becoming dyslexic?)