A huge mistake on my part- the stallion that wasn't

As some of you who know me and my husband Dale may know, back in the late 1990's we bought and restored a worn out old 1976 Maverick. We painted the Maverick as a Stallion because at that time we honestly believed that was what the car was. All these years later we still thought it was a real Stallion. Until today. Jeff, the fellow who owns it now called me today to let me know he just got a Marti report on the car that says it's not a real Stallion. At first I was shell shocked. Then I just felt horrible. All those years ago we had made a colossal mistake and didn't know it. I swear to you all that we never intended to fool or deceive anyone when we decided to make that old Maverick into a Stallion. We really believed it was one. When we first got that car I did not yet own a computer, therefore I had no access to the internet. I was still pretty new to the Mavericks and really didn't know that much about them. I had never heard of a Maverick Stallion nor did I remember having ever seen one before. It was not until a friend of ours who did own a computer printed me out some info she had found about Mavericks that I saw a picture of a Stallion for the first time. It matched the unusual red and black paint scheme that we had uncovered under all the layers of paint the car had on it. Later she found me some more pictures of other Stallions that helped to explain the odd looking faded out black window moldings and tail lights. It all started to make sense. The only problem was the VIN sticker in the door jamb was damaged and the pertinent paint and trim info was lost. We had nothing else to go on. All we had was the physical evidence the car it's self was providing, which all looked original to us. So based on everything we had found we returned the car back to what we believed it was: a Stallion. It wasn't until shortly after we finished the car that I first learned about Marti reports and I was excited to finally found out more about the car. But I found out the reports at that time did not go beyond 1975. We eventually gave up and continued believing we had made the right decision to paint the car as a Stallion and it was the genuine article. Sadly, that was not to be. If we had known then what we know now, we never would have gone through all that time and trouble and expense to make the car into something it was not supposed to be. Right now I feel like a complete idiot, but like I told Jeff I'm not afraid to admit when I make a mistake. This mistake was made 10 years ago, but it was an epic one and I'd like to apologize to you all for having made it. I am truly sorry we goofed up so bad.:sorry: I am thankful that Jeff contacted me and let me know the truth behind the car. I would rather know the truth about the car than to keep believing we did something right when in fact we did something wrong. That is a mistake that will not happen again.

 

You did what anyone would have done. Don't beat yourself up to. Bad. You made a honest mistake, we're humans we so that.

Try to look at it in a positive way and know in your heart that you did what you thought was Best. You have now learned the truth and sometimes it hurts but it's nothing to be ashamed of.

 

with the limited resources you had 10 years ago...it was...
the mistake was...getting a Marti report...

 

So where does one go to get their money back?



So did the Marti report shed light on what the car should have been?

 

Don't beat yourself up. Info was limited and quite sketchy 'way back then'. You did the best you could with what little info you had. Judging by the rest of your work I've seen on this site, I'd rather have one of YOUR Stallion 'Clones' than a 'Real' Stallion painted and butchered by someone else like Maaco or a backyard painter with drums of bodyfill onhand. I'm sure the quality of your work far outweighs the perceived pedigree of the car.

Hindsight is always 20/20.

 

If someone buys a car without complete documentation, that's what happens.
You did what you could with the information you had at the time. It wasn't until a couple of years ago that you could prove it with a Marti Report, and some still aren't correct.
The car looks amazing.

 

Exactly! Quality is everything to most buyers and pedigree only adds to its baseline value. Unless of course it's ULTRA rare.

Also imagine that a well built tribute car is not an undesired commodity these days. To many, including myself, these cars are treated as a sporty lightweight canvas which will eventually be far removed from any stock Maverick or Comet. Eventually, more and more tributes will need to be done as these cars become more rare and sought after as each decade passes us by.

 

Jean you did what you honestly thought was correct. Technically the car was misrepresented before you got it with the two tone paint buried under another layer.

You and Dale built a fantastic car and should remain proud!

 

Marti

Post your Marti report. I'd like to see it. I think we all would. We should have a database on here. I'm making a paper chart of engine/transmissions codes thru the years. Just something I want to do.

 

You may not of had a Stallion back then, but you have a beautiful one now. Who cares what some report says, your car is what you want it to be.

 

Mistake ...

No Big Deal !! How many people have put a Grabber Style Hood , and a rear
Spoiler kit on the back and call their cars a GRABBER ??? Unless you're a "numbers matching " .." correct everything" person .. No Biggie !!
Enjoy
Cometized

 

Thank you for your understanding guys. I think deep down I wanted you all to hear it from me first. I didn't want anyone to think we deliberately tried to pull a fast one by building a clone Stallion and claiming it to be a real one. That is not something we would do. It bugs the heck out of me when people do that with their cars. Hearing that the ' Stallion' was not real made me feel like that was exactly what we had done. I needed to get this off my chest and set the record straight. Thanks to all of you I am feeling a little better about it. The car is for sale on Craigslist right now. If I had the money I would love to buy it back. It still looks great and that does make me very happy. It's just not a Stallion anymore. It's more like a gelding.

 

Not to be disrespectful to Mavericks (I own one), but there was nothing real special about any pedigree of Maverick IMO. Same old drivetrains and suspensions. Maybe having all of the correct numbers will be of significant value someday, but as of now, I say do whatever pleases you with your car. It will never be a Hemi Cuda or Boss 429 Mustang insofar as collecting is concerned.

 

My cars a clone, or as I've been told...