I am going tomorrow to look at a 1970 Maverick barn find. It's advertised as having 56000 original miles (Its clean but not that clean) I'm wondering what to look for???. I've read that the floors tend to rust on this body style, as well as torque boxes. It still has its original 6 and automatic trans. It's not running, but supposedly it will turn over. I'm taking a magnet to see if there's bondo underneath the "fresh paint" and I'll give it a thorough look over. Please let me know where the typical problem areas are so I'll know what to look for.
Hello an welcome to the site. You have to look after the cowl vents. Search the forum for this. And you must look to the side boxes, in the trunk, where the side markers are. Sorry for bad english Greetings Nils
from Northeast Pennsylvania Take a gallon or 2 of water and pour it straight down the grills in front of the windshield. The water should drain out behind the front wheels from the bottom of the fenders. If the cowls are bad, the water will run on to the floor from under the dash, carpets get wet, floors rot out.
welcome check everything thats been said and check the rain gutters and the roof if the car has a vinyl roof I dont know if I would buy it. but if the roof has rust along the edge then most likely the inside is really rusty under the headliner. if theres rust in the rain gutters be prepared for alot of skilled welding and lead working to fix them. remember a 6 cylinder car is less desirable than a v8 to most people so that will come into play when haggling on a price. some important things to ask yourself when you go look at it what do they want for it? could you get the same amount of money for the car if you sold it next week? how far is it from home? how much is it going to cost to get it towed home? not running so figure on putting in a motor so how much is a motor? what other problems can there be? what have they done to the car? what havent they done to the car? does the transmission work? its a 50-50 chance there they say yeah then you buy a motor thinking your ready and it wont go into gear. since its not running they most likely neglected the car or drove it till the wheels just about fell off good luck with your decision
to the site...and good luck when you take a look at the car...also, don't forget to take a fine tooth comb along...
Well, it seems that this maverick had some issues. I took along a magnet to see if some of the "fresh" paint was concealing something. There were several spots that didn't like the magnet too well. I crawled around it. didn't have any water to try the cowl thing, but it was pretty evident that it wasn't worth what the guy wanted, and he was either unaware of or not fourthcoming of the car's history. I told him I'll think about it, (always best to sleep on hard decisions) I love mavericks, but this one is not the deal I thought it would be. I think I'll pass. Thanks everyone for all the insight. Hopefully I'll be able to start a Maverick project soon, My 95' Mustang GT is getting dull